The Herd with Colin CowherdJason McIntyre fills in for Colin to react to Duke's shocking collapse to Houston in the final minutes of the Final Four
He believes LeBron James and the Lakers look like top contenders in the West after their win over the Thunder
Jimmy Butler says Steph doesn’t get any calls
Guest: John Fanta
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Welcome into the Herd. Happy Monday.
It's me Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd, who is fishing in parks unknown. I will not give away his location, but if you follow him online.
You've seen the fishing video that's hysterical. Joyed today by Alex Curry. Alex, how are you? We're back? Jmac. We're to whack.
It's been a minute, but you know what a fun weekend to come back like it was. I know you were doing like your own sports stuff, but can we just like yesterday was like such an incredible TV day for sports. You got to have breakfasts with baseball, lunch with the NCAA Women's Championship Yukon just like absolute domination, and then you had dinner with h Are you a White Lotus fan?
Listen? No spoilers I'm not spoiling.
I'm not smiling, but it was.
Just like it was amazing.
Okay, Yeah, I was in salt Lake City over the weekend. Alex and her Dodger Blue Dodge is on a rough weekend.
We'll talk about that. Yeah, I was.
In salt Lake City. Youth sports, a lot of fun. Salt Lake City is a beautiful town. I'd never been, but I was asked this past weekend, Jason, what's the scariest movie you've ever seen? I said, well, that's easy, the final eight minutes of Duke against Houston.
Because Saturday night, folks, I.
Was a wreck, a total train wreck, which is what the Duke offense was down the stretch.
Folks.
Listen, we're gonna talk of Vechkin, We're gonna talk Lakers, but we have to open with the devastating Duke loss over the weekend. At the final four, Duke in total control of Houston and just blows it down the stretch in unforgettable fashion, one of those games where you just left scratching your head. I'm gonna bar with some dads, and I could tell things were not trending well. Uh, even though Duke was up fourteen with that eight minutes lefty, they got Cooper Flag, the best freshman on the planet, and yes, I will be glazing Cooper Flag later despite all the hate we're seeing online.
I asked for the check from the bartender. I was like, I got to get out of here. I don't know.
This does not look good. And folks, Houston shocks Duke, and I mean stuns them. And it's shouldn't be that much of a surprise to some of us because like all college basketball season, what have we talked about. It's the veteran teams using the transfer portal to bring twenty two to twenty three, twenty four year olds onto the court, and those are the teams that have thrived, but not Duke.
Duke rode three freshmen in.
The starting lineup all the way to the Final four, and their youth showed folks on Saturday night. Now Fox Sports asked me to do a mock draft and I did one, and I had three Duke freshmen in the top twenty. They've got a great team. But what did we see win Saturday night? The veterans, the KG Houston veterans. They lean on twenty three year old LJ. Cryer, who had just an unbelievable six point play during that comeback. Who do they lean on a twenty three year old Roberts who hits two clutch free throws and the duke youth showed, folks, I'm sure you've seen the numbers of the meltdown. It was, oh my gosh, we're up nine with three minutes left.
We're good.
Cooper Flagg hit that three from the baseline and I'm going crazy, Jay's life. We're going to the title game.
And then it just fell apart.
The youth show. Look, they can't inbound the basketball.
Folks.
You guys, remember the greatest singular play of the NCAA tournament so far was Houston Purdue two point eight seconds left and Kelvin Sampson, the veteran older coach, dials up an amazing play. They get the dunk and Houston prevails over Purdue. Fast forward to the Final four Saturday night, young coach John Shire, and we'll get to John Shire in a moment, because if you want to blame anybody, you can blame him. He couldn't inbound the basketball. It was painful to watch. Anybody who's coached basketball at any level or played basketball.
You know, in bounds a you got some stuff dialed up.
You know, even now they're going with a football play where you just have four players running down the court.
Duke had nothing. It was painful to watch.
Here's Kelvin Sampson, the great Houston coach, talking about culture and veterans in the victory.
There's something to be said about having a culture that's based on how you win. You know, there's some nice when the ball goes in and teams don't have defensive players like Duke does, or don't have defensive players like this team does or that team does. But our team is they think they're going to win every game they play, you know, irregardless of what other people think or say. They think they're going to win.
Yeah, I listen, Kelvin Samson with a masterclass down the stretch, never quitting. Now I do listen. You never want to crush anybody when they're young. And John Shire aka White Mike, Yes, that was his nickname in high school because he was in Chicago and he was honestly getting buckets like Michael Jordan. Shire just had a brutal season and our staff dug up an incredible stat I had not seen all weekend until this morning. So in close games this season, Duke was one. In three close games are five points or less, they were one and three. Folks, Duke lost four games all season, so in the close games they kind of sort of melted. Now, some of that is due to three freshmen in the starting lineup. I watched college basketball all season, unlike some people, and I remember in November they gave it to Flag down the stretch. I think at the time he was still technically seventeen, and Flag kind of struggled against Kansas, couldn't get the bucket and they lose. But since John Shire took over in twenty twenty two, in games five points or less, john Shire just eleven and twelve.
Now, I know what you're gonna say, Jay, you crush Lamar Jackson.
Why can't you cross John Shire and listen, If you want to blame somebody, you gotta blame Shire. And I don't want a nitpick, but Sion James number fourteen on Do Good Player, he hit his head on the hardwood.
It looked brutal. He goes down and.
You're like, oh, that guy's definitely concussed.
You gotta get him out.
He barely sits out and what happens a couple of minutes later, dribbling Baseline drubbles it off his leg out of bounds turnover, and then Shire had him inbounding the ball and he looked so rattled, like he didn't know what to do, and it was just like Shire, some situational awareness, please. Now, I know there's a segment of Houston fans out there upset that I have not really talked about the Cougars. I've been focusing on Duke, and that's because Duke lost the game. Houston didn't win it. That's really what happened. And we'll get to Houston because they played Florida tonight. A little preface.
I'm on Florida.
I like the Gators tonight. It's gonna be a great game. Houston obviously a tough team. But folks, when you take down Duke and then you got to go play two nights later, you've just slayed the dragon. I think there will be a little bit of a letdown, and I will I'm kind of close out on this note because I know that people want Jason. You got a bag on Cooper flag. Why was he fading away like Anthony Davis. Let me just remind you, guys, coach k had RJ. Barrett and Zion Williamson.
Okay, two top five.
Picks just a few years ago, and they lose in the Elite eight to Michigan State.
Okay, so it happens. These young guys struggle in March.
Barrett and Zion were freshman Cooper Flagg can Nipple by the way, worms kinnep in the second half.
They were young, they vanished. Congrats to Houston.
Now let's get to a positive basketball story from the weekend.
And you know, I gotta talk about the La Lakers. Oh my gosh.
So I was at Lakers Warriors Thursday and it was a bit of a funeral at the Crypt. It felt sad. The Lakers just looked out of swords. Luca had his worst game with the Lakers Thursday night.
And all of a sudden, it's like, oh, you're coming the Warriors. We'll get to the Warriors.
How the Lakers bounce back. They beat the Pelicans Friday. Nobody cares irrelevant game. So Sunday they go to ok Se Mighty Okac, everybody's favorite.
They got the MVP.
You're gonna win like sixty five sixty eight games, And what did the Lakers do? If you guys were watching, if you switched over when Yukon started destroying South Carolina.
If you watch the Lakers, they put on a clinic.
And I know everybody loves to talk about loud Dort and the Dorcher Chamber. Well, he tried to guard Luca yesterday and Luca was getting basically a deep tissue massage at a day spot. He roasted lou Dort.
Chit. Holmgren had no chance.
Look at that step back three over the.
Seven footer plot out. I mean, folks, the.
Lakers had one of the great three point shooting days in franchise history. I think they tied a franchise record for threes. At one point in the first half, they were twelve to fifteen. But why was that happening? Because Luka Doncic owns the Okac thunder.
He does. I'm sorry, I hate.
To admit it, but Luca with Dallas last year extinguished Okase. It was a masterful series for Luca and he did the same yesterday. They tried the hard doubles, Luca made the right pass. They tried the big guys step back three just in their face.
Lud Dort won on one.
I know, Hey, Cowherd's buddy, Bill Simmons is like lou Dort, defensive.
Player of the year. You show that Lakers tape. He didn't do a damn thing. He could not stop Luca. Who can? But I want to hear about OKC going. What is that like? Twenty two and one against the East? Who cares? Show me what he's doing against Luca?
And again in these highlights, you put anybody on Luka Dancic and it was game over.
Now at some point we're gonna have to talk about SGA.
I don't again, I don't want to be in the business of Monday morning filling in for Coward and I'm out here hammer and players.
Okay, but folks.
A year ago, I saw one of these ai internet videos where somebody had sliced like, you know, fake voice over Anthony Edwards talking about OKAC, and in the video they were like free throw merchant SGA and I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, so I started using it on the show. Cowhard loved it, he laughed, and it became.
A running thing. I would say it all the time. Now I'm not.
Saying I started free throw merchant, but it's out there now and everybody calls SGA a free throw merchant. Well, JJ Reddick, who is a young coach with the Lakers, made it a point, we're not letting s get.
To the free throw line.
Okay, for the first time in three years. The presumptive MVP, I would give it to Yokich, but that's just me. The presumptive MVP. SGA did not shoot a free throw. And here's the best part. You had to be watching closely. So at one point, SGA takes Luca baseline and does that fadeaway thing where he kicks his leg out and the ref blows a whistle and then Luca's like, no, no, no, replay, replay, begging JJ Redick.
Reddicks like, all right, well replay it. What does the replay show.
SGA was not touched, He stuck his leg out and drew the foul.
Luca Dante to victory.
And I know it's a small point, and it's one data point in a huge game in a big season, but that proved to me that SGA is the kind of guy who gets all the calls. And if you watch closely. He kept driving all game long, and he would miss his shot. I think he was like twelve of twenty five. He would miss his shot and look to the ref, where's the whistle? What's going on? He got no free throw attempts. The Lakers sent a message, and I know everybody's Jay who cares about this game.
It does okay, fair enough.
If you want to say it doesn't matter, it doesn't count, that's fine. Here's the reality. The Lakers want to avoid the play and they've almost done that. They needed a split against Oka See they match up again tonight.
They needed a split.
Now the Lakers got their victory, they were probably out celebrating. I wouldn't be shocked if we saw like the Lakers backups play or a lot of minutes for Bronnie and you know, the end of the bench. Guys, maybe they get a lot of effort tonight. Lakers sent notice to okac Hey, guys, we're not afraid of you.
Now. Some of us have been saying that for months.
Ok See really really good regular season team.
But I don't know if they can do it in the playoffs. Folks.
We've seen James Harden dominate a regular season they had to change rules so that James Harden couldn't do that pull through and keep getting to the line, and what would happen every postseason? Inevitably there would be a James Harden meltdown game where he couldn't get to the line, wasn't getting the whist, so it got in his head. I saw that from OKC yesterday. This is a really good regular season team. I don't know if they can do it in the playoffs.
And that's why I like the Lakers, who everything well.
And what in their favorite yesterday right? The Warriors lose, will do them soon. The Nuggets lose, Lakers win, Lakers headed for the three seed, headed for the Western Conference Finals.
Sorry, Houston, I hate to do it.
And it's just gonna be a glorious postseason run for LA. Here we got the standings on the screen. If the Lakers get the three, they would well hopefully not.
Face the Warriors in the first round.
Hopefully it'd be Minnesota, anybody but the Warriors, and then it's Houston and then they're onto the conference finals. But a great, great Sunday for the Lakers, Alex. I don't want to get too.
Excited, but listen, it's Monday, It's the Lakers. It was a great win.
I like that we get excited because there's so many doubters on the Lakers, and I like to remind people, this is a Lakers team that has one of the greatest players of all time in Lebron James. We didn't even with more experience than anybody on that court. And then you have the future of the NBA in Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves like they have a power three, and everyone was like, eh, whatever, like washed, No, they're not. Lebron is not. He is one of the best players on that court, if not the best, especially late in the game. Fear the Lakers, because if you're facing them in a series in the playoffs, they are the team to make it.
Totally. I'm so glad you mentioned Lebron. I have it in my notes. I didn't even mention it.
Lebron didn't attempt to free throw yesterday. He didn't even have to attack the market at all. That was beautiful for him though, so he could rested and play a lot tonight.
Folks. Lebron I did look this up.
Is only the second time this season he did not attempt to free throw. The other was in a blowout over the Spurs. So Lebron not driving. He's rested, folks. Late Lakers are dangerous. Alex there come up here on the Herd, Folks. The Golden State Warriors picked up a few awesome wins last week.
Everybody excited. I was starting to fall victim.
And then last night at home against Houston, Oh, Steph Curry did what? It went that badly. We'll talk about that next year on the Hurt.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in neon Eastern not am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Back here on the Herd, Jason McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd, who's turned into a fisherman this week. Apparently hopefully he doesn't have to deal with any whales out there in the ocean. Let's go to my favorite player for the last decade in sports, my favorite athlete, Steph Curry.
Folks, So I think.
I fell in love with him with Davidson when he was a young player and led that amazing run by the Wildcats to the Elite eight, and I followed his career with the Warriors, and it just so happened. I was lucky enough that he was at my gym in like twenty twenty one, because I work out at the old Clippers facility and he's training there after getting surgery on his hand.
And I just rolled up, you know, I'm playing.
Basketball, lifting or whatever, and I see Steph Curry walk by with like, you know, a couple of his people as trainers. Of course, all the parents are stared. Everybody staring at Curry, you know, Jay Max undaunted.
I just rolled right up. I was like, Steph, hey, you wrote my podcast like five years ago.
What's up, bro? And we start talking. I get a picture with him. That's like the only athlete that I would actually get try to get a picture with, maybe Lebron. And I'm just like the biggest Curry fanboy. So I was torn last week when I went to Lakers Warriors. You know, obviously I'm a Lakers fan.
I wore a Luca T shirt, but I have a Curry jersey.
I'm a Curry fanboy. And last week Curry was just unbelievable in sendy Aary stuff, Drop fifty two on Memphis in Memphis. Then went to the Lakers and had thirty seven. The next night had thirty six in Denver, and everybody at that point is like, Okay, Warriors are set. You're the second best team in the West. And they did, look hella good. Three straight row wins, very impressive. And then yesterday they went home to face the Houston Rockets, and everybody's like, Okay, they got this. Warriors could get the three seed, maybe the two. In one of the great defensive performances the season, the Houston Rockets held Steph Curry to one of ten, shooting one of eight from deep.
Three points. Folks. It was a master class defensively.
And we got a member of the staff here who's a big Houston fanboy, and he's like they were throwing the kitchen sink at him, you know, the blitzing the doubles. He come over half court and they're swarming. They just refuse to give Curry anything. It was a pretty great defensive showing. Okay, I'm on Thompson, it's awesome. It wasn't all him, it wasn't that goon Dylan Brooks. It was just a total defensive effort. However, if you watch closely, a lot of arguing with the wars. They were unhappy with the calls. Draymond got into it with shem Gooon because that's.
What he does. A European, big white guy.
Draymond loves to act tough and get an elbow in the face.
Okay, that's It's what he doesn't o yell at me.
So after the game, Jimmy Butler met the media and he was incensed at the way the refs handled Steph Curry.
I've never seen an individual get found and he gets founts. To me, I think that's astounding. But you know, it's crazy to say, but he's used to it. You know, it's been happening to him his whole career and he's found a way through it, around it, under it, whatever you want to call it. I'm pretty sure it's been having him for sixteen short years. I get to see it in it really angerous to me that he's on my team and he gets hacked like that.
Now that's interesting because he Stephan made thirteen or fourteen free throws against the Lakers Thursday, zero for zero.
What a day, right.
Lebron doesn't attempt a free throw and Curry doesn't go to the line, which is crazy.
So I started thinking.
About this, and yeah, you guys know that there is this ara issue in the NBA. The old guys think, oh, these young guys, they can't play in our era.
With the hand check rules and the toughness. It's nonsense. We'll get to it a little later, saving it.
For later, but it's interesting because if you guys, you know the older generational there was a book called The Jordan Rules by the great Sam Smith, and it talks about how the Pistons roffed up Michael.
Jordan is undeniable. They just clogged the lane.
At anytime Jordan would come in there, boom, Mohrn, Rodman, Lambier. They would all jack him up. And famously there's video out there of Jordan.
Saying, I wasn't strong enough.
I had to go in the gym, and then of course they cut to a gym video of Michael lifting weights had to get stronger. This is more Jordan haesiography, where they're just creating a narrative that.
Is kind of like a half truth.
Yes, the Jordan Rules existed, Yes the Pistons roughed up Jordan, but it wasn't about him weightlifting to get better. It was more about the Pistons getting old. They went to the finals three.
Years in a row.
They broke down and that's when the Bulls finally swept him. It wasn't Michael Jordan getting stronger. It was Phil's triangle offense filling text Winter Starre a triangle offense working. It wasn't just Michael Jordan getting tougher. This isn't about Steph Curry not being tough enough to hang with the physicality.
Of the Rockets.
And by the way, Curry and Emai Udoka, the Rockets Coast exchange some words.
Curry won a foul calls.
Udoka was basically like, shut the hell up, stop whining. And of course Curry, he's not gonna take that, especially in his home arena.
And I don't think it's a toughness thing.
I don't think there's a blueprint for how to stop Steph Curry.
We know this, he's the greatest shooter in NBA history. We know this.
When he's running off seven screens on one possession and that that kind of thing happens, it's gonna free up Podzenski and Kuminga and.
These other guys for threes.
Guess what they didn't make their shots. Yesterday against the Lakers. Pods was eight of ten from three. He can't duplicate that in the playoffs. He's not doing that at eight of ten was a one off. You know, Kuminga had a great game. What happened to him yesterday? Ghost Invisible Curry is awesome when he scores. The Warriors are not good when Curry doesn't lead them in points. And it's like, I like Jimmy Butler a lot. I'm a huge fan. He's not looking like the offensive guy he used to be. Now he could, he's saving it for the playoffs. I think the Warriors are going to be fine, but I'm not buying the height that they're the second best team in the West. That would be the Los Angeles Lakers, the biggest threat to the OKC Thunder.
Let's go to Alex Curry with the news. Turn on the news.
This is the herd Line News.
Well, JMC is a new all time goal scorer in the NHL. Alex Ovechkin scored his eight hundred and ninety fifth goal on Sunday against Islanders. The former record holder, Wayne Gretzky, the Great One, was in attendance and they stopped the game in New York, and everybody celebrated his accomplishment on the ice. It was great. They kind of they rolled out a carpet onto the ice and Wayne Gretzky gave Ovechkin his flowers. He's been following him around kind of the last month waiting for this moment to happen. And I don't know if you saw it, but Ovechkin had a chance to beat it in the last game, but he didn't want to because it was on an empty net, and he said he wanted to earn the final goal in order to break Gretzky's goal. But this is insane. Gretzky like broke that record in ninety four and scored his last goal in ninety nine. So the great one number ninety nine scored his last goal in ninety nine, and it has been decades since anybody has ever gotten close to doing this. What do you think is the next, like biggest record.
I think that's really awesome, Alex.
At the risk of teasing a segment later, I think it's awesome that the NHL was totally wrapping its arms around this for about a month. This week, yes, Hockey's had two huge stories this year, that All Star Game thing, the Nation's.
Cup, that like huge.
Other leagues take notice, Yeah, because that was incredible.
And this hopefully, hopefully other leagues take notice of a positive story, yes, and embrace in a positive manner a successful star of this generation surpassing a Wayne Gretzky accomplishment.
I don't think anybody's saying, oh, Vex gets better than Gretzky.
I don't no, no, no, no, I don't always saying that it's different, right, it's again in different generation. This is going to go back to the Jordan and Lebron argument. It's kind of just who you believe was great for you.
At that time.
And I just love how supportive yes and into it when Gretzky was, because he was he was following around the Capitals in Ovechkin the last month, just in Casey was going to break this record. But it was beautiful. His wife gave Obchkin's wife a gift. He I think he told the capitals like, I think he got a Rolls Royce when he broke the record, so he's like, step up your game, you better get him a good gift. So, yeah, congratulations to Avechkin insane accomplishment and just so incredible to be able to see such a superstar play this long. Like I love when we get to experience greatness, which is beautiful. Okay, move into baseball and the Dodgers. They lost two of three games in Philly over the weekend, but Philly superstar Bryce Harper had a message for anybody who doesn't like how LA is doing business.
I don't know if people like this, but I feel like only losers complain about what they're doing. You know, I think they're a great team, They're a great organization. That's why guys want to go there. Employ LA's a great study to play in. Obviously, it's uh, you know, they're at the you know, mecca of kind of the world of from everything right from food to nightlife to the sports probably you know, the.
Dodgers to the Lakers, to anybody.
If they're going to continue to get guys, they're going to continue to pull guys from you know, the sport and if that's bullpen starting pitching international players or anything like that.
I think this was the most incredible response that you can have to anybody complaining about a winning team. Only losers complain about what they're doing because he's right, Like, the Dodgers aren't doing anything illegal. They figured out a way to beat the system. So what you should be doing is you should be watching and learning, or look in the mirror, look at your ownership. Why aren't they doing something? Why aren't they pulling out the checkbook? The Dodgers are doing it right. They're making it a place where superstars want to come play. They're paying the team, and they're making that money back with merch and the fans coming to the games and the sponsorships. Like it's like, hats off to Bryce because I think that can go for like anything you're complaining about in sports, like, get over it.
I kind of got it.
So you know, I have like a journalism background when I wrote for newspapers and magazines. Elis I gotta ask, who are these losers that are complaining?
Is this like online stuff or is it are.
They out teams? It's it's it's a fan bases, it's teams, it's players. It's people who aren't putting together a winning team saying they cheated. They're doing all this deferred money. How are they able to go and buy all these players? Excuse me? Do not remember the Yankees for decades doing this. This is what baseball is. You can go out and you can Hey, guys a ton of money. So don't get mad at the Dodgers for doing whatever it takes to win get you to your ownership.
Or would you prefer a salary cap like fastal.
It's not the way the game is. Like baseball, players get guaranteed money no matter what, and there's not really a sout. You play a luxury tax, but they're not like.
Basketball's guaranteed salaries too, but they have a cap, like the Lakers can't go over the cap, whereas New Orleans also has the cap and they don't want to go so they're on like the same playing field. Do you think like the Pirates or the Dodgers should have a cap just like the Yankees league?
Why, it's never been that way, so you can't unless like the league does something to change it.
It's always been this way, so.
Stop the planning. No, no, no, it's just part of the game. There's always been powerhouses. But the thing with baseball, unlike other team sports, baseball is an individual sport played in a team atmosphere, so you can pay all the guys, and you still might not be the best team out there. You still can't win because you like if a pitcher has a bad game where it's the guys aren't seeing the ball well at the plate, like, it's doesn't guarantee that you're gonna win, opposed to like basketball and football, where you rely on each other. Like baseball, it's a very individual sport. Yeah, so it's I just like, hats off to Bryce about this. It was just such a Philly response and I loved it so much. Okay, final story. The Knicks have been doing okay since Jalen Brunson turned his ankle nearly a month ago, going nine and six without their point right now. Brunson returned to the lineup yesterday as an ex beat the Suns, and Brunson had fifteen points and six assists in his return. This is yeah, we're coming down the stretch here, Jay Matt. How much better are the knicks chances in the East with a healthy brunt Song back in the lineup? Right It's it's night and day.
Definitely need him, You need him to get to the conference finals. It's gonna be tough for my Knicks a Lakers, but I'm born in New York.
Sit they're currently and third. You got four games left. Two of those you got Celtics, Pistons, Calves. Knicks are oh and six against Boston and Calves this year.
The problem they had.
To be tough the Celtics in the second round, and that's like mission impossible.
It is.
I don't know. I mean they had, like you said, they haven't beaten the Calves or the Knicks this year.
They haven't beaten Boston or the Calves this year, Calves or yeah and three, they're they're fading. They four games left, three of those games against the playoff teams Celtics, Pistons, Calves.
I don't even know if I trust Thibodeau, you know, to cook up something to beat the Celtics.
It's just tough. It's it's gonna be tough because I love.
They have a three game lead on the Pacers, so they're like steady in that they have to win if they want to hold onto that third third spot.
I listen, we gotta we gotta pace ourselves this week.
So with that Knicks win, I think the Suns were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Okay, and Kevin Durant obviously ain't gonna be playing for the Suns next year. That's like pretty well documented, like he didn't like that they tried to trade him. So I just wonder if there's an early Knicks flame out, do they then look, hey, we need to level up.
They got to either rid of the coach or add Kevin Durant or what. I don't know, they're gonna need something.
Oh yeah, I mean, look, if it didn't work, again, look at the mirror. Look at the mirror and figure out what you need to do to get better.
Okay, so Calves holding the Calves last year bounced in the first round.
Everybody's like, oh my, I think, but.
They're young with so much talent, like there's potential there.
No, I'm sorry, Cabs got buy They got out of the first round barely against Orlando and then lost badly to the Celtics.
But it's like, oh, should we run it back?
Donovan Mitchell trade and now the Caves look awesome.
There's a number one seed, So maybe you need another year.
To bake for the next Yeah you could, but again, is that a risk you're willing to take? Or do you add another superstar? To that makes right away. Who you know can be a difference maker.
I'm a guy, Alex, impatient, let me adjust in traffic and impatient, Uh in the taffic.
I'm no traffic. I'm so patient.
I will in LA.
It's just it is what it is like.
So if it rains, you're doing thirty five on the highway like most other.
People, I am in a crowd. I feel like I could be, like secretly a great race car driver. Oh like that's like a weird secret thing to have. I am a professional driver. I am great.
You would do well in New York. I love having New York. All right, Alex scurry with the news.
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the Heard Line News.
So who's got the edge tonight? Houston and Kelvin Sampson or the Florida Gators. You know who. I'm back and we'll talk to John Phanta, the great college basketball announcer.
Next.
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That's Covino and Rich McIntyre in for Colin Cowherd, oh Boy, Houston, Florida. Tonight in the Natty Very Excited Florida opened up as a favorite. Looks like money coming in on Houston to break it all down. We got the great John Fantom, Fox Sports college basketball reporter host.
He announces his games.
He's got a podcast, he's blowing up.
On social John. How's it going this morning?
J Mac?
It is great to be with you. Look a national title in the balance, and this all time final four that you and I talked about. We said, well, to be all time, it's gotten to deliver the goods. Well, that Saturday night, it's how you deliver the goods. That was big time stuff in both games. I was in the elevator with two people who have attended the last thirty five of these.
Wow, and they.
Both said, that's the while the Saturday Night in the final four I've ever had.
I have to agree that was crazy.
Man.
So it's interesting both of the teams that won, John, they were trailing at half and they both looked to be in trouble. Houston was like, I felt they were dead, Dude's got them, and then Florida couldn't stop broom inside. But the second half, man, things changed. So we had two veteran teams, but one veteran coach and another kind of nubie in Golden.
I think that that's what's interesting about tonight. Houston's never won the national championship. And you think five Slam a jama and all of those great players from Hakeem to Clyde Drexler and those legendary teams, they never were able to cut down the nets.
Now they ran into Patrick you back in eighty four.
So for Houston, Kelvin SAMs has been working at this. This program's one hundred and sixty and twenty three in their last one hundred and eighty three games. It would be an amazing story for him to accomplish this. The job that he has done with this program. When he took over, nobody was at these games. We're talking. You could count the people in the stands. They've built a beautiful building in the Fertida Center. They make the move from the American of the Big Twelve. How J Mack has Houston come into the Big twelve and dominating the league back to back years, only losing one time in league play this year. This is a remarkable rise of a Titan in college basketball that's not a blue blood brand but has had a villa Nova like renaissance under Jay Wright. That's what Kelvin has delivered with the Houston Cougars.
So we'll get to Duke in a minute in their meltdown, but I do want to quickly ask about the Florida Gators, who seemed to begin in a short shrift in all this because of the Houston comeback and the Kelvin Samson story. I'm just saying, I think Walter Clayton, the young guard who was a no star recruit, starts at Iona, then lands at Florida, and now he just had from what I saw, was like the greatest scoring output in the final four wins since like nineteen eighty one. I think he had thirty four points. He looks like Kemba Walk out there.
He looks up to Kemba Walker.
He told us this past week that he has watched a ton of Kemba Walker's run with Connecticut back in twenty eleven, when the Huskies won eleven consecutive games Bigga's Tournament, the national Championship. Well, Clayton led Florida to the SEC tournament title. Jmack, You and I know how good the SEC was. That Clayton was absolutely outstanding and now this guy is a tough shot taker and even tougher shot maker, you cannot just send one at him. And that's the dilemma for Houston. It is only fitting that the best defensive team in this sport now has to find a way to crap the code of the here row of this tournament. He has put the cape on. He's been brilliant and to your point, the nugget of all nuggets that makes you want to watch tonight. In America, we have not seen a player in the NCAA tournament in the Elite eight or later have back to back thirty plus point games since Larry Bird in nineteen seventy nine. Enough said, Clayton has been that man.
So you talked a little bit about Houston's strategy. I don't know if it's gonna work. If they've doubled Clayton.
Hard and they want to do the double in the traps. Florida's one of the.
Best three point shooting teams in the country. I think seventeenth, they're gonna have their guys can make a Martin is the study. He's been to the Final four. I like their bigs, picking pop guys. I'm on Florida here, I don't well Houston changes stripes or just stick with what got him there.
Well, I think they're gonna stick with what gotain there because they're going to send doubles. They're gonna try to blitz on ball screens. They like to create chaos, but they have the front line that could stay with any opposing frontline enough that they don't really get paid in terms of easy They don't give up easy buckets, but Florida has the pieces to capitalize with superimeter shooting. To your point, I think this game gets decided on which back court is better offensively at the end of the day, because if they do try to frazzle Clayton with their defense, which they're going to, they're gonna apply ball pressure. They're gonna swarm the ball. They're gonna make him work. Will Elijah Martin and Will Richard be able to cash in. Conversely, if you're Florida, you want to send coverage hard at l J. Cryer, you cannot let l J. Cryer get cooking early. He's coming off a twenty plus point performance.
He was brilliant.
Milo Shuzan and Emmanuel Sharp did not shoot the ball well on Saturday Night, Sharp made a couple of huge shots, including the biggest one of the game I felt when he cut the lead from six to three. But if you are Houston, the reason why you're different this year is you have had a three headed monster in your backcourt.
That can get cooking at any instance.
Florida can shut teams down offensively too, make no mistake about adjacent Florida can defend. And if you didn't think they could, look at the job they did on Jenni broom An's a hot Pettiford who only made one shot on Saturday Night. So Florida's really good defensively. They're top ten in the country themselves. They're number two in offense. To me, it's a guard's game tonight. Florida does have the best guard on paper, but Houston's got some really difficult shot makers. This is a toss up for a reason. My pick in my bracket was Florida. So I'm staying committed to my guns here because Clayton has been a man possessed and I trust Florida's front line.
But could Houston win this game? Of course?
Yeah, yeah, certainly, all right. I want to save us a few minutes here for Duke and the meltdown. I'm going to start with the obvious. Why didn't john Shire have one friggin inbounds play ready for the final minute of the game when Duke melted down.
There's no way to explain it. It's one of the all time collapses in the history of the NCAA tournament for them to be up by fourteen points with eight minutes left. Now, I tweeted it, we're all but done here. It's because we were Cooper Flatt was having a sensational performance all of a sudden in the last five six minutes, and Houston's defense has something to do with it. But Duke, how do you turn into hero ball? How they were not moving to basketball? They were not getting high percentage looks. Only one made field goal in the last ten minutes of the game. One of the things that we asked heading into this Duke season, Jason, was would they have enough point guard play to get them to the finish line against the elite? They didn't have point guard play in the late goings on Saturday night. Tyree Proctor wasn't good enough, Seon James wasn't good enough, and as a result, Conkinipple.
Where'd he go?
A huge first half disappears in the second half. This is now a part of the definition of John Shire. Now does it mean that it defines him forever? No, Tony Bennett overcame Demons, Jay Wright.
They'llan know what.
People wanted Jay Wright out at one point. Then he became one of the greatest coaches of all time. Dan Hurley and Yukon lost to Teddy Allen three weeks three years ago. Then he wins back to back national championships. This is gonna sting with John Shire forever because of how good this team was and they were the favorite. But now it's up to him to respond. You and I both know the next time he's in a big NCAA tournament game, it's gonna be the lead question, and it's gonna be the lead thing on our minds.
They choke this game allway. There is no other way to put it.
I'm glad you used choke. It is okay to use choke. It's fine people choke.
It happens. I've choked in sports, you've choked. I'm sure. Anyways, I need to ask.
This as is calling for a conclusion in the courtroom do you believe Scion James, who hit his head hard on the floor, came back, turned the ball over.
And then couldn't inbound it.
Do you believe he was possibly concussed in the second half. I did not see heavy basketball from him, and I don't know why he was on the floor.
Well, I'm not going to sit here and say that I think he was because of in today's times, if you're even remotely close, they're sitting you on the bench. These medical staffs are not forcing the issue. And I don't care what it is. Concussions. That's the one thing that all talking with trainers through the years, Jason, that's a very very sensitive thing that could lead to some legal action if they played him, you know, And that was even in the shadow of a doubt. I don't think so. I don't think so. I'm sure he was shaken up. We know he was, and he wasn't himself late. But this is nothing new. Like back in January, Houston's down six at Allenfield House, down six with less than fifteen seconds to go in overtime.
The game looks over. I stepped away from the game for a second.
They bury a three, they get a steal on the inbounds bury another three to send the game a double overtime for Houston.
That was nothing new on Saturday night. That's what they do.
You have to beat them over the course of forty minutes, and you have to do it on their terms. So they earned that, But I did feel that shier. You know, it's the image Jason is real at the final four. The head coach is up on the court, his staff is down in seats. I just couldn't help but look at him and be like, this is a thirty seven year old and we're seeing it right now against a season vet. Because they looked lost their late and that's why that inbound scenario. I would have run the football play. Yeah, I'll pass to somebody else and see who you can get it into. I think that that's the route that I take. But you and I aren't the coach. John's going to have a long career. I still believe in John Shaye this one. This one really the inability to get that in when you have Cooper Flag, they don't have a single player under six foot five.
How do you not get the ball?
Yeah, just lob it up to Cooper, But not in the middle of the court, Like, well, what what was that? Anyways?
John Fanta, the great college football reporter, podcast host, TV host.
He's everywhere, He's doing everything, John, thanks for crushing a man. Enjoy the game tonight.
You're awesome, j Mac, thanks for having me.
All right, John Fanta? Oh, the Duke's loss still hurts. Honestly, I got buddies still texting me. Did that really happen?
Now?
Listen, I didn't watch White Lotus last night, Alex, but I know Duke is upset with the Dwight T shirt? Do you kidding?
Like the gift? Yeah?
John, I had to like take a screenshot from the internet to add it to a tweet.
Yeah. So, uh, tough one for Duke. E. They'll bounce back. They got the Bowser brothers coming next year to Durham.
All right, coming up next? Yes, I'm going back to Cooper Flag. Did his NBA stock take a hit?
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