Best of The Herd

Playoff basketball is a different animal, and we’re live in Chicago where the Bulls are hunting for a coach; of the 16 teams, I see one great one in Oklahoma City, a bunch of very good ones like Boston and Denver, and the Knicks are simply good.

New York blew a late lead because CJ McCollum went right at Jalen Brunson, who’s been inefficient since his hot opening quarter in Game 1 and remains a defensive target; Brunson’s very good, but he’s not the kind of great who erases late-game holes, and the Knicks lack bench pop and closing athleticism, so expectations need a reset.

Denver–Minnesota is fascinating: Jokic is the best player, but the Wolves are longer, deeper, and tailor-made for the postseason with Gobert bothering Jokic, McDaniels and Naz Reid swinging games, and a defense-first identity that punishes regular-season darlings.

I once took heat for saying Sam Darnold was a poor man’s Brett Favre, but the traits and even the numbers matched, and I see Fernando Mendoza as a budget Andrew Luck—big, smart, unshaken by mistakes—with that short memory you need; think of Luck throwing a late pick-six, smiling it off, then marching down to win.

Nick, congrats on ten years; I liked what the Giants did with Dexter Lawrence because it set a culture tone—what’s your read?

That was a massive steal: Dexter Lawrence is very good, but landing the tenth pick straight up is wild and masterful, while on the other side it screams panic and short-term thinking from a franchise that keeps tripping over itself.

For the Chiefs, I’d package assets and go get a top edge rusher while letting corner and tackle come later—am I out over my skis?

Not at all; Kansas City has to leave the top ten with a pass rusher, and while I’d let the board come to me, an impact front-seven player is the clear play in a rare window for a Mahomes team drafting this high.

I still see tiers: OKC is the lone great, Boston and Denver are very good, and the Knicks are just good—Brunson’s got real limitations you can’t coach away.

I think that’s a bit harsh; you can win with Brunson as your best guy if everything around him is perfect, but last night was a meltdown—he went cold and CJ reminded everyone he’s a battle-tested playoff scorer.

Soft side here: I feel awful for KD because he plays through stuff and hates load management, but if he can’t go tonight it becomes a case study in why guys rest for May.

By the logic that the Rockets have most of the top players even without KD, they should be fine, yet LeBron turned full-time conductor and controlled every beat; history says when his teams grab early control, they almost never let a series slip.

Running on peanut brittle and Red Bull, I stayed up for both, and these late East Coast tips are brutal; Nick’s had more looks than a pop star and he’s still authentic—cheers to ten years, First Things First is next, and when you’re having fun a decade flies.