NEW ORLEANS — Andy Reid likes to joke that the Kansas City Chiefs plucked Kareem Hunt “off the couch.” To the Chiefs running back, however, his coach’s description of how Hunt re-joined the team that drafted him is not just funny hyperbole.

“It is the truth,” Hunt said Tuesday.

After he worked out at his former high school and used the sauna at a local YMCA to stay in shape for the NFL, the 29-year-old Hunt signed with the Chiefs following an injury suffered by Isiah Pacheco. Hunt has a team-best 836 yards rushing, including the postseason.

Although the Chiefs’ pursuit of a third consecutive championship has grown tiresome for some fans who are fed up with their dominance, Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles is a new experience for veterans such as Hunt and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who will play in the Super Bowl for the first time in their decorated careers.

“I stayed patient,” said Hopkins, a three-time All-Pro. “To be in this opportunity, to be here, I think for my career, I think it kind of solidifies me to be where I want to be when I’m done.”

Playing for the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans before he was traded to the Chiefs in October, Hopkins hadn’t reached a conference championship game since 2019. In that game, the Texans took a 24-0 lead before the Chiefs rallied for a 51-31 victory. Hopkins caught nine passes for 118 yards.

After leading the league in rushing as a rookie in 2017, Hunt was on the way to making his first Super Bowl appearance. He was dismissed by the Chiefs in November 2018, however, after he was caught on video pushing a woman to the ground and kicking her. Authorities did not proceed with criminal charges, but the NFL suspended Hunt for the first eight games of the 2019 season after the Cleveland Browns signed him.

“I learned how to think before you react,” Hunt said. “Don’t go off emotion.”

Hunt is familiar with getting second chances from Reid. He recalled Tuesday that he fumbled on his first NFL carry and was immediately overcome with the thought his career would be over. He thought he was going to be a bust.

Then Reid gave assurance he would get the ball on the Chief’s next play. Hunt has been trying to repay his coach’s faith since.

“I’m just grateful to be able to come back to where it all started,” Hunt said, “and hopefully finish it out and do the unthinkable and three-peat.”

Tyronn Lue sat with his arms crossed, his voice steady and his message clear about his displeasure with how the Clippers provoked him with their recent performances and how they all have to look in the mirror to fix their problems.

It was more than just the 122-97 beatdown by the Lakers on Tuesday night at the Intuit Dome that had Lue upset. It was the way his group played in the last three games that had the Clippers coach in a rare moment of ripping his players.

“And we’ve been good, so I can’t be, you know, all the way upset,” Lue said. “But the last three games have really pissed me off.”

The Clippers were down by 31 points to the Lakers at one point, just the latest performance Lue took issue with.

He also pointed to the Clippers’ win over Charlotte and their loss at Toronto.

“We’re just not getting off to good starts,” Lue said. “So, we’re not locking in defensively. Like 45 points in the first quarter [for the Lakers], like that’s just way too many. And so we got to take pride in guarding.

“That’s who we’ve been all season long and now the last three games we’ve kind of let our guards down and this is what happens. So, we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and think about do we want to win or not. That’s got to be our mentality. And so three games in a row we come out with not a great defensive performance and it’s just not putting enough into the game. Even on the offensive end, not putting a lot into the game. And so when that happens you get blown out like we did tonight.”

The Lakers shot 54.9% from the field and 48.6% from three-point range. This was against a stellar Clippers defense that was ranked third in the NBA in points given up (107.2) and second in defensive efficiency (106.2) entering the game.

“Focus, um, intensity, effort. Whatever you want to call it,” Lue said. “We’re not bringing it. So, we have to fix that.”

Kawhi Leonard had just 11 points on four-for-11 shooting.

He was asked why effort has been a problem for the Clippers in recent games.

“I don’t know,” Leonard said. “It’s hard to say. We all get paid to play this game and leave it all on the floor. So, I’m not sure.”

Leonard still is limited in his minutes. He played just 22:26. But at least he talked to the media after the game.

James Harden left without speaking to the media. He had just seven points, missed 10 of 12 shots and was minus-16 in almost 30 minutes.

The Clippers were coming off a four-game trip over eight days but refused to use that as an excuse.

“We have to, like T-Lue said, look ourselves in the mirror first and be able to come out here and do our job,” Leonard said. “That’s where it starts. Can’t look over the shoulder for help with those things about playing hard.”

With his team down 25 with 6:58 left, Lue had seen enough. He pulled his starters. Two of the players who entered were Patty Mills and Drew Eubanks, acquired Saturday from the Utah Jazz for Mo Bamba, P.J. Tucker, a 2030 second-round draft pick and cash considerations.

Lue spoke highly about Mills and Eubanks.

“Two solid guys that you love to have on your team,” Lue said. “Plays the right way. Plays hard, competes.”

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, more than enough time for the Clippers to make another move. With that in mind, Lue was asked if the Clippers have enough to make a deep run.

“Yeah, I do feel that way,” Lue said. “Once we’re able to get Kawhi’s minutes to where we need to get them to, and he’s 100%, meaning timing, meaning just condition-wise, we can make a run. We can beat anyone, any time. We also, if we don’t play the right way, we could lose to any team. So, we do have enough in the locker room to win games and go deep in the playoffs. And, so, we’ve just got to have the right mindset, play for each other and anything can happen.”

All quiet on the Nets’ trade front.

Could they actually stay that way?

Cam Johnson has had his name constantly linked in rumors since the Nets shipped out veterans Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith.

But with the trade deadline fast approaching at 3 p.m. on Thursday — and sources telling The Post that Brooklyn is not shopping Johnson — it seems more and more likely that no team offers enough to get the Nets to change their minds.

League sources have consistently told The Post that the Nets — who were obviously highly motivated to deal away Schroder and Finney-Smith, since both were 30-somethings set to hit unrestricted free agency — have not been shopping Johnson.

They’ve only taken calls on him, and apparently none are convincing them to move the sweet-shooting wing.

So does Johnson go to Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks on the incessant reports? Or let his agents handle that while he keeps his focus on the court?

“Yeah, the latter more so,” Johnson told The Post. “If I felt the need to go speak to him about something, or I catch wind of something that I want to bring up to him, then I will.”

So far, there hasn’t been much of a need.

In various reports, Johnson has been linked to Golden State, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and the Lakers.

But he’s still in Brooklyn, and Marks is seemingly more than content to stand pat.

“He has a job to do. I have a job to do. And that’s what I’m focused on right now,” Johnson told The Post. “And right now, my job is to play for this team and to contribute to this team and to try to do all those things.

“And his job is to manage the group. So I’m not [worried]. If there’s something that I need to know, then I trust he’ll tell me, my agent will tell me. And [I’m] going from there.”

Johnson, who missed Tuesday’s game against the Rockets with a sprained ankle, is in the midst of a mid-career breakthrough.

The forward is currently averaging 19.4 points on 49.1/41.9/89.8 shooting splits. His true shooting percentage is up to 65.8 this season.

In 10 December games, Johnson poured in 22 points on 48.9 percent shooting, including a white-hot 44.0 percent from 3-point range. And he’s doing that on a de-escalating team-friendly contract that makes him easy to keep past Thursday.

“[The Nets] are not shopping [their] players, so there isn’t an asking price,” one source told The Post.

Johnson is under team control for the next two years on a deal that counts just 13 percent of the salary cap each of those seasons. The Nets never spoke with Golden State about Johnson, according to sources, and with the Lakers and Kings having made huge moves on the wings, two potential suitors are off the board. Brooklyn could bring more teams into the bidding process in the offseason.

There is a very loud segment of the Brooklyn fandom that wants to see Johnson moved precisely because he is good.

The tanking Nets are 17-33 after their stunning 99-97 win over the Rockets on Tuesday despite Johnson not playing and are sixth in the lottery odds.

Johnson contributes to wins.

Right now, the Nets’ odds of landing the coveted top overall pick — and Duke superfrosh Cooper Flagg — are 9 percent. By far their most likely landing spots as of Tuesday were seventh (at 28.5 percent) and eighth (20.0 percent).

But the analytics don’t support the hysteria. Johnson’s career-best win share mark is 5.6 back in 2021-22, and it’s 3.3 now.

The Nets will reach the two-thirds mark of the season next week, meaning realistically, even if Johnson has similar health and production the rest of the way, he would lift their win total by one or two victories.

In short, if the Nets move him, it won’t be about tanking but getting a big return.

And chances are it’ll have to come to them.

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s been a rough few days for former UFC Heavyweight Jamal Pogues.

On Saturday (Feb. 1, 2025), Pogues competed inside the Octagon for the fourth time opposite Hamdy Abdelwahab at UFC Saudi Arabia. The bout started slow and never really kicked into third gear. Abdelwahap found some success early with his wrestling, but as the fight wore on, he quickly fatigued. The rest of the match took place on the feet, and Pogues landed the better blows in rounds two and three in the eyes of most.

Unfortunately for “Stormtrooper,” two out of the three judges sided against him. He didn’t take the loss lying down, however, going on social media to protest shortly afterward.

“We know we got robbed,” Pogues said on Instagram (via MMA Fighting). “There’s not really much to say when you fight in people’s f—king country and s—t, they’re going to pick the hometown guy. I know I won two and three. Other than that, I really don’t know what’s next. We’ll see what the UFC do, if they re-sign me or not. If not, I appreciate everything about this journey. F—k, just go back home, heal up, and just hang out with my family. We’ll see where God takes me next.”

Generally, new UFC contracts are for four fights, meaning Pogues fought out his debut contract in defeat. That really hurts his position heading into negotiations, and UFC Roster Tracker revealed on Tuesday that Pogues was subsequently cut from the roster. Prior to the Abdelwahab bout, Pogues won two of his first three bouts, defeating Josh Parisian and Thomas Peterson while losing to the highly regarded Mick Parkin.

His current professional record stands at 11-5, and it remains to be seen where he competes next.

Insomnia

Getting punched by Ilia Topuria is bad for your health.

Kickboxers love getting arrested almost as much as MMA fighters love social media slurs.

There’s only like 30 Heavyweights left on the roster, meaning Kennedy Nzechukwu timed his divisional move masterfully!

The post-fight mental battle of wanting to eat literally everything vs. wanting to continue looking incredibly fit is real.

More than a decade after getting released, Miguel Torres is unimpressed by the UFC’s recent free speech embrace.

There’s only one Marvin Vettori.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

These lads are too big to be firing head kicks.

A major drawback to throwing right body kicks against orthodox opponents is that they’re easy to catch.

Muay Thai has only proved itself a million times over.

Random Land

Is this or is this not the plot of Les Misérables?

Midnight Music: Folk, 1962

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.