- 6/19/2025
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00:00But one sport still is playing tonight, Joe, and that's the NBA Finals.
00:03That's game number six.
00:05That's the Indiana Pacers at home taking on OKC.
00:08And now's the time of the show.
00:09We'd like to reach out to the public and ask them what their opinions are on our fave, the public poll at Sports Grid on X.
00:15We asked this question this morning.
00:17What is the best bet for game six of the NBA Finals?
00:21There were four answers you could give.
00:23The Thunder minus six, the Pacers plus six and a half.
00:26Excuse me, the Thunder minus six and a half.
00:28The Pacers plus six and a half or the totals over two twenty one and a half or under two twenty one and a half.
00:34I went with the Pacers, which is currently getting twenty nine percent of the value here.
00:39And I don't know if I'm going with my head or my heart at this point, because I just want to game number seven.
00:45So asking that question, where did you go in the poll today and which way did you vote?
00:51I I happen to think an over is coming here tonight.
00:55I think this is woefully low here at two twenty one.
01:00It was two twenty four.
01:02And then, of course, the Halliburton news came and now all of a sudden it's a three point drop.
01:07So, yeah, I think there is plenty of value in the over in this one.
01:12The reality is neither team is ever going to take their foot off the gas in this game,
01:17given the fact that both teams have shown an ability to be able to come back.
01:21No lead is safe. I think there's plenty of value in the over in this one at two twenty one.
01:27Let's look at the game itself tonight to six and a half point favor here at the FanDuel Sportsbook up from five from the opening number.
01:33The Halliburton news comes in, plays into that here.
01:35The total also, as we saw right mid two twenties here.
01:38Now we're down to two twenty one and a half.
01:40We'll see where it gets to around game time.
01:42But if we are looking at the betting statistics here at the FanDuel Sportsbook,
01:45if you have the drop down box next to more wagers, it lists here the percentage of bets against the spread.
01:51Fifty four percent on OKC.
01:53The percentage of money on this game, OKC, sixty four percent going up against the spread.
01:59Are we surprised that OKC is getting the numbers?
02:01Because for me, it fits the public narrative, right?
02:04Like, wait a second. OKC is better. OKC can close him out.
02:07Halliburton's injured. Where do I sign up on OKC?
02:09It just feels like that's the way the public is viewing this game.
02:12No Halliburton, no problem. Should be a victory.
02:17Yeah, well, yeah, but the problem is, people, what short memories we have.
02:21You know, Oklahoma City failed to cover its first eight road games in the postseason
02:27and then had to have this ridiculous miracle sequence happen in order at the end of game four
02:33to be able to pull it out and get the cover here.
02:36I do not trust Oklahoma City on the road.
02:39I think you're out of your mind.
02:41You have an Indiana team who has shown an ability at home to rise to the occasion here.
02:49You got to play the percentages. We see it all the time.
02:52Star player gets hurt.
02:54Role players play better at home.
02:56Everyone elevates their game back against the wall.
02:59And an OKC team that has proven time and time again, it can't be trusted laying more than two possessions in a game on the road.
03:08But I think I'm with you. I think it's an easy pick.
03:11I will take the Indiana Pacers in the six and a half all day long.
03:15Yeah, the Fade the Public poll here comes in.
03:18Heavy favorite. 46% people on the Thunder at minus six and a half.
03:21The Pacers getting 29.2% of the votes.
03:24The over at 18.8% and the under coming up.
03:28So if you really want to fade the public here, it looks like you are fading the under there at 221 and a half
03:33and saying, you know what?
03:34Or excuse me, fading the over and going with the under.
03:36Let me ask you this question, too, because I always like to see, like, where is this line possibly going to end up
03:42or wind up, as I should say, once we get to game time?
03:44Look at directly at the FanDuel Sportsbook.
03:46Minus six and a half at a minus 106 price on the Thunder.
03:49Plus six and a half at a minus 114 price here on the Indiana Pacers.
03:53Because if I look at this, because, you know, people buy into it and money comes down late.
03:57Like Tyrese Halliburton, I don't think we're going to get news, Joe, that he's not going to play in the game tonight.
04:03So I'm anticipating Tyrese Halliburton warming up and saying, OK, he's going to go.
04:09So my question to you is, what's more likely tonight?
04:12This line hitting minus seven as a favor for OKC or the Pacers dropping down to, let you say, a six even tonight?
04:21Oh, I definitely think the Pacers will go off at six even.
04:25No, I can't see this going up to seven here.
04:30Again, we're talking about an Oklahoma City team here that couldn't cover its first eight games on the road.
04:37And that is not by accident.
04:39I absolutely think the Pacers at home should be considered live dogs here tonight.
04:47I think the market will also believe that before tip.
04:51And this thing will drop closer to six, maybe even five and a half.
04:54It opened at five.
04:55Don't forget, Donnie.
04:56Yeah, that was what the opening number was before the Halliburton news.
05:00And if you think the number was baked in with Halliburton, then what are we doing here?
05:06We're going an extra bucket?
05:08I don't think so.
05:09Yeah, it's great.
05:10And also, you take a look at the total, too, Joe.
05:12We'll play that same game.
05:13Like, we see a precipitous drop already from that opening number.
05:15But now we see the 221 and a half.
05:17Are we getting any lower than that?
05:19Or is that rock bottom?
05:20And again, we're waiting on the Halliburton.
05:21Oh, Halliburton's playing.
05:22That means more scoring opportunities here for both teams at this point.
05:25How does that total equate to what we're going to see at the closing line?
05:28You get 221 and a half, play it now.
05:31Because it's only going to go up, Donnie.
05:33It's not going lower.
05:34So, the opportunity to play the over, grab that best number you can.
05:39Because before tip, it probably won't be 221 and a half.
05:43Yeah, it's going to be so interesting to watch this play out, too.
05:46Because, again, just the hype on Tyrese Halliburton was at the 17 and a half numbers,
05:50the 16 and a half numbers in this series.
05:52He was 14 and a half the opening number for game number six.
05:55He's now dropped to his points prop of 13 and a half at a plus 102.
05:58And I'm still feeling like I'm fading him.
06:00The one thing we do know, he's going to play.
06:02The one thing I know, he's not going to be 100%.
06:04And there's a chance he doesn't play the entire game.
06:06Under!
06:07Under on Halliburton.
06:08We'll be back next.
06:09Right back out of here in hour number three of the early line on a Thursday.
06:13Big doings tonight.
06:14Game number six of the finals in the NBA.
06:18That's the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
06:20Donnie right side joined along with Joe Ranieri.
06:22And now the coach, James Young, joins us here to analyze game number six.
06:27And the question will be is, is a champion going to be crowned tonight?
06:30Or will that champion be crowned on Sunday in a game number seven?
06:33Coach, good to have you today.
06:35Big game on deck.
06:37Big game on deck tonight.
06:40And obviously, we'll see if we get a closeout situation.
06:42You would think that Indiana is going to throw their best punch.
06:45The question is, is how much do we see of Tyrese Halliburton?
06:50Exactly.
06:50And that's the big question here.
06:51And also, the big moves here in the odds market.
06:54We'll get to the game itself, which opened up at the FanDuel Sportsbook as a minus five
06:57point favorite, now up to six and a half.
06:59But look at the series odds here.
07:01Just two days ago, before that Halliburton news, you were getting substantially different price
07:05points here between the favorites, OKC and the Indiana Pacers.
07:08We now see that marked up to a minus 2,500 price on OKC.
07:13And the Pacers now at a 12 to one price as the underdog.
07:16The FanDuel Sportsbook laying the boom saying, hey, maybe that Halliburton injury is too big.
07:21But talk about the series itself where the Pacers now getting a 12 to one price up from
07:25a nine to one price.
07:26Is there a chance that you might bite a little bit on the Pacers due to this series and also
07:32the chance to get to a game number seven?
07:36No and no.
07:38I think this is over.
07:41I think the thing that I am liking, honestly, Donnie, is I'm liking this total just continuing
07:47to come down.
07:48Started at 224, down to 221 and a half.
07:53Yeah.
07:53I think that is great.
07:54I want this to keep coming down.
07:56I wouldn't mind if I got OKC at seven.
08:00Here's why.
08:01I think this is I talked about this, I think, with you guys for game five.
08:05I think this is a middle kind of game.
08:08I think Indiana is going to throw their first punch.
08:11It could be Oklahoma City.
08:12So to me, I'm going to ride the early wave.
08:15Usually one team gets off to a really hot start.
08:18They're both made to go on runs.
08:20I'm going to let one team go on a run.
08:22I'm going to bet the other way plus the point.
08:25If it's Indiana, I'm going to let it come down.
08:27And I think that OKC is going to steal it out.
08:29I think there's a good chance.
08:31And I think in most games of the series, you can find yourselves, guys, a nice little middle
08:35where you can hit both bets.
08:38Yeah, that's exactly what we're always looking for there, Coach.
08:41Tell me it's not concerning.
08:44This is not the same OKC team on the road that plays at home.
08:50And the problem is, recency bias, we just saw what they did at home.
08:54They have not been that team on the road.
08:56They didn't cover their first eight road games.
08:59And it took a miracle for them to get game four.
09:02So aren't you a little bit worried and concerned here that the OKC team that shows up tonight
09:06is the same one we've got in all playoffs long?
09:08And that's why I like the middle, because at six and a half points, it's a three-possession game, Joe.
09:15And you know, you guys both know, you guys are sharp handicappers.
09:19That extra possession is a lot.
09:22It's a lot.
09:23So to me, if I could find a way to, like I said, let Oklahoma City throw that first punch early,
09:28especially Halliburton, his compromise, let him jump out to, let's say, an eight, ten-point lead.
09:32Let's say I can get that thing out.
09:34Let's say, I don't know, 14 and a half, 15 and a half, jump in on Indiana,
09:37watch T.J. McConnell come in with that second group, make a run.
09:41I still think Oklahoma City is going to win it.
09:44But if I get that thing down to a three, you know, two and a half, two, three-point game,
09:49I may just jump on OKC in the money line, because I think they'll have enough to close it out.
09:53I just don't like that six and a half point early.
09:56That's why I think to play the game live is a better way to do it.
09:59It's interesting, again, the FanDuel Sportsbook opening up this line as a minus five,
10:03now sitting at six and a half as we sit here on game day
10:06and taking a look at the betting statistics at the FanDuel Sportsbook.
10:09It is a slight public favorite at 54% of the tickets coming in for OKC tonight.
10:14So if we set the environment up, like Rick Carlisle was talking about,
10:17we need the biggest, the best environment we've ever had at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
10:20to sort of get us off in that right direction.
10:23And the ways, certain ways that you could bet this game, whether you're like,
10:26OK, the Pacers from crowd carries them in the first quarter, the game settles in,
10:29you know, OKC takes over, plays great defense and what have you.
10:32But you look at that 221 and a half, it is interesting that we're down from 224.
10:36So I ask you the same question, coach, that I asked Joe Ranieri.
10:39Are these price points here, the five to six and a half, the totals going down,
10:43a direct derivative here of we don't know what we're getting out of Tyrese Halliburton
10:47with the chances that he's 100% and being ready to play,
10:49certainly very low on our totem pole right now.
10:53Yeah, because you're looking at about two, you know, I think the total,
10:56I think it's down about two and a half to almost three points since it opened.
11:00And same thing with the odds being at about one and a half to two points,
11:04depending on what book you look at.
11:05Yeah, absolutely.
11:06I think this is already baked in a little bit because we don't know
11:09what we're going to get out of Tyrese Halliburton.
11:11But the one thing that I think, if I have Oklahoma City, we saw this.
11:16They finally unlocked their ability to cause turnovers, to get out of transition and run.
11:23I think that they are far, there are a lot more effective people give them credit for.
11:27I think they get out and run and get a transition.
11:29So I think that's why that total is going to go over.
11:32That's why I don't mind it.
11:33You know what?
11:34Listen, that total may come down to two, you know, to 220 and a half.
11:38It may drop another point if we get word of Halliburton being injured and not playing.
11:42So I still think there's room that this could move a tiny bit more.
11:47But the more it moves down, the more I think it goes up.
11:50Because Oklahoma City should be able to get themselves about 115 to 118 points.
11:56Now, all I need at that point is a little bit from, you know, obviously Indiana,
12:00a team that could still score the ball and we will get up and over.
12:04Especially the fact that they're losing and guys like Aaron Naismith who will get hot late in games
12:09and try and bring them back and rely on that three-point shot, which they do do better, Donnie, at home.
12:16Role players always play better at home, right?
12:20Who are you giving?
12:21And let me ask you, Coach, is there a possibility we're getting rope-a-doped here with Halliburton and Carlisle?
12:29Uh-oh.
12:30There's always a possibility because I'll tell you guys right now, let's just call it what it is.
12:36The dude played, what, 35 minutes?
12:39He was fine.
12:40As soon as he got off the floor, he looked like he got pushed by Marina Mabry and his name was Aitlin Clark.
12:45He looked like Fred Sanford walking down the street.
12:52For y'all to know about Fred Sanford, a supreme mature man, we'll teach you about it.
12:55Maybe we have to teach our producer, Joe Frizzo, come on, I'm coming home, I'm coming home.
13:02That's exactly correct here at this point.
13:04Also, talking about coming home, the Pacers are coming home for game number six tonight.
13:08And there's a lot of question marks surrounding this game.
13:10Not that we're not going to get a good effort out of either team.
13:12It's the effort we're getting out of Tyrese Halliburton.
13:14Also, how important his points production could be or not be.
13:18And can T.J. McConnell step up and fill that void?
13:20I'm going to ask Coach, Tyrese Halliburton's points prop, is it a safe bet just to go under?
13:25Find out next right here on the Early Line.
13:29Game six, NBA Finals.
13:30Are you ready?
13:31We certainly are not, you know, ready just yet because the game hasn't tipped off.
13:35But our job is to get you ready for tip-off for game number six tonight.
13:39Coach, I teased before the break coming in.
13:41We need to know.
13:42Like, we're not doctors here, but we can play some on TV.
13:45Tyrese Halliburton.
13:46Normally seeing him 17 and a half, 16 and a half in his points prop.
13:50We're down to 13 and a half with his points prop here on the FanDuel Sportsbook.
13:54If you look at Tyrese Halliburton, let me ask you this.
13:57What are the expectations for Halliburton?
14:00Because you know a gamer is going to want to play.
14:02He's a game-time decision.
14:04He's not going to say, I'm not going to give it a try.
14:06He will play tonight.
14:07But how effective can he be?
14:09And what are some of the betting angles we might be able to take with Tyrese Halliburton?
14:12So, when you look at Halliburton, here's the big thing, folks.
14:16If Cav takes away explosiveness, right?
14:19So, that means Halliburton driving and going to the basket may not be a thing.
14:25Also, the fact that because of what's going on, maybe you go with a two-point guard lineup
14:30and you use Halliburton scoring, you move Halliburton, ready folks, off the ball
14:35and then maybe Nembron or McConnell more on the ball, so catch and shoot.
14:41You know what I love?
14:42I love Tyrese Halliburton to make two-plus made threes.
14:44I would even take a little bit of money to go three-plus made threes at plus money.
14:51Like, if he's going to be compromised, he's not going to drive it to the basket.
14:56But what he will do, they shoot the ball.
14:59It kind of reminds me of when OG Ananobi played that game with the Knicks in game seven.
15:04He couldn't move.
15:05Stuck him at the three-point line, knocked down two early threes.
15:08Tyrese Halliburton, two-plus made threes.
15:10I wouldn't mind you taking three-plus made threes at plus money tonight.
15:15So, it's interesting, too, because, all right, no Halliburton, he doesn't play.
15:20But if we look at what T.J. McConnell has done in this series, Coach, in limited times,
15:25I think he's averaged about 18 minutes a game, over 11 points, four assists, two steals a game.
15:32He was a monster in only, what, 22 minutes in that last game?
15:36In fact, Rick Carlisle's got nothing but criticism.
15:39Like, why didn't you play him more and get Halliburton or Nembhardt added there?
15:44Is he the guy that's got to step up for him tonight?
15:46Isn't it amazing when, oh, this guy has 13 points, and this little short dude looks at all these tall brothers
15:54and says, they can't beat me.
15:56But here's the thing.
15:58Now you've got the 10-and-a-half.
16:00And now that's where I'm off of McConnell.
16:03If this thing was at 9-and-a-half, 8-and-a-half, yes.
16:0610-and-a-half, especially with the fact that if we get a compromised Halliburton,
16:09he may have to do, ready folks, more distributing to get other people the ball.
16:14So I do like him to go under the 10-and-a-half points, but the guy I like to go over is Benedict Matherin.
16:20If they're playing from behind, and Nembhardt, who's continued to go under his points prop,
16:26Benedict Matherin is going to be that guy.
16:28I can see Benedict Matherin going over 11-and-a-half, small sprinkle that he gets to 15-plus points.
16:34Third guy real quick on Indiana, Miles Turner's got to be better.
16:37Just rebound the ball.
16:38In that double-big lineup, I am still shocked, Joe, that I'm seeing four-and-a-halves for a seven-footer.
16:48Lord have mercy.
16:49Just go rebound the damn ball.
16:52So over four-and-a-half rebounds.
16:54And the guy I like tonight for OKC, you know where I'm going, Lou Dort.
17:00But I'm doing something.
17:01Instead of going, instead of going over threes, I'm going to go over seven-and-a-half points.
17:06I think if I am Rick Carlisle, I say, J-Dub got 41.
17:11We've got 40.
17:12SG got 31.
17:14Chet's going to be better than his nine points.
17:17So who am I going to leave alone?
17:19It's going to be Lou Dort.
17:21But now it's not just the threes.
17:22It can be foul shots.
17:24It can be run out to transition.
17:25Give me Lou Dort over seven-and-a-half points tonight.
17:28Yeah, it's interesting to watch some of these secondary guys.
17:30Like even like TJ McConnell.
17:31Like how many minutes is he going to make up for Halliburton?
17:34Is Halliburton going to try to gut this out saying,
17:35I've got to leave it all in the line here with my teammates,
17:37even though my calf certainly isn't up to task.
17:40Talk to me quickly here, Coach, about Chet Holmgren.
17:41Three straight games now, double-digit rebounds.
17:44We were seeing him in the six-and-a-half range, seven-and-a-half, eight-and-a-half.
17:47He's now up to nine-and-a-half, which means you're going to need double-digit rebounds.
17:50Could this be a fourth straight game that Chet Holmgren gets double-digit boards for OKC?
17:55Yeah, because of the fact that he's got to rebound the ball,
17:57because that's one thing Indiana has done in a couple of games of Sears,
18:00including game five, is win the rebounding battle.
18:02They have to get in secure rebounds, so you figure the fact that Siakam,
18:08not as much of a shooter as Myles Turner.
18:10So, of course, Isaiah Hartenstein is more worried about the perimeter of Myles Turner.
18:14That gets flying rebounds for someone like Chet Holmgren.
18:17Chet Holmgren can go over?
18:18If not, to be honest, he's going to be better than what he wants.
18:21Maybe look at double-double for Chet Holmgren tonight.
18:24Yeah, it should be fun.
18:25As a fan or a better, certainly we're going to be tuning into this game,
18:28but sort of me, I was like, oh, man, can we get to a game number seven?
18:31And I'm even hearing around the network that even if we don't have a game number seven,
18:34JY wants to go live on the network four hours on a Sunday night,
18:39ready to get busy here and talk about next year's NBA season.
18:43More hot topics next.
18:45Let's go, baby.
18:46Let's go.
18:48Game six on deck tonight in the NBA, the finals.
18:51Could it be the final game of the NBA season, which would crown OKC the champions,
18:56or do we get a game number seven on Sunday with a chance for Indiana to win this thing?
19:01It's Sonny Wright's side.
19:01It's Joe Waniere along with the coach, James Young, for another segment here.
19:05But let's talk top of the food chain here.
19:06The league's MVP, which was SGA.
19:09The Western Conference final MVP, which was SGA.
19:12If they win, he'll probably be the MVP of the finals.
19:15But the question to you, coach, is 33 and a half is that total here.
19:19SGA in a closeout game situation on the road.
19:21Should we look at SGA and say, hey, man,
19:23he's going way over that total because he's going to have the ball in his hands
19:27the most tonight, or somebody else on OKC that you might have your eyes on.
19:32I just think they have a problem with Jalen Williams now that they've gone
19:35to that double big lineup, Donnie.
19:37His ability to create off-the-bounds, the fact that he gets a three-level score,
19:41scores really well in transition, you know, get to the basket,
19:45really smart, more smarter player than I really thought coming in.
19:49And then you saw the one time he got to his left, kind of bumped off Naysmith's
19:53little, you know, little fadeaway jumper at the elbow.
19:55He's got the complete package.
19:57If I want to go over at either person, it's actually going to be Jalen Williams.
20:00And then if I go over for SGA, I'm looking at that assist prop,
20:04because if I'm Rick Carlisle, I got to say this.
20:07If I'm losing a series, you know, you make the other guys beat me,
20:12not the star player who's the most comfortable on the road.
20:15But I got to sneak one more in for you here, Coach.
20:20Obi Toppin has been a monster at points in this game, former Nick there.
20:25But Halliburton has a lot to do with giving him those wide open opportunities here.
20:30Ten and a half points.
20:32He's averaging 14 and a half over the last couple of games here.
20:36Got to be good from three, doesn't he?
20:38He's the best big man they have.
20:40I know, right?
20:40Because, you know, Miles sort of don't get no damn rebounds.
20:42I'm going under with Obi Toppin.
20:44Two straight games, he's gone over.
20:46If Halliburton is hitting him the ball and Halliburton can't drive to kick it,
20:50that takes away what Obi Toppin does.
20:52Give me Obi Toppin under ten and a half points.
20:55All right.
20:55The NBA Finals tonight, we're all going to watch that play out.
20:58But other news next week, which includes at the Sports Grid Network here,
21:01we got you covered for the NBA draft.
21:03And usually it's like, okay, well, we know where the draft picks are.
21:06We'll see what ends up.
21:07But Ace Bailey right now, that's not Cooper Flag talk.
21:10It's not Dylan Harper talk.
21:11It's Ace Bailey talk, not because he's climbing the leaderboards right now.
21:15It's because he's automatically saying, I don't want to be drafted high.
21:19I want to be drafted lower.
21:21Coach, let me ask you this simple question.
21:22If you are the third pick in the draft, which it looks like he was probably going to be
21:26going to the Philadelphia 76ers, you'd make $8.4 million per year on average here with that pick.
21:32I don't like that.
21:32I want to drop down and make less money.
21:34Coach, what is Ace Bailey doing?
21:36Who is giving him this advice?
21:37And where is he going to end up going?
21:40Probably Deion and Shador Sanders is probably giving him his draft advice.
21:45But listen, guys, when the NBA draft came out and you saw that Dallas, Philadelphia,
21:51and San Antonio, or San Antonio, Philadelphia, one, two, three,
21:54those are three teams that I fully expect to be in the playoffs.
21:56This kid wants to be a star.
21:58Dallas, no.
21:59San Antonio, no.
22:00Philadelphia, not starting any of those places.
22:02Charlotte, he's not going to play over Brandon Miller, right?
22:05So that's out in Miles Bridges, so he's out there.
22:08Washington, oh, my God, don't want to go there.
22:10New Orleans, they may blow it up.
22:12The team that he wants to go to is Brooklyn.
22:16Because if they get rid of Cam Johnson, it's Cam Thomas and him.
22:20No one else is worth a damn.
22:22That's where he's probably looking to go.
22:24So he's literally torpedoing it for this reason, folks.
22:27You're right.
22:27He's going to make more money in his first contract, but if he's a star and he's getting
22:33minutes and big points, he's more likely to get a bigger second contract than he would
22:39if he were to go somewhere like Dallas or San Antonio or Philadelphia, where he could be
22:44a bench player.
22:46Bed-Stuy is where he wants to be, Coach.
22:48That sounds like it is.
22:49But Game 6 on deck tonight.
22:51Thanks for joining us today.
22:52And you want to suit a little jumper here as you get out of here, get ready for the game.
22:55Let me see the moves.
22:56Let me see a quick move.
22:57You've got to move for us here.
22:58Hey, like eighth, barely.
22:59I passed the ball.
23:00I hit my shot.
23:01And I'm not working Sunday.
23:02See y'all.
23:03There you go.
23:04Wow.
23:04He's the coach and he's out of here as we look forward to game number six tonight.
23:08But we're going to get a little bit more into game number six.
23:10But like sabotaging your own draft position where you don't know if your NBA career is
23:16going to work out.
23:17And let's just say he was supposed to go third, as I said, which last year in the draft, about
23:21eight and a half million.
23:22Let's just say he drops to eighth, which is about five million bucks.
23:25So that's a year.
23:27What's it?
23:27Four to five contract?
23:28Fifty.
23:29Like, hey, you know what?
23:30I just want to go where I want to be.
23:31I'm going to lose out on $15 million in my contract.
23:34This makes absolutely no.
23:36You're supposed to overwhelm the interview and say, I might be third.
23:40Maybe I can move to second and make more money.
23:43Not the opposite direction.
23:44The problem here is that in most of these cases, Donnie, you know, these kids and they
23:51are kids are surrounded by complete morons, whether it be family members, whether it be,
23:58you know, my uncle's cousin's neighbor is going to represent.
24:02I mean, you're not getting quality advice when it comes to understanding what's going on.
24:08And this is oftentimes what you get.
24:11You get stupid head-scratching moves by these kids going, what are they?
24:14Why are they sabotaging him?
24:16And then you come to find out, yeah, there's not a whole lot of leadership guiding him behind
24:21the scenes here.
24:22Like, and also like you're playing to the NBA draft, which again, is coming up next week.
24:26And you say to yourself, like me as a Sixers fan, all right, let's take a swing at Markel
24:30Fultz.
24:30Well, Markel Fultz was supposed to be the best player in college basketball and supposed to
24:33be a great NBA player.
24:35Well, how'd he do in college?
24:35Yeah, he was good.
24:36What does team do?
24:37And they weren't really good.
24:38Okay.
24:39And then we had Ben Simmons who came out of LSU.
24:42Generational talent.
24:43Man, Ben was killed in March Madness.
24:45He didn't make March Madness.
24:47So then you take a look at Ace Bailey.
24:48And again, Dylan Harper on the same basketball team that was supposed to go two and three.
24:52Whoa, how many titles did they put together?
24:55And they really weren't very good.
24:56And they didn't make the NCAA playoffs.
24:58Like, how does that, and then say, I want to pick where I go.
25:00Like if Cooper Flagg comes in, he goes, I want a championship.
25:03I'm the best player in college basketball.
25:05I'm going to pick where I go.
25:05Like, okay, that makes a little bit of sense.
25:06Like, at least Cooper Flagg made the NCAA championship.
25:09Didn't work out in their favor.
25:10But any thought process to a guy, it's like, I'll pick where I want to go.
25:13And then, well, how didn't you do anything in college in your one year anyway last year?
25:18Yeah, except sulk when you didn't get the ball and the shots that you wanted there.
25:23I mean, listen, this is the Cooper Flagg draft.
25:26Hands down, anybody outside of Cooper Flagg, as far as I'm concerned, is all a big question mark here.
25:34There is, I mean, he is that big.
25:37I mean, look at that price, Donnie.
25:38I mean, there is no question who the best, I mean, lock of the draft is, is Cooper Flagg.
25:46I mean, listen, I think Knippel there is another guy, too, that played alongside him at Duke.
25:53I find him to be very interesting.
25:55The rest of these guys, let's be honest, they're young.
25:58There's holes in their game.
25:59And where they land and how they are developed is going to be a huge factor in whether or not they're going to be successful in the NBA.
26:07So there's only one guy you don't have to worry about, no matter where he goes, and that's Cooper Flagg.
26:12I'll tell you the crazy part about it, too, is still how young these kids are, like Cooper Flagg, 18.
26:16Like Ace Bailey's 18 years old, will turn 19 in August of this year.
26:20So you're supposed to get that advice from mentors and agents that says, look, our goal is to get you drafted as high as possible and put you in a good spot.
26:28Like, I understand this, too.
26:29Like, number one overall in the draft is the Dallas Mavericks.
26:32It's like, okay, well, Cooper Flagg's going there.
26:33That's a pretty stable organization, even though, ah, why'd they trade Luka?
26:36They still have good players there.
26:37It's in a big city that you would like to live in.
26:39San Antonio, number two, like, hey, go there.
26:41Like, San Antonio's a good franchise in a good city.
26:43Philadelphia is third.
26:44Good franchise, hopefully, in a good city.
26:46So I was like, I don't want to go to Carolina.
26:48They don't ever win there.
26:49Or the New Orleans Pelicans are a city without a pedigree at this point.
26:52The fact that he's like, yeah, just drop me down as far as I can to pick my own team is kind of crazy work for Ace Bailey.
26:58But sometimes that's what happens here.
27:00If you look at the FanDuel Sportsbook again with the odds of whether drafted, yeah, Cooper Flagg is going number one.
27:05We knew that all along.
27:06Dylan Harper, a minus 6,000 price now when you thought he might be fighting with Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
27:12But Ace Bailey tanking his stats here, or tanking himself, I should say, which moves Harper certainly up the list even higher.
27:17Where VJ Edgecomb now steps in to that three spot at a minus 230 price.
27:21Con Caniple and Trey Johnson.
27:23Who knows how far?
27:24Is this much to do about nothing, Joe?
27:26Or actually does Ace Bailey wake up and say, all right, I'll make a couple phone calls to these teams here.
27:32But we don't have much time left on the clock.
27:34The draft is next week.
27:35No, and the problem is he's got no reputation to have any desire to play defense.
27:42And sorry, in the NBA, at some point, you're going to be asked to have to stand in front of somebody here.
27:48And he didn't do it in college.
27:49I don't know why anybody thinks he'd do it in the NBA.
27:52Ace Bailey, 6'10", 18 years old, saying, you know what?
27:56I don't want to make as much money as I possibly can.
27:59I just wanted to get to a spot that goes, win 10 games and put up 40 shots a game.
28:03Sounds like a winner there.
28:04You know who's the winner?
28:05Tom Vecchio.
28:06He's going to join us next week.
28:08All right.
28:09Welcome back in here.
28:10The early line on the Sports Grid Network.
28:13Tom Vecchio back with us.
28:14And Tom, we got a all-important Game 6.
28:17We didn't get a Game 7 in the NHL Finals.
28:22It'll be interesting to see if we can get a Game 7 here in the NBA.
28:26But so far, your thoughts on Halliburton, this injury, and are we blowing this out of proportion?
28:34Are the markets overreacting?
28:36What do you think here?
28:38So, Halliburton is really important to the Pacers.
28:42And it's not just in scoring.
28:43You know, a lot of people like to look at his box score and be like, oh, he didn't score that much.
28:47Like, oh, he didn't have a big impact.
28:48You would assume as a quote-unquote star player, like he needs to be dropping 30 points as SGA does on the other side.
28:54But that's not really where Halliburton's strength comes from.
28:57It's really just his control of the offense and how he dictates what they do, how he controls their flow, essentially.
29:03So, him not being at 100%, I think, is an issue.
29:06But I'm not sure if it's as big an issue as people assume.
29:09So, sure, he won't go for 20.
29:11He may not even get to 15 or 12 points tonight.
29:13But if he can still control the offense and facilitate the assisting of the ball, I think they'll be okay.
29:19I'm not going to say they're obviously going to be operating 100%.
29:20But I think they're fine.
29:22I like the Thunder at minus six.
29:24Do we push it a little bit higher than that just because, you know, Halliburton, if he starts and he's not even effective and he has been pulled at halftime, that's a different story.
29:32But I do like the Thunder at six, not past that.
29:34Are we worried that this is Jekyll and Hyde, this Thunder team?
29:40They are not even remotely close to the same team on the road in the postseason that we saw them at home.
29:45Are we worried that the road team that we've gotten at OKC, who's averaging about 107 points, are they going to beat even the role players of the Pacers here tonight?
29:57It depends on what kind of story you want to tell yourself.
30:00And this is like the phrase I often use.
30:01If we look back to game four, the Thundershot three of 16 from deep, and they still won that game by seven points.
30:08So like objectively horrible shooting in that game.
30:10But let's say they made five threes in that game, five of 16, which is still a terrible percentage.
30:15They would have won that game by 13 points.
30:17And we might be having a different conversation coming into this game.
30:19Like, listen, they won that game on the road.
30:21They shot terribly and they still control things.
30:23So I don't mind the Thundershot specifically for the fact that they like smell blood and water.
30:28They like want to go for the throat tonight when Halliburton is not fully healthy.
30:32Would he be fully healthy in the game seven?
30:33Probably not.
30:34But they want to take care of business now.
30:36If people are worried about this six point, I would say wait and try and get an in-game number of two or three, which I think is far better.
30:42We would probably all agree on that.
30:44But I think they go for the throat tonight and they win by nine points.
30:50What is or who are some of the guys you're looking at in the prop betting market for this one?
30:54So let's keep it really simple for this.
30:56Let's go to Isaiah Hartenstein for the Thunder and let's go to under five and a half points.
31:02And it's a plus 107 with the FanDuel boost.
31:04It's not plus 107 normally.
31:06It's a super low line.
31:07Like, I understand that.
31:08Well, three buckets and this guy gets over, he could do that in just like a handful of positions.
31:12But we got to look at what he's doing.
31:13Like, he is not there to score.
31:14He's always been taken in and out of the starting lineup.
31:16We know that his role is not to score.
31:18His role is to get the ball and partially facilitate the offense from low to high, get the shooters into some open space.
31:24So when we see him taking literally two or three field goal attempts on a nightly basis, one of two, two, three, whatever it might be, he would need to have five field goal attempts, six field goal attempts and hit four of six for them.
31:36Like, oh, wow, he's cruised over that.
31:37So I like it with the plus money, but I wouldn't lay money on this as well.
31:41Like, if all that makes sense.
31:44Who is the guy, if Indiana is to pull this off and get a game seven, who is the guy we're going to wish we were on in the prop market for Indiana?
31:54I think, is it Nembhard's line is 10 and a half?
31:58Yeah.
31:58Yeah, it's 10 and a half.
31:59If they score, I think we could kind of pencil in Siakam as being, okay, he gets to his 18 to 24 type of points.
32:06He's the player that needs.
32:07But if they need some guard scoring and guard shooting, Neesmith is an easy answer.
32:12But I think Nembhard plays a pivotal role tonight because we saw some great stuff from TJ McConnell coming off the bench in game five.
32:18If they really get things going, I think Nembhard is going to have to play a significant role tonight.
32:23And theoretically, if they were to extend to a game seven, the 10 and a half line, he probably gets like 18.
32:28So if you are rooting for Indiana, I would say alt on Nembhard are rather interesting.
32:34Yeah, it's going to be fun.
32:36We're going to see.
32:36Can we get a game seven or does OKC run away with it?
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