Colin Cowherd Podcast - INSTANT REACTION: Warriors Fall To Kings, Lakers Advance To Face Nuggets, Zion’s Best Game

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right now, zero for ten. He had a very good April. He was a big part of why the Warriors had a very good April and made a mad dash a lot of road wins to get back into this thing. Draymond and Clay were both excellent, But I think it's this is the way dynasties need to end. I mean, I can remember vividly it's Brady's gonna stay in New England? Is he gonna leave? And his last season there, they took a shot during a loss and he's on the

bench and he's screaming years of frustration after losing. Randy moss Edelman and Gronk are aging they just can't draft and develop the next receiver. And he's screaming on the bench, which would any of you guys just get open? Could somebody just get open? Well, of course they couldn't, and that Patriots still don't have a wide receiver they can get open, you know. So it's possession receivers, it's limited players,

and that's the way it ends. And then Brady knows, Okay, I'm gonna go and get Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, bring Gronk down, get ab, bring in Leonard Fernet. You know, I got an offensive coach, Bruce Arians and life's just easier. And if you look at the Dubs right now, last year they had that one series against Sacramento, you feel good about it? What could have been? We got banged up. But you know, Wiggins has not been the same player since the championship year over Boston. He hasn't been the

same player. Some personal stuff. I've read multiple things. I don't know what it is. I don't care. He's not the same player. Clay had a very very good late March in April for the Warriors. He's not the same player, so, you know, I mean, I think you just have to disconnect from what was a great ten twelve year run. It's over, and so I think you keep Steph Curry, you keep Draymond Green, you keep Pods, and if you have to move a lot of your length, I don't care.

If it's kaminga Looney Davis to get a legitimate big, you do what you gotta do. I'm not sure if Karl Anthony Towns is the right guy. I think Minnesota is going to struggle in there series against Phoenix. They move off Karl Anthony Towns, potentially they won't move off Cobert, and maybe that's the guy. Maybe in two years it's Giannis, but I think it's over. You know, tonight was just Sacramento getting really good looks. I mean, they were hitting

their free throws hitting their threes. They were getting really really good looks, and you know, I think for the last two years we sort of felt like step has to carry the team. And he is still a brilliant basketball player. But when players get into their mid thirties and up, I mean, even Lebron now is remarkable in big games. But you're not going to get seventy two games from these guys and back to back games of greatness.

So it ends the way you'd think it ends, with kind of an ugly loss and the Warriors looking a little small, a little old, and a little out of their element. You know, I've always thought Sacramento is a poor man's boss. Then if you took the Celtics and every player was just not quite as good, but you had four good players, that would be the Kings. You know, instead of Tatum and Brown and Porzingish and Drew Holliday, you've got Harrison Barnes and Dearon Fox and Simonas and

Keegan Murray, and they're good players. Fox is really good. But I just feel like, you know, Boston hasn't won a title yet, and I think they have four better starters. Sacramento is a good team, and a tougher conference, but I don't see them. I haven't ever seen them as a team that's going to win multiple series. I think Denver's better, Phoenix is more talented. I think Dallas is absolutely on fire. I think the Lakers would beat them up physically, and so I wish Light the Beam the

very best. But this tonight was about Klay Thompson's final game. I would imagine as a Golden State Warrior. I think Steve Kerr would love to have him around. I think they ran it felt like they ran half their offense through him in April to get him as many looks as they could. But whoever the Warriors get, they got to get somebody that's on Steph's timeline. Kamingo is about two years away from that. Davis maybe three years away, but they've got to get somebody that's on Steph's timeline.

I think they go move a lot of their length, get a legitimate, big time star. Maybe a third team gets involved, but that's where we stand in terms of the Lakers. So the Lakers, as we said, I thought they'd win by about six seven points. They match up really good with the Pelicans. Now they had a horrific moment in the third. They didn't start very well. They had a great second quarter. We're doing well, then in the third and the fourth kind of fell apart, unraveled.

But I think my takeaway on this is is this is where, this is where Lebron is like no other player ever. From my friend Nick Wright, Lebron James has won nine straight do or die games, either a playing game or a game seven if you count the d season tournament, it's like he's won twelve straight or thirteen straight.

I said very early in the season because of the Lakers eight and their primary playmakers, Lebron, who's very old, that if it was the NCAA tournament, I think the Lakers we get to the championship game and then lose to Denver or a Boston, but in a one game setting. This is why the NBA seven game first round series is ridiculous. It punishes aging legends, which are always the ratings drivers for the NBA. I mean, the reason Caitlin Clark, one of the reasons she got numbers. This was a rematch.

She went into the tournament. We knew the story. They lost last year. Here they come back. They face South Carolina. You mean ninety percent of Hollywood money is remax, right, So it's these aging stars, these steps and these Lebron's Kevin Durantz. They drive the ratings in the NBA. So why punish them with seven game first round series with no urgency? So the Lakers in the in season tournament

won in their playing games with Lebron. They're three to nine playing games with Lebron, and they've won again nine straight do or die games with Lebron. And the Lakers did what they do. They got to the free throw line a lot, and they hit their free throws. By the way Sacramento hit their free throws. Lakers hit their free throws. And you're watching in these games, these playoff games. Is the n NBA pretty clearly tweaked. And I don't mind him doing this at all. During the regular season,

the NBA said, hey, let's let him play. Let's speed the pace of playoff, fewer whistles. That is a huge benefit to veteran teams. That does not benefit OKC, that will not benefit young teams. That will benefit the older teams. Miami in the East will probably benefit from that. Boston's been around, will benefit the Lakers will benefit Okac won't. So I thought the Lakers they're a very good matchup

with the Pelicans. I thought Zion Williamson played the best game I've ever seen him play as a pro in a big game. This is a big game. He had forty points, just walked off the floor injury. I guess frustrated. Absolutely, I have no idea what happened. But we've been waiting for Zion between the weight issues and the injuries, and that was the book on him when he came into the NBA. He had so much torque. He had wait issues. New Orleans not a great city if you got weight issues.

It's a late night city with amazing food, and so he struggled with that. But todight it's a great example of what Zion can do. He's a weight mismatch and a power mismatch oftentimes. And if you you know, if he gets a mismatch, you blow a defensive assignment. He gets on a smaller guy, or he's coming downhill dribbling into the lane, it's over. Lebron Is six eight and a half six ' nine two fifty five took a charge from Zion and crumpled like a deck chair. Lebron

just crashed into the floor. It's like Adrian Peterson running over a small corner in his prime. And so I thought Zion was fantastic. He was aggressive. He's never been a great outside shooter, but he didn't have to be. You know. I think when you get to the playoffs three ball, it can be valuable. I mean, the Warriors didn't hit theirs tonight, the Kings did. I think it can be valuable. But I think you get into situational

basketball and you got to lean into your straints. And I think Anthony Davis is going to take most of his sh shots and make most of them within eight feet of the basket. I'm okay with that. And Zion Williamson is going to bang around on the inside, not shoot much from the outside, and create you know, physical mismatches. I thought he was fantastic. That's as good as I've seen him play in a big game, and he hasn't been in a lot of big games. But the Lakers

are a better team they have. They have gotten big leads every time they've played the Pelicans this year. This one they held on for dear life. D'Angelo Russell played well and we've talked about that. Since the benching. He's been a good basketball player. Sometimes he almost You know, when I watched the Lakers tonight, there was a I forget what quarter was, second or third they pulled I think it was right before half they pulled Lebron out,

and you're like, oh my god, what's happening, Darvin? Get him back in there. But how much can you play Lebron? So he is so far and away their best playmaker. Austin Reeves attempts it, but he's just got the same athlete. But you know, you kind of cross your fingers if you're the Lakers. They get real sloppy. They unrevel very quickly sometimes when Lebron takes his brief respite, and they certainly did tonight. He came back in, couldn't stop the bleeding of the moment, but they hold on and win.

So the Lakers. I think the Lakers match up pretty well with the Nuggets in terms of size. The difference is the fourth best player on any given night for the Denver Nuggets is Michael Porter, who is a high school prodigy who can absolutely knock down twenty eight points on any given night. Now he has championship experience, and I think that's a real thing. I think once you win the championship. Every time I watched Denver in a big TV game and it was close, they just found

ways to win. And I saw about a week ago they played the t Wolves close game, just found a way to win. So it's that confidence of a championship team. I think they have the best starting five along with Boston in the NBA. And there are players on the Lakers that can disappear at times. I think Ruey's talented, he can disappear. Anthony Davis can be hot and cold offensively Lebron depending on if his three point shot is effective. D Lo as a playoff performer has been at times

awful last year, at times semi effective. I kind of know what I'm getting with Denver with the Lakers. It's a lot of finger crossing with DeAngelo Russell and Anthony Davis. Two out of three playoff games will give you a really nice offensive effort. But he can manage at times too. So I just I don't see the Lakers beating Denver four times. I think they'll beat him in a game, maybe they beat him twice. They can physically match up.

But you know, Jokich does not have a lot of off nights and Jamal Murray doesn't have a lot of off nights, and Gordon brings that defense virtually every game. Michael Porter can be a bit hot and cold, but

you know, Denver's a champion for a reason. And my guess is they'll probably beat the Lakers in five, perhaps six, but you'll feel late in these games, that's where you'll see the difference where Yokich is younger than the on and Jamal Murray offensively is more consistent than Anthony Davis, and ad gives Jokic about as much trouble as you can possibly give him, and he still gets thirty points.

So I just feel the consistency the championship experience. Denver is going to be an even tougher out this year, and I imagine they extinguish the Lakers in about five or six. The games will be close. The Lakers do match up with them once again. With Lebron win a playing game, the Warrior season is over, and it's again I think it's over that it should be over. No debate, make some moves, move off. Wiggins probably plays last kick it's okay. All good things coming on end, trees don't

grow to the sky. It's fine. We're all going to be okay, even in the Bay Area.