Ep. 87: BING BONG! Pacers vs Thunder in NBA Finals - 06/02/25

Sean Brace and Sam Oshtry talk about the #NBAFinals match-up set... #Thunder vs #Pacers.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Number one on your car radio preset hand, the new
and improved Diehard Radio app, WDA Yes and WD two
seven three D Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
I is Fox Sports Radio, The Gambler.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Fresh off a boat, back to reality, Sam Austrey. No,
I'm not talking about the New York Knicks. I'm talking
about Sam Astree, who was front and centered down in
South Florida. Now back and of course we got a
lot to discuss. NBA Finals ready to tip off on Thursday.
Get ourselves a little bit of a breather. We put
some we put the the the the cap as far

(00:32):
as the Eastern and Western Conference Finals are concerned. Plenty
to discuss there, big picture question, credit where credit is due,
Ask today and get up that.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I will get Sam's take on.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
On what is the state of the NBA now with
Oklahoma City and the Pacers both in the NBA Finals.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Big picture question will close on that one. But we
got a lot to discuss. First, how you doing, Sam,
Great to see you.

Speaker 4 (01:02):
I'm doing great. The next have gone fishing and I
was I was on a boat. I wasn't fishing on
a boat, but I was on a boat down in Miami.
But he had been gone fishing. I passed by their
their arena for a little bit. It was a great,
great weekend. But I'm back to it and we got
NBA Finals to talk about.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Were you on the boat with Cardi B and Stefine Digs.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
No, no, Toussy on our boat. No, I was not
on their boat. I didn't get the invite to that one.
I'm not sure how.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
I was also a swim Week in Miami, so there's
a lot of a lot of celebs there, but I
didn't get the invite to any of that, which seems
a little weird.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
What is swim week like swim suits?

Speaker 4 (01:38):
Yes, Sports illustrated swimsuit things. So you saw like the
Livvy Duns and the girls of the world all were
there for like the swim Sports Illustrated swim.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Suit where Livy Dunn did this split.

Speaker 4 (01:51):
Yep, that's where she did it. Yep, she did the split,
not on our boat. Though not in our boat.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
You have be a lot cleoler if she did. Man cooler.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
All right, we do got a lot to discuss, and
of course as we open up shop here, it's over. Finally,
the New York Knicks ended up losing in not so
much traumatic fashion but they went down to the Indiana Pacers,
and what was a good series and entertaining series, and
I don't care like everyone can have their take on it.
For my money, Pacers and Knicks was a fun NBA

(02:22):
Playoffs series, which two years in a row, Sam and
I know last year we like to focus on the
injuries and whether that's fair or unfair, it is reality,
that's fine, But this is two straight seasons that the
Pacers beat the Knicks to advance in the NBA Playoffs
and they just are the better team. And like for me,
after this series was done, you know, I look back

(02:43):
from the gambling perspective. We talked about this a lot
throughout the course of the Eastern Conference playoffs so far,
and I look at the regular season and it's no
fault but their own because they had a sluggish start.
Like if the Pacers did not have that bad of
a start, we look at them entirely different.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
It started ten to fifteen.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Correct, even now, even now that they're in the NBA Finals,
we would we'd had such a different take about this team.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Quite curious though, With that being said.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
If if they started you said ten and fifteen says
twenty five so a little bit better than fifteen and ten.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
So just to share you take hire to are we saying.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Anything different about this Pacers team going into the NBA
Finals against Okase.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
Probably.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
Yeah, it's just because the odds are so improbable of
a finals run, and it's like we actually saw it
recently with the Heat when they were the eighth seed
and they made that improbable run. The piece was obviously
a way higher seed, but just in terms of the
odds makers, how they perceived from I'd say NBA media,
NBA personnel, everybody, it's such an improbable run that they're

(03:49):
where they are now, even after they made the conference
finals last year. But everyone kind of looked at that
as like super fluky, and there was good reason for that.
A lot of injuries contributed to their conference finals run
and then they got swept by the Celtics. Was a
somewhat competitive series even in the sweet because all the
games are competitive. But now they then they start this
season out ten to fifteen, a full offseason with Pascal
Siakam on the roster, running the show with Tyres Halliburn,

(04:13):
and they start ten to fifteen and then they're around
a five hundred halfway through the season and it's like,
all right, what's going on with this team? This team's
ceiling is probably a first round exit, and then they
make this some probable run have been one of the
best teams in the league going back to the last
two months of regular season, and you can't call fluke anymore.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Like I've been calling the Run fluki for a while.

Speaker 4 (04:32):
But I've eat my words because this next team was
completely healthy and the Pacers showed that they were the
better team and they deserve to be in the finals.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
He aymen that our good friend Mark Drumheller, friend of
a program checking in who the Knicks playing loll would
have been a sweep if Indi didn't fall asleep in
Game three. Yeah, you know, we talked about that, and
of course how things went in Game one two, so
we have to be honest with that. But far and away,
the Pacers were the better team, and I just think
that they deserve a little bit more respect than some

(04:59):
people giving him at this point in time.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
Will have plenty of time to.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Discuss this from the next three days, and whether you're
riding with Joe Public, who are heavy on the Indiana
Pacers plus the points plus all that money plus two
and a half from the series spread, or is this
going to be an ugly one with Okay, seeing how
dominant they are, I will tell everybody this much.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
It was pretty dominant during the regular season. Okay, see
two and O versus the Pacers.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
And that might not sway you one way, but what
should sway you is what they did to Haliburton.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
Take a look at what his box scores were in
those two games. Ugly and look like.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
For Halliburton, let's just start there, Sam from you know
what he was able to do against the Knicks, and
I know that they ended up getting a ton of
help in Pascal Siakam wins Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Hello,
there was some money to be made on that one.
I didn't see that one coming. But from Haliburton's perspective,
what we saw against the Knicks, what else do they

(05:58):
need to get from him?

Speaker 3 (05:59):
For the Pacer.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
Perspective in this series against OKC for them to have
a shot at winning the championship.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
There's only two teams remaining. You got one trophy on
the line. We know how good OKC is. Nobody's poo
pooing that. But at the end of the day.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
These games aren't played on paper, and we've seen upsets before,
maybe not like in a seven game series. You're asking
a lot, But what do the Pacers need from Haliburt
and start and finish for them to have a shot
at beating Okac.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Let's start with how in the world he didn't win
Eastern Conference Finals MVP one of the biggest atrocities in
finals MVP voting and look, conference finals MVP doesn't really
matter that much. Like when you're evaluating someone's resume. No
one's talking about, oh yeah, how many conference finals MEPs. No,
it's finals MVPs, it's finals wins, it's regular season MVPs. Sure,
but the fact that those nine voters and five there

(06:46):
was nine voters and five of them voted for Pascal Siakam.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
Makes no sense. The only dud you.

Speaker 4 (06:50):
Can look at from Tyre's Halliburn was in Game five
when when the Just Knicks just won pretty handily and
Tyres Haliburn just didn't show up. But that was a
game that the Knicks were the more desperate team. The
game before that, we were having a discussion if Tyres
Halliburton was an MVP, it was a superstar in the
league because of his line of ble was like thirty two,
fifteen and twelve with no turnovers. One of the best

(07:14):
player performances we've seen in a crucial, crucial Game four.
And it's not just the numbers I get. Pascal Siakam
led the team and score. He averages more points than
during the regular season and during this series than Tyre's Halliburn.

Speaker 2 (07:26):
But it's not just about scoring.

Speaker 4 (07:28):
Everything the Pacers do is dictated by Tyrese Halliburn, the
pace that they play with, and they won this series
because of the pace that they play at that was
dictated by Tyrese Halliburn, So he deserves all the credit.
I don't care about the scoring averages. Tyres Haliburn is
the best player on the team. He's the most impactful
player on this team. It was a it was ridiculous,

(07:49):
especially after Game one. Who hit the shot? Yeah, it
was Aaron Nesmith who led them back in that comeback
when he had six threes in the final five minutes.
It was Tyre's Halliburn who hit that final shot to
force him to overtime. And then Haliburn was great in
overtime as well, so Stam and Gunny said something interested
on the broadcast during one of the games where he
was like, it's not the coach that dictates your pace
and your play style, it's your point guard. And that's

(08:11):
very true for this team. Tyre's Halliburn dictates this entire
team's pace, their style, everything they do is because of
Tyre's Halliburn. And he was awesome that entire series except
that one game five.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
So let me pause you right there.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
He was first in threes, he was first in steels, first,
insists Haliburn in the series against the next first, and
rebounds second in points and I.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Can't can assist by a mile, that's the big one.
First and assists by a mile.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
Because everything they do where it's all like driving kick
and they run, they run so many actions that confuse
the Knixt defense. The Knicks defense really struggle the series.
But everything they do where they play fast and and
and and like the their drive and kick offense, Like
Rick Carlo wears a shirt every press conference that says
drive and dish because that's that's their play styles, drive
and dish, and all of that is because of Tyrus Aliburn,

(09:02):
because of his ability to get downhill and because of
how great of a job he did, especially against the Knicks,
of getting two fein the lean collapsing defense, creating kickout opportunities,
putting the defensive rotation. So Tyre's Aliburn was awesome in
this series. I will get to why he might struggle
next series and why he struggled against the Thunder in
the regular season. But how Tyres Haliburn didn't win the
Eastern Conference Finals MVP was an.

Speaker 3 (09:23):
A trust I agree. I agree with you.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
I couldn't believe he didn't win it. I was shocked
and his response was pretty walk up there. Yeah, he
was Drew Sky with it. He was definitely drisky with it.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
And I feel for him because he played well enough.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
But it's just another chapter and the disrespect book for
Tyreus Haliburn. And I know it's an insight a little
bit of a chuckle for us because Sam wasn't always
the exact highest since Harri's Haliburton, nor do I think
you were over the top.

Speaker 3 (09:52):
I'm just saying this dude continues to prove everybody wrong,
all the doubters wrong. And now the question is still asked,
is he had.

Speaker 1 (09:59):
A superstar but bh blah blah, blah, It's like, all right,
well now the NBA Finals, and I think, look, this
is this is the truth of the matter, no matter
what award is at the end of this. If the Pacers,
I don't care how they do it, if they come
out on top and win this series, like I'm gonna
change my tune on everything Indiana.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
So it's there for the taking. As I said, you
don't play these games on paper.

Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's tough though, because we are looking at one of
the better defensive teams I think I've ever seen so
with that, but go ahead, floor Gieer's as far as
Haliburt and the need in this series against the Oklahoma
City Thunder.

Speaker 4 (10:32):
If the Piacers somehow win the championship, and this isn't
any disrespect or discredit tyrus Aaliburton, who I have been
wrong about and I will gladly admit, if they Pacers
somehow win the championship, he will be the worst best
player on a championship team in over two decades since
the Pistons won.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
We just keep we keep jabbing this guy.

Speaker 4 (10:54):
But that's how improbable this Pacers winning the championship would be.

Speaker 3 (10:59):
Like the great overrate. This next thing you know, he's
keeps up. He beats you know, all these teams. He
has no business beating.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
Look, and I respect him because he talks endless amount
of smack and he backs all of it up, like
he does the Dame Time celebration in Dame's face, he
does Bruntson's three point celebration in his face. He does
it all and he backs it all up. So it's like,
how can you be mad this guy? And he also
always answers the questions. Does seem like a genuinely good dude,
good social media post yesterday with that Go New York

(11:29):
Go video. But in terms of this upcoming series, let
me just say Tyris Salivern is gonna struggle, and it's
because he hasn't faced the individual defenders all playoffs that
the Thunders can throw at him. And that starts with
janl Williams, that starts with Alex Crusoe, lou Dort.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
Caseon Wallace. That's the thing. Keason Wallace and Alex Crusill
come off the bench.

Speaker 4 (11:48):
So it's like, all right, Janla Williams is going out
of the game, Lou Dort's going out of the game.
Let me let me try to dominate the Thunder second unit. No,
you got, you got Alex Crusier coming in and matching
up on you, Keithon Wallace, even Shake Gillows Alexander, who
they might try to target, he's not really a guy
who can target because he's a pretty good defender himself
with the offensive load that he carries too, which is
so impressive from him.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
So Tyre's Halliburn is going to.

Speaker 4 (12:10):
Struggle this series because he hasn't faced the individual defenders
and his whole game is getting downhill, like I said,
getting two feen the lane, getting to the rim, but
also collapse in defense, creating driving kick opportunities to put
the Pacers or to put defense in rotation. That's how
the Pacers dominate offensively, is they play so fast and
they put the defense in rotation that they can just
they can just get opportunities to go downhill and attack closeouts.

(12:34):
You can't do that unless your point guard is getting downhill.
Tyres Haliburn is not going to have success getting downhill
against the Thunders defense. They have so many different guys
of athleticism, of length of strength to throat him, and
their style of playing fast won't work against the Thunder
because the Thunder of so much depth. Like what the
Pacers do so well is they play fast and play

(12:54):
with incredible pace. That's correlated with their depth because they've
so many different guys and come in and play at
a pretty decent production level where it's not much of
a drop off in terms of their starters and their betch.
That's not gonna happen against the Thunder because the Thunder
can match their depth, and this Thunder defense is historically
great defense. Tyrs Haliburn is not gonna have the opportunities
to get downhill like he has the last three series

(13:16):
really where he played pretty poor point of attack defenses.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, like I said, this defense is absolutely no joke.
They run so deep.

Speaker 1 (13:25):
And they have great rem protecting and it's just it's
it's gonna be really, really tough for them to be
able to do what they were able to do against
the Knicks successfully. Now, the outside shooting, if it's following,
that could be the equalizer correct.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 4 (13:40):
But again the Pacers are here because they shot forty
percent from three during the playoffs. That's number one than
the playoffs by a good margin. Again, part of that
is because they have such success getting downhill colaps in
the defense so they get clean looks from three.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
They're not gonna get nearers.

Speaker 4 (13:53):
Clean looks at from three against the Thunder, who recovers
so well on to shooters, they rotate so well defense
on a string. So those threes that the Pacers have gotten,
they're hitting them to their credit, like that's why they're here.
They're shooting forty percent from three, and those role players
are stepping up and making shots Aaron Nee Smith.

Speaker 2 (14:09):
At the top of the list of that. But those
are clean.

Speaker 4 (14:12):
A lot of them are clean looks and defensive coverages
that the other teams have run have really just collapsed
and aren't working. The Thunder aren't going to collapse defensively
like that, so these looks aren't gonna be as clean.
So this team, I can promise you, the Pacers are
not shooting forty percent, probably not any anything close to
it this series. And if those shots aren't following, they're
not they're not shooting that's that great from three, then

(14:34):
then their offense isn't gonna be as good and they're
not gonna be able to keep up with the Thunder.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
You know, it's funny because the last time, the first
time that they played this season. Both times, the Pacers
ended up losing to Oklahoma City. First time they played
was in in the end. Everybody played. It was back
on December to twenty sixth day after Christmas whatever. Oklahoma
City ended up winning by six points. The Pacers shot
thirty nine percent from downtown. Haliburton finished with four points.

Speaker 3 (14:57):
He was zero for two. We played thirty.

Speaker 1 (14:58):
Five minutes in that game, Sam, I could see that
happening four times right there, that exact blueprint, that box score.

Speaker 3 (15:06):
I could see that playing out four times in my mind.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
I'm watching this game against the Knicks, that final game,
and I go, I think Oklahoma City might score two hundred.

Speaker 3 (15:15):
I think, like this team is just.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
Going to get what they want and they're going to
score in bunches. But the Pacers, if they get on
that run, they played downhill anything as possible. But I
just I'm having a hard time really buying in to
anything Pacers. And I was singing somewhat of a different tune,
just a different, slightly different tune last week.

Speaker 3 (15:37):
But now we sit here.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
Front and center, and on top of it, Joe Public
is loving the Pacers DraftKings sportsbook put this out yesterday,
eighty five percent of the money seventy five percent of
the bets on the Pacers to.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
Win the NBA Finals. I just feel like this is
an OKC beat down.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
Yeah, I mean, I guess part of that is because
you can't lay the number with a thunder, Like, what
are you gonna lay seven hundred to win the series?
So it's like, yeah, as we'll take a flyer on
the Pacers.

Speaker 3 (16:03):
You really think the Pacers are gonna win?

Speaker 2 (16:05):
Absolutely not.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
And honestly, and honestly, if I do take the Pacers,
I want more than five hundred.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, I want more than plus five hundred.

Speaker 1 (16:13):
No way, no freaking way am I taking the Pacers
at plus five hundred.

Speaker 4 (16:17):
You'd have to take like the Pacers in seven because
because that would be the most likely outcomes where like
they somehow force a game seven. But look, the Pacers
have done improbable things last three rounds. They've had three
of the craziest comebacks in playoff history and the craziest
one against the Knicks in that Game one. So they've
done improbable things. But this is just a different beast
with the thunder. They haven't faced a thunder defense like

(16:39):
the Pacers, or like the Pacers haven't faced the defense
as good as the Thunder, and so this is an
all time great defense against a great, fast paced, move
the ball type offense. And I'm going with the defense
in this one. And again the Thunder haven't really played
their best offensively either. They're shooting thirty three percent from
three in the playoffs. That's thirteenth month among sixteen the

(17:00):
playoff teams that qualify for the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
Wow, that's pretty bad.

Speaker 4 (17:03):
Like this Thunder team is shooting better than that throughout
throughout the regular season, that they have capable shooters on
their team against this Pacers defense, which has been good
at times but also very suspect when we saw how
suspect they can be against the Knicks, when the Knicks
were able to score pretty fluidly and easily against this
Pacers defense. So I think this Thunders offense actually goes
to a whole other level against this Pacers defense too,

(17:26):
because the Thunder offense haven't shown their best. But it's
really the defense is gonna be the story, because this
Thunders defense is going to lock down this Pacers offense
and from there it's like, yeah, the question is is
it gonna be four games or five games?

Speaker 1 (17:38):
We did have money movement as far as the odds
for the series market Underdraftkings sportsbook. You are looking at
slight different from two days ago. It's now down to
minus seven hundred for OKC was as high as minus
eight hundred.

Speaker 3 (17:51):
I think it was minus eight fifteen.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
If I'm not mistaken, I believe it was minus eight
hundred percent of the next I could be wrong on it. Anyways,
now minus seven hundred plus five hundred for the Pacers.

Speaker 3 (18:00):
And we talked a little bit with this last week.

Speaker 1 (18:02):
But now thanks to Yahoo Sports who do a great
job to subscribe to their morning newsletter. The dude Kendall
Kendall Baker, I think his name is, I apologize. I
get his email every day.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
He does a tremendous job.

Speaker 1 (18:14):
Largest betting history, largest betting favorites in NBA history, two
thousand and one Lake show minus two thousand, two thousand.
Now that one, of course, was against the seventy six ers,
and I got some different news on that because I
did a show at Dick Girardi on Saturday, who was
writing for the Inquired Daily News at that time, and
he said ten to one. I don't remember it being

(18:36):
that high, but it wouldn't shock me because if you remember,
the Lakers didn't lose a game until Game one against
the Sixers.

Speaker 3 (18:43):
Of course we remember Tyrond lou.

Speaker 1 (18:44):
Step over but minus two thousand there, Warriors twenty eighteen
a little bit over minus one thousand, ten seventy five
Bowls ninety six minus nine point fifty, Spurs minus nine
hundred like now here we are the Thunder minus seven hundred,
So a top ten as far.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
As favorite is concerned.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
Disparity here, but again, as I said, they don't play
the game on paper.

Speaker 3 (19:09):
We'll see what happens there.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
A couple quick comments, get your thoughts on this one
cause of Nikki checking in. Shout out six Ers legend
Tony Bradley for his contributions to the Pacers win.

Speaker 4 (19:18):
Hey DJ, let me say to Tony Bradley was great
in that series until he got hurt. And what happened
when he got hurt is Thomas Bryant had to come
in the and play and Game six was the Thomas
Bryant game. In the first half, he had three threes
in the first half. This guy is gonna make threeese
at that at that clip, and he was just drilling
corner threes and next we're leaving him open for decent reason.

(19:41):
But because Tony Bradley got injured, Thomas Brian had to
come in the game and he was drilling three.

Speaker 2 (19:46):
So both those guys, that's the depth of the Pacers had.

Speaker 3 (19:49):
Where'd you watch the game and how much in great
detail did you watch the game?

Speaker 2 (19:53):
Well, it was a rewatch, for sure. It was a
rewatch yesterday for sure. But I did. I did watch
it live. We we yeah, back.

Speaker 4 (20:01):
Post boat into the Airbnb first staff Airbnb second half.
We went to a bar out in South Beach to
watch the second half of the game, but then it
was really over midway through the fourth quarter.

Speaker 2 (20:13):
But it was definitely a rewatch for me.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yes, run into any Heat players Tyler Hero or No, No,
I didn't see any of them.

Speaker 3 (20:20):
Pat Riley s Ryles out there.

Speaker 2 (20:22):
I think that guy's a little too old to be
out in that scene these days.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
Probably right, Isaiah, Joe and Tony Bradley going to the finals.
The process work Nick because of Nikki, he's having some
fun today. Yeah, and look, I do want to say
I think TJ McConnell deserves a ton of credit.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
That dude.

Speaker 1 (20:37):
What's been said about him this year, it's so true.
Why he's had an opportunity to step to a microphone
and he's revealed what and his mind makes a difference.
How he's stuck around.

Speaker 3 (20:47):
He's I don't know, like, is he a liability out there?
I'm sure you know one on one whatever, But the
dude is a.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
Maniac and he brings it and he serves a purpose
I don't need. And that's not even talking about behind scenes.
God only knows what he's doing practice. God only knows
what he's doing as far as team meetings. You're concerned
because he is a true vet. He's a guy that
you want on your team and he's proved his word,
and he's a guy that I definitely doubted. So shout
out to TJ McConnell playing for a championship before Jowell,
Ebiing and Ben Simmons both.

Speaker 2 (21:16):
It's hard.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
It's easy to doubt a guy like that because he's
like a six foot white guy. It's like this guy
shouldn't be in the NBA. These guys aren't in the NBA.
But it's all the credit in the world to him,
to his work ethic, his attitude, his coach ability. He's
any coach would would kill for a guy like TJ
McConnell on the roster. So all the credit to him
for lasting this long in the NBA and finally getting
an opportunity to play for a championship.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
When did the Hornets sign him as a head coach,
that's the question.

Speaker 2 (21:42):
He would be a great coach. He would be a great,
great coach for sure.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
And it seems like he might be more of a
college guy. But we'll see, we'll see what happens with
his futures. Of course, he's playing for an NBA title
this week. It's pretty damn cool, all right, keeping it
moving as far as this series is concerned, A real
quick I want to hit this because Tim bonds now again,
when you you get it right, like he kind of
conflects back last year twenty twenty four Eastern Conference Finals MVP,

(22:09):
he had Jalen Brown.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
This year he had Pascal Siakam. Is he right on
both of them?

Speaker 4 (22:14):
No, he's dead wrong on Pascal and and and I
just explained why why in the open it's like it's
it's Tyres Halliburn.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
I don't care about the scoring.

Speaker 4 (22:24):
Tyres Haliburn sets the tone and the pace for this offense.
Everything the Pacers do is predator, predicated on Tyres Halliburn
getting downhill collapsing the defense, and he is the guy
for this offense.

Speaker 2 (22:35):
And he was great this series. Not like he struggled
this series.

Speaker 4 (22:37):
He had one bad game in Game five when the
Pacers didn't play we play well as a whole, Tyres
Halliburn was great, and he had one of the best
player performances we've seen a long time in Game four
with thirty two fifteen twelve and zero turnovers. So last
year I understood giving it to Jalen Brown in the
Eastern Conference finals. I actually would have voted for Tatum
in the finals for Finals MVP, even though Jalen Brown

(22:59):
ended up winning it. But I still understood that this
one is hard to fathom. I have no idea how
the voters came to the conclusion. I haven't heard any responses.
I like Tim Bontems a lot. I think he's really
good at what he does, but I haven't heard any
reasonable rationale for why they voted for Pascal Siak agreed.

Speaker 1 (23:15):
I saw Katie George sign off on it as well
as just a silent reporter. You know, I was just
looking and I didn't get too carried away because I
didn't have any money on it.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
But because Halliburt was priced that.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
High that you could have made some dough.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
Wow, Yeah, you absolutely could have made some dough on
Siakam especially pre series.

Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yeah, no doubt about it. But it is what it is,
all right.

Speaker 1 (23:38):
I do have some articles though, I'm always intrigued to
see who's going to be pitching what And I do
have an article on three Reasons Why from covers dot
com and why he believes this author believes the Pacers
will win this series. Again, I think everybody's got to
pitch it both ways off of these games leading up.
We understand how that works. But the series spread, Sam Austria,
I want to go there with you right now, in

(24:00):
a perfect world, in a great series in your mind,
and we hope we get that.

Speaker 3 (24:05):
But what are we looking at here?

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Where are we at as far as how many games
total this series is going?

Speaker 4 (24:10):
I think the maximum is five, and I know the
spread is two and a half and you can actually
get oka see two and a half. I believe it's
priced at minus one thirty so most books, so there
is some juice on that, but it's probably worth laying
because I don't see this series going past five games,
and of course the over Unders five and a half.
Like everything I talked about, the Pacers are just they

(24:33):
don't They've never faced the defense throughout this playoff run.
That is the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense, which is just
a relentless, swarming, incredible ball pressure, the most aggressive ball
pressure we've seen in a long time. And they pick
they can pick up full court. That's always the Pacers things.
Picking up full court. The Thunder can pick up full
court two and match them, and their aggressive ball pressure
is just going to be hard for Halliburn and the

(24:55):
rest of the Pacers' guards to get downhill. That's everything
they do. It's getting downhill, it's playing with incredible pace.
It's the Thunder can the gate. The two advantages that
the Thund that the Pacers have, and that's their pace
and that's then the PACER's depth. So pace and depth
is the reason why the Pacers just beat the Knicks.
Those two things, the Thunder can match their depth. Their

(25:16):
bench is actually deeper and they have more guys who
wore capable contributors on both ends than the Pacers do
coming off the bench and the paces. The thunders defense
is so aggressive and there's so much depth and so
many worthy defenders that they are going to slow down
the Pacers.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
This Pacer offense.

Speaker 4 (25:33):
Has to play fast for it to work, but the
Thunder are going to slow down to control the tempo.
So for all those reasons, I don't see this going
more than five games. I think the Pacers win one,
just because you saw this in the first roundhere the
Thunder played the Grizzlies. Do you remember that that game
where the Grizzlies were forty on the Thunder.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
Yeah, the Thunder.

Speaker 4 (25:53):
Actually I believe they came back and won if my
memory serves, but they were still down forty. So you've
seen some duds from the Thunder. And then you saw
last series, the one game they lost, they were up
to two zero in the series. It's a young team,
They're not always gonna be focused, but when they're the
less desperate team and they just got blitzed by the
Minnesota tim rules, but they still won that at five,
So I could see that scenario playing out against the Pacers. Again,

(26:13):
this team hasn't won a championships, you'd expect the focus.
But the thunder are still young team, so that's gonna
happen a young team where it's maybe they're up two
or three to zero in the series and the Pacers
just come out as the more desperate team and win
one game. But that's really the only scenario I can
see the Pacers winning one game.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
If you are the owner of a Indiana Pacers plus
four thousand NBA ticket before the season started, I would fully, fully,
fully hope.

Speaker 3 (26:38):
That you're going to hedge one way or the other.

Speaker 2 (26:41):
We'll hit that.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Being said, it's a nice ticket to have right now. Urgency,
three point shooting, and tires Halliburton are the three reasons
why Jason Logan from covers dot Com feels like the
Pacers can win this game and win this series.

Speaker 3 (26:58):
Let's start with urgency.

Speaker 1 (26:59):
I'll give you the reason is what he lists behind it,
but pace to play. He goes into the standard pace
rating would be considered up tempo and going up against
a team like OKAC, and again, I highly doubt this
author feels this way, but you know he's got to
make it happen. He said, the Pacers waste little time
getting into their offensive sets.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
Indiana's great in transition, pushing the ball of court.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
There is something to be said about that because they
did force the New York Nicks into a ton of turnovers.
Is there any chance that they can get that happening
on the defensive side versus Okay, see.

Speaker 4 (27:32):
No, because the Thunder of the lowest turnover rate in
the entire league. The Thunder don't turn the ball over.
That's the thing. And that's part of the Pacers offense
is is they play so fast, and they played really
fast after makes too, but their offense at their best
when they're running in transition and getting turnovers because there's
really poor flour balance and they can just get out
and run and they play so fast and the Knicks
couldn't recover at all. But that happened because the next

(27:53):
turn the ball over a ton. Throughout that entire series,
the Thunder of the lowest turnover rate in the NBA,
they do not turn the ball over.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
They're so good.

Speaker 4 (28:00):
At taking care of the basketball, and the Pacers aren't
going to have those advantages against this Thunder team.

Speaker 3 (28:05):
Yeah, and he went into three point shooting.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
He obviously hit on what you talked about where they
slipped the thirty three point six As far as the
Oklahoma City Thunder are from downtown, they shot thirty six
point six from the season during the season, so a
little bit slippage there, but at the same time, not
exactly the best. I don't know where that would land
them as far as in the league perspective, but they
did improve slightly against Minnesota and in the Western Conference Finals.

(28:30):
The Indiana Pacers' fifth most accurate team in the NBA
from three point range this season at thirty seven percent,
so that tells you exactly where they are. But they
lead all playoff teams for forty percent thirteen point four
triples per postseason contest.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
So that is definitely one thing we discussed already.

Speaker 1 (28:46):
If the three pointers are following from the Pacers, that's
definitely a recipe for success, it is.

Speaker 4 (28:51):
And that's gonna be their key to victory is they're
gonna have to shoot that well from three. But again,
a lot of these looks in those first three series
were clean looks, and that's because of their downhill penetration.
That starts with Tyre's saliburn those looks are not gonna
be as clean against the Thunder because the Thunder are
not gonna let tyry saliburn any Pacers guards get that

(29:11):
get able to get downhill like that, because the aggressive
ball pressure that they play with is just gonna be
really hard for the Pacers to get into their actions
to get downhill. So the looks from three aren't gonna
be as clean, and thus they're not gonna shoot as
well from three. But let me add one thing about
the Pacers when you say the one path to victory,
and it's not those three things that that guy talked about.

(29:33):
One thing is their clutch performance. The Pacers have been
the second best clutch team based on net rating in
the playoffs. They've been net rating of thirty seven point
four per one hundred possessions in the clutch. That's in
eight games, and they're seven to one in clutch games
this season. We know the improbable comebacks, but this Pacers
tam has been so good in the clutch. And it's

(29:54):
not like the Thunder have been bad and the Thunder
hav an eleven net rating in seven games and five
or two in clutch games, but the Pacers have been
the best of any team really. I know the net
ratings has the second best, but they've been the best clutch
team in my mind throughout the last two months of
the season, which mostly included the playoffs. And that's because
of Tyre's Halliburn. That's because there's there's something that they

(30:18):
have this like moxie. I don't know exactly what it is,
but they make teams kind of make teams forget their identity.
And you saw it against in Game one against the Knicks,
where that that Knicks team just started when one mistake happened,
they start unraveling and was madsstake after mistake after mistake,
and that's how the Pacers made that improbable comeback. But

(30:38):
the thing is this game, these games aren't going to
go into the clutch. And that's why I that advantage
doesn't matter that much to me, Like I will trust
the Pacers more in the clutch than I with the Thunder.
If those games are really tight with three or four
minutes to go, I don't think they will be. And
that's why it doesn't even matter, because I think the
pace the Thunder is that much better. They can negate
that many advantages that the Pacers have had over the
last three series that these games aren't to be that

(31:00):
close in the final couple minutes. So it won't even
they won't even won't even be opportunities for the Pacers
to have incredible comebacks or win in the clutch.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
So that's the one thing.

Speaker 4 (31:08):
It's like Pacers are close late in the games, they're
gonna be the better clutch team. I don't think it'll
even come down to that.

Speaker 3 (31:15):
All right, let's.

Speaker 1 (31:16):
Get into the finals MVP market and we'll talk about
game one perspective. If I remove Sga and Halliburton from
the conversation, give me a player from each team that
you think could win the MVP for the finals here.

Speaker 4 (31:30):
Yeah, so Pascal Siakam is the obvious one with the Pacers.

Speaker 3 (31:34):
Sixteen to one.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah, and I'd probably play.

Speaker 4 (31:36):
That if you're gonna play the Pacers as is, because
I think even if the Pacers final way to win,
I think Tyris Haliburn struggles against the gauntlet of defenders
of the thunder can throw it him. So I think
Tyers Aliburn struggles regardless. And you saw the trend last year.
Jalen Brown win Eastern Conference Finals MVP and then he
won finals MVP two. If the Pacers somehow pull off
this miracle, then I think Siakam can win and will

(31:59):
win MVP. So I would take Siakam from the Pacers perspective.
From a Thunder perspective, I'd go with Chet at. I
believe it's eight to one, Yes, So I would go
with Chet at eight to one, just because they're gonna
throw everything at SGA. You're gonna see a lot of
blitzes of SGA, a lot a lot of double teams
of SGA, and they're gonna force the Thunders others to

(32:22):
beat them. That's gonna be the Pacers plan. Jayn Williams
has been awesome. He could easily win that. He was
great last series, and he was great going back to
that Game seven against the Nuggets. But I could also
see a lot of opportunities for Chet to dominate the matchup.
Whether it's Pascal Siakam, you can take him in the post,
he has the height advantage, or whether it's Miles Turner
who's gonna be guarding Chet a bunch when when that
matchup shakes out. I think Chet has the athleticism advantage.

(32:44):
I could see Chet dominating the matchup against Miles Turner. Away,
you saw Kat kind of dominate the matchup against Miles Turner,
so I would target chit if you're not gonna go SGA.
I think Check could have a huge series.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
At a zero today he's eighty to one, eighty to one,
that's what I read. Yeah, yeah, plus eight thousand, Jalen
Williams thirty five to one, Pascal sixteen to one, Tyrese
Haliburton plus seven fifty SGA minus six hundred tell you
all you.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
Need to know on that one.

Speaker 1 (33:11):
All right, now, let's get to Game one. We'll break
this one down all week. So I'm just curious to
get where your mind is at right now. Nine points
spread two thirty and a half is our total.

Speaker 3 (33:21):
In that one.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
That should tell you because we're two high scoring teams
between the Knicks and the Pacers. I think the highest
number we got was two twenty three, and that was
because the game before they scored two hundred and fifty
one points in regulation. Now we're looking at two thirty
with one of the best defensive teams we've ever seen.

Speaker 3 (33:41):
The team total from the from the OKC.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
Thunder is going to get a look at from me,
I might play that out five games, whatever, how many
games this series goes. I just think, okay, se scoring
a ton of points, especially at home, I don't feel
like that pressure is going to be on them, like
maybe some people might be pitching Indiana.

Speaker 3 (34:00):
I'm not worried about either.

Speaker 1 (34:01):
You saw the Knicks going there and score points and bunches,
so I just look at man, it's just the fact
that how the Pacers operate, like how many times do
we see the next score? And don't get me wrong,
the Pacers were able to outlet one pass boom, easy
lay in, but it's almost like they're okay with that
quick bucket for the Knicks, And I just don't know
if that's like Chet's gonna be waiting back there, Hartson's

(34:23):
gonna be waiting back there, whatever it may be for
the Oakland City Thunder. So I don't know those quick
buckets are gonna be there for the Pacers, but I
do believe it will be there.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
For the Thunder.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
Yeah, I would play the under in the game, but
more specifically, I would play I think the play of
the game for Game one is the Pacers under team total,
which is one ten and a half and the Pacers
two losses against the Knicks, the only two losses last series,
they scored one hundred points and then they scored ninety
four points. So when they lose games, it's because their
offense isn't playing in a great level and they I

(34:53):
don't think they're prepared for the thunders aggressive ball pressure
they're gonna throw at them. I just don't like they
can look at all the film and they can watch it.
It's one thing to look at the film and realize
that it's coming. It's a whole nother thing to actually
experience it. And when it's guys who are coming off
the bench and that ball pressure pressure remains relentless, I
think the Pacers don't know what's coming for them. I

(35:13):
think their offense is gonna struggle because of the relentless
ball pressure from the Thunder and this entire Thunder defense
that we've talked about this entire show and this entire
playoff run. I think this Pacers offense specifically is going
to be in for a shock at how athletic and
how this Thunder defense actually moves and their ball pressure.
So I think the Pacers offense struggles, and I think
the thunder Winds somewhat big. I don't know if i'd

(35:34):
lay that number necessarily, but I think that the thunder
winning big is correlated with them shutting down the Pacers offense,
and that means under one ten and a half points
for the Pacers in Game one.

Speaker 1 (35:44):
Yeah, I'm gonna Game one. I'll look at Okay see.
I do like where you're angling.

Speaker 3 (35:49):
It is a ton of points from the Pacers.

Speaker 1 (35:51):
But again, I think you're dancing with the devil by
taking the under and eight. I understand it, though you
are right with your justification as far as taking the under.
How good OKAYC is on defense? We could potentially be
seeing one of the highest scoring NBA Playoff games or
NBA Finals games in history, Like the highest scoring Finals
game this century was back on twenty seventeen the Cavs

(36:15):
won thirty seven Warriors one sixteen. That was Game four,
twenty seventeen. So that's understood, But other than that, you
gotta go back to the eighties early eighties there to
get up there around these numbers. And then the highest
scoring NBA Finals game ever Philadelphia seventy six or San
Francisco Warriors back in nineteen sixty seven one to one
thirty five.

Speaker 3 (36:35):
Good god, them teams were just racing a point. Now,
that's a lot of points and no three pointers.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
Yeah, wow, yeah, I even think about that. That's so
that's impressive.

Speaker 3 (36:45):
It's crazy.

Speaker 1 (36:46):
All right, Well, we'll see what happens as far as
that is concerning Game one, though. Nine points spread will
wrap up all things NBA Finals. Get your final thoughts
on on after this one, Sam, But nine points spread.

Speaker 3 (36:57):
If I made you make a pick right now, you
take I.

Speaker 4 (37:01):
Would take the Thunder for all the reasons that we've
discussed that this Thunder team is just they're just relentless defensively,
and they just don't they don't give up, they don't
let go of the rope. They're all attached on a string.
It's so many guys that come in and have the
same impact, whether it's Cason Wallace or Alex Crusoe or
Janalen Williams or Lou Dort or Shay Gillis Alexander the

(37:23):
Pacers did a good job of targeting Jalen Brunton and
kar Anthony Town's a ton last series. I mean, they
just put them in action after action after action, and
those are two week defenders. There are no weak defenders
on this Thunder roster that the that the Pacers can target. Yeah,
they're gonna look at chet or Isaiah Hartenstein. Get those
guys away from the rim. Those guys can guard on

(37:43):
the perimeter too. And it's just this this the rim protection,
their perimeter defense, their ball pressure.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
They have the.

Speaker 4 (37:50):
Best opponent turnover rate in the NBA because they forced
so many turnovers. And the Pacers have done a good
job all playoffs of not turning the ball over. But
this is a different beast in the Thunder. I just
this thunders defense is what leads to a huge Game
one victory. So I'd lay that Thunder minus nine.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
All right, we'll have plenty of time to time about
that where we might we're even cooking something up behind
the scenes for Thursday's game.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
Well, we'll talk more about that.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
Uh. Sam was on a boat in Miami with Cardi
b Sean Benard is somewhere in the South sipping something
with doll. Yeah, he's in Savannah, which is a great place.
But we got a lot to discuss this week. We'll
get it to get it going.

Speaker 2 (38:27):
All right.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
Here's something I have for you, though, and I am
rocking my n b A on.

Speaker 4 (38:32):
NBC because Sam, that's I actually have the same exact
hat I.

Speaker 1 (38:37):
Grew up on NBA on NBC, right, I did, Like
that was you know Marv Albert, that was you know OJ.

Speaker 3 (38:44):
That was like the Bulls, the Knicks, the Pacers.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
The Rocket OJ, like an O. J. Simpson, O J.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
Simpson in an NBA final, know what, the NBA Finals
they broke in to cover Broncos.

Speaker 2 (39:00):
Yes, yes, yes, I need yeah, ninety five right, ninety.

Speaker 3 (39:02):
Five, ninety four, ninety five right.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
Something like that.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
Yeah, because yeah, yeah, yah, yeah, yea, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You're closer to you than me because that was obviously
the uh the Rockets and Knicks.

Speaker 2 (39:16):
Yes, yes, correct, All right.

Speaker 3 (39:18):
With that being said, thirty five seasons NBA on TNT
wrapped up and comes to a close. And I and I,
you know, like.

Speaker 1 (39:28):
The people that want the xes and o's at one
o'clock in the morning, Like I love Tim Legler and
he'll be on with SVP and he's breaking down the
touch screen and sometimes it doesn't hit Man, it's one
o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
So for my money, those characters, those idiots.

Speaker 1 (39:44):
Shack Chuck, Kenny Ernie trying to steer the ship like
it was perfect for the time, it was perfect for
the sport, perfect for the drama. I have nothing negative
to say about those guys on NBA on TNT, none,
and I know that there's a lot of that chatter
on the timeline regardless who cares.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
But we enjoyed it.

Speaker 1 (40:05):
We had fun, and it sucks like I don't know
what ESPN is gonna do, and quite frankly, it's already
it already feels different, so it's like I'm not even
getting the vibes that.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
Like like it's over. And it was sad. It really
was sad that ending.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
Man they showed Craig Sager, they went through it over
the list, Kevin Harland, the best in the business, steer
in the ship. It was money Reggie, who's been there forever.
Like it was like, damn, dude, started choking me up
a little bit. And you know, like like I guess
college game day is on that same level for me.
I'm sure I could find one or two other sports

(40:43):
shows that would have like a that would that would
you know, muster up that reaction from me. But you know,
like the NBA immediately you think of Charles, you think
of Shaq, you think of Kenny, you think of NBA
on TNT, and now it's onto a new channel, so
we'll see what happen there. But your final thoughts on
the TNT wrapping up as far as the NBA chapter

(41:05):
is concerned, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (41:06):
Studio shows don't have that type of longevity and that
type of cultural impact on a sport. They just don't.
Like we talk about College Game Day, and College Game
Day is the best, but it's the best because it's
on a college campus every single Saturday, and that's what
makes it so electric.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
Studio shows. The fact that.

Speaker 4 (41:24):
They've imprinted themselves in basketball culture and in a part
of the NBA is so impressive because studio shows just
don't have that type of success and longevity, especially pregame,
post game and halftime shows. And those guys are there
the best, and I don't understand how people complain about them, Like,
if you don't want to watch them, turn them off

(41:45):
after the game. You don't have to stick with NBA
with TNT after the game, if you want to go
find other coverage, you can find all the coverage you
could possibly want in the NBA. X's and O's more
like dramatic stuff. But what inside the NBA on TNT
offered was so unique because it was three guys who
all were playing at the highest level, two Hall of famers,

(42:09):
multiple championships on that set the best studio hostling business.
And when you have Chuck and Shaq and Kenny just
incredible personalities. And Chuck is one of the funniest dudes
who will ever exist in television history. I don't care
how long TV is a thing. Who knows if it'll
be a thing in one hundred years when we're long gone,
but who who knows? But Chuck will be the best

(42:29):
in sports TV history because he's just so funny, and
he's so personable, and he lives right around here in
Lower Marrion during the off season. Everyone who's ever seen
him and interacted him with him, which is dozens and
dozens of people just every day, the best, best guy.
He will take any amount of time to talk to
you about whatever you want to talk about, take a
picture with you, sign whatever. He's just a genuinely good dude.

(42:51):
And you have Shaq, who's who who's perfect for check
for Chuck because he probes Chuck all the best clips
our Chucks makes a comment and Shaq's just.

Speaker 2 (43:01):
Like what you say, Chuck, Uck build that wall, Chuck
build that well. I watched that one today. He just
he's perfect.

Speaker 4 (43:10):
At poking the bear that is Charles Barkley. And you know,
sometimes you think Kenny is just kind of like what
does he do? He's irrelevant, you don't really need.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
Him, but he's also he's part of the He's part.

Speaker 4 (43:19):
Of the four Horsemen, like it's it's those guys that
have such a strong cultural imprint on the NBA, and
I hope they don't go I hope ESPN doesn't mess
it up where they don't give them a postgame show,
because the post game show is the best part. The
best moments inside the NBA history come after the game
when they're on until two am and and I'm staying
up all on these these crazy games because I want

(43:40):
to hear what these guys have to say, not from
a basketball perspective necessarily, but just from an entertainment basketball perspective,
and that's what basketball is, entertainment, and that's what these
guys are.

Speaker 2 (43:49):
They're entertainers.

Speaker 4 (43:50):
So I hope ESPN doesn't mess it up where they
give them a postgame show, give them an opportunity to
go long after the game, because that's when their best
moments happen.

Speaker 1 (43:57):
It's gonna be really interesting to see how that one
breaks out. A lot of people make good money up there.
They're gonna have to make some right decisions, and quite frankly,
I don't know if those people continue.

Speaker 3 (44:05):
They don't really make all the right decisions. At ESPN.
I'll love them, respect some of the hiring that they do.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
And now the direction of the basketball coverage.

Speaker 4 (44:13):
They have handled their basketball coverage as poorly as you
could possibly have. It's the worst basketball coverage I've ever
seen on any major network. It's awful. And all the
best guys have gone to the Ringer or Yahoo or
other or sub stacks that they run. It's just the
basketball coverage on that site and that that platform is
just awful.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
And what I would say is, I don't know as
much as I'm building those guys up what they did,
and they deserve every bit of that praise.

Speaker 3 (44:38):
I don't think that fixes it. I really don't like And.

Speaker 1 (44:40):
Again to your point, like, where are they going to be?
Are you moving Scott van Pelt, Because for my money,
Scott Van Pelt is as good as it gets at
that hour.

Speaker 3 (44:48):
I don't think you touch him so.

Speaker 4 (44:50):
And it's not just him, it's Tim and Tim Legler.
Tim Legler is as good of an analyst that exists
in business. But ESPN, and this is part of the problem,
is all the best guys they don't utilize properly, like
Tim Legler should be on the NBA Finals call over
Richard Jefferson and Doris Burg.

Speaker 2 (45:04):
Take your pick. I don't really care.

Speaker 4 (45:05):
Tim Legler is a phenomenal basketball analyst. He's awesome and
at everything he does whenever he's on studio shows, but
you never see him in NBA today. You never see
him on the halftime or post game shows or pregame shows.

Speaker 2 (45:17):
For the NBA.

Speaker 4 (45:17):
He's their best basketball analyst, and they don't use him
properly except Late Night with Scott Van Pelt, where he's awesome.
And those two guys are great, but Tim Legler. I
listened to his podcast, All NBA Podcast because I want
to hear Tim Legler. It's not on ESPN's platforms, So
you're right where they just constantly make the wrong decisions
with even the talent that they have on the roster.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
Is that the PHL hy Is that what he does
for it?

Speaker 4 (45:38):
Yes, yes, yes, oh i''s not. What's the parent company
at pH.

Speaker 3 (45:41):
Yeah yeah it's them? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, gotcha? All right, cool,
I'll have to get that a listen. Yeah, Look, I
think Legler had a little bit of a say in
his future.

Speaker 1 (45:50):
So I think that ESPN gave him the green light
to do games, so therefore that took him out of
that spot. He's now doing SVP, as you said, So
I think that's kind of like what Legler wanted and
he got what he wanted. But I don't know if
that was again, who knows. There's just they got an
embarrassment of riches. They got talent out the wazoo, and
they just make wrong hiring decisions, and it seems like

(46:13):
they are moving in the direction from what I am gathering.
One of the reasons why they got rid of Around
the Horn was I believe Club Shah was gonna go there,
so they.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
Want to go form got into some trouble.

Speaker 1 (46:23):
No more Club Shah. So yeah, Shannon start really cooked
himself on that one. I'm sure he's gonna do all
right though. After it's all said time, but they want
to do more player personalities, and it's like, okay, fine,
then go find players that have personalities, not the Morris Twins.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
Oh my god, oh my god.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
And that's Philly. I love them, like it's great. They're brutal.
Off they're brutal, and it's like, not one but two.

Speaker 4 (46:51):
You're right because those are Philly guys and they right
through and through. So it's not like I'm not trying
to criticize them. If you're gonna bring, if you're gonna
brings on your platforms, you can find entertaining ones. Entertaining
ones easily, Like Gilbert Arenas is probably gonna go to
NBC and then be on NBA onc but he's like,
he says, that's the reports are God, I don't want

(47:15):
at least he's entertaining. Like every time I look at
a Gilbert Arenas click clip, like I'm laughing, Like Jeff
Tue is entertaining. So if they're not going to give
you great analysis, then then be entertaining. The Morris Twins
just say ridiculous things because that's probably what they know.

Speaker 2 (47:30):
That's what you have to do to succeed.

Speaker 4 (47:31):
The ESPN is just say the most outlandish things, but
they're not entertaining when they do it.

Speaker 2 (47:35):
At least Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A.

Speaker 4 (47:36):
Smith have some entertainment shock value when they're saying crazy
things and it's fair stupid things. The Morris Twins are
just been awful on television. I don't understand how they
continue to get the green light.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
I have no again, I think it's cool Philly guys.
Twins have a great careers like the I mean long
careers playing college troops and NBA. But come on, man,
there's got to be a roller deck that's so deep
that you can pick that have essentially that as well, college.

Speaker 3 (48:04):
Careers, NBA careers. Whatever I digress, we'll keep it moving.
Great stuff here, Sam, Great to have you back. You
can follow Sam and all things socials. You find them,
you know where to get them at and.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
Then read them at the Score doing a bang up
job covering the association, giving you the inside access when
it comes to.

Speaker 3 (48:21):
All things sports wagering on the NBA Finals.

Speaker 1 (48:26):
Like I said, we'll be talking a lot more this
week about it on All Things Picks and Roll with
Sean Bernard and The Daily Ticket. We'll be live in
studio on Thursday, and we're trying to cook up something
for an NBA Finals game. Whether it's gonna be Game
one or the following week. We'll see what happens there.
I think it's pretty spread out as usual. I'm fine
with that Game one, Game two, Sunday night. Game three

(48:46):
would be Tuesday, I would think, so maybe we do
something for Game three, but we'll see what happens.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
I think it's Wednesday then and Friday.

Speaker 3 (48:54):
So okay, Friday, Friday, okay, Well.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
Great stuff, man, anything else you want to get off
your chest from the NBA world, I.

Speaker 4 (49:01):
Don't think so. I mean I I guess I'll say
I am happy that the finals are Pacers Thunder, and
I'm an diehard NBA fan guy cover the sport, all
of it. I'm happy that the small market teams who
built that their teams the right way are succeeding. But
I'm also I think it's also worthy to look at

(49:24):
it from the NBA perspective and say it's not the
best thing that this is about to be one of
the least watched finals in NBA history and I or
at least in recent NBA history, and get I get
what everyone's saying it's like they just signed a huge
TV contract.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
Doesn't matter.

Speaker 4 (49:38):
The NBA still wants to increase their popularity and their
audience and this Finals doesn't help that. Look, no, I'm
not complaining about it the NBA. There's nothing you can
do about it. But I'm just saying it's it's it's
counterintured with the NBA's bottom line and business model where
they're promoting small markets and a ton of parody where
it gives opportunity for small markets to succeed. So I
understand people being like, why you're not an NBA fan

(50:01):
if you don't appreciate this, That's not true. It's just
also worth looking at it from the NBA perspective, where
it's like it's gonna be a low rated finals for sure.

Speaker 3 (50:10):
Oh yeah, yes.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
The first time is just nineteen seventy one that both
teams were out of a top twenty top twenty market
when it comes to ratings.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
So that's eye opening there. Either way.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
Let's give some good basketball, man, we only got seven
games left, tops, Let's see if we can get a
good series out of it. And then right off into
the NBA Draft where the seventy six will be featured.
Great stuff, Sam and once again if you miss anything,
check us all out at FOXPHL Gambler dot com. Sam
will be in studio with me on Thursday at three pm.
Daily Ticket read them at the score. We'll talk to

(50:43):
you later, spreads, totals and all the prop that's in betweens.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
It's the Gambler.