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00:00After a few days off, we change venue for the first time in the 2024 NBA Finals.
00:06The Celtics took care of business on their home floor inside TD Garden and hold a 2-0
00:11series advantage in this NBA Championship set. Tonight, though, we head to Dallas for
00:17game number three of the NBA Finals between the Mavericks and the Celtics. But big injury news,
00:23DRS. Yesterday afternoon, that will impact game number three tonight and maybe the entirety of
00:29the NBA Finals as we see it. Kristaps Porzingis is listed as questionable for game number three.
00:36His status, as Boston declares, is day-to-day for the remainder of this championship set.
00:43This was the report from Sham Sharania. Celtics Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn medial
00:49retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon. Many on social
00:55media yesterday saying, huh, what? Explain it to me like I'm a five-year-old. So here you go,
01:02Kristaps Porzingis has a bum ankle. And from the other true medical professionals
01:08on social media, including our pro football doc, Dr. David Chow, he does not believe
01:13Kristaps Porzingis is going to play again in the NBA Finals. Yeah, and I'm listening to the doc
01:19on this one. He is not going to be day-to-day at this point. And also, there's one thing Ben
01:23once said, okay, I can give it a go. Don't you remember the New York Knicks? I'm like, yeah,
01:26oh boy, O.J. Ananobis is going to give it a go. Man could barely even get up and down the court.
01:31There's two different things. There's I can give it a go and I can play at my normal all-star self.
01:36We're not going to get that out of Kristaps Porzingis, but you know what we did get out of him
01:39in game one and two? All-star level Kristaps Porzingis making an absolute difference on the
01:44court. I believe if you combine games one and games two, somewhere around a plus 25 on the court,
01:48that's making a difference in a championship round. That's why when we talked about Kristaps
01:53Porzingis having the ability to sit out so many games while the Celtics just cruised because you
01:57knew eventually you would need him. And if you got him back at full strength to his 27 level in
02:02the regular season, they were going to be tough to beat in the finals. Now they're up two games
02:07to none. And a big part of that was Kristaps Porzingis solid play in games one and games two.
02:11I don't know if he's going to play again in the series. Again, if the doc is calling, like,
02:15this is going to be one of those where I think he just sent out a tweet there. Could he stand
02:18at the three-point line and shoot threes? Yes, but he's not going to be dynamic, which means
02:22that's what you need him for. We saw the chase down blocks. We saw the rebounds here. We see the
02:26ability to say, okay, if he gets the basketball, that opens up the entire court because we have
02:30to respect his game. Now, if you don't have to do that, that's certainly going to help out the
02:34Mavericks, but that's devastating news for the Celtics, but they can lean back on what, Ben?
02:38They're up 2-0 in the series. If Kristaps Porzingis does not take the court for games three on,
02:44they still should win this series. Yes. And listen, without Kristaps Porzingis,
02:49who was injured initially against the Miami Heat in game number four of that opening round set,
02:54way back on April 29th, the Celtics still won that in five games, won their next series against
03:00Cleveland in five games, and swept the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. As of
03:05right now, there's only Luka Doncic for the Dallas Mavericks doing anything. Maybe if Kyrie Irving
03:10wakes up and Luka gets some support, it is a tougher test than any that Boston has faced so
03:16far, or maybe the Celtics are just far and away the best team in the NBA, booked as the NBA
03:21championship favorites all year long. Now, for Kristaps Porzingis, injured in that opening round
03:29series against Miami, that was the right calf, this is the left ankle, completely unrelated for
03:35any of you social media doctors out there as well. But Donnie, his impact in this series has been
03:43profound. Twelve points in game number two, I believe eight or ten of them coming in the opening
03:48quarter, being that key sixth man for Joe Mazzuola, but an immediate impact in both of the two games.
03:55And he had 21 in game number one. He was pretty much Boston's MVP in that opening round set,
04:02or just 20 in game one. But regardless, still an immediate impact in that series and in that
04:08opening game as well. We've talked a lot about who's the Celtics NBA Finals MVP as of right now,
04:14if Boston, up two games to none, does win the NBA championship. Is it Jason Tatum? Is it Jalen Brown?
04:20I think there's an argument to be made that Kristaps Porzingis was the MVP for game one
04:25and Drew Holliday in game two. That's his importance to this series overall.
04:30Yeah, and we were worried about what we would get out of Kristaps Porzingis in game number one.
04:34They told us he didn't have a minutes restriction, but wouldn't be starting. Oh, look, maybe he's
04:37just trying to ease his way back in. And he was phenomenal in game one, which led us to believe,
04:41okay, paid about 20 minutes in that game, up on the 23 minutes in game number two,
04:4525 games in game number three. Now he's back in the starting lineup. You see where we were
04:49progressing. And if you were going to get a healthy Porzingis, that team was probably damn near
04:53unstoppable, just like they were during the regular season. We're not saying they can't win,
04:58because they were basically with that Kristaps Porzingis for the majority of this playoff run,
05:02easily handling their business, but also against other maybe inferior teams and injury-laden teams,
05:07which we don't see right now out of the Dallas Mavericks. But this certainly is one to watch.
05:11And even before the injury came out, like we saw he was banged up. I still like the Mavericks,
05:16but this just gives you a little bit more ammunition if you wanted to back the Mavericks.
05:20And certainly the FanDuel Sportsbook adjusting those lines also accordingly, Ben.
05:25Here's how the odds have moved. Dallas was already going to be booked as a slight home favorite of a
05:30point and a half for the game three spread. Now it's two and a half in favor of the Mavs. The
05:36total has dropped by a few points as well to 12 and a hook. And it dropped because both of the
05:42first two games staying well under their pregame totals. It was only minus 126. Money lied in favor
05:49of the Mavericks. Now it's minus 144. And more importantly than outside of game three, a must-win
05:55can't-lose game for Dallas, regardless of Kristaps Porzingis' status before this game. We look at the
06:02NBA finals overall. Boston at the end of game two was a minus 1,000 favorite to win championship
06:09number 18. Yesterday, Morgan adjusted ever so slightly, minus 950, but Boston's still a heavy
06:15favorite. Now it's only minus 770. Again, to the point we have made continuously, Boston should
06:21still win with a 2-0 series lead the Larry O'Brien trophy, but the odds don't think it's as much of a
06:28runaway as they did with Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup. And rightfully so. Just a direct
06:33correlation also to how those numbers are changing for game number three, which I do think the
06:37Mavericks win. So if you're looking to bet this series long term, even though I don't think the
06:40Mavericks are going to win, that plus 540 price after Dallas wins game number three, I believe
06:45tonight, obviously is going to get shorter. The same thing with the Boston Celtics. But that minus
06:491,000, let's just say Porzingis never got injured, that would still be on the same level, even though
06:54we would have a slight advantage for Dallas on their home court. Everybody giving it a go for
06:58the Celtics would just overwhelm eventually the Mavericks here. But they get that sliver of hope,
07:03they just need to take care of business and play well tonight, and then we might have ourself an
07:07extended series that can at least, Ben, get the six games. Kristaps Porzingis, questionable for
07:12game number three tonight in Dallas, as we change venue for the first time in the 2024 NBA Finals.
07:19If you have seen any of the pregame footage of Luka Doncic walking into TD Garden through the
07:26tunnels, it don't look good. It looks like a dad that went on a run at the age of 38 and is now
07:32sore for the next seven days following. But we did get this news from ESPN's Tim McMahon yesterday.
07:39Luka Doncic received a painkilling injection before game two to numb the area of his thoracic
07:45contusion. Sources tell Malika Andrews and Tim McMahon. The expectation is that Doncic will get
07:52another shot before game three. Again, we got a lot of medical jargon yesterday to relate these
07:58injury updates and the status. That's for Luka's sore knee. That's where he received that numbing
08:04shot, expected to have that for game number three. And Luka said yesterday, quote, I feel good. I
08:09don't want to give any more details, but I feel good. So Luka Doncic will be out there as is the
08:16expectation for game three tonight in Dallas, a two and a half point home favorite trying to win
08:22its first game in this championship series and make it not nearly as quick and easy for Boston.
08:30Yeah, we've been hearing about this knee injury for some weeks now. Luka Doncic has still been
08:33playing at an MVP level. So even though we're hearing now that he's getting injections, Ben,
08:38I'm not really going to take my focus off of Luka still expecting him to be dominant once again
08:43in game number three. And it's apparent to him it doesn't affect him on the court because so
08:46many times like a skill position in the NFL built on speed. That's not Luka Doncic. Like he is more
08:52of I know where I'm going. You know where I'm going. I'm still going to beat you to that spot
08:56because I'm more crafty than you. So I don't put any expectations of a downfall like, oh, no,
09:02we found that he's getting shots now. Game number three, 17 minutes played, seven points and away
09:07we go. That's not the case. I still expect and also if we're taking a look at the fans of the
09:11sportsbook, they expect him to have a very involved game here. Looking at that, what,
09:1531 and a half, 32 and a half point number is his points prop. I'm not worried about Luka
09:20even after hearing this news, Ben. When you look at Luka Doncic right now, 32 and a half is the
09:26points prop for tonight. Nine and a half rebounds, nine and a half assists. The over has the juice
09:31for the rebounds, the under the juice for the assists or the oddsmakers would be expecting
09:36a second consecutive 30 plus point triple double out of Luka Doncic. But let's start with the game
09:43overall. Dallas, a two and a half point home favorite, a favorite tonight for the first time
09:47in this NBA finals, an underdog for the first time for the Boston Celtics, not just in this series
09:54or the Eastern Conference Finals, an underdog for Boston for the first time throughout this NBA
10:02play off run 16 games for the seas. And this is their first time as an underdog or even as a
10:12favorite of less than six and a half points. This is only the fourth time all year that Boston has
10:18been booked as an underdog their first time as a dog since April 9th against the Milwaukee Bucks.
10:25Two of those three regular season games as an underdog coming on the road inside the
10:30Pfizer Forum against Milwaukee. Boston just one and two straight up so far this year and thus
10:36against the spread as an underdog this season. Yeah and you're you're taking a look at what
10:42makes the most sense. After games one and games two it's pretty apparent that the Boston Celtics
10:46are the better team but you're on your home court and if you take a look at the overall season
10:51for the Boston Celtics which includes the playoffs on their home court, it's been very good. It's
10:55expected here. Now you're supposed to struggle a little bit on the road particularly against very
10:59good opponents and quality opponents like you're going to find out here with the Dallas Mavericks
11:02but also keep in mind baked into that line we understand the severity of this game for the
11:07Mavericks to win it otherwise the series is over. That is partially baked into the number where you
11:12have to win this game. Now having said that there's a lot of teams out there over the past 50 years
11:16that had to win games and just came up a little bit lame. I don't expect that out of the Mavericks
11:21here but if they want to be in this series and a chance at tomorrow they have to absolutely win
11:26tonight. Nobody's coming back from down 0-3 at this point and then you say well Luke is getting
11:30shots here is it even more important and maybe we just shut him down the rest of the way. A lot of
11:34that could go into the equation but the one thing I do know tonight is I like the Mavericks and I'll
11:39back the Mavericks and I agree with that line movement and also gets a little bit easier
11:43and having said that you know it's a tough line to use easier. No poor Zingas in the lineup tonight
11:47that should help the Mavericks at home. The Mavericks have been booked as a favorite in all
11:52eight of their home playoff games in Dallas. Five and three straight up four and four against the
11:57spread. The only win and non-cover came in the series clincher in their second round set game
12:02number six against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Again Luka Doncic 32 and a half points his prop
12:08tonight. He is coming off a 32 point triple double his third 30 plus point triple double
12:13throughout this playoff run but if you're the Mavericks and you're looking for a victory in
12:18game three your first in this NBA championship set it's probably Kyrie Irving needing to go over
12:2423 and a hook. Plenty more previews of game three throughout the show. Hour two is up next. Before
12:31the NBA finals got underway we gave you a pick six a series leader in any of the components so
12:38how are those series leaders stacking up so far the first two games of the NBA finals. Donny as
12:44you can imagine Luka Doncic is outscoring everybody else in this series by nearly 20 points
12:51individually. 30 in both, 30 in game one, 32 in game number two. Jalen Brown leading scorer for
12:59Boston in game number one. Second most in game number two behind Drew Holiday is the Celtics
13:05leading scorer in the second most points scored in the NBA finals at 43. But that market to bet
13:12now off the board because of Luka's dominance. Yeah and of course it should be there because
13:16also even though we're hearing about getting injections into your knee which certainly
13:21is never a good thing this didn't just pop up after game number one or game number two. This
13:26has been going on for quite some time here with Dallas where we knew that he was banged up and
13:30also getting those alerts on game day multiple times downgrading status for Luka Doncic in every
13:36single game. We get that it seems like it's 40 plus minutes and another 30 points and also maybe
13:41even a 30 point triple double at that point. So from my perspective I'm not losing any steam on
13:46Luka. He should easily take down that points number because why the usage rate is going to be there
13:51regardless if he's getting injections into his knee or not. The usage rate is there. The efficiency
13:57also has been there for Luka Doncic. His points prop tonight 32 and a half. Jason Tatum has the
14:03second highest points prop at 26 in a hook. Of course a number Jason Tatum hasn't even gotten
14:09close to throughout the opening two games in this NBA championship series. Would it surprise you then
14:15that individually Luka Doncic is the odds-on favorite to lead every of the stat categories
14:20that you can bet on the FanDuel Sportsbook. Points already off the board but he was minus 180
14:25entering the set. He is the rebounding's favorite at minus 105 and leads the series in rebounds by
14:32one over Jason Tatum. Still a hefty odds-on favorite to lead in assists at minus 175. Although
14:39Tatum has a five assist gap right now because Luka only had one dime in game number one and Tatum
14:46had 12 in game number two. Luka Doncic also the most made threes so far throughout this series.
14:54Eight in total but Derek White hot on his heels after hitting four triples in game number two.
15:01Yeah by the way that assist one is kind of interesting as you pointed out because let's
15:04just say we only go four games. Five assists it's not overwhelming that he can't do that
15:09but also keep in mind we're talking about Luka Doncic the player himself and if you are the
15:14Dallas Mavericks who are you looking towards to make that big play? It's Luka which means he's
15:18going to have to shoot 25 plus times because he will have to get into the 30s for them to even
15:24have a chance at winning. Yeah it's all fine and good the only thing that's the assist you can't
15:28make happen yourself. You can out grip people for rebounds. You can take the basketball and shoot a
15:32ton of times to rack up points. The one thing you can never guarantee is assist like oh let me get a
15:37couple assists in this quarter. Well other guys have to participate on that. Wide open three
15:40point shots which aren't going down. Fast breaks here where they're saying all right we're just
15:44going to key on you Luka so you can't pass the basketball you better score it yourself. That's
15:48the tough one here so if there is one market that I might fade on Luka Doncic it would be the assist
15:52and granted he still might get 10 assists tonight in a triple double but that doesn't mean that
15:57Jason Tatum is going to fall off the earth with oh he only got one assist here. It's apparent that
16:01everything is working in unison here even if the points aren't happening for Tatum other guys are
16:06stepping up which means those easy buckets to get those assists. So it's interesting Luka's usage
16:10rate it's going to be sky high. Again the only market I would put that may be a little bit
16:13differentiating would be the assists. Yeah I would agree Jason Tatum right now with a five assist
16:19advantage. One of my best bets for that pick six three series in the series specials market was a
16:25plus 550 number on Tatum to record at least five dimes in every game of the NBA finals and depending
16:31on how many games we see Jason Tatum might not have to do that all that much longer. He had five
16:37in game number one, twelve in game number two. Jason Tatum has recorded at least five assists
16:44in ten of the last eleven for Boston which means he's probably not going to drop off in that
16:49considerable of a margin but Luka Doncic is not going to have another game you would expect with
16:54only one assist like he had in game number one. But Donnie all this is great that Luka Doncic is
17:00pretty much leading every single stack category and is the odds-on favorite but it's also been
17:05the story of the series that the best individual player is on Dallas his name Luka Doncic but
17:11without any other support they are not going to outweigh the balance in depth of Boston.
17:16It's why the Celtics have looked dominant in their first two wins. Absolutely and might look dominant
17:22again in their performance on the road even though the odds makers are stating that the Mavericks
17:25should be able to throw the kitchen sink at them and get a victory tonight. I don't think anybody's
17:29fading Luka in this game but there are some stuff we'll talk about on the Celtics with Porzingis out
17:34there's a certain player that steps back into my forecast here so we'll have some fun with that a
17:38little bit later but we're all looking forward to game number three no doubt. On this day of game
17:43three of the 2024 NBA finals some sad news that just came down the wire to share here on this
17:50Wednesday on the early line Jerry West the NBA logo Zeke from Cabin Creek has passed away as of
17:58this morning some very sad news to share here the 14-time NBA All-Star the 12-time All-NBA Hall of
18:06Famer and of course this 1969 NBA Finals MVP has passed away this morning. We welcome James Young
18:14on to the show live right here on the early line. J.Y. not how we anticipated
18:19welcoming you on to the show but in the last minute this news about Jerry West's passing
18:24has hit social media. What is your reaction to what we have just learned about Jerry West?
18:30We lost an icon. We lost a legend. We lost the logo. We lost one of the best big game players
18:37in the history of the NBA. Jerry West that for all his career just could not get by
18:45you know the Celtics for all those years of Red Auerbach and Bob Cousy and Bill Russell
18:50and then he ran into the Knicks in 70 and you know honestly took a one of the best performances
18:57of in the game seven of wall Clyde Frazier his 36 and 19 to beat them but finally in 72
19:05he finally got his redemption by beating the Knicks I do believe in five games to win the
19:101972 NBA championship so this is an iconic figure an iconic figure that yeah you may sit there and
19:16say I only won one NBA championship but he did turn around with eight of them as an executive
19:21rebuilding that Lakers that was really downtrodden until they got Magic Johnson in 1980 eight
19:28championships from 1980 to 2017. Jerry West one of the all-time greatest point guards
19:36Mr. Clutch his nickname one of the best we lost today may he rest in peace.
19:45So as we keep it rolling here we'll continue to bring you any updates for that breaking news but
19:52Jerry West has passed away peacefully this morning with his wife Karen at his side at the age
19:57of 86 years old. Now to some basketball on the horizon tonight in Dallas for game number three
20:04of the 2024 NBA finals. The big news yesterday JY to get us ready for the change of venue the
20:11injury status of Kristaps Porzingis listed as questionable for game number three listed as
20:17day-to-day for the remainder of this NBA finals but for many a social media doctor including the
20:23pro football doc Dr. David Chow it does not seem likely that Kristaps Porzingis is going
20:28to play tonight or for the rest of this championship series. How does his absence
20:34affect the rest of the NBA finals? It affects it a lot and if you were looking for a pathway for
20:41Dallas to come back in this series this is it and I want people I want to kind of take the
20:47folks away from the gambling and take a look at it as a coach when you are a coach you have to
20:52prepare a certain way right Ben for a certain lineup how they're going to come out there and
20:57when you look at a guy like Kristaps Porzingis he affects the game on both sides of the floor
21:02his ability to stretch the floor up to 25-30 feet from the basket with his long range shooting the
21:07ability to punch the gap as a big that's secretly athletic he only needs about one dribble to get
21:13from the NBA three-point line to the basket to go up and score but also when you pull up his stats
21:18it's the 2.5 blocks per game you're gonna say well coach it's only two and a half blocks three blocks
21:24a game it's not a big deal folks it's a lot deeper than that it's not just the blocks he gets it's the
21:30shots he's altered and most importantly Ben it's the game plan that he changes for a team like the
21:38Dallas Mavericks now Jason Kidd may have to go with a different game plan now they may look to
21:43attack off the bounce a little bit but also for Joel Mazula's sake is now you have Al Horford
21:49go you know we'll start obviously now you're going to bring Luke Cornett off the bench
21:53one reason why I think secretly why Mazula went with this lineup with Porzingis off the bench
21:59is to allow him to match up with Lively off the bench this now unlocks maybe Derek Lively to be
22:04a little bit more lively in his performance and now this is the path or why you've seen the line
22:09already move from minus one and a half to minus two and a half for Dallas in the last day
22:14key injury certainly going to play a part in how these finals wind up and also let's keep in mind
22:18here Luka Doncic getting shots injected into his knee just to be able to play he's been hampered
22:23by this knee injury for quite some time at least through this playoff run looking at the information
22:28that we're getting now where he's actively getting shots when we anticipate another shot coming
22:32tonight before game number three does that impact your handicap at all from a Mavericks perspective
22:36coach not much because I think it goes hand in hand I think you shoot up you shoot them up you
22:42haven't played through the pain or numb it up but I don't know on the flip side uh when you look at
22:47something like this it goes back to the Porzingis factor uh you have now a situation uh where you
22:54know if you are Joel Mazula right with Porzingis at the at the front of the rim you're gonna get
23:00up into Luka and Kyrie's space right because you want to funnel him to the basket well now if you
23:06don't have that rim protector that changes your defensive outlook maybe now you can't give him a
23:12little bit more space to allow him to shoot because now if you get up on him he's gonna punch the gap
23:18I think it opens up a lot of different things for Luka maybe you know the over three and a half
23:23made threes and minus 170 is just way too much for me maybe something see if he starts out the
23:28game slow see if you get the juice to drop a little bit and then jump in end game I think
23:33about Boston I may have to give him a little bit more space which could open up the three-point
23:36shot for him tonight Luka did not start slow of course in game number two he has made at least
23:42four threes in both of the two games so far in this NBA finals but Kristaps Porzingis not only
23:48the scoring output in games one and two five blocks in the first two games multiple in each
23:55three in game one two more in game number two so not only JY has the absence of KP moved the line
24:03for game number three tonight but the overall series price still minus 770 in favor of Boston
24:09but yesterday it was minus 950 this is a hefty favorite up two games to none does the absence
24:16of Kristaps Porzingis we asked you about for this game and the rest of the series but does it
24:21ultimately change how you think this series ends up and who wins the Larry O'Brien trophy
24:28it opens up more of a pathway to Dallas I think Dallas winning it it's gonna honestly
24:32at this point but it's gonna have to be seven games so maybe the best play could be Dallas
24:36plus two and a half games plus 108 right now maybe a way for you to go ahead and get it
24:41they win tonight maybe they win game number four and then you've already cashed out in one
24:46I think it's a really good look in terms of just seeing this duration
24:50go if Boston does not win in five games or less you cash that series spread with the Mavericks
24:56a two and a half game underdog now to the specifics of game three up next
25:16sports grid your 24-7 sports wagering network fantasy sports today a guy that's really useful
25:23in your fantasy rotation I think the answer is game time decisions and guess what I'm gonna
25:29lose the bet because he's injured again betting above the rim he's got a broke leg that's all
25:36there is to it he's got no confidence in that jump shot my thing you've always heard me say
25:41in that jump shot my thing you've always heard me say on the network is you're either winning
25:47or you're rebuilding in game live all access wondering when that was gonna happen and the
25:53answer is uh it just did sometimes you think the bigger guy will have the advantage well if the
25:58little guy can move joe it's hard to hit the little guy sometimes when you're a big boy right
26:02in game live prime time I'm gonna take a little flyer on Justin Rose in game live over time
26:10as you sit here and listen watch right now you may want to consider
26:13placing that bet it's smarter to be on sports grid
26:19uh 1.81 goals against average 920 say percentage he's been he's also six and two in his last eight
26:26road starts as well the Oilers are um the Oilers are a great road team I actually think it's an
26:32advantage for them that they don't have home ice that potentially four of the games are on the road
26:37we've seen 56 of the games this year in the NHL playoff the road team has actually won sports
26:44rage late night only on sports grid eight playoff games at home for Boston in Beantown they are six
26:55and two straight up the wild card I would say in this game it's not necessarily well what are we
27:00going to get out of Luka Doncic Kyrie Irving you know Brown and certainly Tatum it is Chris
27:04Stubbs Porzingis to me because we're not getting back a player that's like hey rotational guy
27:09like remember when Derek Lively went down with an injury he was playing well but a young player like
27:12a piece the early line only on sports grid
27:34game number three of the 2024 NBA finals tonight in Dallas we changed venue for the first time in
27:45this championship series and the Mavericks back at home in the Lone Star State booked as a favorite
27:51for the first time in the NBA finals in fact it is just the fourth time now in 99 games overall
27:58this year for the Celtics they have been booked as an underdog only three times in the regular
28:04season not a single time throughout this playoff run for the seas the total stands at 212 and a
28:12hook so we talked about Luka Doncic getting a shot in his knee we talked about Chris Topps Porzingis
28:18more than likely will not play tonight in game number three probably not again for the rest of
28:22the 2024 NBA finals but as we focus specifically on the matchup tonight in Dallas JY between the
28:29Celtics and the Mavericks if the Mavs are going to make good on that favorite number if the Mavericks
28:35are going to get win number one of the NBA finals what is the reason why well we talk about shots
28:43Kyrie Irving needs a shot of adrenaline because if it comes down to it Ben he's got to be markedly
28:49better and I'm looking squirrelly at his over under four and a half points in the first quarter
28:53simply put Kyrie needs to come out slugging and that means a three and a two early on I think
29:02everything is correlated with this Porzingis injury I think Kyrie's got to be better uh you
29:08got to look at Kyrie Irving that guys I'm gonna say this this could be a career defining moment
29:14in Kyrie Irving's career I know he has the chips already the game seven shot he had against
29:19Golden State but he has not been good in this series and if he wants to erase the narrative
29:26he's got to show up and show it early I love Kyrie Irving to be aggressive I love Kyrie Irving to go
29:31over his four and a half points in the first quarter and actually may take him over 23 and a
29:34half this needs to be a breakout game Ben because if it's not they don't have a chance to win
29:41let's take a look at the Celtics here and some of their props per player and also keep in mind
29:45winning that NDP the final still very much up for grabs will it be a night where Jason Tatum takes
29:51over Jalen Brown takes over even Drew Holiday from that Celtics perspective coach who steps up
29:56and rises up to the occasion tonight for them you know to me it's going to be Jason Tatum but
30:02Jason Tatum has done a little bit of everything I think there's a point where he needs to go out
30:07and go and score the ball and I think I'm looking at Tatum the same way I'm looking at Kyrie now
30:14Tatum's points prop is seven and a half points plus 112 I think he also needs to come out
30:21and be a little bit aggressive and kind of take it to him a little bit so I'm looking at Tatum
30:26over the first quarter points I'm thinking those two yeah may trade you know jabs early on in this
30:32game and get the game going Jason Tatum scoring the ball he's done everything else guys let's be
30:37honest he's been great with the rebounding his ability to create for others and being willing
30:42to sacrifice is going to be it's been great but you know when you go on the road the roll guys
30:49don't shoot as well in the home gym they gotta shoot better particularly Tatum I think he goes
30:54off to a good start tonight 26 and a half the points prop for Jason Tatum he has been well
31:00under so far in the first two games of this 2024 NBA finals now to Kyrie Irving and Dallas 23 and a
31:08half is the points prop for Kyrie he has not reached 20 yet throughout this NBA championship
31:14series meanwhile Luka Doncic 30 plus in both of the first two games his points prop up there to
31:2032 and a half if you add it up JY doing the simple math carry the seven that's 56 expected combined
31:26points between Luka and Kyrie tonight can Dallas win game number three if those two don't go over
31:33that combined total they better be damn close Ben like if it's like 54 55 yeah but if it's 45 42 40
31:43no chance it's gotta be Kyrie and it's and it's Ben it's more about the fact that their ability
31:49to what we've talked about trade rules of Batman and Robin allow Kyrie to get going a little bit
31:56to rest up Luka a little bit you could yeah we always talk about as a coach you rest offensively
32:01not defensively so to me let Kyrie cook early him and Luka trade roles as long as they're getting
32:07that 54 55 range I think they should have enough to win tonight game number three tonight in
32:14Dallas the Mavericks at home throughout this postseason run eight games booked as the favorite
32:19in all eight five and three straight up four and four against the number the Boston Celtics
32:25JY on the road six times a perfect six and oh but booked as a favorite in all previous six
32:33road contests for the seas an underdog for the first time in this playoff run for Boston James
32:40Young a fadeaway to the break ahead of game number three tonight in Dallas of the 2024 NBA Finals
32:48we're back for our number three a couple of pump fakes we're back for our number three of the early
32:52line on this Wednesday up next