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That's discipline. Yeah, let's see what that looks like.

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Jason McIntyre (3:33)

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Next guest oh boy. Covered the NBA for 16 years. Beat writer for the Lakers and Warriors. Boy, what a great job. Mark Medina so glad to have you in the studio, Mark. And it's a great time to be alive. The Lakers are cooking with gas. It's so fun to watch.

Mark Medina (3:51)

Great time to be alive. Great time to be with you and Rachel and see you talk a lot of NBA. There's a lot of things on a

Jason McIntyre (3:56)

lot of things happening. So Lakers last night, the win. Was it more about the Rockets ineptitude or just the Lakers greatness with JJ Redick pulling all the right strings?

Mark Medina (4:04)

Well, I think both things can be true. The Lakers have been playing at a really high level. We've seen the offensive chemistry with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves perform better. We've actually seen them be a pretty good defensive team. But the Rockets also struggled. They did not shoot well from three they struggle, struggle without Alperson good for the second consecutive game with a back injury. And Kevin Durant, he himself put the blame on himself because of just how poorly he shot. He had seven turnovers, so a lot of things unpacked from that game.

Jason McIntyre (4:34)

Yeah, it seems like the criticism of the lakers was, hey, LeBron, Reeves and Luka, they can't play together. And now Reddick has kind of maybe had a talk with LeBron. I don't know that we've got the full story, but something's different clearly in the last two weeks.

Mark Medina (4:47)

Well, I think here's the distinction. Before this week, the Lakers performed better without LeBron James, but they're not better without LeBron James. A lot of the things had to do with availability. First and foremost, LeBron missing the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica shortly after he returned. Then Austin reeves goes down 19 consecutive games with a calf injury. But they're also a flawed roster. They weren't great defensively, DeAndre and you weren't sure what you're going to get. But from X's and O's role dynamics, I thought since the Lakers got Luka Doncic last season, the dynamics been fine. Luke is running the offense, Austin Reaves and LeBron have been playing off of each other, but I think what's been going on is they're getting more reps, but everything else around them there's more clarity, better starting lineup with Marcus Smart there having a defensive oriented presence. Deandre Ayton is performing a lot better and as a team they just seem to be a lot more consistent on both ends of the floor.

Jason McIntyre (5:43)

I mean Reeves was horrible last night, 0 for 8 from 3. LeBron was fine. It was the Luca show. I can't believe this Luca narrative that's out there.

Mark Medina (5:52)

Mark.

Jason McIntyre (5:52)

Oh, he's not first team, all NBA. He's overweight, he's not dunking. I mean the guy is playing in a. He's got to be one of the top three or four players in the league, right?

Mark Medina (6:01)

Oh, without a doubt. I mean, look, Luke is not a perfect player, but he has made improvements, relatively speaking on defense. Obviously he's only one technical away from having to serve a one game suspension. But when you put into context the proper context of his offensive brilliance, his great shot, making the step back threes, how he creates those positive attributes vastly outweigh the negative attributes. So yeah, I mean it's all about putting it in a proper perspective.

Jason McIntyre (6:29)

I'm sure some of the people are annoyed with the Lakers talk, but listen, man, they're one of the hottest teams in the league. That being said, the Rockets are a bit of a disaster right now. I want to go back to the All Star break and the burner scandal that came out for Durant. So that clearly shows he's not a leader. He's not totally bought into this team, doesn't love Shingoon and Jabari Smith, but now we're seeing Shin Goon not play well. Now he's got an injury. I don't know if he's going to play Wednesday. Do you. Have you heard anything?

Mark Medina (6:55)

Yeah, I think it's been day to day.

Jason McIntyre (6:56)

Okay, Jabari Smith has been fine, but he's nothing special. Like what are we seeing with this Rockets team 12 points in the fourth quarter. Katie had six turnovers in the second half. Is it safe to say he's just not a leader, not an alpha, can't be the guy on this team?

Mark Medina (7:12)

Well I think Kevin Durant can certainly improve in that respect. He also put blame on his efficiency from X's and O's, but I think it goes beyond that. They've clearly missed Fred VanVleet this season without having that defensive ball handler. They haven't been able to be consistent from three operation. He hasn't been consistent on both sides of the floor here. So you know Kevin I thought was revealing and when he was taking the blame on himself but at the same time saying hey maybe I'm more effective if I'm being a screen setter to create more space. So I think it's a team wide thing both pre and post. All the attention on his Twitter burner account behavior. I think it's more tactical in finding the right chemistry than is anything off the floor.

Jason McIntyre (7:55)

Chemistry is an important word. Like they took Jabari Smith high in the draft. I think I asked, I don't remember if it was Rachel or someone else like over under half an all star game in his career for Jabari Smith. Like I is he good? I he's certainly fine but like maybe this roster just isn't good enough. I now Tari Eason, I believe he's a free agent and there's some reports that the Lakers really like him as like a stretch for I don't know man, like are we going to see Kevin Durant like try to get out of Houston? Maybe I'm going overboard here but do you think he's going to be on the Rockets next year?

Mark Medina (8:26)

Yeah, I mean he agreed to that extension. I know that he's switched teams throughout this.

Jason McIntyre (8:30)

He's agreed to many extensions before.

Mark Medina (8:32)

I think he's with the Rockets for here to stay. And Tari Eason, you mentioned him as a great player but recently he's, he's struggled. I mean I think he's been one of 25 from three last eight games. So yes, Kevin Durant specifically in their loss against the Lakers put the blame on himself because of his low efficient numbers and contributing to their high volume of turnovers. But this is a team wide thing as far as their offensive synergy, the three point shooting, the spacing as well as their defensive effort.

Jason McIntyre (9:01)

So we'll come back to LeBron in a sec, but I just want to put a bow on Kevin Durant so He left the warriors where he won titles and MVPs in the Finals. I don't know, Mark, he just hasn't seemed to get back to that mountaintop. He was close with the Nets, toe on the line against Giannis and the Bucs. Has he diminished his legacy? I know people hate that, but has he gone downhill, if you will. I know you're supposed to get older and struggle, but I'm told he fits anywhere he's supposed to be dominant. Has he?

Mark Medina (9:30)

Well, I think here's the challenging thing with Kevin Durant. When you're looking at performance X's and O's, his play play hasn't diminished that much since the Achilles injury. He's still one of the most efficient players in the NBA and that's something that's very distinguishable when you're looking at some of the other players high on the all time scoring list. He is a, he can be a high volume scorer but not a high volume shooter. He's still that efficient player. It's about all the teams that's around him. Some of it's external as far as injuries roster fit. Yeah, some of its leadership. But I think you're talking about Luca and everything. I look more at the positive attributes with Kevin and what he brings on the floor than anything negative. And a lot of the shortcomings since his Golden State departure, more have to do with the rest of the organization and the players around him.

Jason McIntyre (10:15)

Everyone gets blamed except Kevin Durant. Well, it's Russell Westbrook's fault that he has to get out of okc and then, well, Kyrie Irving went sideways in Brooklyn and then who, who do we blame in Phoenix? Oh, the coaches. He had multiple. It's never Kevin Durant's fault. And I like kd, I've defended the guy. But Mark at some point, like he's got to take some ownership, right? You can't just be like, well, hey, I'm not the leader, I'm not the point guard. Am I being too.

Mark Medina (10:38)

There's ownership high to take around. But I think when you're looking at each team specifically with Phoenix, I don't think there's a head coaching problem. They went through two pretty good head coach with the strength, Ogle and Mike Booneholzer. It was a roster construction problem as far as availability, having enough defensive depth when they went to go all in to get to get Bradley Beal, that came at the expense of having, you know, great roster depth around him as well as availability because of his injury. So to be clear, I'm not saying he's completely blameless. He can do no wrong, but proportionally, I don't think most of it falls.

Jason McIntyre (11:10)

Okay, let's go to a team everybody likes and that's the Spurs. One minyama last night here against the Clippers. 21:13, four blocks the end of the game situation. He's literally flying around the court to prevent them from shooting. I mean the guy is special. I personally think Stefan Cassel is like a major star in the making. He had an incredible move last night. I think the spurs are the team to beat in the West.

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Mark Medina (11:34)

I actually have the spurs too. I mean they, they beat the Thunder in the regular season matchup two out of three times. They're clearly not just the team that's happy to be there. They have a right combination of young players, veteran players, and they're ready to make that step. That doesn't mean that they're going to win an NBA championship or get out of the Western Conference finals. But if they are going to fall short, it's not going to be because they're overwhelmed with the moment. It's just going to be tactical. And the Thunder are pretty good. They're obviously pretty good in the west for a reason. And I think it's something to be said that even with overlapping injuries to their own group this season, most notably the Jalen Williams, they've been a well oiled machine. But I think Victor Wembanyama, it's clear, we all know he's going to be, he has been a special player, going to be a special player. But I just love these intangibles about him, just how competitive he is. He's putting out there. He wants to win MVP. J. Mack, they got 50 wins last night and he was talking about, you know what, I'll be impressed if we get 60 because it makes up for, you know, the poor record that the spurs had his rookie season. And he's all about like these little details. I was talking to Rudy Gobert last week, Minnesota Timberwolves, fellow Frenchman, and he was saying that Victor asked him recently, hey, what kind of water do you have at your house? Because I want to make sure that the water that I have is like filtered correctly. It's those like small nerdy little details that he's really tapping into because he knows that all those little, small nuances can make a big difference.

Jason McIntyre (13:03)

What do you make of this theory? Hey, you gotta, you gotta walk before you can run in the NBA playoffs. And this group, other than Harrison Barnes, hasn't they have no playoff chops. Really? Do you think hey maybe these guys aren't ready for the finals yet or is it possible they could just make the leap?

Mark Medina (13:19)

No, there is validity to that theory. I mean Rachel Nichols knows he's on set, has often talked about that. I mean when you look at the history of the NBA, the Chicago Bulls went through that with Michael Jordan, the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe, Shaq. So there is something to that. But I think when you're looking at the makeup of this first team, I think it's more about just tactical adjustments game to game than all of a sudden a very mature team for their age is all is going to feel overwhelmed with playoff pressure. They seem to really relish high stakes game competitive moments, that 25 point comeback against the Clippers, those marquee matchups against the Thunder. But the playoffs is a different animal as far as being able to beat an opponent four times out of seven and make those in game adjustments. But again if they fall shorts of the Thunder, presumably presuming they meet in the Western Conference finals. Yeah, I don't think it's going to be because one or two of their players shrink and feel overwhelmed. It's going to be the Thunder really good and there are some tactical adjustments that they didn't make.

Jason McIntyre (14:20)

Let's go to the East. They told me you love the Celtics. I do but then you know I'm a Knicks guy. I I got to ask, do you remember the series last year? Because the Knicks were leading the Celtics before Tatum got hurt. The Knicks were playing amazing in that series. I think they stole game one with a big comeback in memory serves. I still got the Knicks in the East. We got some guys on staff who love the Pistons. I think Rachel's on the Celtics. What do you got Mark?

Mark Medina (14:44)

Well, sorry to get on your bad side but whatever. I'm choosing the Celtics over the Knicks. I think the Knicks, they're in the mix but they've been a better defensive team since January. Offensively not so much. To be clear, the fit with Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns is great but there's inconsistency with everyone else. With the Celtics they've been a well oiled machine. Jaylen Brown has taken its game to another level being in the MVP conversation, great two way player. He's been even more efficient with knowing when to score, when to pass out of double teams. That's something he prepared for with Jayson Tatum. His comeback here have it has come at a perfect time because they've been able to gradually put him into the mix. And to be clear, even before this, he's been used to adjusting his game. He prepared to increase his playmaking when the Celtics got Kristoff Sporzingis and Drew Holiday for that championship season. I think that he's relished into that same thing with the rebounding role. So you add all that up. Plus they have really good supporting cast type players. With Derrick White, Peyton Pritchard, I think they're coming out of the East. Sorry, J. Mac, but yeah, too much is going to happen.

Jason McIntyre (15:49)

I love Tatum. He's like the one Boston Celtics guy like. But I'm looking at the numbers. Obviously he's coming off a major injury, but before the Achilles, he was like six to eight free throws a game. He's at two right now. So he's, I mean, teams are going to figure out, hey, he doesn't want to drive. He's not attacking the way he used to. I just, I mean, is he going to become a three point shooter? And that's kind of it in the playoffs because remember, these regular season games take 32 minutes. No big deal. In the playoffs, hard 32 minutes, day off, next game, it's a lot more challenging. I just. I don't know that he's going to hold up for sure.

Mark Medina (16:23)

Yeah. So I talked to some outside doctors for perspective with Jason Tame coming back from injuries. And to be clear, they're not working with them, but they have medical degrees. They're not holding clipboard showing up plays as coaches, but they hold up clipboards, you know, to treat patients. And they outline this. They said because of how achilles injuries are 10 to 12 months, the timetable is reasonable and they projected that this final month of the season, it would be about gradual minutes sitting back to backs. But as far as his role, it would be more about playmaking and playing off the ball. Not so much defense. But once the playoffs started, they projected that he would be ready to have that increased scoring load. But you know what? It's fine now because Jalen Brown's doing that and they have a lot of great three point shooters.

Jason McIntyre (17:05)

Round 41 last night, shot 21 free throws. Come on. All right. On the spot. It's not on the list of questions. Give me your first team. All NBA right now.

Mark Medina (17:16)

This is really tough.

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Jason McIntyre (17:17)

There's like nine guys.

Mark Medina (17:19)

Okay. I would say Shea, go to Alexander.

Jason McIntyre (17:21)

By the way, it's not by position anymore, right?

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Jason McIntyre (17:23)

Five best.

Mark Medina (17:24)

Okay. So I would say Shaker Alexander, Nikole Jokic, Victor Wembanyama. Jalen Brown, Luka Doncic.

Jason McIntyre (17:32)

Well, okay, if you didn't have Luke in there, we would have.

Mark Medina (17:35)

But Kate Cunningham has a case as well.

Jason McIntyre (17:37)

He was an MVP candidate. I think he was third in the MVPs like three weeks ago and now he's fallen off a cliff.

Mark Medina (17:43)

Well, he's been more of efficient scorer this season. Now he has had a few setback games. Team wide, they're not the greatest three point shooting team, but the M.O. last offseason was how to be more efficient as a shooter as well as knowing how to vary your shot diet with threes. Mid range finishing, he's improved there. But J Mac, the guys that we're talking about, especially Luca, they've just been playing really, really well. And the Lakers have been on a terrible.

Jason McIntyre (18:07)

What about Anthony Edwards? No love for Ant. I mean, come on, that guy's amazing.

Mark Medina (18:11)

Anthony Edwards is great, but here's the MO on Ant. When it's high stakes games, he's really good. When they're playing against bad teams, he's not so good now in the playoffs, that's good. But Chris Finch, the Wolves coach, has often talked this season that Ant has the potential to be the best two way player in this game. But the key word here is potential. He's improved defensively, he's improved as an outside shooter. Knowing when to attack uses mid range. But it's about putting that together on a more consistent basis.

Jason McIntyre (18:41)

Okay, if Ant could be the. I'm assuming that's the Wemby non Wemby edition, best two way player, right?

Mark Medina (18:47)

Yeah. And also I think it's more. Finch is trying to challenge him to be more consistent.

Jason McIntyre (18:51)

I do. We love Finch. He comes on the set and in the commercial breaks, I'm just peppering him with questions. Obviously can't reveal what I ask him. But if Ant's not the best two way player, it's got to be Wembanyama, right?

Mark Medina (19:03)

Yeah, I mean, yeah, it would be Wembanyama. Jalen Brown is himself in that mix too. And let's not forget he won finals MVP largely because of his defense on Luka Doncic. So yeah, I would say, yeah, Wemby, Jalen and then Anthony.

Jason McIntyre (19:17)

Okay, we'll wrap up with Steph Curry. My guy, huge Steph Curry fan. I don't know that I want him back this season, Mark. I mean, I don't need another injury. He's getting up there in age. Where are you on Curry?

Mark Medina (19:30)

Yeah, I know there's gray area, but I think the simple thing is they're not going to put him back if there's a risk, a significant risk of re injury, they think that he can heal enough for at some point in the regular season. And you know, they, they say, hey, we're not about tanking and all that. That's rhetoric. But there's also a practical part of it. They're mathematically still in the playing tournament. They're ninth right now. They're one game out being eighth. They think, you know, if you have Steph Curry on your team as well as their nucleus, they can win a playing game and at least make things competitive in a first round series. Now, to be clear, J Mac, they're not in contending status here, but there is a value in having the whole team. Even though Steph Curry, Draymond Green, they've been in high stakes playoff games, but as a unit, to be in a playoff series in hopes to carry that over for next season when Jimmy Butler's

Jason McIntyre (20:18)

going to be back. He just turned 38 this week, actually. Happy birthday, Curry. Listen, I know this is selfish of me. I love him and I know Rachel disagrees. I want to see him on a contending team next year and I know that's probably not going to happen. The warriors, why would they give away Curry, but like, they're not going to be better? I don't know that Butler, I don't know what his status is next year coming off a major injury. There's no path to success for them next year. There's. You can't look up and pods and company have them like as the four seed. That's not happening.

Mark Medina (20:47)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (20:49)

Am I being selfish or.

Mark Medina (20:51)

I think both things are true. I think Rachel and I are correct that they should be playing and competing to try to make the play in tournament playoffs. But yeah, they have to make changes with the roster. They obviously tried that with the Giannis antonokounmpo sweepstakes. That didn't work. But I don't know what the roster is going to look like next season. But knowing how aggressive they are, they are going to try to improve the supporting cast so that Steph Curry still has that chance. Even if outsiders chance out, he's not going to ask out.

Rachel Nichols (21:17)

Thank you, Mark. This is. They're not going to trade Steph Curry.

Jason McIntyre (21:22)

What if he says, I want to play for a contender? I know Rachel does.

Mark Medina (21:24)

He's, he's, he's with the warriors for life.

Jason McIntyre (21:28)

Nobody would fault you, Curry, if you did that. All right, Mark Medina, NBA Insider. Great stuff. Sorry, I gotta try to, you know, say some stuff that I really believe deep down. All right, coming up next, Rachel makes her final four picks and we're head to head on one of them. That's next here on the herd. One more herd. 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.

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Rachel Nichols (25:55)

more@applecard.com Tom Brady back on the field for the fanatics Flag Football Classic right here on Fox. It's a star studded three team round robin tournament featuring the best in the game. My Washington commander's quarterback will be there Saturday, 4pm Eastern only on Fox.

Jason McIntyre (26:14)

All right, let's waste no time. Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news. No, no, no, turn on the news. This is the Herdline news.

Rachel Nichols (26:24)

All right, Jason, you made your picks yesterday. It's my turn.

Jason McIntyre (26:27)

Here we go.

Rachel Nichols (26:28)

Final four picks, let's go. So I think you know, you and I are the same on most of these but not all. I do think west and Midwest. You've got Arizona and Michigan coming through. Both have brackets that they should be able to handle. No problem in the East, I will say I'm a little worried about a possible St. John's matchup. I'm a little worried about a Michigan State matchup. But I do have Duke making it through. And in the south, we do agree both that that Florida region is just. It's too chaotic and Florida just doesn't feel as strong. You had Illinois coming out of the. Of the South. I have Houston coming out of the south. And I want to remind you that I might have flipped to something else. Iowa State's in the mix and all that. But. But wait, but wait. The Elite Eight game, the Sweet Sixteens games are in Houston. Jason, you can go to the arena, the Rockets arena, where they're going to play those games. You can bike to the University of Houston campus in 15 minutes.

Jason McIntyre (27:26)

That's unfair.

Rachel Nichols (27:27)

So I just.

Jason McIntyre (27:28)

I. I think Houston will be playing there. They're not going down before that.

Rachel Nichols (27:31)

Yeah. So I feel like between the home court advantage and not just with the fans, but like the comfort level. Right. You're in your own space, you're in your own bed, all of that stuff. So I don't know. All right. You want to go head to head, though, on. On Illinois? You want to tell me why you think Illinois is there?

Jason McIntyre (27:44)

Yeah, I just. I bet on offense in March. I probably should bet on defense. Illinois, number one in a country in offense. I think Houston's top five in defense. So it's a clashing styles.

Rachel Nichols (27:52)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (27:53)

Obviously the coach matchup. You know, Underwood had a family member who was an intern here. I became a bigger fan of the team. It's going to be. That's a great game. I can't wait for it. And then, of course, Arizona, Michigan, we have that matchup as well. Damn.

Rachel Nichols (28:07)

Yeah. So, by the way, I wish Arizona and Michigan were on opposite sides because I think those are the two best teams in there. I do have Arizona coming out on that side, and then on the other side, it's tough. I've got Duke coming out back into the championship game. I don't feel great about it, Jason. I feel backed into it by the bracket.

Jason McIntyre (28:30)

Well, the problem is we get all. I mean, I don't know about you. I get all wishy washy. Like, I'm like, oh, Duke's going. And now I'm like, Duke is vulnerable. I don't know. I mean, I don't believe in some of the UConn sparty. I don't. It's gonna be a great tournament.

Rachel Nichols (28:43)

I do think Arizona is gonna win it all. Finally. The 25 year curse will be over. I wanted to ask you because 25

Jason McIntyre (28:50)

2001's on the show tomorrow. Simon says, championship, Jim Vance Classic.

Rachel Nichols (28:54)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (28:54)

Yeah. Oh, my gosh.

Rachel Nichols (28:55)

All right, so you're a gambler. So I wanted to ask you. There's these potential. I mean, there's the first round matchups that, you know, everyone likes to pick their upsets in the first round. Right.

Jason McIntyre (29:03)

Okay.

Rachel Nichols (29:03)

So here's the three that I've seen the most people picking, and I want to know which one of these you would bet the under. Underdog on. So there's North Carolina, vcu.

Jason McIntyre (29:11)

I have bet vcu.

Rachel Nichols (29:14)

High Point versus Wisconsin.

Jason McIntyre (29:16)

I mean, Wisconsin's boom bust with the threes. They'll shoot 50 of them. I would probably lean Wisconsin with the boom.

Rachel Nichols (29:22)

Santa Clara versus Kentucky.

Jason McIntyre (29:24)

I bet Santa Clara.

Rachel Nichols (29:25)

Okay, so you're two out of three.

Jason McIntyre (29:26)

Yeah. Santa Clara has 03 against Gonzaga, I believe. But yeah, there's gonna be some underdog upsets. Remember, last year was super chalk.

Rachel Nichols (29:35)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (29:35)

So now the lines are inflated. I saw the top two seeds are all double digit spreads of over 20.

Rachel Nichols (29:44)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (29:45)

They're begging you to bet the underdog. I mean, I. I think we'll see some interesting games. A little closer than last year's first round.

True Nature Meats Announcer (29:50)

Yeah.

Mark Medina (29:51)

Yeah.

Rachel Nichols (29:51)

I always like to see who comes out of the first round, you know, with those matchups. All right, let's talk about the Cowboys because this just incensed me in the meeting this morning. They, of course, had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season. They've made some great moves in free agency to shore that up. And here's a quote from Jerry Jones. Let's take a listen to him. He says, you know, things are. Things are looking rosy from a situation. I will just listen to what he says and then I'll tell you why it got me mad.

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I don't know that since we've had

Jason McIntyre (30:20)

free agency as we know it today,

Verizon and Other Ads Announcer (30:23)

where it's really very viable, most teams involved, very actively making deals, if you will. I don't know since that has evolved and come about, that we've ever had this kind of reshaping of an aspect of our team. And I'll tell you, when you have the challenges we had last year, there's no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball. And had we played a lick of defense last year, we'd have had ourselves,

Mark Medina (30:55)

I think, a real playoff run.

Rachel Nichols (30:58)

That's it. That's the part, you know, why they couldn't play A lick of defense can I guess, because you, Jerry Jones, traded away your best defensive player a week before the season started. Like, come on, man.

Jason McIntyre (31:11)

The lack of self awareness is jarring.

Rachel Nichols (31:14)

I just, I can't understand a. Not to see that coming. By the way, trading away Micah. Oh, I wonder what's going to happen.

Jason McIntyre (31:21)

The whole year, your defensive coordinator, the whole summer planning around Micah.

Rachel Nichols (31:24)

Right.

Jason McIntyre (31:24)

Oh, he's gone.

Rachel Nichols (31:25)

Right. And waiting. By the way, if you knew, if you knew it was going to come down to this, why do it? I have long been saying, Jerry Jones, the way he handles these young players and not extending them and waiting to the last moment, it's just ridiculous. On Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb alone, he could have saved $64 million by just extending them earlier instead of waiting until when he did. By the way, that $64 million you could have spent on more good defensive players. I mean, I just. It's all himself. He's shooting himself in the foot and I'm not. I'm a Washington fan, so, you know, I don't mind the Cowboys suffering, but for. If I was a Dallas fan, Jason, I would hear that and I would be mad for a week.

Jason McIntyre (32:04)

Like, what are you doing?

Rachel Nichols (32:05)

Like, dude, come on.

Jason McIntyre (32:08)

Disappointing stuff from Jerry.

Rachel Nichols (32:09)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (32:09)

Par for the course.

Rachel Nichols (32:11)

You feel like that that's what you're getting from him.

Mark Medina (32:13)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (32:14)

For the last 30 years.

Rachel Nichols (32:16)

Let's talk a little baseball. Venezuela beat Italy last night to advance to tonight's championship game, World Baseball Classic. It's Venezuela's first time in the final. And after the game Ronald Acuna Jr. Was talking about, you know, he missed basically the Braves World Series because he had a torn acl. So he's just watching. Right. So he says this final, it's kind of his personal chance for a high st title. Plus, you add in that he's playing for his country. This was great. In an interview in Spanish, he said, quote, I love the Atlanta Braves, but before I play for the Braves, I was born in Venezuela, which is perfect. So who you got tonight between these two teams?

Jason McIntyre (32:50)

I'm going to go out on a limb. Usa.

Rachel Nichols (32:52)

I mean, by the way, I mean, that's. You say it as if it's a done deal. It's not. I mean, this is a very even matchup. But yes, I mean, we believe in our guys.

True Nature Meats Announcer (33:00)

Right.

Jason McIntyre (33:00)

Davis broke it down earlier. It sounds like it's not a great pitching matchup, so there could be some fireworks at the plate.

Rachel Nichols (33:06)

I worry about the pitching and, you know, I'm always like, guys should play. I wanted Steph Curry to play all those fourth quarters in 2015 when Steve Kerr was pulling him. I'm always like, play, play, play. To me, Yes, I understand it affects their ramp up and spring training, but come on, you got, you got to let your pitchers pitch tonight. If you're one of these major league teams. If you're the Padres, let the guy close the game.

Jason McIntyre (33:29)

Yeah.

Rachel Nichols (33:29)

So we'll see what they do. But I what's he going to, what's he going to do closing an inning, four batters. Yeah, that's what I mean. Like, what's the, what's the harm there?

Jason McIntyre (33:37)

It's a great question. I don't have the answer to that.

Mark Medina (33:40)

Smarter people will know than me.

Jason McIntyre (33:43)

Rachel with the news. Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the Herd Lie News. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app craving bold, authentic, authentic

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Jason McIntyre (37:31)

we could wrap up with this story that popped yesterday. According to the Associated Press. This is fascinating. So, quick, backstory. Yoxelle Lendaborg, the Big Ted Player of the Year. He's at Michigan. He was a superstar. He was at UAB last year. He blows up was incredible. Everybody wanted him in the transfer portal. Okay, Lindeborg also had interest from the NBA. Now he was projected as a late first round pick, early second and you know he would have made some money going to the NBA. Then colleges got in a bidding war for Mr. Lundeborg. As you see him flushing on the fast break on Wisconsin. I mean, he could do it all. I thought he was the best player on the court against Duke earlier this season for like three quarters of the game. And then Boozer took over late. So Lindeborg decides, do I want to go? NBA puts his name in the draft lottery process and then the offers start coming in and Michigan offers reportedly, depending on who you read about, $5 million and lend a Borg, speaking to the AP this week, said Kentucky came in with an offer in the seven to $9 million range. Seven to $9 million. Linda Borg turns down Kentucky, says he wants to play for Dusty May, the great coach who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four just a couple years ago. The system that they run is incredible. Up tempo. Linda borg's Just look, I mean, you look at these highlights and you're like, oh my, how is this guy not a top 10 pick? Well, he's, I believe, 23 years old and the history of older guys in the lottery is not great. But there's a lot of hand wringing and pearl clutching over a $7 million offer for a kid out of UAB. Folks, you know who likes us? Every player in college basketball and the NBA. We now know we have a full season on Yaksa Lendaboorg rooting for him, national TV games, huge spotlight. One of the big knocks on college basketball was, oh, the one and done. The guys are barely around these freshmen. We don't know them. There's just not enough. We get to know them for a month in March. There's just not enough information on them to get excited. Well, now you got a 23 year old in Lindenberg. I mean, sure, some people paid attention to him at uab, but once the bidding war started, everybody knew this guy's name. And I think this is just a huge win for the NBA, for the players, obviously. I mean, you could stay in school and make 3, 4, 5 million dollars as opposed to go late first round or early second into the NBA and more than likely sit on the bench. Like, I just love this for college basketball. And again, I know college football, similar situation and there's a lot of people, oh well, the kids should not be making this much money.

True Nature Meats Announcer (40:22)

Just stop.

Jason McIntyre (40:24)

The market speaks and the big winners are the players and I think the NBA now, of course, at any time there's winners, there's some losers. We won't get into that here. I mean, you know, it's not great. But for the sport of college basketball, I think there's the anticipation for March Madness this year is off the charts. And it's not just the superstar freshmen. I mean, you've got teams that are coming out of nowhere. Wisconsin, they're a threat. Vanderbilt, when was the last time Vanderbilt was relevant? Their guards are incredible. I mean, there's so many good teams this year. I just think this nil has been such a boon for college football. You see in the Big Ten, I mean, Indiana and Miami in the, in the national championship game. I know SEC country's very upset, but Rachel, I love this Lindenberg story. I think this is low key, one of the better stories of the week in sports.

Rachel Nichols (41:17)

I totally agree with you that it's helped the college game, but it really has helped the NBA because the longer these guys stay in school, the more polished they are when they get to the NBA. And plus, it's really hard to judge an 18 on their future. It is. That's why we have these, you know, first round top 10 busts in every draft, because it's not an exact science. The more you see them play, the more you can project out. Will they have the skills to be good with my team? Will they have the skills to be good in the NBA? I think the NBA, now that players are making money in college and they have that opportunity, I think they should raise the age limit to 20. That's, that's what I would do if I were the owner.

Jason McIntyre (41:55)

So that would be two years in school.

Rachel Nichols (41:56)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (41:57)

Interesting. Well, there's some now some holdbacks in high school, so it could just be still one, but whatever. But it's an interesting take. All right, that's it for today. Big USA Venezuela matchup tonight on fox.

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