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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:03 >> Day Y, the NBA playoff bracket has reached the conference finals.
00:06 Again, it's Boston and Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals.
00:10 It's Minnesota and Dallas in the Western Conference Finals of the NBA's Final Four.
00:15 How many of these actual teams did you expect to reach this stage?
00:19 >> Boston, pretty much Boston.
00:23 [LAUGH] That's just about it.
00:26 I mean, it's been a wild postseason, Ben, and one that's been marred by injuries,
00:31 erratic play by teams.
00:35 But listen, Boston was consistent.
00:37 They were the team that was the best team in the NBA throughout the regular season.
00:41 I thought that the Minnesota Denver Series was gonna be a slugfest, and it was.
00:46 I got it wrong.
00:48 And I was concerned about OKC, but I thought there was gonna be
00:53 other Clippers that were gonna be at this spot.
00:55 So, shocking turn of events, but that's the great thing about the NBA is,
01:00 you get hot at the right time, you got a couple of stars, you got great coaches,
01:04 and you give yourself a chance to win.
01:06 >> Yeah, and I agree with that too.
01:09 And you take a look at the way the NBA landscape is,
01:10 nobody really cares a couple years ago when you say, well,
01:12 who did you actually play in the finals where Milwaukee won a championship?
01:16 Basically because teams got injured along the way.
01:18 You take a look at the Boston Celtics, nobody's gonna remember, hey,
01:21 Boston's gonna win a championship, they finally won it.
01:23 Yeah, but it was an easy run through the East.
01:24 You still gotta play a really good team in the West in the finals and
01:27 handle your business.
01:28 So if we take a look at that Western Conference finals,
01:30 which is gonna be absolutely tremendous.
01:33 You take a look at Minnesota and Dallas,
01:34 these lines have been fluctuating back and forth, even, Coach, in the last 24 hours.
01:39 We saw the Timberwolves as high as a -180, dipped to as low as around a -150.
01:43 Now we're back to a -168, with home court advantage for the Timberwolves.
01:47 Set us up for this series, number one, Coach, on how these two teams got here,
01:51 and what we can anticipate out of this series.
01:54 Well, I think the series is gonna be absolutely tremendous.
01:56 If you look at, you know, Dallas, how they've got here,
01:59 it was really the acquisitions during the mid-season of getting
02:03 P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford to kind of shore up the defensive problems
02:07 that happened.
02:08 Jones has taken the next step.
02:10 Hardaway Jr., after a rough start with injury, has started to come on.
02:14 But also the player, Derek Lively, has been really, really good.
02:17 I think him coming off the bench has taken pressure off of this kid.
02:20 And him and Gafford has become an affordable one-two punch.
02:23 So getting up by a clipper's team that seems to just can't get out of their own way
02:28 when times get tough.
02:29 And then going into Oklahoma City team, which really arrived the year early.
02:33 Very impressed by what I've seen out of Dallas.
02:36 Minnesota was the team that just took a huge leap.
02:39 I mean, let's be honest, getting rid of D'Angelo Russell was the best thing
02:42 that ever happened to this franchise,
02:44 because they bring in Mike Conley a couple years ago.
02:46 He stabilizes the roster.
02:48 He gets them to play defense.
02:50 And the ascension of Anthony Edwards really becoming, I feel, a two-way force.
02:56 And I'm going to be honest, he's kind of a likable guy.
02:59 His comments, he's kind of funny.
03:00 He talks a little trash.
03:02 But he's got the game to back it up.
03:04 But I think also, Chris, if it's getting Rudy Gobert and Cat
03:08 how to play together has been really, really critical.
03:11 So this is going to be a dynamite matchup.
03:13 It's not the matchup that we thought we were going to get.
03:15 But it's the one we got, guys.
03:17 And buckle up.
03:18 I think this is going to be an outstanding series.
03:20 Right now, I'll say, I think this is going seven.
03:23 And it could go either way.
03:25 So to me, I like the series to go seven games.
03:28 Best way to play it to me,
03:29 we'll just take Dallas plus a one and a half games
03:32 and play it that way.
03:34 And don't let it go seven games,
03:35 because you got star power on both sides.
03:38 You got good defense on both sides.
03:41 You have underrated coaches on both sides.
03:43 You have bench play on both sides.
03:45 Guys, this is going to be such an intriguing matchup.
03:49 And I would say this, we're arguably the three best
03:51 one-on-one guards in the NBA
03:55 in regards to creating their own shot
03:57 between Kyrie, Luka, and And Edwards.
04:00 Guys, it's going to be fantastic.
04:02 - From the odds perspective, J-Y,
04:04 a great way of looking at this series.
04:06 If we think it's going the distance,
04:08 if we think we see all seven games in this best of seven,
04:11 then Dallas plus one and a half, plus one and a half games.
04:14 So either the Mavericks win the series
04:16 or it goes to seven and Minnesota victorious
04:19 in that seventh game.
04:20 That would be a cash ticket.
04:21 And we've seen some changing juice on that number
04:25 as the series outright prices inch closer and closer
04:28 as the public and the betting markets expecting this
04:31 to be a grueling and incredibly competitive series.
04:35 So as we look at these two teams,
04:37 you highlighted what Minnesota does well.
04:39 You noted what Dallas has changed
04:41 to get to this point in the post-season.
04:44 When you compare the two though, J-Y,
04:46 what do you think is the key matchup to watch
04:48 throughout this series that could dictate the outcome?
04:52 - Well, honestly guys, it's going to be something
04:53 I don't think people can expect.
04:55 It's going to be the top offensive player
04:57 against who guards who.
05:00 So when you look at Dallas,
05:01 who in regards to, and Luka Dodgic,
05:05 who guards Luka?
05:07 'Cause you gotta figure between McDaniels and Conley,
05:10 who takes Kyrie, who takes Luka?
05:13 That's going to be a critical thing.
05:15 And then you go to the flip side,
05:16 Jada McDaniels, who has maybe been the MVP,
05:19 you could argue, and that's what Anthony Edwards
05:22 has said for Minnesota,
05:23 because if it's a set offensively,
05:25 he is going to have to guard obviously as well.
05:29 So it's going to be a really dynamic matchup here.
05:32 And I think it's going to be something
05:34 that's going to be interesting to see.
05:35 Also, Eric Jones Jr., who does he end up on?
05:38 Probably Anthony Edwards here.
05:40 So I think you have really intriguing matchups to me.
05:45 I think we start looking at it,
05:46 if you start looking at series props, guys,
05:49 I think Anthony Edwards to lead in scoring
05:52 at plus 125 is where I'm looking.
05:54 I know Luka is absolutely dynamic,
05:57 but you could also, again,
05:59 Kyrie's got to carry the load.
06:00 He was much better in game six,
06:03 particularly in the second half,
06:04 being aggressive, looking for his shot.
06:07 I think I look at Anthony Edwards
06:08 at plus 125 to lead the series in scoring,
06:12 because I think he's going to really have to try
06:14 and put this team on his back offensively
06:16 to try and win this series.
06:18 - Western Conference MVP odds
06:20 that you can bet on here at the FanBlue Sportsbook.
06:21 We take a look at that graphic.
06:23 Anthony Edwards at a minus 150 price.
06:24 Luka Doncic plus 165.
06:27 Towns at 14 to one, and Irving at 16 to one.
06:30 If we look at some of those,
06:31 because we talked about this yesterday,
06:33 is it better off, coach,
06:34 to get maybe slightly better pricing
06:36 if you just take the superstar player to win,
06:38 or are you just more comfortable to say,
06:39 "You know what?
06:40 "I don't want to get burned by anybody else winning this.
06:42 "I would just rather pick the team
06:44 "that actually wins the series here."
06:46 What are your thoughts on these MVP odds?
06:48 - Well, I think the issue you have here
06:50 is if you look at, it's minus 168 right now
06:52 on FanBlue for Minnesota to win.
06:54 I think they win the series in seven,
06:55 but then Ann is minus 150.
06:57 But here's the thing.
06:59 What happens if you look at game number six,
07:02 where Ann struggles and it calls the game,
07:04 and Carl Anthony Towns goes off and has a big series?
07:07 I wouldn't look at that.
07:10 I would just take Minnesota minus 168
07:12 if you want to just take them to win the series.
07:14 And then if you want to put a small amount of money
07:16 on Cat to win most outstanding MVP
07:19 of the Western Conference Finals as a value play,
07:22 that's the way I would plan,
07:23 because then if you go minus 150,
07:25 you may lose out if Cat has a big series.
07:27 It's better off to go the other way.
07:30 - There are 15 cents of difference
07:32 from the price of Minnesota
07:33 winning this series, or a little bit less,
07:35 than 20 cents, I should say,
07:37 from Minnesota winning the series
07:39 to the number for Anthony Edwards.
07:40 Minus 168 for the T-Wolves,
07:42 minus 150 for Ant to win the Western Conference Finals MVP.
07:47 There are 23 cents of difference
07:49 for that same story on the other side
07:51 for the Mavericks as the underdog,
07:53 or Luka Doncic with the second best price
07:56 to win the Western Conference Finals MVP.
07:58 Game one, tomorrow night in the Twin Cities.
08:01 Minnesota at this moment, a four point home favorite.
08:04 Total for the opening game of the WCF stands at 207.
08:09 (upbeat music)
08:11 (upbeat music)