NBA Playoffs Analysis: Competitive Edge in Conference Finals
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 But Jacob, the NBA kind of needed it.
00:04 I think you needed it.
00:05 I think we needed it.
00:06 I mean, my gosh, like the scheduling of this.
00:09 Wasn't there a day where the NBA used to move up
00:12 the finals and things like that?
00:13 I didn't hear anything about it.
00:15 I guess that basically that date was set in stone.
00:18 But good job.
00:20 I was kind of rooting for Minnesota
00:21 last night, to be honest.
00:23 I think we all were a little bit.
00:25 It's never fun when both series--
00:26 when there's only two series left, if they end in a sweep.
00:29 We kind of expect some sweeps in the early rounds.
00:31 But the conference finals are supposed to be competitive.
00:34 And I will say, these two series,
00:35 despite the lopsided nature of them,
00:37 they were very competitive.
00:38 The Pacers, I mean, they could have
00:40 beaten the Celtics three times.
00:42 They just couldn't get it done at the end each time.
00:44 And Dallas, Minnesota, those games
00:46 have come down to the wire a lot.
00:47 I think just the presence of Luka Tadzic
00:49 just made such a big difference for Dallas.
00:52 But credit to Minnesota for kind of withstanding
00:55 that pressure from Dallas to close it out last night.
00:58 Yeah, and it's virtually impossible,
01:00 let's be honest, for a team that's down 0-3
01:02 to come back and win a series.
01:04 It doesn't happen that often.
01:06 I think the Boston Red Sox would probably disagree with that.
01:09 And again, it does happen in sports.
01:11 I understand that.
01:11 But in this scenario, you would expect Dallas
01:13 to inevitably close it out.
01:15 But Edwards had a big game last night,
01:17 so did Carl Anthony Towns.
01:19 I guess, Jacob, if we take a look at the game final
01:22 and sort of look how things go forward,
01:25 the odds makers are seemingly indicating
01:28 that the Timberwolves will show up in the next game
01:30 and win because they're going back at home
01:32 and they got a really good shot there.
01:34 Because look at that.
01:35 I mean, game six, for it to go six on fan duels, plus 150.
01:38 I mean, those are shorter odds than ending in the next game.
01:42 But I guess I would ask you this.
01:43 Why should I believe that?
01:45 I mean, Dallas just keeps winning on the road
01:47 in every game they play in the playoffs.
01:50 I suppose the reason to believe that would just
01:52 be knowing that the Timberwolves have kind of got
01:54 the monkey off their back.
01:55 They've won the Western Conference finals game.
01:58 Anthony Edwards looked good.
01:59 And Carl Anthony Towns really did show up last game.
02:02 I know he fouled out and needs to be a little bit more
02:04 in control on defense.
02:06 But offensively, I think he shot 9 of 13 from the field.
02:09 It seemed like every shot he was taking from distance
02:12 was going in.
02:13 And just having that secondary scorer alongside Anthony
02:16 Edwards takes a lot of pressure off of Edwards,
02:18 who's on the younger side.
02:20 So I think that gives them a better chance
02:22 to go kind of head to head with Luka Dodgic and Kyrie Irving.
02:26 So I think if they're amped up for this game at home,
02:29 I think the Timberwolves can squeak out another win.
02:32 Now, I don't want to doubt Luka Dodgic and the Mavericks,
02:36 because if you get into a late game clutch scenario,
02:38 as we saw in game four, Dodgic just makes plays
02:42 that other guys can't.
02:43 He'll make some ridiculous three-point shot
02:45 that you think has no shot going in.
02:47 He's just a big-time playmaker with clutch abilities.
02:50 So I could see Dallas winning on the road in Minnesota again.
02:54 But I'm kind of willing to say that the Timberwolves eke out
02:57 one more, and then Dallas dominates in game six at home.
03:00 Just says, we got to kind of take care of this
03:03 before it gets out of control.
03:04 So that's how I see it playing out now.
03:06 Yeah, it could very well happen.
03:08 Now, what's interesting is the NBA Finals MVP market also
03:11 moved in the last 24 hours, Jacob.
03:13 I'm curious as to why Jason Tatum all of a sudden
03:15 went from minus 110 as the favorite
03:17 to win the MVP of the Finals to 135.
03:19 I'm not really understanding that.
03:21 Maybe, I guess, people are betting it.
03:22 It's the only thing that I can gather.
03:24 Lucas plus 270, Jalen Brown 6 to 1, Anthony Edwards 16 to 1.
03:29 And then you're really taking a dart throw with anybody else.
03:32 Kyrie Irving 28 to 1, and Port Zingas 50 to 1.
03:35 So do you have a lean on this at all?
03:39 I mean, Jalen Brown, I mean, look, he just came off winning
03:41 the MVP of the East Finals.
03:43 Maybe he captured another here?
03:45 Yeah, I would have no qualms about betting Jalen Brown at 6
03:48 to 1 odds.
03:49 I think what I see when Jalen Brown plays
03:52 is his clutch ability is kind of getting better.
03:55 He's been better under pressure.
03:56 His dribbling, which was a massive problem
03:59 in the finals against the Warriors a couple of years ago,
04:01 that's gotten better.
04:02 He's not turning the ball over as much.
04:04 And his defense is really what separates him from the pack.
04:07 He can make big time defensive plays.
04:09 He guards the opposing team's best player often.
04:12 So if we get a Mavericks versus Cavs final
04:15 and Jalen Brown's on Luka Doncic and is able to slow him down
04:19 or make some big plays against him while pouring
04:21 in a lot of points like he did with this 40-point game
04:24 against the Pacers, I could see him winning.
04:26 I don't have an interest in betting Jason Tatum at odds
04:29 below even.
04:30 I just-- I think, yeah, is he likely to get it
04:33 if the Celtics win?
04:34 Yes.
04:34 But I think Jalen Brown's a lot closer to him
04:36 than the odds would indicate.
04:38 So if you think the Celtics are going to win the finals,
04:40 I would bet Jalen Brown to win MVP.
04:42 Yeah, 6 to 1 right now over on FanDuel.
04:45 All right, pretty soon, Jacob, you
04:46 and I are going to be talking some NFL football.
04:48 We're less than 100 days away from the season beginning.
04:50 We've got college football coming even faster than that.
04:53 The Texans make another move, another contract extension
04:57 for them.
04:57 They're just handing out money right now, Jacob.
05:00 I don't know what else to say.
05:01 It'd be a great thing to play for the Texans.
05:03 Nico Collins, he gets $52 million guaranteed.
05:06 To be honest with you, I mean, this is just a huge surprise
05:09 player, Jacob.
05:09 Two years ago, a player that you wouldn't have even considered
05:12 being an elite wide receiver in the National Football League.
05:15 But man, did he earn it.
05:16 It didn't matter, by the way, which quarterback he played
05:18 for, whether it was Stroud or Davis, the other quarterback
05:21 that they had, Davis Mills.
05:24 He's been great.
05:25 Collins deserves the cash.
05:27 Yeah, I think this is a great deal, too.
05:29 Because if you look at the length,
05:30 it lines up exactly with Stroud's rookie contract.
05:34 So the Texans are taking a chance saying, hey,
05:37 we know you've only had one breakout season.
05:40 But we think that you can continue to play at this level.
05:43 We like the idea of having him, Stephon Diggs, and Tank Dell
05:46 together for CJ Stroud.
05:48 And if things don't quite work out with Collins,
05:50 or this ends up being a little bit of an overpay,
05:53 by the time they have to pay Stroud,
05:55 they're going to have the cap space needed to do so.
05:58 And they'll be able to let Collins go or get him
06:00 at a cheaper price.
06:01 So I think this was just a very smart deal overall,
06:04 the structure of it, and just lining it up with Stroud.
06:07 Now you have his receivers locked in there.
06:11 And I just think that's great for a young quarterback
06:13 to have.
06:14 Yeah, it will be.
06:15 Jacob, hey, Gabe, great rest of your week.
06:17 Thanks again for coming on Newswire.
06:19 I really appreciate it.
06:19 And we'll check you out next week.
06:21 We'll dive into the NBA finals, I'm sure.
06:22 Thanks for coming on.
06:24 Yep.
06:25 Thanks, Craig.
06:25 Take care.
06:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]