THE HERD - Hour 2 - Final Four picks, LeBron James is taking a back seat

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd (Hour 2)

Date: March 16, 2026
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
Host: Jason McIntyre (guest hosting) with Rachel Nichols
Featured Guest: Jovan Buha (NBA reporter)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into NCAA March Madness Final Four picks, the surging Lakers' recent performances and LeBron James' role adjustment, and broader NBA topics including player streaks, officiating controversy, Western Conference shakeups, league expansion, and schedule debates. NFL topics pop up briefly with discussion around Rams’ all-in strategy and the implications of the Trent McDuffie signing.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. March Madness: Jason’s Final Four & Championship Picks

• [04:38] Jason McIntyre reveals his Final Four picks:
  • East: Duke (Kam Boozer)
  • South: Illinois (“Mild surprise; like European players in March, very dangerous offensively”)
  • West: Arizona (“Best team in the country; four likely first-rounders, possibly five draft picks”)
  • Fourth team: Michigan (“Not reading much into their recent loss to Purdue”)
• Semifinals: Arizona over Michigan, Illinois over Duke (“not going to be popular at all”).
• Championship: Arizona over Illinois.
• Quote:

  “I’ve got the Wildcats cutting down the nets in Indy... Arizona’s my pick. They got dudes.”
  – Jason McIntyre [06:14]

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2. Lakers’ Hot Streak, Team Chemistry, & LeBron’s New Role

Guest: Jovan Buha (NBA reporter covering the Lakers)

A. Locker Room Mood, Recent Wins

• [07:51] Lakers' vibes are at a season high: 5-game win streak, 8 out of 9. Three wins against top 10 teams (Knicks, Timberwolves, Nuggets).
• Quote:

  “The vibes are high in there.”
  – Jovan Buha [07:54]

B. Bench Play and Coaching

• The bench has improved—Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia, credit to coach JJ Redick for “pushing all the right buttons.”
• Positive net-rating trends since All-Star break, especially with the “big three” (LeBron, Luka, Austin Reaves).

C. LeBron Taking a Step Back

• LeBron adapting to be third option behind Luka and Austin Reaves.

• Quote:

  “LeBron came back and is really bought into being, I think, more of the third option right now.”
  – Jovan Buha [09:38]

• Discussion on whether there was a meeting/film session that led to LeBron’s role change; consensus is it was more organic, tied to injuries and player returns.

D. Austin Reaves’ Breakout & Contract Future

• Austin Reaves considered “maybe the most loved Laker.”
• Projected to command a new contract:

  “He’s going to make 30, if not 35 plus million annually and I think sign a four or five year deal with the Lakers this summer.”
  – Jovan Buha [13:17]

E. Team Mentality Shift

• Jason plays an old LeBron quote post-OKC loss:

  “That’s a championship team right here. We’re not.”
  – LeBron James [14:10]

• Buha discusses how recent signature wins changed the team’s belief:

  “...The general optimism with this group has obviously been trending upward over the past week or so.”
  – Jovan Buha [14:50]

F. Defensive Improvements: Marcus Smart’s Impact

• Marcus Smart’s addition to the starting lineup credited for defensive surge.
• Lakers’ physicality and defense against stars (Anthony Edwards, Jamal Murray, Jalen Brunson).

• “To me [Smart] has been their fourth best player this season and is their fourth most important player.”
  – Jovan Buha [19:21]

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3. Western Conference Landscape & Notable Player Stories

A. Houston Rockets’ Decline and Locker Room Dynamics

• Rockets falling off post-All Star break, potential link to KD’s controversial text and locker room drama.
• “If your teammate is... behind your back and saying some of the things he said about his teammates, like, yeah, that’s gotta be tough.”
  – Jovan Buha [17:19]

B. Minnesota Timberwolves & Julius Randle

• Speculation on whether trade rumors for Giannis caused Randle’s recent struggles.
• Minnesota considered more proven than Houston but vulnerable to highs and lows.

C. Other Player Updates

• Steph Curry projected to return soon for the Warriors.
• Celtics pegged as “team to beat in the East” by both Rachel and Jovan; Jason gives a shout to the Knicks.

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4. Individual Stars & Record Streaks

A. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) 20-Point Game Streak

• [30:39] SGA extends his 20-point streak to 128 games, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain.

• Quote (SGA):

  “The winning is all that matters.”
  – SGA via Rachel Nichols [31:08]

• Rachel and Jason debate athlete honesty about enjoying milestones:

  “He is the most consistent superstar in the NBA... it's a perfect record for him and it epitomizes who he is as a player.”
  – Rachel Nichols [32:33]

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5. NBA Officiating & Signature Moments (Lakers vs. Nuggets Recap)

• The Lakers’ crucial OT win vs Denver was built on a missed call in the final moments; officials said it should have been a clean strip.
• Jason’s take: “Refs are human… But hey, Gums, the breaks. We got them today.”
• Quote:

  “Do your joy over this win recede at all knowing that it was built on an incorrect call?”
  – Rachel Nichols [34:13]

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6. NBA Expansion & Scheduling Debates

A. Las Vegas & Seattle Expansion

• NBA Board of Governors to vote on adding Las Vegas and Seattle as new teams. Only these two markets will be considered.
• Conversation on which West team (Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans) might move to the East to balance conferences.

• “If you move Minnesota to the East… you've got Ant Edwards in the East. You have potential Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama Finals. This is good for the NBA.”
  – Rachel Nichols [37:18]

B. Reducing Season Length

• Ideas floated: Shrinking regular season, seeding playoffs 1-16, picking all-stars from one pool. Rachel says it’s unlikely to happen due to lost revenue.

• “Owners will protect what's theirs. And there is no way they are giving back money on the 82 games.”
  – Rachel Nichols [38:25]

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7. NFL Quick Hit: Rams “All In” Strategy

• Rams sign All-Pro CB Trent McDuffie, who leaves the Chiefs citing the Rams’ sustained contention.

  “I wanted to go to a team that were contenders... this culture was something special.”
  – Trent McDuffie [46:30]

• Rams rumored to be pursuing AJ Brown, and possibly moving off Davante Adams.
• List of major Rams contracts expiring in 2027—suggestion this is a “last dance” for Stafford and McVay.

• “You can go ahead and write this in pen. The Rams are winning the Super Bowl next year.”
  – Jason McIntyre [49:07]

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8. March Madness NBA Prospect Watch

• Darius Acuff’s standout SEC tournament performance (“just roast everybody”).
• Comparisons to John Calipari’s previous freshman guards (Derrick Rose, John Wall, Jamal Murray, etc.).
• This year’s freshman class viewed as historically deep.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Final Four wisdom:

  “My life takes a hiatus. I already told the wife, listen, I’m not really available this weekend...I need to lock in.”
  – Jason [04:38]

• LeBron adapts his role:

  “LeBron’s come back in as the number three [option].”
  – Jovan [12:07]

• SGA’s humility:

  “If I have a night like I have tonight and we win the way we win tonight... I’ll be the happiest guy on earth… Winning is all that matters.”
  – SGA [31:03–31:08]

• NBA schedule realities:

  “Of course they should shrink the schedule, but... it’s never going to happen.”
  – Rachel Nichols [38:10]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:25–07:51]: Jason’s Final Four picks and breakdown
• [07:51–24:49]: Jovan Buha on Lakers hot streak, LeBron’s new role, Austin Reaves’ breakout, Western Conference shakeups
• [30:14–33:32]: Rachel & Jason discuss SGA’s 128-game, 20-point streak; Thunder’s player development
• [33:32–35:33]: Lakers’ OT win vs. Denver, ref controversy, and its meaning
• [35:33–40:43]: NBA expansion (Vegas, Seattle), schedule debate, playoff seeding hypotheticals
• [45:31–49:07]: NFL: Rams go “all in,” McDuffie signing, Super Bowl prediction
• [51:00–53:42]: March Madness prospect watch—Darius Acuff & freshman class context

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Style & Tone

• Fast-paced, light banter between Jason and Rachel, smart and occasionally irreverent.
• Analysis-filled but conversational, with emotional beats (Jason lamenting his son’s chess tournament, Rachel’s “truth bombs”).
• Natural blend of statistical insight and human narrative (“refs are human too”; locker room chemistry matters).
• Insider tidbits and honest skepticism about NBA business realities.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode provides hot takes and deep dives on both NCAA and NBA fronts—insider observations on red-hot teams and shifting roles, the realities of modern pro basketball, and a perspective check on what streaks, upsets, and strategy mean for fans and athletes alike. The thoughtful breakdowns by Jovan Buha and candid debates between Jason and Rachel make it a must-listen for fans with eyes on March Madness, the NBA playoff race, and league tectonics beyond the box score.

Transcript

[Jason McIntyre]

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[Jason McIntyre]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome back. Our number two here on the Herd on a Monday. Lots of sports happening. Try to maintain yourselves, folks. It's very difficult. We got exciting baseball in March. We've got March Madness. We've got the hot Lakers playing the Rockets tonight. My guy Jovan Buha here in the studio here in about, I don't know, six minutes after, I prattle on about my final four picks, joined by Rachel Nichols. Rachel, how was the weekend, by the way? Didn't get to ask you that at the outset. I was so nervous. You know, the Monday is a busy show.

[Rachel Nichols]

I mean, we had so much going on in this show. But yeah, I was actually in Vail this weekend. It was lovely.

[Jason McIntyre]

What a baller. I was in veils. Was there snow or.

[Rachel Nichols]

No, not a lot of snow.

[Jason McIntyre]

Not a lot of snow. Just vacationing, huh?

[Rachel Nichols]

Friends, Friends. Birthday.

[Jason McIntyre]

Ooh, that's a nice birthday. I was schlepping my son to a chess tournament. Oh, he had a brutal loss in the championship.

[Rachel Nichols]

Wait, could you watch it? First of all, both of our our kids are all on chess teams, which is hilarious.

[Jason McIntyre]

Chess is really smart and they don't

[Rachel Nichols]

let the parents in on my kids tournaments.

[Jason McIntyre]

And I'm one of those weirdo parents like taking photos and like trying to engage.

[Rachel Nichols]

And you're a weirdo parent. I'm shocked.

[Jason McIntyre]

Very shocking shock. Unbelievable. All right, let, let me quickly get to the final four, you guys. I love March Madness. Very exciting. Basically, my life takes a hiatus. I already told the wife, listen, I'm not really available this weekend. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday are four of the best days of the year. So please don't ask me to drive to school, pick up. I'm not making dinner. I'm fine ordering pizza every meal. Okay. I need to lock in. So I'm starting to fill out the brackets and I've got my Final Four. We're just going to go with the final four to start and then we'll break down the semifinals and finals. So my Final four teams not going to shock anybody, but I'm going with Kam, Boozer and Duke. I've got them in the Final Four coming out of the East. Mild surprise. Illinois coming out of the South. The south is the toughest region if we're being honest. Okay, Florida is the one seed there. I like them, don't love them. The problem is they just got smoked by Vandy by over 20 this past weekend. Vandy also in that region. Houston, very dangerous. I'm going with Illinois because I like offense. I re. I like. Gosh, I hate saying this. I like European players in March. Arizona has many. These guys are smart, savvy, they played professionally. I'm just telling this Illinois team, very dangerous. Obviously in the Big Ten tournament they had a bad loss. But overall I think Illinois gets to the final four. Coming out of the West, I've got Arizona. They are the best team in the country, folks. Listen, I watched a lot of Arizona this season. Bet on them. They are cash cow. They've got five guys who are going to be drafted. Four probably in the first round. And the guy who may not go first round was the conference player of the year who hit the game winner over the weekend against Iowa State in a tremendous game. And then my final team in the Final Four, Michigan, no huge surprise. I'm not going to read too much into that loss to Purdue on Sunday. So those are the final four. In the semifinals, I've got Arizona advancing again. Co opiete buries. This kid. Buries. Keep an eye on him. They're calling him baby SGA yes, that's a thing. And I've got Illinois beating Duke in the other. That's not going to be popular at all. Illinois doesn't play defense. Duke I don't think has enough offense. So I've got Arizona, Illinois in the championship. And I got the Wildcats cutting down the nets in Indy. I know a lot of people are like, what about Purdue? Can they get to Indianapolis? I think they shot their wad in the Big Ten tournament. By the way, last time Purdue won the Big Ten tournament, lost in the first round. Okay. As a one to a 16. So I like Arizona. I'M just telling you, man, they got dudes. I think four guys get drafted in the first round. Just a great team, fun to watch. He only lost two games all season. Co opied right there. You see, he missed one of them. So Arizona's my pick. We'll get into some. Some bets and individual games in the next couple days. But, yeah, those are my final four picks. All right, let's bring on our guest. He covers the NBA and the Lakers. He is on cloud nine right now because he's got a contender on his hands. Yovon Buha, who was in the building for Lakers Nuggets. I know. It was a thriller I was watching on my phone from the Cheesecake Factory. Hey, you gotta do family stuff, as you know. What was the mood like in the locker room after the game?

[Jovan Buha]

That was an incredible win, the win of the season, I think, for the Lakers. And, I mean, the vibes are high right now. They've won five in a row. Eight of nine and five. You know, among those five wins, three of them have been against top 10 teams in the NBA, with New York and Minnesota and Denver. So the vibes are high in there.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. Now, Jovan, you'll remember he has, you know, Buha's block. He does a YouTube show, and he was the one who came on the show in the summer and was like, hey, Jake Laravi has a good signing. And everybody. What. What is this guy talking about? Listen, man, the bench for the Lakers has looked better recently. It's like Luke Kennard is showing up Laravia. It almost feels like Redick is pushing all the right buttons.

[Jovan Buha]

I think so. So I just tweeted this out. But with the starting group, they're a plus 7 net rating coming out of the All Star break with the big three. This was the big one because when I was on a month ago, we talked about three keys for me coming out of the All Star break for LA were to get healthy, which they've been trending in the right direction. I wanted them to optimize the big three, which coming into the All Star break, they had a minus 10 net rating with the big three coming out of the all star break now. Plus 12.6 net rating with those three. So it's. It's foot entirely where they're dominating people with those three on the floor. And then plus seven net rating with the starters. And then I also want to see some statement wins. They just beat the Knicks. They just beat the Timberwolves. They beat the Nuggets in ot. Like, they're Playing their best basketball this season at the right time. So I think that they're ascending when they need to.

[Jason McIntyre]

So Rachel and I were talking this morning about this whole like, you know, end game situation. It's like the Big Three weren't playing great together, especially defensively. All of a sudden the numbers flip. What, what do you think has changed?

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

Are.

[Jason McIntyre]

Are other teams not playing as hard or the Lakers just playing harder? I don't what's what. Why the change?

[Jovan Buha]

I think that the starting group has been optimized with. With Marcus Smart in there. If you look at all the lineup data, Marcus Smart has led this group in plus minus net rating all season. And I think promoting him full time to being a starter and the Lakers getting healthier at the right time. I think the Luke Canard addition has been huge with his off ball shooting and gravity and just the way that teams have to guard him. He's also been a nice playmaker for them. One term that JJ likes to use is called the blunder. When like you penetrate and then you get the defense scrambling and rotating like Luke Kennard's really good at triggering that. But I, I think like Luka has been playing at in an MVP level. Austin reaves the last few games. He has three straight games, 30 plus, four straight with 20 plus. First time he's done that since that end of November, early December stretch. So we're talking about multiple months ago. LeBron came back and is really bought into being, I think more of the third option right now. Then again, you got a bunch of role players playing well. So you put that all together and they've won eight or nine.

[Jason McIntyre]

So do we know. And again, this is tough with the LeBron situation. Do we know why all of a sudden he bought in? Was there a meeting, was there a film session that just kind of spooked LeBron? He's like, you know, I got to roll into the PJ Washington spot now from, from Lucas Mav's days. Like be a role player?

[Jovan Buha]

Yeah, I don't think so. I, I think it's been more so we've seen like when LeBron first came back, I think people forget like he took a step back offensively and it was more Luka and Austin because those have been the two guys. Like LeBron came back during. They had a seven game win streak early in the season. They started the season 15 and 4 and LeBron came back during that win streak. So I feel like there's been a narrative out there that they like never won with LeBron. This season or like he. He kind of made the team worse. And some of the lineup that earlier in was definitely negative, what we'll say. But like, he came into that win streak and he adapted and he took a step back. Then Austin Reaves got injured. And if you look at the usage when Austin Reaves came back, he was more the number three guy because LeBron then found his footing and LeBron was playing his best basketball of the season when Austin was out. So I think it's been more so when one of the big three, or more specifically LeBron or Austin is out, the other one assumes more usage, scores more, has a bigger role. Then the new guy coming back is sort of like, all right, I'm going to assimilate. I'm going to kind of find my role. So with LeBron going out here for a few games, I think that jump started Austin, and now you're seeing him playing his best basketball in months, and now LeBron's come back in as the number three.

[Jason McIntyre]

So you're, you know, I've been to games and seen you courtside, obviously covering the team. Talk me about through the Reaves missed free throw. Did J.J. redick signal? Is this something I worked on in practice? Because it just lined up perfect. I mean, that was one of the great plays of the season.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

Yeah.

[Jovan Buha]

I mean, one of the plays of the season. So what's funny is JJ had said he told Austin to miss to the right because they were trying to anticipate where the second nugget was going to be in terms of rebounding. So they were telling him to miss to the right because they thought that was going to be the single side to go, then corral the offensive rebound. But it ended up going to the left because that's where there was only one nugget. I think the underrated part of that play is look at deandre Ayton Seal, Nikola Jokic, and just that allows Austin to get that shot up, you know, barely deterred. But I mean, that. That might be the most impressive play of the season. It's got to be up there.

[Jason McIntyre]

And then you see Austin, I love you to the basket. I mean, listen, Austin Reeves is. I don't know if I read it from you or somewhere else, but he is such a. Like, everybody loves him. He's maybe the most loved Laker because they drafted him. You know, there's. I. I just don't see them parting with him. It just keeps up. Right.

[Jovan Buha]

I don't see it either. I think it's just a matter of like how much money he'. And that will ultimately be determined by the rest of the season and how the playoffs go. But he's going to make 30, if not 35 plus million annually and I think sign a four or five year deal with the Lakers this summer.

[Jason McIntyre]

So I don't know if we could play the audio, but on February 9, LeBron was asked about OKC beat you. And LeBron's like, yeah, they're a championship team, we're not. And it sounded like his tune changed a little bit after the Nuggets win. Do you think that LeBron, I mean, he's being serious? He's not really smiling during the interviews. I don't know. Do you think he's enjoying this? If that. Maybe that's a weird question, but he doesn't seem like, oh, my gosh. Yeah, we do have the sound. All right here. Here it is. Here. Here's the audio. You want me to compare us to them?

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

No, I want to know where you

[Jason McIntyre]

think so that like, sort of this team is on. It's like, that's a championship team right here.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

We're not.

[Jason McIntyre]

So what are the biggest things you think that are keeping this team as

[Jovan Buha]

you can't sustain energy and effort? 48 minutes and they can.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

That's why they won a championship.

[Jason McIntyre]

So it sounds like he was defeated almost at that point. And then if you fast forward to this past weekend, it's like, wait a minute, we just beat the Knicks, we swept the Wolves this season, and now we've taken two out of three from Denver. I know Jokic didn't play in one of them, but are they a championship team? Like, do you think LeBron is, quote, unquote happy, or is he thinking, what's going to happen this summer? Do they want me back? Where do I go? You know, that uncertainty, Nobody likes that.

[Jovan Buha]

Yeah, I'm not going to pretend to know what LeBron's thinking on this, but I can say that I feel like the belief in this group has increased with this recent stretch. And I mean, to that point, like, I came on here a month ago and talked about it like, they had not been beating the best teams in the NBA entering this past weekend. When, you know, about a week or so ago, when they first beat New York, they were 4 and 12 against teams with a.600 win percentage or better, which functionally is like the top 10 teams in the NBA. They had lost 12 of 13 games against those teams, and 10 of those 12 losses had been by double figures. So basically, every time the Lakers had played a top 10 team, they were getting blown out. So while the record was still impressive and they were beating up on under 500 teams, the last kind of thing, if you wanted to nitpick, their sort of standing was like, they just can't beat. I mean, think about like Christmas Day against Houston getting blown out by OKC San Antonio. Like they had all these blowout losses. Even recently a few weeks ago, they, Boston, right. They, they lost by 20 plus to Boston. So it was like they had yet to pass that. That was like the final test that they needed to show we could beat a New York, we could beat a Minnesota, we could beat a Denver at full strength, you know, with Jokic back. And they've done that now. So I think that just the, the general optimism with this group has obviously been trending upward over the past week or so. Now they have a huge road trip coming up. Play Houston twice, play Detroit. Miami and Orlando are both rolling right now. Those have been two of the hottest teams in the East. So, like, this is a tough six game road trip and this will show us, I think, kind of where they're ultimately at in the West.

[Jason McIntyre]

Let me drill down. Since you mentioned the Rockets. They play the Rockets tonight in Houston, then Wednesday they are, I think, I think the Rockets won the first meeting. Yes.

[Jovan Buha]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

So the Lakers need these two for any tiebreakers. I do need to ask about the Rockets. So Shen Goon, unclear if he's going to play, what's going on, but he has cratered since the All Star break. And you remember what happened at the all star break? KD's text.

[Jovan Buha]

Yes.

[Jason McIntyre]

A, do you think there's any correlation there? B, what the hell is going on with the Rockets?

[Jovan Buha]

I don't know what's going on with the Rockets. They have been like, they to me are now the sixth best team in the West. Right. And probably going to lose in round one. And we'll see how competitive that even is. Like, I wouldn't, I mean, if you told me they got like swept or lost in five in round one, I wouldn't be that surprised at this point. But yeah, I mean, I think there's got to be like a little bit of a correlation of, you know, if it comes out that you're texting about Rachel, like, I don't think she's going to love that. Right.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

From some burner.

[Jovan Buha]

So, you know, it's just, I think it was like a human element to it. Right. So I would like they, I mean, I think they were trending down a Little bit before then. So, you know, there could be some causation versus correlation within some of this. But for sure, I don't think if your teammate is, you know, comes out there, have a burner behind your back and saying some of the things he said about his teammates, like, yeah, that's gotta be tough.

[Jason McIntyre]

It's not just the Rockets. Have you noticed Julius Randle's play has declined significantly for the Wolves? And they all of a sudden, like, they went to the conference finals twice in a row. Chris Finch comes on the show. I love talking to that guy. He is awesome. But they tried to trade Randle for Giannis. It's very well known. And Randle's numbers have sagged. Do you think there's a correlation there as well?

[Jovan Buha]

There could be. Could be something.

[Jason McIntyre]

He killed the Lakers in the series.

[Jovan Buha]

I mean, I think Minnesota deserves like, difference for me between Minnesota and Houston is Minnesota has proof of concept of they've made back to back Western Conference finals. So I, I think that like, I, I trust them more than I trust Houston. Houston's unproven, right? Like this group, they lost in seven last year to the warriors, that they've yet to win a playoff series, they've yet to play in a playoff series with kd. So we, we just don't really know what we're getting from Houston in mid to late April. With Minnesota, there's an element of like, they can be a little Jekyll and Hyde and like, their highs are very high, their lows are very low. And then I think come playoff time, they become a serious basketball team. So I think they'll be a tough first round out if they don't make the second round. But yeah, I mean, Julius Rail's got to be better, right? Like, I mean, last year he was probably a top 20 player, I would say, based on like his play, especially toward the end of the season.

[Jason McIntyre]

He's not been that this season to go back. Just because you said Anthony Edwards. I remember. So the Lakers played such good D on Ant. He struggled. And then Jamal Murray. Saturday was like one of 13.

[Jovan Buha]

Yeah. And Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brunson, they shut him down too.

[Jason McIntyre]

So now I, I'm asking because I don't know. So the last time you were on, you were like, well, Marcus Smart's been amazing. And in my head I'm like, bro, come on. Marcus Smart's not been that good. He's, he's unreliable. Is Marcus Smart the reason all three of those guys struggled?

[Jovan Buha]

Is he big, big part of it like the Lakers defense has been trending up. So most of the season they've been a bottom 10 defense and that's been the Achilles heel for this group is just they don't have a. But like if you compare their best defenders to basically any other top west team's best defenders, there's a pretty clear gap there. So like they don't have an Amen Thompson, they don't have an Aaron Gordon, they don't have a Wemby. Like the okc's whole team is like an all defense team. Like they're just loaded. So the Lakers, it's been more of a team defense than an individual defense. But I give Marcus Smart a lot of credit where he had five steals in that game against Denver and he made five threes on the other end. So like he to me has been their fourth best player this season and is their fourth most important player. And if the Lakers make any noise in the playoffs, if they win around or even a couple, it's going to be because Marcus Smart is playing a big role. But yeah, his defense, he's always guarding like one through three the best defender. Lakers do switch a lot. They've been playing some more zone. So he's not like possession to possession. He might be switched off. But like I mean he had some nice possessions against Jokic and I think in general the Lakers physicality, like I give Austin Reaves a lot of credit. He's been a guy that teams will target or try to attack with like a big man. Like he was switching onto Jokic and tipping the ball loose and generating steals. So like the Lakers overall physicality I think is ramped up.

[Jason McIntyre]

Pelinka, good signing by him. Okay, a couple more. Steph Curry's my favorite player in the league. He's talking about coming back. What are you hearing anything?

[Jovan Buha]

I think he's going to be back. I mean they have nothing to not play for, right. So I mean there's the whole like pick and what happens with that. But they're trying to win and I don't think they're going to do much like they'll probably be if they make the playoffs. They'd probably be the eight seed and losing round one to OKC in four or five. But they're kind of locked into the play in. If you look at the standings, the furthest they could drop is 10th. So if you're already going to be in the play in like this is assuming he's actually cleared to return, right. And I think if he can return he will return. I think it's going to come down to just is he physically capable of not some shenanigans of like them trying to hold him out because like they want it. Like the warriors want to go out with pride. So I think if he plays, they have a shot, I think to be the eighth seed. And then from there you'll probably lose to okc.

[Jason McIntyre]

I hope he's on a real team next year. Okay, so Rachel's rolling with the Celtics as her favorites. I like the Knicks in the east, who you got?

[Jovan Buha]

So I'm of both minds. I'm going to give you an answer. Going into the season, I've been a Knicks guy, so my preseason prediction was okc, New York. And I'm off that now. I'm on Boston.

[Jason McIntyre]

I think Boston's getting back because Tatum's look pretty damn.

[Jovan Buha]

Tatum's look pretty good.

[Jason McIntyre]

I just, I go back to that series last year. So the Knicks were up on them when. Before Tatum got hurt. They're, they're kind of a good matchup. They, OG and Bridges are as good as you can do on the wings against Brown and Tatum.

[Jovan Buha]

They are just.

[Jason McIntyre]

I don't know about the other spots.

[Jovan Buha]

Like I don't think Kat's been the same player as last season.

[Jason McIntyre]

Another guy. I like their depth.

[Jovan Buha]

I like their, I mean, I think the top four in the east, like if you told me any of those four, Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland, I think those are going to be the four teams that advance to the second round and then it's really going to come down to matchups, momentum, injuries, all that stuff. But I, I think right now Boston, they're, I mean they've been so good without Tatum and he's been like, he's been a seamless fit and if you look at like his per possession and per 36 numbers, he's basically back to last season minus the efficiency. Like the field goal percentage, 3 point percentage has not returned yet. But I think that is just a matter of time. So yeah, I mean they've been the second best team in the east this season. And then you add in your best player back.

[Jason McIntyre]

Like I don't know how he's going to hold up against the playoff riggers. You know, it's a, it's a lot tougher game and I, I Tatum personally. All right, final question. Wembanyama. Is he your mvp? I know everybody wants sga. You go on sga.

[Jovan Buha]

Sga.

[Jason McIntyre]

Can we at least win the title this year?

[Jovan Buha]

Yes. And I've been arriving at this point recently, where I, I think you can make a case. I mean, right now, they are arguably the second best team in the league, but, like, I think there's a real case for that in the playoffs. I'm just this team, just amazing. And you look at, like, what, what in some, several of those games against OKC where they've gone 4 and 1. WEMBY didn't even play 30 minutes in those games and they're beating OKC. So, like, I think there's, I mean, they got to get to the conference finals first, but if they can get to the conference finals, I think they're a really tough matchup for okc and one of maybe only two teams in the west that can beat okc. So I. Yeah, I mean, typically we do. If you look at some of the recent champions, right, Like Boston had several runs to the conference finals before they finally broke through okc. There was the ascension of first round, exit, second round, exit, championship. Go back to like last decade with the Warriors. It was second round, first round. Then they broke through, won the title. So typically, teams like this need a year or two of getting your, your playoff experience under your belt. That would be like my one thing with them. But I think they're. They're ready. Like, they've beaten, they've won, like, basically every big matchup they've had. They've beaten everybody this season. They've been dominant on both ends of the floor. They have a top five offense, like

[Jason McIntyre]

for the Spurs, Lakers, where Lakers sat everybody and Wemby had like 25 in

[Jovan Buha]

the first quarter over there.

[Jason McIntyre]

I was like, oh, my gosh, it's crazy. All right, Yovon Buha, obviously great stuff. Check out his Buhas block podcast. Great stuff as always, buddy. Thanks a lot.

[Jovan Buha]

Thank you.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right, coming up next here on the Herd, Rachel, there's a longest current streak in the NBA. Is it legit? Rachel's got the inside stuff. Next one more heard the herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sportsbook, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

All right, two Truths and a Lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain, I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas Stars, and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true. Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your AT&T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. So take that AT and T or T Mobile bill to your local Verizon store today, get a better deal and start saving based on root metrics. Best Overall Mobile Network Performance U.S. 2nd Half 2025 All Rights Reserve must provide recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Support for the show comes from Public if you look at your investing app, what do you see? An Interface stuck in 1997 or something that looks modern but feels more like a casino than a place to build wealth. Public is different. It's the investing place platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build your portfolio for the long haul. Stocks, options, bonds, crypto. It's all there. But what really makes Public different is the technology behind it. Imagine starting your day with an AI summarized market briefing, getting clear summaries of earnings calls the moment they end. Or turning any idea into an investable index just by typing a prompt. This is what investing looks like when the tools finally catch up. Go to public.com and earn a 1% uncapped match when you transfer your portfolio. Public Investing for those who take it Seriously Ad paid for by Public Holdings Brokerage Services by Public Investing member Finra SIPC Advisory Services By Public Advisors SEC Registered Advisor Crypto Services By ZeroHash all investing involves risk of loss. See complete [e-mail] disclosures hey, this is Levar Arrington here from up on Game. This message is brought to you by Apple Card Apple Cart members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecart.com every sports season is built on preparation, studying the trends, making necessary adjustments to reach the ultimate goal. Investing deserves the same approach. With Webull, you have access to real time market data, advanced tools and an intuitive app designed to help you make informed decisions. Trade stocks, options, ETFs and more, or set up an IRA for the long term all in one platform. Get your financial portfolio game ready by downloading the Webull app today or visiting webull.com, webull Financial LLC member SIPC FINRA and Investing involves risk. For more information, visit webull.com disclosures Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues. And Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition. Break free from skyrocketing storage costs, unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why. Innovation. From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage, Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data storage. Remember, Wasabi is up to 80% less than the other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi is another championship story. Check them out [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, proud partner of the Voluum Podcast network

[Jason McIntyre]

back here on the Herd. Great stuff from Jovan Buha on the Lakers. It is always fun when stories really come together, just as you predicted they would. Chiefs last year. I gotta, gotta brag about that for another five months. All right, let's go to Rachel with the news. No, no, no, no.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

Turn on the news.

[Jason McIntyre]

This is the Herdline news.

[Rachel Nichols]

I gave you credit last segment. You gotta, you gotta pray. You gotta take your wins. You got to take your wins. All right, let's talk about Shay Gildrus Alexander. He extended his 20 game, 20 point game streak last night, but barely. It took him scoring six points in basically the final three minutes, but he did it. Which means he's now scored at least 20 in 128 straight games. More than Wilt, as we know. And here's what he had to say about it after the game.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

I didn't care about anything besides winning

[Jason McIntyre]

the game as usual.

[Jovan Buha]

The game tonight was like so junky.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

Low scoring.

[Jason McIntyre]

They're obviously a good defense.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

We're a good defense.

[Jason McIntyre]

So it's like no surprise it didn't.

[Jovan Buha]

Like to me, those type of things have never mattered. It's just always about walking out of

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

here with a W.

[Jason McIntyre]

If I have

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

a night like I have tonight and

[Jovan Buha]

we win the way we win tonight,

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

for the rest of the season, I'll be the happiest guy on earth. So the winning is all that matters.

[Rachel Nichols]

I get it. You're supposed to say that. But I mean, what. Why, why is this? Right? Because sga, obviously, the way he played and just sort of the way his teammates were reacting, they knew the record was on the line, and Edwards certainly knew the record was on the line. He was defending him like it was his last breaths, trying to be the one to break the streak. I get it. Winning is the most important. No one's saying it isn't. But like, why can't we just. Why can't athletes in general. It's not just sga. Why can't athletes in general just admit, yeah, the regular season could be kind of boring. And these streaks sometimes are really fun. It's not like it's an anticip. This is to the team. It helped them win 100.

[Jason McIntyre]

Agreed. Remember when LeBron had his record of double digit scoring forever?

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

And people always just stat padding he's chasing. Are they treating SGA the same way?

[Rachel Nichols]

No, no, no. Because he had two. I mean, he had two great shots in that in those final three minutes.

[Jason McIntyre]

Did they put him back in the game? I think he was out. And they're like, oh, let's go get that record.

[Rachel Nichols]

That's what I mean. We all knew. We all knew. Whatever. But that's different from stat padding. He wasn't like, you know, there was no intentional fouling to get to, you

[Jason McIntyre]

know, that block on Gobert, they keep showing that clear hand on the. Come on, give me. I don't know. Listen, I've dialed back the free throw merchant stuff.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yes.

[Jason McIntyre]

But gosh, I hope the spurs beat them in the playoffs.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, you know what I like about this record, though? This is exactly who Shea is. He is the most consistent superstar in the NBA.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's undeniable.

[Rachel Nichols]

That you literally know he will get you 20 plus a game every single night. He's out there. He will play hard, he will play defense. I think it's a perfect record for him and it epitomizes who he is as a player. So he should try to continue it and he should admit it. Just saying.

[Jason McIntyre]

Right. By the way, Jared McCain could not play with the Sixers. And now he's like in a starring role because guys on the Thunder are hurt. What were the Sixers doing, McCain? Great.

[Rachel Nichols]

The Thunder have done this.

[Jason McIntyre]

They have a million guys. That's the thing that it kind of look at A.J.

[Rachel Nichols]

right?

[Jason McIntyre]

He's good.

[Rachel Nichols]

Couldn't, you know, get a full guaranteed contract. And now he's like in.

[Jason McIntyre]

Integral to their seventh guy on the Lakers. I don't know if he's in the playoff rotation for the Thunder.

[Rachel Nichols]

No, I mean, they got a million dudes, but that speaks to their coaching and development. I mean, the development staff on the Thunder are top, top notch.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, listen, it's easy when you're in OKC and there's not a lot to do, you know? Come on, they're locked in all summer. Those guys are good. Hey, seriously, I've never been to okc. Yeah, I just hear.

[Rachel Nichols]

And by the way, those guys are in L. A all summer. But that's.

[Jason McIntyre]

Are they? Oh, shucks, maybe they are.

[Rachel Nichols]

All right, let's talk Lakers. I know you're super high on them, right? Look, I picked the Lakers to be third in the west in our preseason picks. So I like when they prove me right also. But, but look, the last two minute report came out after that game against Denver. They ruled that this play on Austin Reaves was officiated incorrectly. It wasn't a foul. It was a clean strip, if it had been called correctly. Jason, it's pretty unlikely the game even makes it into overtime. So no win, no signature. Luka, this was his Lakers moment. Does your joy over this win recede at all, knowing that it was built on an incorrect call?

[Jason McIntyre]

Listen, Rachel, come on. Don't buzz kill this Lakers.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, that's what I'm asking. By the way, again, I picked them third in the West. I think they. Absolutely. This run is great. I'm not boohooing the Lakers, but like, the win technically kind of shouldn't have happened.

[Jason McIntyre]

So here's the thing. The ref was right there, like literally a foot away from the play. So he saw something and called it. Now, I didn't know if they were trying to foul before they could get the shot off. Were they trying to do that, do you think? They were fouling a lot at the end. It looked like he got body first and then ball.

[Rachel Nichols]

I. I mean, look, officials are human. We just talked about this with Ken Rosenthal. World Baseball Classic, right? The last pitch. And they're going to take some of that humanity out of the game this coming season.

[Jason McIntyre]

You have robot NBA Referee, I don't know.

[Rachel Nichols]

As much as some players would like. How do you think Luca would do with a robot?

[Jason McIntyre]

They can't tee you up, right? They don't care. I'm sure Elon Musk is on the case. Let me say though, yes, it was a great win for the Lakers. They needed a lot to go, right? Blown call. Jamal Murray, worst game as a pro. He was one of 13. Then the Austin Reeds free throw, which. How often does that happen? One out of 20, one out of 50.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, somewhere. Somewhere in there.

[Jason McIntyre]

So they needed it. But you know what? Hey, Gums, the breaks. We got them today. We're not going to get them against, you know, Orlando later this week. Enjoy the dub, as the kids say. The dub. Sorry.

[Rachel Nichols]

Let's keep it on the NBA reports are saying that the NBA will hold a vote at the board of Governors meetings later this week to continue consider they're going to go for it. We've been talking about expansion for so long, Jason. Las Vegas and Seattle, they are saying they are going to vote on whether those two cities can compete to be expansion teams. They're not opening up the bid to any city, any ownership group in any city. It's just those two teams, right? They are projected to be top revenue getters among the top eight revenue generators in the league. So it's interesting to me it's not that Seattle, by the way, bring back the Sonics. So like I'm very happy about this, but it's not so interesting to me that it's going to be Seattle and Vegas because we knew that already, right? It's more of these are two Western Conference teams that would be coming in. So who do you move to the east? Jason McIntyre, is this yours?

[Jason McIntyre]

Did you move the Wolves or what?

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, so here's the thing. Geographically, if you just want to look who's the easternmost team in the west, it's Memphis, right? They're the only team east of the Mississippi technically and whatever, but Minnesota makes more sense. You're basically creating your own NFC north rivalries, like that kind of thing. So it's going to be very interesting to see what they do because both Memphis and New Orleans are east of Minneapolis. It's not a lot, but if you

[Jason McIntyre]

look at a map, New Orleans would love to go. Oh God, nobody wants to be in the West. Wambanyama and the Thunder are not going anywhere.

[Rachel Nichols]

Think about if they do move Minnesota to the east. If you're the NBA right A you can justify it by being like, oh, we want to get the rivalries and the division and all the people up there in the sort of, you know, north, middle part of the country. And then you've got Ant Edwards in the East. You have potential. Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama Finals. This is good for the NBA. So I'm very curious to hear what they're.

[Jason McIntyre]

But then Anthony Edwards is going to leave Minnesota for the Knicks anyway at some point, right?

[Rachel Nichols]

Oh, boy.

[Jason McIntyre]

But no, no, that. That breakdown is interesting. So you said Memphis is more west than Minnesota.

[Rachel Nichols]

They're the East. They're more East.

[Jason McIntyre]

More east. Okay.

[Rachel Nichols]

More east. They're the easternmost team in the Western Conference.

[Jason McIntyre]

And Memphis and Indianapolis are kind of. I mean, there's. They could create some division where those teams are close to each other.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah, no, no, no. For sure. And look again, Memphis would love to

[Jason McIntyre]

be in the East.

[Rachel Nichols]

Every team would love to be in the East.

[Jason McIntyre]

Right now, it's just weaker. Yeah, we'll see who wins this lottery. I mean, maybe that could change some things. But I am curious. I saw a NBA trainer, Drew Hanlon. I don't know if you know him.

[Rachel Nichols]

Oh, Drew's great.

[Jason McIntyre]

I had him on my podcast. Really sharp.

[Rachel Nichols]

No, he's great.

[Jason McIntyre]

He works with Tatum.

[Rachel Nichols]

Jason Tatum's guy. Right.

[Jason McIntyre]

He had an interesting take. If they expand when.

[Rachel Nichols]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

That they should shrink the schedule to 62 games and do no back to backs. I know. No owner is going to want to get back to.

[Rachel Nichols]

I agree. Of course they should shrink the schedule, but of course, course it's never going to happen. Of course they should seed one through 16 in the playoffs, but of course it's never going to happen. Of course they should pick All Stars from the whole pool. Of course it's never going to happen. Owners will protect what's theirs.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yes.

[Rachel Nichols]

And there is no way they are giving back money on the 82 games. There is no way they're not going to have as many East All Stars as West All Stars because that's good for ticket sales in the East. All of these ideas, they're not going to happen.

[Jason McIntyre]

Okay, but timeout, Rachel. That was way too negative for me. I. Let's bring it back. Too negative for you?

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

Yes.

[Jason McIntyre]

Hold on, hold on. So if they're willing to spitball ideas for the three point line and tanking and they're throwing. Let me hear 10 good ideas about how to shrink the schedule without necessarily giving back money there. If we can adjust the All Star game and tanking and all. Let's put together a committee. Give me some ideas.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, Their chance to do it was this last TV contract. They got so much extra money from this TV contract. You certainly could have sold or you could have pitched to the owners. Hey, we're still. You're still going to end up ahead, right? 62 games. But the TV contract's so big. You'll still end up ahead. But again, nobody, none of these guys. I don't care how much of a billionaire you are. We've seen it. They don't want to make less money.

[Jason McIntyre]

I would agree. They definitely won't.

[Rachel Nichols]

It's a shame.

[Jason McIntyre]

Is there a way around that where we just shrink the schedule and they don't have to give back money the players don't have to give back?

[Rachel Nichols]

I don't see it happening.

[Jason McIntyre]

There are smart people out there, Rachel. Somebody is on the case.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, how do you. It's.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

I don't know.

[Rachel Nichols]

The.

[Jason McIntyre]

I don't know.

[Rachel Nichols]

It's math.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, tanking is math, too, isn't it? But we've got ideas.

[Rachel Nichols]

But that's not taking money out of anyone's pocket, like tickets. What gives you revenue, right? Ticket sales from games. You got 20 less games of ticket sales.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[Rachel Nichols]

TV contracts.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, it would be 10 because of home games.

[Rachel Nichols]

Well, yeah, yeah. Okay, great. But around the league, it would be 20. Right. And then TV contracts. TV writers are going to say, well, I'm not. I now have to do other programming on those nights. I'm not getting those rate NBA ratings on those nights. I got to put something else on. I'm not going to pay as much.

[Jason McIntyre]

So if there are smart enough people that can build algorithms to get us hooked on this damn thing, certainly somebody can figure out a way. It has to be not going to happen.

[Rachel Nichols]

You and I. You and I, when we're in our 80s, I'm going to text you and I'll be like, see, I don't know

[Jason McIntyre]

if I want to be alive at 80. Is it worth it? I mean, like, can I play my. My men's league championships?

[Rachel Nichols]

Like, I'm not going to take a very dark turn.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yes. Your negativity about this, it's just not going to happen.

[Rachel Nichols]

It's the truth.

[Jason McIntyre]

NBA owners listening. Mark Cuban, come on. That's your guy. Can you text Mark Cuban? Listen, let's go, Mark. How can we do this? All right. That was fun. Rachel with the news.

[Jovan Buha]

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the herd lie news.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right, I know we haven't done any NFL yet on the show, but I saw one story over the weekend and some quotes. Something's going on with one of the NFL super bowl favorites, and it's good. But maybe not in the long term. That's next on the Herd.

[Rachel Nichols]

Forgetting your.

[Jason McIntyre]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

the iHeartRadio Apple all right, two truths and a Lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain, I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas Stars, and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true. Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your AT and T or T Mobile bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. So take that AT and T or T Mobile. Build to your local Verizon store today, get a better deal and start saving based on root metrics. Best overall Mobile Network Performance U.S. 2nd Half 2025 All Rights Reserve must provide recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Support for the show comes from Public. If you look at your investing app, what do you see? An Interface stuck in 1997 or something that look modern but feels more like a casino than a place to build wealth. Public is different. It's the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build your portfolio for the long haul. Stocks, options, bonds, crypto. It's all there. But what really makes Public different is the technology behind it. Imagine starting your day with an AI summarized market briefing, getting clear summaries of earnings calls the moment they end, or turning any idea into an investable index just by typing a prompt. This is what investing looks like when the tools finally catch up. Go to public.com and earn a 1% uncapped match when you transfer your portfolio. Investing for those who take it Seriously Ad Paid for by Public Holdings Brokerage Services by Public Investing member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors SEC Registered Advisor crypto services by ZeroHash all investing involves risk of loss. See complete [e-mail] disclosures hey, this is Levar Arrington here from up on Game. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecard.com the March tournament brings volatility upsets and momentum shifts. With Webull predictions, you can trade strategic positions on college basketball outcomes, react to matchups and assess probabilities as the tournament unfolds. Whether your bracket is busted or you're on the way to the top of your leaderboard, bring your strategy to your trades in real time. Get started by downloading the Webull app today or visiting webull.com event Contract trading is speculative and may not be suitable for all investors. Customers should carefully consider the associated risk before investing. Visit webull.com disclosures Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues and Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition break free from skyrocketing storage costs, unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why. Innovation From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service. With triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data storage. Remember, Wasabi is up to 80% less than the other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi is another championship story. Check them out [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage Proud partner of the Voluum Podcast

[Rachel Nichols]

network for the fanatics Flag Football Classic on Fox. I'm going to be in the building. Jason. I'm so excited for this star studded three team round robin tournament featuring the best in the game. Saturday 4pm Eastern only on Fox. Get you ready. It's flag football is going to be in the Olympics. Tom Brady trying to prove his worth here.

[Jason McIntyre]

Mr. Rubin must have forgot my invite. Maybe lost in the mail perhaps. I don't know.

[Rachel Nichols]

It looks like a great some of us were invited.

[Jason McIntyre]

Some of us are big time. Some of us us are just, you know, here existing. All right, let let's go to the NFL real quick. One quick story. We would all agree the Rams were the best team in the league last year, right? I mean listen they did not get to the Super Bowl. They had a tough loss in Seattle. The only reason it was in Seattle was because of some fluky 2 point conversion on Thursday Night Football. Unbelievable turn of events. Rams were great. Special teams failed them. Seattle wins a Super bowl off season happens, Seattle loses. By my count, four starters and their offensive coordinator. Rams get an all pro Cornerback in, Trent McDuffie. Now, I don't think anybody noticed this, but listen to what McDuffie said about why he's going to the Rams and extending with them to be one of the highest paid corners in the league.

[Jovan Buha]

A big thing for me was I wanted to go to a team that were contenders. Like, let's just be honest, this team is been knocking on the door year in, year out, especially since I've been in the league. And I could tell that this culture was something special. You know, talking to a lot of guys that have either been on this

[Jason McIntyre]

team or have been here on another

[Jovan Buha]

team have just told me that the love, the support and just the overall atmosphere of being a Ram was top notch, like best in the league.

[Jason McIntyre]

Whoa. How is that not bigger news go to a team that were contenders. He left the Chiefs, everybody. What does that mean? Does he think the Chiefs are not contenders? Oh, wow, somebody agreeing with me. Love that McDuffie superstar. Love him. Now comes a report over the weekend that the Rams are still going for A.J. brown. And as they were in the process of doing that, they were thinking, do we move off devonte Adams? Now, I don't know if that's, that's real or that's, hey, devonte Adams wanting maybe more money, a new deal? I don't know. It's unclear, but this is what I do know. Here is a list of the Rams 2027 free agents. So after next season, these are the guys, according to Spot Track, who are free agents for the Rams. Matthew Stafford, Devonte Adams, three offensive linemen, Dotson, Shelton, Avila, three. On defense, Byron Young, Kobe Turner. That's two starters on the D line. And I forgot an offensive player wide receiver by the name of Puka Nakua. Folks, the Rams are all in this all in this year. Now, my hot take a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago, was, hey, what if there's a world where the Rams say, let's go all in, get the Super Bowl, Stafford retires a la John Elway and McVeigh steps down and says, I need a break. I've been to three Super Bowls, I've won two. Peace out. Cliff Kingsbury, who's now the Assistant head coach slides in as the new head coach. Cowherd scoffed. And then Daniel Jeremiah, NFL analyst, went on his podcast and said this about the Rams.

[Jovan Buha]

He had Jared Goff and realized Jared Goff he didn't feel like was good enough.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

He wanted more or less. He wanted more. So he moves on from and go get Matthew Stafford. Now, Stafford is the MVP of the

[Jovan Buha]

league, but I don't think this is

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

a five year Runway Runway they have there.

[Jovan Buha]

They're this close to winning a Super bowl. And there's. Everybody expects that whenever Stafford moves on,

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

there's a decent chance that Sean McVeigh moves on.

[Jason McIntyre]

Folks, you could go ahead and write this in pen. The Rams are winning the super bowl next year. Okay, Seahawks lost four starters in their oc. The Rams got better and shored up their secondary. I'm assuming the special teams will not be the nightmare it was last year, but lock it in right now. Rams, Super Bowl. I mean, listen, the league is not scripted from March, but rams, Super Bowl. McVeigh and Stafford say we're out. Lock it in. All right, let me go back to the NCAA tournament real quick. I just wanted to touch on a budding star that I guess his fame grew a little over the weekend and some of the hot take artists online were latching onto something. So obviously John Calipari, he's the godfather of the one and done era. He gets the best high school players. They cook, then they go to the pros. Just a couple of them. Anthony Davis, I mean, come on. National player of the year, NBA champion. I mean, come on. Anthony Davis, an unbelievable player. Karl Anthony Towns was the number one pick. Remember, they were undefeated at Kentucky, lost to Wisconsin in the final four, crushing loss, goes to the pros. He's going to make half a billion dollars. Devin Booker was the sixth man on that team. Calipari also recruited a guy by the name of Derrick Rose to Memphis. Oh, my gosh. Rose was extraordinary. Came within a missed free throw and a Mario Chalmers three of winning a title as a freshman. Derrick Rose, Unbelievable. John Wall. Bam. Adebayo. De' Aaron Fox. Tyrese Maxey. The joke about Tyrese Maxey is the only guy who can slow him down is John Calipari. They said that about Devin Booker, too. So Calipari has had a laundry list of future pros who were awesome. And then along comes a guy named Darius Acuff, who was not the most heralded freshman to come in this, this year into the college basketball. And all he's done is just roast everybody.

[Rachel Nichols]

He.

[Jason McIntyre]

I Mean, folks, the shot making he was delivering at the SEC tournament, just jaw dropping stuff. You can't guard him one on one. He has this Kevin Durant move at the top of the key. Look at this Sidestep 3. That's a James Harden move. He makes that look easy regularly. And so the hot take artists online are like, oh, well, this is the best guard we've ever seen Calipari's had. Look at that pull up three in transition. That looks like Kevin Durant at 6 foot 3. The guy had 30 and 11 against Vandy, and Vandy is a sneaky team. Man, they got some guards. I mean, Acuff was unbelievable. So here are the freshmen Calipari's had again. Calipari, you know, he was at. We don't have any of his UMass guys there, but we have the Derrick Rose and then a bunch of Kentucky players. Acuffs outscored all of them. I didn't even mention Jamal Murray earlier. Gosh, he's good. Look at that list of guards, folks. And there is chatter that Acuff may be better than all of them. And this is where it gets crazy. He might not even be a top three pick in the draft. I mean, that's how sick this draft is. I mean, Boozer has a chance to go one. He could also slide to five because people are like, he's not athletic enough. Okay, we know Darren Peterson of Kansas is just a tremendous talent, but is he. Does he have the dog in him or is he. Does he not want to play? It's interesting since he started playing a lot. Kansas not looking great by the way their bracket lines up with. I think they would face. Damn it. I think it's Duke. They could face Duke in the sweet 16. Boozer versus Peterson. And I didn't even mention AJ debons of BYU. I think he would be voted most likely to go on like a Danny Manning type run in the postseason and pull off a championship. And I know, I'm dating myself because half our audience is like, who's Danny Manning? Danny and the Miracles. Look it up, 1988. I mean, he just. An unbelievable run. I'm fairly certain they beat Stacy King in Oklahoma. I'll never forget we were in New York. I think it was Easter weekend. Something around there. And I'm just watching it on this TV with like rabbit ears. I'm like, oh, this Danny Manning guy, he's going to be the best. Injuries crushed his career, but this is how loaded the freshman class is, folks. And I'm just telling you, this guy Acuff, holy cow. I mean Arkansas has some dudes and I think it's a real discussion. Like if you're building the Mount Rushmore of guards for John Calipari, Acuff's definitely on it. Is he going to be as Derrick Rose in the Pros? I think he'll be better than John Wall and John Wall was special. Folks. This March Madness, it's going to be crazy. Make sure you tune in. Final hour coming up.

[Rachel Nichols]

Think Verizon is expensive?

[Jason McIntyre]

Think again. Anyone can bring their AT and T or T Mobile bill to a Verizon

[Jovan Buha]

store today and we'll give you a better deal.

[Rachel Nichols]

So bring us your bill, walk in,

[Jason McIntyre]

run in pogo stickin' teleport if you can ride on the back of a rollerblading yak or flyin on the wings of a majestic falcon. Any way you can bring your AT

[Rachel Nichols]

and T or T Mobile bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give

[Jason McIntyre]

you you a better deal on the best Network based on RootMetric's best overall

[Rachel Nichols]

mobile network performance US 2nd/2025 all rights reserved.

[Jason McIntyre]

Must provide very recent postpaid consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal.

[Rachel Nichols]

Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply.

[Jason McIntyre]

Everyone deserves to be connected.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math. @t mobile.com switch and now now t mobile is in US cellular stores. Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits, plan features and Texas and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credits stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.

[Jason McIntyre]

Are you trying to get weight loss support through telehealth? But it feels overwhelming and rushed. Check out orderlymeds.com now. Orderlymeds.com was built to be different. Here you connect with real doctors who take the time to understand your goals,

[Jovan Buha]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[Jovan Buha]

See Cite for details.

[Rachel Nichols]

This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea after the Big Game, like most people,

[Jason McIntyre]

I kept thinking about the commercials, and

[Rachel Nichols]

there was one that stayed with me. It was from the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, and it wasn't loud or flashy. It showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose

[Jason McIntyre]

not to ignore it.

[Rachel Nichols]

As someone who was Jewish, that moment

[Jason McIntyre]

felt very real to me.

[Rachel Nichols]

Not dramatic, just familiar. And what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself, but the impact is still huge. If you saw the Blue Square spot

[Jason McIntyre]

during the Big Game, it's worth thinking about. And if you want to show support,

[Rachel Nichols]

sharing the Blue Square is one small

[Jason McIntyre]

way to do that.

[Rachel Nichols]

In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you.

[Jovan Buha]

Don't let them down.

[Rachel Nichols]

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[Jason McIntyre]

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[Rachel Nichols]

Push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors for the next era of gaming. Upgrade to smooth high quality streaming with Intel Wi Fi 6e and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. When the the tech search power [e-mail].

[Jason McIntyre]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.