Best of The Herd

Live from Chicago—appreciate you hanging with us—big one today: a real story surfacing in Philly and the Lakers are rolling.

On Jalen Hurts, the reporting finally matches what I heard months ago: he fights changes to the offense, goes off-script, and the building knows it; credit piles on him when they win while others take the heat when they stumble, which feels a lot like the Russell-in-Seattle years.

The staff keeps coaching the same fixes, but on game day he defaults to his own style, hesitates on throws, and the timing dies; at this point, I don’t think they can coach it out of him.

The Lakers’ March heater is real, but who they draw matters; Houston is their sweet spot because they’re shaky late and lack a true table-setter, while L.A. thrives in half-court, clutch situations with multiple play initiators, whereas Minnesota forces their guards to defend and drains their legs.

As JJ Redick put it, styles make fights; against the Rockets, that 15-and-2 looks solid gold, but the Wolves could make it look like fool’s gold.

It’s a rough headline for Hurts, no doubt; and for what it’s worth, if Philly ever shopped him, there’d still be a real market.

Baseball’s ABS is exposing the worst of human error; CB Bucknor’s night in Milwaukee was so off that both managers laughed, and when an ump racks up that many misses, it’s not fair to players, coaches, or fans—time to act.

Some stars outpace the hype—Tiger did, Ohtani is doing it, and Wemby’s ahead of schedule—and the tournament ratings back a truth I’ve said for years: fans say they love Cinderellas, but they show up biggest for heavyweights.

NBA coaching isn’t the NFL, but it matters more than baseball; the greats like Phil, Riley, and Pop solve people and tactics, and JJ has the chops if he stays flexible.

And about old number seventy-seven: he’s a once-in-a-generation offensive engine who’s kept his team winning big despite missed games around him, which is why he sits right in the thick of the MVP race.

Wemby can end possessions when the three is falling, and per-minute he’s outrageous, though they’re wisely managing his load.

He’s tracking toward an all-time defensive ceiling, but he’s not a better offensive player than peak LeBron—frankly not above Booker yet—and MVP isn’t a what-if minutes award; also, the media’s giving him rope they wouldn’t give an American kid talking that boldly, and you know it.

The Knicks feel over-leveraged on Brunson’s usage and size, which ages fast; that’s why a Giannis swing always made sense.

New York’s slipped from ‘this is the year’ to a puncher’s chance tier, and the Bridges price complicates the next leap; a short-term LeBron fit actually makes a lot of sense as a plug-and-play Swiss Army knife if he hits free agency.

Back to Philly: the coordinator churn explains the leaks—when careers are on the line, people talk.

Hurts’ arc echoes Russell Wilson’s—massive leadership presence and deep-ball talent, but questions about full-field passing—and AJ Brown’s blowups landed because teammates felt some truth in them; with that many voices in Fowler’s piece, it’s a pivotal year for Hurts to evolve as a passer in a franchise that moves fast on hard choices.

Nick Wright brought the heat today—First Things First is up after us—good stuff.