The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 1 - Thunder take game 1 over the Lakers, NBA has a flopping problem
06 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What happened in Game 1 between the Thunder and Lakers?
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Chapter 2: How did Austin Reeves perform in the playoff game?
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of LeBron's injuries on the Lakers?
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Chapter 4: What is the current state of flopping in the NBA?
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here we go it is a wednesday we are live it is the herd nba playoff week good games wherever you may be however you may be listening or watching thanks for making us part of your day you know how sometimes people will come up to you and they'll ask hey how you doing how are things they're hoping you say good they don't want to hear about your problems
And nobody cares in the NBA if you injured your oblique over a month ago. Austin Reeves was three for 16 and awful last night. Nobody cares about the injury.
Chapter 5: How do players feel about the flopping issue in the playoffs?
Ant was great coming off an extended knee. Hyper extended knee. Game one. Embiid, his appendix burst. He's been great. Cade Cunningham had a collapsed lung. Missed 11 games. Cade Cunningham. Nobody cares. He's great.
Chapter 6: What strategies are teams using against Austin Reeves?
Austin Reeves last night was dreadful. 0 for 10 on uncontested shots. Nobody's done that in this league since Draymond Green three years ago. I understand his popularity. He's undrafted. The headband. He's scrappy. He gets a little bit better every year. Seems like a great kid. He was awful.
Chapter 7: How does Austin Reeves fit into the Lakers' future plans?
And here's what happens. You see his limitations. So when a team picks on you, they're not doing it in the abstract. They have watched film on you. Last year, the T-wolves, Chris Finch and a great staff watched film on Austin Reeves and attacked him. He was bad. OKC watched film on Austin Reeves, saw him as a weakness and attacked him, put ball pressure, multiple, multiple turnovers.
And you saw this with Derek White of the Celtics. Everybody's like, Derek White had a down year. No, when Derek White was a five or a four, the Celtics were a championship team.
Chapter 8: What changes could the NBA make to address flopping?
This year, because the Tatum injury, and they moved off Porzingis and other players, there were nights he was a two. He was often the third. And then you see the ceiling with Derek White, who's a good player. Austin Reeves, a good player. But when you ask the number three starter in baseball to be your ace and go toe-to-toe with Garrett Cole, he's not. And that's my take on Austin Reeves.
In his playoff career, that's the best coaches, best teams, he gives you 16-4-4, shoots about 42-43%. That's fine. But it's not special. He is a number four on a championship team, a number three on a decent playoff team. But he gets hunted defensively. And both Minnesota last year and Oklahoma City last night, they look at film, they scout, and they attack him. And they put ball pressure on him.
And they're making sure switches. They want Austin Reeves guarding one of their guys. And that's the reality of it. Ant Embiid, Cade Cunningham, Austin's oblique injury, nobody cares. So far in the playoffs, the Lakers are better with Austin Reeves not on the floor. I know, the oblique injury. And also, here's something else to think about. In back-to-back seasons, he's been injured.
In the playoffs. He's in the playoffs. He's not 100%. Why? Because he has an undrafted athlete's body. He doesn't have big, dominant physical traits. Caleb Williams goes number one to the Bears. He's never hurt. LeBron's a number one pick. He's never hurt. Part of being a first-round pick or a number one pick is the body, the traits, the size, the durability.
I mean, Big Ben didn't get hurt until the end. Eli Manning, you know, John Elway's, Dan Marino's bigger, stronger athletes. So he's banged up. I've said this about Brock Purdy. He's a smaller guy, gets hurt more. Caleb Williams gets hammered. He's never hurt. That's part of being like a number one pick.
So, you know, the big issue we're all talking about with the Lakers next year is, hey, LeBron's got to take a pay cut. And here's my question. Is the bigger issue, is Austin Reeves worth $38 million a cap hit? Because his cap hit now is going to triple. And he's not a one and he's not a two. The question is, are you a championship team if he is a three? And I don't think you are.
I think you could win a playoff series or two. But I'm not picking on Austin Leafs. I get his popularity. I like him as a player. But folks, regular season basketball is not playoff basketball. Are you noticing what's happening in the playoffs? Embiid. Ant, Wemby, Ket Holmgren's great. Why? Your best players rise above schemes. Your more fraudulent players get picked on.
So for all the criticism Kat gets, in the playoffs, Kat now is a pretty good player. Well, Kat has always been a really good player. Flaky, silly fouls can drive you nuts. He's a big-time talent. So Austin Reeves is eligible to sign a five-year $241 million deal. Cap hit would go from $14 million to $48 million. You think he's a $48 million player?
I know the headband, undrafted, scrappy, gets better every year. Let me ask you, is that a $48 million player? Go look at the Celtics and Derek White. I'm not being mean here. Austin Reeves, he took the hit. He said nobody cares about the injury. Because I thought the Lakers, had they gotten just a decent game from him, he had a real basketball game.
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