OKC Poised as Top Contender for 2025 NBA Championship

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00:00We start with the end goal, DRS, getting to the NBA Finals and winning an NBA championship.

00:06How do you see it playing out over this long two-month stretch that is the NBA postseason?

00:11I've had the same opinion for a few months now.

00:14Western Conference, much tougher than the Eastern Conference.

00:17The Eastern Conference certainly top-loaded between two teams.

00:19Those are the two teams you can choose.

00:21You do have some options in the Western Conference, but if we're just looking at overall talent level,

00:25the way they played the regular season, home-court advantage being heavily weighted in my opinion,

00:31I do think the best team in the Western Conference is OKC, which means they will be in the Finals.

00:36So now if we take a look at the East, we understand it's going to be about two teams.

00:40It's the Boston Celtics, who were an amazing team, won the NBA championship last year,

00:43and it's about Cleveland, who had a great regular season, the talent to break through,

00:48but not getting as much respect because they're just not the Celtics, but have home-court advantage.

00:53So I do think both of those teams have the ability to make it to the NBA Finals,

00:58and then once again, home-court advantage being paramount with a good basketball team,

01:03which would be OKC, cutting down the nets as the NBA champion over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ben.

01:10I love it, DRS. I really do.

01:12You and I have examined these NBA championship odds for the last three, four months,

01:17and really what we saw by about the time we got to the new year in January, DRS,

01:23post-Christmas where a lot of attention starts to be paid to the NBA, is what we are seeing now.

01:30Now that number on Cleveland as the one seed in the Eastern Conference has grown shorter and shorter,

01:35but they're still not booked as the favorites to win a title, either in the NBA overall or in the Eastern Conference.

01:42But we've really seen these lines of demarcation.

01:46Oklahoma City and Boston, for a good majority of the year,

01:49it was the Celtics slightly in front of OKC, who have largely been in pole position in the Western Conference

01:55the entirety of this NBA campaign.

01:58But as both Oklahoma City and Cleveland continued to stack up wins on a historic rate,

02:05they started to see those numbers grow shorter,

02:07and the expectations for the reigning champs to be exactly back where they are continue to be there.

02:12In the final month or so of the regular season, OKC moved in front ever so slightly of the Celtics,

02:19and that number on the Cavaliers growing shorter and shorter under a $5 price.

02:24DRS, like you, I think Oklahoma City is the best team in the NBA.

02:29I do believe the Thunder, who will have home floor advantage in any potential NBA championship series

02:35against the Cavs or the Celtics, are going to win a Larry O'Brien trophy this year.

02:40A young and talented core that has all been together.

02:44Shea Gildress Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, under a very talented head coach in Mark Dagnall.

02:50With the addition of Isaiah Hartenstein this year as well,

02:53I think they took their playoff lumps last year, losing in the conference semis to Luka Doncic and Dallas.

02:59They have learned from that experience and by far, in a way, are the best team in the Western Conference.

03:04I think Oklahoma City is going to win an NBA championship.

03:07The only difference I have is OKC doing it against the Boston Celtics.

03:12So I do believe at the end of the day, we'll win the Eastern Conference crown.

03:17But I will just say this, Donnie.

03:18Regardless of how you feel, if you believe it's the Thunder over the Cavs,

03:22the Thunder over the Celtics, or swap those two Eastern Conference teams over OKC,

03:28that's how I would approach those NBA championship odds.

03:31Because all of those prices are so short compared to everybody else in the playoffs.

03:36But I think those short numbers are correct.

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