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00:00We start though with a preview of course of tonight's Western Conference Finals beginning
00:04in game number one in Oklahoma City. The Thunder and the Timberwolves. The numbers for tonight
00:10and then we'll get into the series outright. Seven and a half points spread in favor of the Thunder.
00:16Total now stands at 216. We'll dive deeper into the game in our third and final hour. A full
00:22preview and some picks entering game number one. But Donnie, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The number
00:29one overall seed into the Western Conference as this postseason got started. Our question always
00:35was, this is an OKC Corps expected to reach new heights in the NBA playoffs. Would they deliver
00:43on that promise? The answer so far is yes. Learning in a very tightly contested seven game
00:49series in round number two against the Denver Nuggets. They beat the Nugs by 32 in game seven.
00:56Quick turnaround to get ready for the Western Conference Finals against a Timberwolves team
01:01that is at this spot for a second consecutive year. More playoff experience perhaps for the
01:08T-Wolves. But the odds makers in love with OKC and really who could fault them. A minus 375
01:15outright price in favor of the Thunder. For OKC to cover a game and a half in the series spread
01:21that would be six games or earlier is minus 162. Six games the shortest at plus 225. But just a few
01:30cents behind that would be five games. Oklahoma City winning in five at plus 270. DRS, how do you
01:38see the Western Conference Finals playing out between Oklahoma City and Minnesota? Yeah, I think
01:43we're going to at least six or seven. I don't think it's going to be a gentleman's sweep and I don't
01:46think it's going to be a sweep either way. I like what the Timberwolves bring to the table. They can
01:50play defense, have one of the best defensive centers in basketball, Rudy Gobert, and one of the
01:53brightest superstars in the sport in Anthony Edwards. Now granted, Oklahoma City is deep. They
01:58have a great starting lineup. That's no fluke that they won 68 regular season games. So if I'm looking
02:04at the minus 375 price to win the series, I do think they win the series. But at the same time,
02:08Ben, that doesn't mean I have to like the price and actually bet that. But hold on, if you think
02:12you're going to win it, you might as well take it. Not necessarily. I think there's some better ways
02:15to spend your money on a day-to-day basis. But also, Ben, if we, again, we're going to get into
02:19the game and the spread and where it goes and who we think are going to win tonight a little bit
02:22later. Help me help you, NBA. You ready for this, Ben? As I see right now, the game starts tonight.
02:30Do you see the starting time? What is it? Can you tell me that? It is 8 30 p.m. Eastern time, Donny.
02:36Okay, now let's get a little bit ahead of ourselves. Tomorrow night,
02:40there is another singular NBA game that will be on. Ben, can you tell me the start time of that game?
02:45It is 8 p.m. Eastern time, Donny. What are we doing? We can't have every game at 8 o'clock
02:51where everybody can get to enjoy these games. Like I grant, like 8 30 isn't an exorbitantly
02:55late start time. But why are we at 8 30, 8 o'clock? Can somebody, somebody just explain that to me,
03:00why that is? Why are they not both at 8 o'clock or both at 8 30? Help. Somebody help me out, please.
03:08I don't know if there is a good answer for it. I guess the only thing that I would say is,
03:15is an additional 30 minutes of rest for OKC who played in game seven on Sunday afternoon,
03:22local time in Oklahoma City. That will be a 7 30 p.m. Central time tip tomorrow, local time at 8
03:29p.m. Eastern inside Madison Square Garden. I don't have a great answer for you, my friend.
03:35I mean, I'm like we are all we can have paradise in the NBA, Ben. We really can. They fight me at
03:40every step of the way. There's no reason like I would. And if every game was not a clock,
03:44I would just like, you know, I don't like it, but that's the way it is. But the fact that they put
03:47a game on at 8 30 and 8 o'clock, which means that window is the same exact window. Why not have more
03:53people actually be able to watch it at 8 o'clock than 8 30? It doesn't make any sense to me. I'm
03:59sorry. It just doesn't. So, again, we're going to get into the game. We'll have some fun. Love my
04:02guy. Yeah, words love SGA. But the fact now that I get angry that one game is a 31 games at 8 o'clock
04:08when they can both be at 8 o'clock and NBA, look, you want more money at 8 o'clock, you'll make
04:13more. I can't do that. Better tax deduction to make less money. Apparently, I don't know. Maybe
04:17that's it. Maybe so. DRS, who exactly knows, by the way, at stake in the tail of the tape between
04:24these two teams, Oklahoma City, best record in the regular season, 68 and 14 best cover team
04:30in the NBA throughout the regular season, the only team covering in more than 61 percent of their
04:35games, and it was more than 65 percent. But OKC has only covered twice in their last nine,
04:42a 43-point route against the Denver Nuggets in game two, a 32-point route in game number seven
04:48against the Nugs as well. Minnesota, a hefty underdog for this series, DRS, and of course,
04:53a hefty underdog in game number one tonight, getting seven and a half points in the five-game
04:58set against the Golden State Warriors. Of course, Steph Curry, not there in full, games two through
05:04five. The Timberwolves were never booked as an underdog, but a dog three times in five games
05:10against the L.A. Lakers in the opening round two and one, both straight up and against the spread
05:16for Minnesota as the underdog in that opening round. OKC has been at least a four-and-a-half
05:22point favorite in every single game so far throughout this postseason. Oklahoma City
05:29trying to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. That was an old era. KD,
05:35Russ, James Harden, of course, first birth in the Western Conference Finals for the Thunder
05:41since 2016, the final year of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook teamed up together in Oklahoma
05:46City. It's a new stage for this core, led by head coach Mark Dagnall, of course, by Shea Gilgis
05:53Alexander, who is not only going to win the NBA regular season MVP DRS, a hefty favorite at greater
06:00than a $3 price, minus $3.10 to win the Western Conference Finals MVP award named after Magic
06:07Johnson. You know what's great about that too? You see the graphic, you see obviously SGA's up
06:11there top, Anthony Edwards also there up top, but I understand this, look at the two guys behind him,
06:15like Williams, like yes, we know he can step up for OKC and play that Batman and Robin,
06:19but Julius Randall has been absolutely fantastic. So there's some interesting
06:24options for those B-level players that you know should be able to step up because when you think
06:27of Minnesota, primarily for the most part of the season, we're only focused about Anthony Edwards,
06:31but Randall has really stepped up in that number two spot that you can trust in big situations.
06:36He could be the linchpin in this Western Conference Finals to lift his team into
06:41the finals. I'm interested in Julius Randall to see what he does this round.
06:45Plenty more about the Western Conference Finals a little bit later on. All right,
06:48DRS, let's talk about game number one of the Western Conference Finals. Let's talk about this
06:53series as a whole in two scenarios that might both seem a little bit unlikely according to the odds,
07:01but we debate which is more likely. It was a question for all of you about the WCF and Fade
07:08the Public. Also, our natural conversation is just kind of sparking curiosity on the fly. Does
07:22anybody refer to the Conference Finals as like the WCF, right? There's like the acronym that we use
07:28to shorten it, but nobody's like game one of the WCF, right? No, absolutely not. It's kind of funny
07:35because I think they probably try to push that just a little bit at that point, but yeah, no,
07:39nobody reacts that way. Not a chance. All right, so which WCF outcome is more likely? That was
07:45the question at SportsCrit in our Fade the Public poll. Again, two unlikely scenarios,
07:51at least based on the odds, but we had to make it a little bit fun because OKC is a minus 375
07:58favorite outright. If we were to ask you who wins, we would assume that much like the oddsmakers,
08:03most of the public would back the Thunder as the one seed. So here are the two options, DRS,
08:09in this Fade the Public poll, which is most likely the Timberwolves win the Western Conference
08:15Finals outright or the Thunder get this done very quickly in a four-game sweep. Now, this has kind
08:23of led to a lopsided return as most of the public believes out of these two choices, Minnesota
08:29winning the series is more likely than OKC pulling off the sweep in only four games. About 71 percent
08:36of the vote saying the Timberwolves winning the series, again, more likely than the Thunder
08:41pulling off a four-game sweep. Yeah, pretty simple there too because I mean Timberwolves are a solid
08:46team. 4-1 victory in round number one against the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-1 victory over the Warriors,
08:51even though Steph Curry didn't play. That's four straight games to end the series, which they won,
08:54coming in rested and ready. We love the Thunder. Thunder a great team, but the Thunder also went to
08:58seven games. They didn't go four-game sweep over Memphis, four-game sweep in round number two over
09:03Denver. So we're expecting extended series. And for me, it's more likely that the Timberwolves
09:07win this series than the Thunder sweep. And I don't have the price points up in front of me right now
09:11because obviously it is a dog price for the Timberwolves to win the series as you see at a
09:15three-to-one price. But the Thunder sweep has to be way higher than a three-to-one price point here.
09:20So it's almost as if you're asking the public which is the more sound bet to make just based
09:23on the odds and they're answering correctly with the Timberwolves win. Now, also understand this,
09:28would you be overwhelmingly, oh my goodness, I can't believe that upset the Timberwolves. Well,
09:32no, like Julius Randle's playing great basketball. The Ant-Man's one of the best players in the NBA.
09:36Rudy Gobert is that center and a lot of veteran players filling in. We love the Thunder. The
09:40Thunder are great. The Thunder have home court advantage. The Thunder should win this series.
09:44But if we're looking at six and seven games here, no surprise. And even if we do get the seven games
09:48and it's the Timberwolves that win it, hey, so be it at this point. So Thunder sweep possibility,
09:53I don't think so. Timberwolves win, better possibility for me.
09:57I would not be surprised when I'd be slightly, you always say surprised and shocked. I would
10:02not be overly stunned, let's call it. If Minnesota wins the Western Conference Finals in a tightly
10:08contested series, I expect Oklahoma City to still win the West and represent this conference in the
10:15NBA Finals. To your point, DRS series, correct. Score market, team to win, and in how many games,
10:20the duration of the set, OKC in four, four zip plus 490. So yes, a much larger price than the
10:27three to one outright number on Minnesota to win this series. What is interesting though,
10:32that minus 375 price back in the Thunder outright, the shortest price in the series,
10:38correct score market team to win it. And in how many games is OKC in a gentleman's sweep in only
10:45at plus 270. And yet I think DRS, both you and I are expecting at least six games in this series
10:53over under total games set at five and a half. The over has the juice at minus 140. So some slight
11:00odds disparity there. Game number one of the Western Conference Finals tonight in Oklahoma
11:08City between the Thunder and the Timberwolves, the T-wolves in the Western Conference Finals
11:13for a second consecutive season. This young core in OKC advancing to a new stage and new heights.
11:20The first appearance for this franchise since 2016 of the Western Conference Finals, but really the
11:26first time for Mark Dagnold, Shea Gildress, Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren,
11:31and the rest of the crew. Only a short turnaround DRS for OKC. Of course, victorious at home in
11:39game number seven on Sunday afternoon. Minnesota's been off for about six days after making quick work
11:46of the Steph Curry-Less, Golden State Warriors, and only five games in their second round set.
11:51Will it have an impact? Let's discuss. Seven and a half points spread in favor of the Thunder.
11:57Total on the rise day over day now at 216 and a half on the FanDuel Sportsbook.
12:04OKC, Minnesota. Game one of the Western Conference Finals. DRS, what do you expect it to look like tonight?
12:12It should be fun. Like, you know, seeing two new teams set up in the Western Conference Finals,
12:16you know, last year, getting to the Western Conference Finals, Minnesota. Can they get over
12:19the hurdle this year? OKC sort of fight for that right of, yeah, we won 68 games, let's prove it in
12:24the playoffs. And SGA is the true MVP of the league, vanquishing Nicole Jokic in that last series as
12:29sort of saying, you know what, I already probably was going to get the award, but that just drives
12:33home the extra stake here. But let's understand this. The seven and a half that you looked at
12:37for a couple days now, most people in the betting public, according to the FanDuel Sportsbook,
12:41are betting towards Minnesota. Sixty-five percent of the spread bets coming in, sixty-four percent
12:45of the money as it stands right now here in New Jersey. And I would tend to agree with that,
12:50because you're looking at that, wait a second, rested and ready. I think they can win game number
12:53one, but if not, they can keep it close. All makes some sense. But I'm actually betting this series a
12:58little bit differently. I like the fact that OKC was at home in a game number seven, let's just
13:03call it two days ago, and it's going to get right back out on the court, keep the momentum going,
13:07the fans will be excited. It's a new round and it's a new series to sort of saying, you know what,
13:11let's get ourself off to a good foot. Now, secondarily, in game number two, I'm actually
13:15looking more towards the Minnesota Timberwolves because they had the layoff. They're going to
13:18get caught with an avalanche of emotion in game number one. Can they win? Sure, they can win.
13:22They're a good basketball team. But I'm focused more on game number two. So for me, looking at
13:25this, where most people thinking it's a detriment to take a look at OKC, oh, all that pressure of
13:30game number seven, I get that. But I still think that adrenaline of that victory is still there
13:34for game number one and a better chance for Minnesota to win game number two. So for me,
13:39sevens are out there at other outlets here, seven and a half at the Fandu Sportsbook. If you ask me
13:44also, Ben, where this line is going to be around game time, I probably would think it would be
13:47closer to seven than let you say going to eight points here. But I do think we could have a
13:52double digit victory tonight for OKC. I'll block the trend and the public and I'll take Oklahoma
13:57City tonight to cover the line. Sixty four percent of the money on the spread on Minnesota. Sixty five
14:04percent of the overall volume of bets on the spread on Minnesota. Oklahoma City has been
14:11booked as a favorite in all but three games the entirety of this year. But in every one, all 11
14:17of their NBA playoff games so far, including all seven in their second round series against the
14:23Denver Nuggets. In fact, they have been at least a five point favorite in every game. Shortest
14:28spread in favor of OKC with game seven closing at eight, eight and a half points for the Thunder
14:34in any of their home games so far throughout this playoff run. Six of those, the best covered team
14:41in the NBA all year long. That would be the Thunder covering in more than sixty five percent
14:46of their games. Just two covers in their last nine since game two of their opening round series
14:52against Memphis. And both covers the R.S. were rather comfortably the forty three point route
14:58of Denver in game two. The thirty two point winning game number seven just a few days ago.
15:03Kind of a reverse scenario for OKC in terms of what they saw to start off that series against
15:09the Nuggets. It was Denver off the hard fought battle in game seven against the Clippers.
15:14Riding that momentum in a fourth quarter comeback to steal game number one. It was Oklahoma City
15:20who had the long rest again, rest versus rust in these spots in the postseason,
15:25always up for debate. The Timberwolves were booked as a favorite in all five games against
15:30Golden State. Of course, we expected that to be the case after the Warriors lost Stephen Curry.
15:35They were an underdog three times in only their five games against the L.A. Lakers, two and one,
15:41both straight up and against the number in those three games as a dog in the opening round set to
15:48sixteen and a half. The total DRS. Are you expecting if OKC does win comfortably tonight,
15:54this game to push to the over or stay under that margin?
15:58I think, again, the premise typically of how I view a playoff series,
16:02particularly now we're getting late in the playoffs, right? Eastern Conference,
16:05Western Conference finals is you get a little bit more wide open to start because understand
16:09this. These two teams know each other. Yes, they've been around the block, but you don't
16:12know the playoff sets here. Right. Games one, games two. OK. So all that play before defend
16:16a little bit more as you start to get one one series to two series, three, two into game number
16:21six. Right. You're seeing yourself like, oh, OK, now every possession matters. And I'm not trying
16:26to say that possession doesn't matter in games one and two, but it's a little more free flowing
16:30because you don't have the added pressure on the other side of a team trying to close out
16:34or a team just trying to stay alive and doing everything in their power to try to avoid
16:38elimination. So I do tend to lean on the over, but I don't love it all that much because you do
16:42have one team that just got off of that tight series that we talked about with the Nuggets,
16:45one team with six days off. So, yes, their legs should be rusted and ready. But you're again in a
16:51controlled environment where everything matters in the Western Conference finals.
16:54So I do lean overs early in the series, which technique will lead me into tonight where I
16:58lean towards the over. And then as we get later in the series, that's going to start to shift.
17:02So those two sixteens that we have now been probably turned into two fourteens and two
17:06twelves and two oh nines as we go later in the series. Yesterday, when we discussed this game,
17:11215 was the over under this thing is getting hammered to the over the arrest. It just shut
17:16up live on FanDuel to 218 for that over under, which is the highest total for Minnesota so far
17:24this postseason, 10 games for the T-Wolves, five over five under 11 games for OKC, six under five
17:34over. I think we have two really good defenses on display. And J-Y, when he was here briefly
17:40yesterday, did mention how these two sides kind of match up. Both have used their height
17:44advantages at times. Both have some pretty good size in the interior, but two star players out
17:51in the guard spots and on the wing. Shea Gilgis-Alexander going to win the MVP award in 2024-25
17:58in the regular season on full display, as we saw in game seven, a thirty five point performance
18:04to knock off Denver. Shea, 31 plus in five of the seven in that second round series against
18:11the Nuggets. On the other side for Minnesota, Anthony Edwards, his points prop tonight,
18:16twenty five and a half thirty one in the hook, by the way, that number four SGA,
18:21a comparison between two of the young up and coming stars DRS in the association.
18:27And by the way, yesterday you could find numbers out there on Anthony Edwards,
18:30Bennett, twenty seven and a half now down to twenty five and a half. I agree with that here.
18:35So again, it's interesting that the number is going higher on the game, but lower on the superstar.
18:39And that is something to do about a superstar defender that's probably going to be lining
18:43up on Anthony Edwards. And that's Lou Doerr, which means maybe the door opens up a little bit more
18:46for a guy like Julius Randle. Now, can Anthony Edwards score thirty five points in game number
18:50one with rested legs? Of course he can do that. But sometimes you just look at the price point
18:55and say, OK, if it was twenty six and a half, twenty seven and a half yesterday,
18:58it's now down to twenty five and a half. Do you agree or disagree? Because some people might say,
19:01you know what, twenty five and a half, that's a buy point for me, no doubt about it. He's going
19:04to be in the high 20s and you go and take that. But just from me looking, I think that Anthony
19:08Edwards price coming down makes a lot of sense here. I look for them to hone in and say, OK,
19:12somebody else is going to have to beat us without it's not going to be Anthony Edwards. And also,
19:15again, Lou Doerr is tremendous. That'll be the primary defender. Hard to beat Lou Doerr,
19:19man. Guy's good. Twenty plus for Anthony Edwards in nine of the ten games for Minnesota this
19:25postseason, but only over twenty five and a half four times. Shade, you'll just Alexander,
19:30as we said, to see thirty one and a half. Not overly surprising. The Ant-Man, by the way,
19:35at least nine triples, three point attempts in his last three games of the series against
19:41Golden State. One of the key reasons that Minnesota took advantage of the absence of
19:46Steph Curry. Julius Randle, sensational DRS in that second round series against the Doves.
19:51Point prop tonight. Nineteen and a half. Jalen Williams, a huge bounce back in game seven
19:57from a disappointing game six. Twenty four points to help SGA and OKC win that seventh game.
20:03Yeah, you know, I love my secondary options. You got two really good ones here. And it's
20:06always good to get those good vibes because both of these players coming off a good series,
20:10but also more importantly, Williams coming off a really good game and an important pivotal game.
20:14Number seven, I expect that momentum to carry over tonight as well.
20:19Yeah, we'll talk about it with Brian Fonseca up next. Game number one of the Western Conference
20:25finals on this Tuesday evening in Oklahoma City. It's the Thunder and the Timberwolves
20:30for a spot in the NBA finals. So preview this series and the opening game of it.
20:36Brian Fonseca joins us live right here on this Tuesday on the early line on SportsCrit. Fonseca
20:42here for two segments. He'll help me round out the show, looking at the Eastern Conference finals
20:47between the Knicks and the Pacers in our next segment as well. Fonseca, as always, appreciate
20:52the time and thank you for being here. And if anybody's watching, don't let the New York hat
20:57fool you, because I really like the Pacers. Oh, a couple of Pacers guys. We've got three guys who
21:04believe the Pacers could be the right side in what we expect to be a tightly contested
21:10Eastern Conference finals set. Let's start in the Western Conference finals. And before we dive
21:15into the details, Fonseca, of the opening game tonight in Oklahoma City, let's look at the series
21:20overall. The Thunder a hefty favorite to win the West at minus 375. And let's start with the prices
21:28themselves. Fonseca, the oddsmakers believe heavily in OKC. Do you think the Thunder should be as
21:35heavily favored as that minus 375 price indicates? As much as I think OKC is going to win this series,
21:44this is too generous of a price, because I think Minnesota has a real shot. Like,
21:48Minnesota can do this. There are pathways for Minnesota doing this. The three-point volume
21:53that they're able to generate if they're able to actually generate the looks, because OKC is awesome
21:57at the passing lanes. This is going to become a turnover battle. I mentioned this yesterday on my
22:01YouTube channel, actually Sunday on my YouTube channel, where one of the biggest advantages
22:05Oklahoma City has is that they generate a ton of turnovers. They force a ton. We saw this in the
22:11closeout game against Denver. And with Minnesota, they turn the ball over more than anybody else
22:16left in the playoffs. That's going to be a problem. With Oklahoma City, however, like, you do wonder
22:22about are they going to get enough secondary offense? And does Minnesota's defense, like,
22:28do they have enough to make this offense struggle, as Denver did? You know, Denver doesn't have,
22:34like, a great defense. Minnesota has a good defense, a really good one. And it can be
22:39problematic for Oklahoma City in terms of generating that secondary offense. So I think 375,
22:46like, I'm just not going to bet it. The way I'm going to play it is let's see if Minnesota can
22:51steal game one, and then I'll buy in on the Thunder, because I think they could win in six
22:56or seven from there. Always interesting, Brian, in game number ones of how teams are actually
23:01going to come out. Minnesota much more rested than OKC, that whole rest for us rush type of
23:06theory. But a heavy favorite here tonight, the FanDuel Sportsbook of Oklahoma City as a seven
23:10and a half point favorite. Before we even get into the totals, how about the line itself at
23:14seven and a half? And what are your expectations tonight between the Timberwolves and the Thunder,
23:18according to that line? Again, I don't love this line. I mean, look, I understand the rhythm that
23:24Oklahoma City is in. There's something to be said for rest is overrated. And I think we saw that
23:30last round where teams who were well rested just lost in game one on their home floor. Boston,
23:37for example, they had a rest advantage. They lost to the Knicks. Cleveland had a rest advantage.
23:42They lost to the Pacers. And there may have been even another example. Oh, actually, Minnesota and
23:47Golden State. Minnesota had the rest advantage in that series. Golden State had a seven game
23:53war with the Houston Rockets. It came out in one game, one despite a Steph Curry injury.
23:58And then that was a series from there because Minnesota just routed them from that point on.
24:02So with this, it's like it's not a spread I'm touching. I do like the under, though,
24:06and the total is actually moved to 218, which is which is yeah, which is real interesting to me,
24:13given that it was a 215 and a half, like very recently, very recently. So I'm a little surprised
24:19because, you know, Minnesota's offense tends to struggle. Oklahoma City's offense is not always
24:23the cleanest. And we just talked about how good their defenses and both of these defenses are
24:27really good. So I could see this being an under series, but maybe that's a little bit too
24:30predictable. It's not something that I'm like, hey, you need to bet like X amount on. I've never
24:36I'm never doing that. But, you know, the numbers just overall are kind of surprising here. Like
24:40is Oklahoma City overvalued both in game one and for the series? And then you have the total where
24:46it's like, are we sure we're going to get to 218? But maybe we are because Minnesota does like to
24:50shoot threes. The oddsmakers have had full belief in OKC the entirety of this playoff run. They have
24:57been at least a five point favorite Oklahoma City has in every single game so far in the postseason
25:04all 11. Let's compare the two superstars on either side. Anthony Edwards, 25 and a half his points
25:10prop Fonseca for game number one shade Gildas Alexander death taxes a points prop somewhere
25:17around 30 or 31 31 and a half is where it checks in for the opening game of the Western Conference
25:23Finals tonight. How do you think they will be defended on the other side? And are there
25:28matchups to be taken advantage of for both Gildas Alexander and the Ant-Man?
25:34The best one for Ant is probably to get a switch on Chet Holmgren and try, but you're dealing with
25:41length at that point. The reason is because Oklahoma City is the best equipped to guard
25:48Anthony Edwards. They're not going to stop him. They can only hope to contain him. But at the
25:53same time, you have a lot of options to throw at him. Like Jalen Williams is a more than competent.
25:59He's a very good defender. New door who I think is going to get the primary responsibility on
26:03Anthony Edwards. He's obviously one of the best. I think he could have been defensive player of
26:07the year this year. If we didn't just give it to centers, you have case on Wallace. You have
26:14Alex Caruso. You have shake Gildas Alexander himself. Like you have a lot of defensive
26:19options here to throw at Anthony Edwards who you're like, Hey, you could survive a one-on-one
26:25matchup for a little bit. If they're going to send help, then that's fine. And this is where
26:30Dante DiVincenzo and Nazareth are going to have to hit shots. McDaniels as well. McDaniels has
26:35to prove like what he's been doing in the playoffs isn't just a fluke because Minnesota drew two
26:41matchups where they played no centers, you know? And that's ultimately going to be a thing here
26:47where like Isaiah Hardenstein is a center and Chet Holmgren is like half a center, but he has
26:54height, length. I wouldn't call him a full-fledged center because he's still growing into his body,
26:58but there's that end of it. And then with shake Gildas Alexander, it's like, can you defend him
27:02without fouling Minnesota? Like that's really the challenge there. He's going to try to get Rudy
27:07Gobert. He's going to try to, you know, muscle by maybe a McDaniels and what have you. And they
27:14don't have as many options to throw on him. So maybe you just try to shut off everybody else's
27:19water, so to speak, so that shake Gildas Alexander is forced to score 35, 40 points,
27:26but who else is going to be in rhythm at that point? But I think shut it. I think, I think
27:31the Thunder have more answers for Anthony Edwards than the reverse crazy as that sounds.
27:37DRS, we send you the money line. Have a great time. Fonseca and I bring you the Eastern conference
27:43next. The conference finals in the NBA post-season begin tonight. Game number one in Oklahoma City,
27:50Western conference finals, the Thunder, a seven and a half point favorite against the T-wolves
27:55OKC, a minus 375 outright favorite to win the West. Brian Fonseca still here for a second
28:02consecutive segment and Fonseca as we have shared, and as you expressed as well, the odds makers
28:07have a ton of belief and optimism in the Thunder really been that case, at least out West for a
28:13good majority of this season. But with where things are in the Eastern conference, we'll talk
28:18the conference finals between Indiana and New York in just a moment, but not our two top teams that
28:24we expected to be at this stage in Boston and or Cleveland. OKC now enters in this final four in
28:30the association as a minus 180 favorite to win the Larry O'Brien trophy as an NBA champion. How do
28:38you evaluate those odds, those numbers to win that NBA title here entering the conference finals?
28:46Again, like I think it's it's a little ambitious just because of the Timberwolves in particular,
28:53not that I think the Knicks and Pacers can't beat the Thunder. That would be a tall task,
28:58obviously. And there's a slated like there's a finals date. The finals are going to start
29:03June 5th. We know that. So if your series goes long, you're still going to have a couple days
29:08rest. And in between each and every game, there's going to be two days rest, except for between
29:12games three and four. I think the rest, you know, it'll be cleared up a little bit, but these series
29:19are ultimately going to come down to. And this is the thing that people probably won't talk about
29:23as much. But whoever are the healthier teams are going to win these conference finals because
29:28these games are every other day and it benefits you to have a long rotation. This is why people
29:33like the Thunder and this is why people like the Pacers ultimately in that series against the Knicks.
29:38People who like the Pacers, I should rephrase, like that they have a rotation that can go
29:4310, maybe 11 deep, which is going to be good in a series that's played every other night.
29:49Whereas the Knicks, for example, they go seven deep with confidence,
29:53maybe eight, maybe eight. We don't even know who the eighth guy is going to be,
29:58but we know Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson will be in the rotation.
30:02And I actually think Preston Shua could be useful in the series for the Knicks.
30:05But I think the Thunder are deserved favorites. I don't want to bet them at minus 185 though.
30:12Again, I'll probably wait till after game one. If they lose game one, then it's like, okay,
30:16now we can get into Thunder business because I'll get a better price.
30:20Yeah, I think it's a really good point. I think it's very understandable to recognize that OKC
30:25should be a favorite, even a strong favorite. It's not exactly the most enticing bet to be made
30:31at this current moment. Game number one tonight in OKC, game number one tomorrow night in MSG,
30:38Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena, the New York Knicks back in the Eastern
30:42Conference Finals for the first time in two and a half decades since 2000. The last time they were
30:48there, they took on the Indiana Pacers who won the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000 in six games.
30:55A lot of old rivalry playoff history between Indiana and New York Fonseca and some recent,
31:01of course, in the second round last year, it was the Pacers and the Knicks doing battle,
31:06Indiana winning in a seventh game inside Madison Square Garden. How tightly contested
31:12will the Eastern Conference Finals be between the Knicks and the Pacers this time around?
31:18I have a lot of matchup questions like with Karl-Anthony Towns versus Myles Turner. That's
31:24going to be fascinating to me how each one is defended, which team is daring the other one to
31:30shoot. Myles Turner, I think, could be very, very problematic in the series for the Knicks if he's
31:35just hitting threes because Chris Asporzingas wasn't able to stretch Karl-Anthony Towns out 27,
31:4028 feet out. And Myles Turner could do that because Asporzingas wasn't healthy. And we saw
31:46what happens when Asporzingas is able to do that, but he's healthy. It really bends that Knicks
31:50defense. And that's something that, you know, Indiana is going to need to do. Pascal Siakam
31:54is going to be guarded by O.G. Ananobi. Good luck to both parties because that's going to be very,
31:58very physical. Don't know how that's going to go. Jalen Brunson, he can get his against Andrew
32:03Nembhard. We'll see if the Pacers go with him or Aaron Nesmith. And even at times, Ben Mathurin,
32:08just because he has length and has improved defensively. I think Carlisle is going to be
32:12very creative in the series. I think Tom Thibodeau deserves credit for being malleable,
32:16a little more malleable last series. But ultimately, like, I have a Pacers to win
32:22the Eastern Conference Finals future. So what I might do is hedge with Knicks in seven,
32:28because I do think this series goes seven. But I really don't care about home court in this series.
32:33I think the Knicks are deservedly favored. But I like the price is close because the Pacers deserve
32:38a lot of respect. The biggest difference between the Pacers this year and last year
32:41is last year they couldn't defend, this year they could. Their defense was actually in the top 13
32:46in the NBA, around where the Knicks were, actually. And better in the last couple months
32:51of the regular season, where they established they were one of the best teams in the NBA.
32:54So I am not sleeping on the Pacers at all.