Colin Cowherd on why Jokic & Nuggets will be MASSIVE PROBLEM for OKC Thunder | THE HERD

Colin Cowherd on why Jokic & Nuggets will be MASSIVE PROBLEM for OKC Thunder | THE HERD

All right, let’s start with this. Okay, the Celtics lost at home. Bizarrely, um they’re not even that good at home. They’re actually a better road team. Nick fans, I’ve never seen a game one upset that means less. This is the only game the Knicks are going to win. Boston’s not going to miss 45 threes. I know. Enjoy the moment, Nick fans. You are feeling it today. Oh, give me a break. Boston got a 20point lead. They hammered this team all year. They fell asleep and then they just took bad shots. Jason Tatum, he froze. He does that from time to time. He does it much more than any of his fanboys want to admit. It was the classic Jason Tatum game late where you’re like, “Is he on the floor? Is he playing? What? Where’s Jason Tatum?” But the Knicks wings OG played well. Male Bridges, they were running off shooters. Uh defended well. They deserve credit. But the Celtics had the third fewest layups in the league and the fewest free throws. What does it mean? They don’t create shots. They don’t. They just live and die with a three. And like those great Warrior teams, when Steph and Clay weren’t hitting them, they had bad nights. They got blown out multiple times in the finals. So, I mean, Boston, they don’t get layups. They don’t shoot mid-range. They don’t get to the free throw line. They’re shooting 63s. And last night, I mean, in the second half in overtime or second half, yeah. Uh uh and overtime, yeah, they shot 49 shots. 37 were threes. And I will defend Jason Tatum later on in this show because I think he’s a little bit trapped with this team, but the reality is you see this from Boston and strangely it’s often at home. They’re a great road team. They’re a better road team than a home team, but they have these nights. And you know, Jason Tatum, nobody wants to admit it, but uh he has these collaborative nights where he’s just settling for bad shots. And again, I think he could draw more fouls, but this is what Boston is. They’re going to be fine. The Knicks have absolute offensive limitations. It’s going to be okay. Boston’s not going to shoot like this. I mean, the first quarter was classic Knicks. They were out playing Boston. Boston was rusty. And the Knicks kept missing free throws. They couldn’t get the free throws right. I was on moneyline Knicks first quarter, too, J-Mack. They couldn’t hit free throws. So, the Knicks have an absolute ceiling, but Boston, they give you one of these every so often. And I and I’ve said before, they remind me a lot of the Warriors team, but back when the Warriors were shooting all the threes, the rest of the league was not. But Boston leads the league in threes. They don’t get to the free throw line. They don’t create layups or mid-range shots. So, when they have one of these awful shooting halves, I mean, they led by 20. They dominate this team. And we’ve said this all the time in the NFL. You’ll see a team lead 28-7 at half and the game ends like 3127 and you’re like, “We were so close.” And it’s like, not really. It’s hard to ask athletes who dominate an opponent over and over and over to always bring their agame and Boston had a bad second half. Settled for too many bad shots. And here’s Jaylen Brown after the loss. I felt like we just settled in the second half a lot. Some of them felt good, some of them felt like we maybe forced the issue and definitely our rhythm and our our timing was a little bit off. Um we got a lot of great looks. Those moments when other teams got momentum, we can’t just fire up threes. Um you know, to break up momentum, you got to get to the free throw line, get to the paint, get to the basket. They’re going to be just fine. and Jason Tatum is going to be just fine. And I’ll defend him in about 10 minutes. All right, let’s go to the opposite of the Boston Celtics. Literally the opposite team, the Denver Nuggets, who as an underdog went into OKC and dominated the late game situations. The Nuggets shoot the fewest threes in the NBA. They live at the free throw line because Joic can create so many opportunities around the basket. And Joic, unlike Tatum, is a coach on the floor, does not care if he offends people, is mostly collaborative, but sometimes he takes over. And if you go to the fourth quarter, OKC got tight. The young, nervous, at times terrified Thunder at home froze. They froze. And this was Jokic at his best coaching and playing. He is the anti- Kawawaii. He communicates with everybody. I mean, obviously he empowers Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook, but it should be noted Jamal Murray as well. I mean, this this right now, there was a time when Michael Jordan I’ve told the story before. I was on a couch watching Michael Jordan against the Phoenix Suns in the final and with a with a with a friend who’s a great basketball player and I said, “Why can’t there be more Michaels?” I mean, he’s not the strongest player or the biggest player. He’s not the best ball handler, the best shooter. The NBA average size is 66. He’s 66, kind of thin. I mean, I know he can jump, but Dominique had a higher vertical. Michael was so much better than even Charles Barkley, you know, like even Aake and you watch Joic, he is so far and away the best basketball player in the world. And now he’s also the best player coach, which Bill Russell did for a while. I mean, you got Tatum, he can freeze. You got Giannis, don’t trust him late, can’t hit a free throw. You got Embiid, he’s never healthy. You got Kawhai, weird personality. You’ve got Luca, who’s not in great shape and is not willing to defend. And and for the record, not only is Joic flawless offensively, he’s actually an improved defensive player. He looks like he’s in better shape. So again, this game was not just Jokic, although he was remarkable. Westbrook once again gives you so many tools in the bag, including improved shooting. Congrats to his shooting coach. Uh, also Aaron Gordon is another one of these guys. I was talking before the show to J-Mack, that young player for Houston I love, Amen Thompson. Aaron Gordon’s like a bigger, stronger, more experienced version of Amen Thompson. He just does everything. Rebounds, block shots, late in games, tipping it, defending, length, relentless energy. Um, and he hits the game winner last night. And, and what I love about Joic is this mentality. Here’s an organization that went through a coaching change a week before the playoffs. So, you can see Joic on the sideline. He’s literally like, you know, we’re all like, we got to be included in this. If you go back to that Clipper Denver series, this is what the Clippers needed. And they have a great coach in Tailoo, but Kawaii doesn’t provide that. And Harden certainly doesn’t provide that. It’s always excuses for those two. Here is Joic saying, “Yeah, I’m not going to be stoic. It’s not a time to be stoic.” He is coaching. He is playing. He is elevating. And but but again, not at all. a guy that has to take the last shot. It’s Westbrook and Aaron Gordon who combined for the last shot. And here’s Joic after. He’s a soul of this team. He’s a glue guy. He probably doesn’t give the much respect that he deserve. But I think he doesn’t need like attention, so he knows what he’s doing. So I’m happy for him. A remarkable, remarkable night. And we were talking about this. There are a lot of cliches in basketball, right, in all sports. But don’t trust young guys in the playoffs. People always say to me, “How come you don’t respect OKC?” It’s not that I don’t respect them. I don’t trust them. I respect a lot of people. Love many, trust few. I don’t trust OKC in a big spot. Chad Homegrren was nervous. The coach was nervous. And by the way, OKC is one of those collaborative teams. You get it and I get it. But to be honest with you, I want SGA with the ball. That’s who I want shooting every shot. eight straight. I wish Tatum, you know, SGA in the regular season, he’s a machine, but when you get into these playoff games, that’s why OKC played no close games this year. Minnesota led the NBA in close games and clutch moments. So, here you get OKC rolling everybody and it’s like, “Oh, wait. We’re the favorite. Denver’s older and wiser. all these great player. How many playoff games is Westbrook and Joic and Murray and Gordon? OKC got tight. They’re not in close games. This isn’t college football where if you’re winning by three touchdowns, you just have better players. I mean, I would I would argue OKC’s got a deeper roster, but if you’re giving me a starting five and I get Joic and Murray and Gordon and then I get like a Westbrook who’s a spark plug. We talked about this yesterday. The betting markets have OKC as an overwhelming favorite. Time out. Young teams do not sweep veteran teams with a trophy who have been in these games. We’ve been trying to bury the Warriors for six years. Denver’s not going anywhere. That is a really good team. Jac, by the way, Steph didn’t play last night. LeBron didn’t play last night and the league was fine. Well, it’s in it’s one night. Uh, we get uh Jaylen Brunson last night putting on a How good is Jaylen? We need to start honestly putting him in context with his greatness. Jaylen Brunson is magnificent to watch. I I know you love him, right? Yes, I one of your favorite players. really really like him as a player.

Colin Cowherd reacts to the NBA playoffs. He discusses whether the Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics should be concerned after their loss to Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. Plus, after Game 1 of the series between Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Colin discusses whether Denver is the best equipped team to win the NBA Finals.

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