Colin Cowherd’s Instant Reaction - Lakers Eliminate Warriors, Lakers/Nuggets WCF Matchup

you as you age. We've all seen somebody who's fifty years old and looks sixty and they haven't eaten right, haven't slept right, haven't taken care of themselves, and you can see it. And then you'll see somebody that's seventy and looks fifty eight because they've taken care of their body. And as you age, it is punitive if you don't. And so Lebron has this ability to not on a nightly basis, but in a series once or twice, to summon this energy and this greatness that no other player

in year twenty has ever had. He was the best player on the floor last night. For a majority of the basketball game. And by the way, some of it's generational. I mean, Michael Jordan was steaks, cigars, wine and late night card games. That was his generation. So now when Michael with the enormous amount of money today, I think Michael was smart enough to know I'm going to extend

my career, get another contractor too. So much of this is economic where players see, you know, if you can get that extra contract because you've taken care of your body's it is life changing, right, It's generational money for your kids' kids. Lebron has always been smarter than the average player, and the average star takes great care of his body. And last night is the reason why this has been a team I think, for me, a very unique Laker team. They were bad before the big trade

deadline move. Bad. They're a bad team. They weren't great defensively. Westbrook wasn't engaged defensively. It was toxic. And then they made sweeping changes, bringing in guys who have been abandoned or bounced around the league. Malik Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, D'Angelo Russell. Dilo was abandoned by the Warriors quickly. Minnesota gives him away,

so he comes back to Los Angeles. And I think one of the reasons I've struggled to appreciate the Lakers in the second half is and I've never thought the Warriors were a championship team this year or the Lakers. Lakers was easier to say that, but people I respect really did. And because generally championship teams and there's four teams left and Denver's going to be a handful, and so I presume will be the Celtics in the championship. I think they'll beat Miami and probably about five games,

five six games. But the great teams and we know what they are. Let's take the MJ Bulls, because that was the most discussed in our lifetime. You knew almost every night the production you were going to get and the game you were going to get from Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. You knew you were going to get Packson and Steve Kerr dependability or a Tony Kukoch or Rodman's rebounding or defensive effort. And that's the difference between

great players and good players is consistency. Right, You kind of get though he can drive me crazy at the end of games. Jason Tatum pretty much delivers eight out of ten games the exact same performance. You know what you're gett You're gonna get your twenty five plus points, You're going to get real good defense, good players. James Harden now he's a good player. Game to game, you're

not sure what you're going to get. And I think with this Laker team, think about it, if it did become a championship team, it would be one of the least consistent championship teams. Ever. Anthony Davis is great offensively every other game, and he is your best player. Michael Jordan was not great every other game offensively, either with Shack or Kobe or Tim Duncan. So Anthony Davis, always

good defensively, is great offensively every other game. Lebron James is truly great in Spurts only, although last night's the exception. Generally in Spurts three or four times a series, he can take the game over for four to five minutes. That's what he is now. Austin Reeves is your third most dependable player, and he's undrafted. Di Loo is hot and cold, though very talented. But again there's a reason he's bounced around the league, and he's coming to the

Lakers for a second time. And then it's a bunch of guys that role players who are generally not dependable on the road, slightly more dependable at home. Alonnie Walker a Vanderbilt that's not a championship team, and so their inconsistency and they're low ceiling offensively is just hard to wrap my brain around. Now. Some of it may be the West is weaker this year, Paul George and Kawhi not available, Sons fell apart. Maybe it's just the West.

There is a lot of occasional greatness. There's not a single Laker that you know what you're getting every single night offensively, not one. I mean even the Warriors, who the Lakers beat, you kind of know what you're getting from Steph every night offensively. You know it's twenty four over some nights better than others. Dominant ball handling, he's going to break down your defense, You're gonna get a number of assists. You gotta know what you're getting. So

it's a very unique team. I think Denver's a tough challenge, first of all, because it's at seven thousand feet. It's really, really a tough place to play. They also, unlike Golden State, have a formidable, productive offensive center. They're gonna stretch out a little bit. That are also younger and more athletic

in spots Michael Porter, Gordon Jamal Murray. It's a younger, more athletic team, and they don't have a player like Andrew Wiggins, who took a large chunk of the year off and we felt like coming into the last two series he was playing his way into shape and playing his way into form. They're a number one seed, They've been good all year. They're healthy, they're deep, and they spread the scoring out. So Denver's going to be a handful and they're really really good at home, and the

elevation is a big part of that. I think Denver match is already well up with the Lakers, But at this point I've doubted the Lakers the entire second half. I'll have to think about it more this weekend. Maybe I should just surrender and pick the Lakers that win at all. As far as Golden State, they've got their own issues here. So there's a big difference between losing and feeling you were better and then realizing you were probably lucky the series went this long. I mean, let's

be totally honest about the Warriors. If Dearon Fox doesn't hurt his hand, do they beat the Warriors? You got to break. They got to break against the Lakers because the schedule was every other day. That was not playing in LA's favor. With Lebron's age and eighties brittleless, that kind of played in the Golden States favor. There's two things that end a dynasty, ego and age. They don't

have a ton of ego. Age is a factor. The other thing that extends a post dynasty drought is delusion, where you start rewarding players and can't be honest about what they now are. Klay Thompson, we all know that you bring Steph back, everybody they acquire will be on Steph's timeline. That's why they moved off number two pick James Wiseman, he just wasn't ready and why Cominga didn't play in this series. Anybody they acquire will have to

be on Steph's timeline capable of helping him win a title. Now, Draymond Green is still second team All NBA defense. He's a catalyst, a screen setter, excellent passer, he's going nowhere. Those two are the heart and soul of the Warriors. But Klay Thompson is a shadow on both ends of what he was four years ago pre injuries. He's not an elite defender. He's often a liability. It's why they brought Gary Payton the second back, and offensively he is.

He really struggled in this series outside of one game and mostly one half. So if you want to give him a contract and romanticize rear view mirror Clay Thompson's career and reward him for what he's done previously, that's how you extend droughts post dynasty. If I was the Warrior's front office, I would try to initiate something that

creates some front court scoring beyond Andrew Wiggins. They get all their scoring Wiggins and smaller, and with Kayvon Looney incapable of really adding much offensively, it's hard to have him and Draymond on the floor at the same time. So I think they have to create some sort of scoring threat. Karl Anthony Towns maybe, I'm not sure. If he's a great fit. He can be kind of squarely and they don't those kind of players don't work with

a Warrior system. They have to find somebody offensively, a big who's at least sixteen to eighteen point a game score to take the burden off Staph and Andrew Wiggins. Maybe you have to give up Andrew Wiggins for that. Maybe you finally make the pivot to Jonathan kaminga who's just too raw for Steve Kura play now in big games. But I think if you look at the history of dynasties, they end when they get old or they have egos. Kobe and Chak was ego. Warriors now feels like Age,

Spurs felt like age, Miami Heatles felt like age. Not really ego, maybe some ego. But I think when you really get into trouble is when you don't reconstruct it. So I would look for the Warriors to try to make some move, move some parts. I really like Moody off the bench, Gary Payton, Steph Draymond. I'd like to keep Wiggins. You know, Jordan Poole is somebody I'd be willing to part with. I think he's a much better player being the man instead of backing up the man.

Be that as it may. I thought he was under control last couple of games of the series. How great have the NBA Playoff been so far? If you live in one of those cities and wanted to go to the games, there is only one place to get tickets. The game Time App, the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, for last minute, amazing deals. They don't stop with the NBA. They do baseball, hockey, concerts, comedy shows too. Download the game Time App and use the code colum

cliin get twenty dollars off your first purchase. Twenty bucks off first purchase. Terms apply again. Download the game Time App use the code colin seeli last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. The game Time App, the fastest growing sports app in the United States. Use the code colin ceeliin. So the Lakers move on to Denver. Can't wait to watch it tomorrow. I'm going to take the Celtics to beat convincingly the Philadelphia seventy six Ers. That has been

a wildly entertaining series. The Sixers, to me, are a pretty easy team to figure out, a lot of flair, a lot of personality. Do not trust them at all, And for all the misgivings I've had about the tandem of Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum. I trust them to come prepared, play defense, to take leads. I think. I'm not sure, but I think the Celtics led the NBA first or second in the NBA in point differential this year.

They win comfortably a lot. I worry when it's tied with two minutes to go and Marcus Smart is getting the best shots. But my feeling is the Celtics will roll. They will then beat Miami in five or six. And I don't know what the heck to make of the Nuggets and the Lakers. I need to watch a couple of games. My gut tells me Denver's a number one seed, deeper, younger, real scoring at all three levels. But I haven't been right about this Lakers team in two or three months,

and that's what makes it so fascinating. I know there's this constant, you know, the sky is falling opinion on the NBA, But a lot of that comes from two areas. The NBA season is too long, Come on, eighty two regular season games, let's evolve, get down to sixty eight. And load management, which stinks, hurts the league. Fans go to games on big Friday and Saturday nights, you take a date, you take the family, and three of the

four stars don't play. It's not good for business. Sorry, we'll all get over it, but it's not good for business. I think it feels like a disconnect between stars and fans, and fans pay a lot of money to go to NBA games, but you can't deny the passion, the intensity, the fun, the storylines, and the drama. Even though last night was a blowout. I mean, you were watching a dynasty potentially end and you're watching one of the most unique potential championship teams with Lebron and ad I can

ever remember good stuff a not so instant reaction. Hope you're having a great Saturday afternoon talk soon the Volume. Make sure to check out The Draymon Green Show. I brought Draymond Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective understands behind the rope, also chops up with guests like Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady. Make sure download The Draymond Green Show wherever you get your podcasts, only on the Volume podcast Network.