- 5/24/2025
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00:00live right here on this thursday on the early line on sports grid it is game number two
00:04of the western conference finals tonight in oklahoma city between the thunder and the
00:09timberwolves of course okc the one seed in the western conference now with the official
00:14nba mvp and shea gilgis alexander for this season won the opening game of this set drs by 26 by
00:22winning the third and fourth quarters by a combined 30 points the thunder trailing by four at the break
00:28in the opening half of game number one rallied in a big way in the second of course that was only a
00:35full day off from a game seven victory of the nuggets will some of that lack of rest catch up
00:42with okc tonight can minnesota make this a series either evening evening us up at one game apiece
00:49or at least looking competitive to give us some hope that this will not be decided in just four
00:55or maybe five games seven and a half point spread tonight for game two in okc in favor of the
01:01thunder total on the rise once again it was 215 just about an hour ago currently 216 and a half
01:09on the fan duel sportsbook drs what is your expectation for game number two of the western
01:14conference finals a close game at the minimum here for the minnesota timberwolves with a legitimate
01:19chance to pull the upset tonight and get this series tied 1-1 before heading back to minnesota
01:24if we do get this 1-1 we are going to be heading for a seven game series because i don't think the
01:28minnesota timberwolves will sweep okc heading back to minneapolis but then again that would be 2-2 and
01:33then you give it to the thunder game number three almost similar to the way that the denver nugget
01:38series had played out but also understand this you got to bring it tonight timberwolves okc's not going
01:43to lay down hey we're the top seed we won game number one let's see what happens in game number two no
01:48they're looking to go up 2-0 and really put the screws to your franchise before you even hit
01:53your home court for game number three if we look at the seven and a half points it seems like it is a
01:58lot but also that line which was seven and a half and sevens and dropping by the hour before we played
02:04game number one i wasn't buying into it because i liked oklahoma city i just liked the fact that they
02:09were in playoff mode as i continue to talk about and in that rhythm of playing every other day in the
02:13minnesota timberwolves had a couple days off which some people would use to their advantage they're
02:17rested they're ready the other team's running off adrenaline i use it now to say okay is that
02:22adrenaline still going to be there from the previous series where you're just playing every other
02:26night but now the minnesota timberwolves who 48 hours ago lost a basketball game had a day degree
02:31group back in playoff mode and i think that works in their favor because for me i don't think we're
02:36going to see the same type of game where it's close in the first half and pull away by okc and the
02:42offense doesn't work for the timberwolves i think there's going to be a lot of change tonight which
02:45includes the urgency for the timberwolves to understand the task at hand you can't go down
02:50oh two so i do think we get more of a fight from the timberwolves a legitimate chance for the timberwolves
02:55to win outright yes but i really do like ben the seven and a half points in this game with the t wolves
03:00drs i thought you and i had a pretty good assertion of this series entering game one okc probably riding
03:07the wave of that momentum from a huge 32 point win in game seven to winning game number one even
03:13comfortably is just a seven point favorite in the western conference finals did we expect a 30 point
03:19route in that second half a 26 point margin in the game overall probably not but still okc taking
03:27advantage of being on their home floor to take a 1-0 series lead to begin the western conference finals
03:33but i also think both you and i believe that minnesota is not going down without a fight
03:38here in this series that ultimately okc probably represents the western conference in the nba finals
03:43the timberwolves are not just going to be walked over into the western conference finals for a second
03:48consecutive season and i think that is critical tonight to at least stay within the number would
03:54not be surprised by any means if the timberwolves win outright but if this series is going to see
03:59more than five games minnesota needs to cover tonight as the underdog they have been a dog just
04:04four times so far in this postseason run including in game number one now two and two straight up and
04:11against the spread of course the thunder have been at least a five point favorite in all 12 of their
04:16playoff contests so far five and seven against the spread but all five covers okc is won in a very
04:23large way by at least 19 points the rs all day on tuesday ahead of game one total was on its way up
04:30up up closing it to 18 and a half to 19 even in some spots stayed well under minnesota only able to
04:38register 88 points total now working its way back up again what do you think of our offensive output
04:45tonight in okc i think it'll be a little bit better because i i do think minnesota side will be better
04:51okc still going to bring great defense we understand they play at their home they'll be
04:54comfortable their bench players should play well as well they should be well into the 100s for my
04:58money but if minnesota pulls up tonight ben and ends up in the 90s again we might be looking at a
05:04five game series at best at that point because that's the expectation like okc is going to bring
05:09it they were the best team in the nba 68 wins home court advantage number one seed the expectations
05:14are there to be dominant on a night-to-night basis but also minnesota didn't get here by luck like yes
05:19they did get a little bit lucky with an injury here for you know steph curry but at the same time
05:23they pummeled that warriors team four to one there oh nobody what lakers healthy in the playoffs lebron
05:28james luka donges absolutely put them away in five games the offense has always been there it wasn't
05:34there in the second half of game number one i expect things to change i expect a couple performers
05:38on the timbrels certainly to improve their performances from game number one but if this game
05:43is going over you know that's a correlation to minnesota playing much better than they did in game
05:48number one if this game goes under i would be hard pressed to figure it was because minnesota scored
05:5298 points and won the game because okc couldn't score i expect better offense from minnesota and a
05:59better performance from minnesota the same performance if you will for okc that's an over the
06:04total for me yeah ndrs of course that starts with anthony edwards he cannot be option b or even one a he
06:11needs to be one and then some only 18 points in game number one not atrocious five of 13 from the
06:19floor three of eight from deep but as the ant man said after the opening game of the western conference
06:24finals i need to be more aggressive i need to shoot more secondly uh certainly in the uh moments that
06:31matter most like in that second half the points prop for anthony edwards entering game one was 25 and a
06:38half if i am not mistaken shake you'll just alexander at 31 and a half he stayed barely
06:44under but did score 31 with 20 points coming in the second half 11 from the charity stripe but we
06:51focus on anthony edwards first and foremost what does he need to do tonight the rs for the timberwolves
06:57to even cover the number and keep this game close he's got to be in the high 20s or low 30s there's no
07:02question about it he's the best player they have on the team love what julius randall did in game number
07:06one julius randall sits at 19 and a half in game number two but the focus is on anthony edwards
07:10no doubt in my mind and also as you talk about on that opening number he opened up with some outlets
07:1527 and a half as his points prop and it slowly came down during the day and you know look i bet that
07:21i love the under for anthony edwards and he didn't get 20 points in the last game so it's like all right
07:25understanding the task at hand loved okc game number one loved anthony edwards to the under complete
07:31role reversal for me in game number two i really like the minnesota timberwolves at seven and a half
07:36but you know what i might like even more the points prop for anthony edwards come on now i don't
07:40ludo it's a great defender and that's part of the handicap for game number one but sometimes as a
07:45superstar you have to take things in your own hand because it was just so easy everybody would just get
07:50a defensive stalwart and say yeah anthony edwards can't beat us here it's up to the superstar to impose
07:54his will on the defender get to the free throw line make your three point shots and i didn't see that
07:59graphic correctly here which anthony edwards the longest shooting distance of his career came in
08:04game number one come on man you're too big talented and powerful not to get to the rim and get those
08:09easy buckets which is what you need 24 and a half i love anthony edwards to get over that price point
08:15tonight ben i do completely agree drs and then you need the secondary members to help as well julius
08:22randall has been sensational in this playoff run 24 plus now in five consecutive games was minnesota's
08:29leading scorer in game number one with 28 but you need a lot out of anthony edwards you also need
08:34guys like naz reed dante di vincenzo and akil alexander walker not to be atrocious off the bench
08:40they were a combined five of 28 from three key scores in that second unit jaylen williams solid
08:47in game one chet holmgren solid in game one how about kenrick williams off the bench a perfect three
08:53of three from the floor two of two two of two from deep and playing some excellent defense as well
08:59okc has a lot of horses that can run in this series a lot of depth and balance for this thunder side
09:06we'll dive even deeper into the prop perspective for game two tonight in okc with tv tom vecchio of sports grid
09:15live right here on this thursday on the early line on sports grid our next guest provides that prop
09:30perspective at all times it is tv tom vecchio of sports grid a man with many names right the jack of
09:37all trades the home run prop king and the weird pizza eater is here on this thursday
09:44you knew it was coming up at least once we don't have to we did oh we show the photo listen i texted
09:54joe yesterday i said i would come on the show if there was no pizza slander and now i may just have
09:59to close out the window and leave you guys hanging for two segments this is unbelievable now i was going
10:06to make my one joke and that was it i did not know that the pizza photo would be included but donnie
10:14got some pizza yesterday for his big lunch tom's getting tripped shout out kristin hess by the way
10:21loyal sports grid viewer and listener we appreciate her engagement at all times but vecchio was getting
10:28heckled a little bit donnie how was your pizza yesterday delicious i mean anytime you get a good slice
10:34of pizza it's great and of course like when i go out to eat met the wife at a local pizza shop that
10:39makes fantastic pizza she beat me there put in the order so she's like what do you want of course a
10:44large pizza gets thrown in there split a nice little cheesesteak yesterday she had a separate slice of
10:48sicilian pizza it was a delicious lunch overall from a couple that's very much in love how about that
10:54i thought you didn't watch the show brother no need to goose her up in that way but credit to
11:01you for doing so all right vecchio last pizza conversation on the early line today that is my
11:07promise to you let's talk about even crazier things than a see i was going to make a pizza joke again
11:13let's just talk about crazy things that happened last night in manhattan inside madison square garden
11:19that would be the indiana pacers coming all the way back to beat the knicks in game number one
11:24of the eastern conference finals 138 135 in overtime vecchio as you're sitting there watching the game
11:32last night the knicks up by 17 with over six minutes remaining in regulation up 14 with 245 left in
11:40regulation up eight with about 34 ticks remaining in regulation in the late game drama from erin neesmith and
11:47of course tyrese halliburton what was your reaction to what we saw last night inside the world's most
11:53famous arena well ultimately i don't think my takes are dramatic or any different than you would hear
11:59anywhere else like it got to the end of the game and the knicks looked tired i mean that is pretty
12:03evident and you know this whole thing of like rest versus rust we always can have that conversation but
12:08my takeaways from the game start early where the team started off what were they seven of seven
12:13combined eight of eight combined just starts like a lot a lot of scoring really really early and then
12:18obviously we saw the knicks pulled away and then the pacers kind of punched back and obviously had
12:21this dramatic ending but the efficiency from both teams way way too high than why what i was ultimately
12:28expecting now i was here on monday talking about that i did like the over 223 and we got there we got
12:32the earned regulation so we didn't need to get there in overtime but the defensive changes have to come
12:37through early they can't allow the both either team to get off to a super hot start and the nabs need to
12:42tighten things up like neesmith shooting five three six threes late in the game the defensive
12:46assignments need to be taken care of and like josh hart slipped a couple times and i don't want to
12:50like blame it on that but they need to tighten up on defense on both sides whether it's the drop
12:55coverage or whatever changing that needs to be fixed so i don't mind waiting because 227 is a big
13:00adjustment from 223 i don't mind waiting to see how the game starts and then playing it live whether
13:05there's great defense we can jump in a live under or there's a lot of scoring say hey we just got to roll
13:09if the first few games there's going to be points points points
13:12changes have been made here also time with the fan blue sportsbook on the series outlook now coming
13:18in as a favorite around a minus 145 price or so in the favor of the new york knicks after that game
13:23one loss which was an excruciating loss and now the pacers wind up a minus 166 live price on the
13:29fan blue sportsbook is it buy-in time on the new york knicks around that plus 140 price dog
13:33yeah i think that's the way to play like if you do not have a ticket on this series whatever it
13:38might be obviously you don't want to trust the knicks you're not laying minus 230 on the money
13:42line you don't want to live minus five and a half considering the late game collapse that they just
13:46had you could honestly play the knicks on the series and then you're working with something you
13:51could then get the pacers coming back in game three if the knicks do tie it up like this is a good
13:56spot and i talked about taking the pacers a serious price on batr last saturday it's like listen
14:01they're going to come away with one of the first two games you can play them there and then you'll
14:04have some flexibility as the series moves on i think it's totally fine to take the knicks at this
14:08point a historic comeback for indiana but i still feel like we all believe this is probably going to
14:14see at least six if not seven games going the entire distance here in the eastern conference finals
14:20do we feel the same way about the western conference finals we get the game number two tonight in
14:25oklahoma city the thunder winning the opening game of this set by 26 a seven and a half point
14:30favorite for game number two and a total on the rise now at 216 and a hug vecchio in terms of the
14:37overall duration of this series how crucial is it for minnesota to be competitive tonight to make this
14:44a tightly contested western conference finals not only be competitive i legitimately think they need
14:50to come away with the wins tonight if they're gonna be caught in this series if they don't come away
14:54with this when i would say it's five games it may be six at like maybe six but realistically i think
15:01we'd be looking at five games if okc comes away with the win tonight if the timberwolves can get this
15:04they have to then split when they're back at home then we're gonna be in for a series but it has to
15:09start early you guys were just talking about ant edwards coming out strong you could play his first
15:13quarter prop whatever might be the issue for the timberwolves and i spoke about this on monday i
15:17talked about rudy gobert under nine and a half points that prop has dropped to six and a half
15:21gobert and mike conley are just non-factors on offense it's just like they're going out there
15:26saying edwards julius randall save us like maybe we get a little bit of scoring from uh mcdaniels you
15:32get nas reed and deep chenzo who weren't good in the first game but those are players that need to
15:35step up so defensively when i'm looking at this i'm saying like okay rudy gobert score five six seven
15:41eight points mike conley's the same like you have two players two starters that are going to combine
15:46for fewer than 15 points they're non-factors on offense those are the players that have to step up
15:51because defensively they just throw whatever they want and randall and ants and they can stop them
15:55and then no one else is scoring only 88 points for the t wolves in the opening game vecchio what is
16:01your favorite prop play for game number two of the western conference finals tonight it's got to be
16:06hartenstein for the thunder under eight and a half points six of eight in game one listen they're going
16:11to be scoring the thunder that is but again it's going to be coming mostly from sga the new mvp we're
16:16going to be seeing plenty of scoring from jalen williams but we're just not going to see a whole lot
16:20from hartenstein chet holmgren will have his role with players off the bench but it's just not his
16:25role to score a ton at that high of a rate yeah best play tonight for game two of the western
16:30conference finals plenty of action to get to with tv tom on the ice in the stanley cup postseason up
16:35next but now we say farewell to our guide drs enjoy the money line drs on this thursday we'll talk
16:42tomorrow more on the early lineup next of course there was one historic comeback last night in the
16:50postseason with all the focus and all the eyeballs on madison square garden indiana with a dramatic and
16:56historic rally to steal game number one of the eastern conference finals against the knicks inside
17:02madison square garden but
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