Ep. 88: NBA Finals Pacers vs Thunder Game 1 Preview - 06/05/25

Sean Brace and Sean Barnard talk all things #Pacers vs #Thunder #NBAFinals Game 1.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Picks and Roll handicapping the hardwood with Sixers insider Sean
Bernard and Sean Brace.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
NBA Finals Game one, Thursday, June fifth, we are here,
Oklahoma City Thunder versus the Indiana Pacers.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
We've been talking about this series for quite some time,
and it's not to say that they were on an
co collision course.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
But after the Pacers did take of course first two
in the Garden. At the Garden, you knew darn well
that there was pretty good chance that they were going
to be in the NBA Finals. Still though, Cinderella's story,
yeah joke, Yeah, there you go, Cinderella's story.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
The Pacers are the Cinderella story. I get it.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
On the surface for the people to pay attention to
the NBA, I'm sure we could have some pushback on that,
but at the end of the day, nobody was saying
the Indiana Pacers are gonna be in the NBA Finals.
Nobody was when everything got started two months ago. How
long ago did the playoff start shop.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
Yeah, it feels like forever, but I mean to the
pace of credit. They closed the season with a forty
and seventeen record that they've been legitimate for a while. Now,
and this was a team that was in the conference
semi finals just last year. And by the way, on
the note of how that series did go down, I
know we are all haunted by the Kawhi Leonard shot
here in Philadelphia. How long do you think that Tyrese
Haliburton shot is going to stick in Tom Fibodeau's head man.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Well, he's making thirty million dollars.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
He's probably on an island, so hopefully he's not thinking
about too much.

Speaker 5 (01:28):
That does help.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
That does help a lot to discuss from that side
of things too as well.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
With the TIBs being fired by the New York Knicks.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Some names that we were being discussed yesterday, some surprising,
some not so much. Shoot for the stars. I do
know this much. They don't have their guy. For the
people that are out there going, oh, if you make
a decision like this, you have a guy. No, they
don't have their guy.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
No. Yeah, it's not how they operate.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Yeah, that definitely seems to be the realization to me.
We're seeing interest in Jason Kidd, We're seeing interest in
active head coaches, some guys at the collegiate level, Like
it does feel like they're going to fully search things.
And I guess this brings me back to my message
here of the grass is not always greener. That I
understand that Tom Thibodaux is not perfect. I understand that
there are flaws that you can point to. But to me,
this would only be a conversation where you make this

(02:16):
type of move if.

Speaker 5 (02:17):
You have this next step lined up.

Speaker 4 (02:18):
Now that we are a couple days with the dust
settled here, pretty clear that that is not the case
from New York next perspective, So it gonna be very
interesting to see what direction they go. I still think
if I'm putting a favorite right now, it probably is
Johnny Bryant. That's what it feels like to me. He
did not get Beats the Sun's job. They want the
Jordan not over there. And also pretty interesting to me,
that is Devin Booker's seventh head coach across his time

(02:39):
in Phoenix. That's tied for the most among any active player.
That's pretty absurd stuff for a guy who's not even
that old net but he was very active in that
search Jordan.

Speaker 5 (02:47):
I ultimately got the call there.

Speaker 4 (02:48):
I do wonder if Johnny Bryant not being selected or
pulling his name out or whatever that conversation was does
lead down the pathway that New York is his next destination.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Do you have did you read that he pulled his
name out of contention for that title.

Speaker 4 (03:01):
I haven't seen that directly here, I've seen I know
it was down to Jordan Not and Johnny Bryant they
litely want with and I've the reports that I've seen
how it's been phrased is that Devin Booker gave the
stamp of approval on OT So nothing with Bryant directly.
But I've also read a lot of the theorization that
kind of what sparked this Thibbs decision was the fact
that Bryant was in the mix and in the finalists.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
There should basketball fans like should I know Johnny Bryant?
And like should these guys? Should I be familiar with them?
Because I'm not.

Speaker 5 (03:30):
Both first time head coaches.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
I'm not mad about you not knowing these They're not
guys that I'm like crazy familiar with. Johnny Bryant heard
his name a little bit. He's a pretty well respected
assistant coach. I do think in general, like the NBA
has a little bit of a problem that they cycle
through the same Frank Vogels, but Bike Budenholzer and you
know the same guys Doc Rivers you can throw in
the mix of just like the same recycled name. So
I do give teams credit for thinking a little bit

(03:53):
outside the boxing, giving guys some first time opportunities. Johnny Bryant,
very well respected in the New York circles that he
spent I believe four years as an assistant coach, is
the leaded assistant on the Cavaliers this past season. So
it's not a bad thing if you don't fully know
who he is, but he is respecting the basketball.

Speaker 5 (04:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
See, then that's where I was at, because you know,
it's a recycling ben of coaches when it comes to it,
and it's not just the NBA. We see this happen
in time and time again. We're even in Major League Baseball.
Bruce Boch he gets called and look, he obviously had
success too, so it's no denying that. But people are
trying to hope that they can find some success with
these veteran coaches.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
It's not an easy gig dealing professionals.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
It's definitely not an easy gig when you're a first
time head coach dealing with the New York Knicks, who,
by the way, have to take another step after making
it to the Eastern Conference. Good luck to the new
head coach there, and I would I'm against that. I
don't think that that would be a smart move unless
you were absolutely wowed.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
And this is the next big thing that I get it.
But from a Knicks standpoint, man, you're throwing them, You're
throwing meat to the to the wolves on that one.

Speaker 4 (04:58):
Well, this is what I think my realization. And I
was certainly caught off guard. And I think that our
show on Tuesday speaking about it was pretty much all
of us like stunnedon trying to pick up the pieces
and react to this. Now after I had a little
time to digest it, sort of how it would break
it down is it's pretty clear to me that what
the Knicks organization is portraying right now is they're not
as close as the results indicate there that they are

(05:18):
not quite the top four team in the NBA the
way that they obviously were this year. And when you
do think back to their path, it doesn't get easier
than what laid out in front of them. That obviously
the Cleveland Cavaliers after a borderline historic regular season which
they were excellent, won sixty four games, were the best
team in the Eastern Conference to wire, they were knocked
out by the Indiana Pacers. The Boston Celtics, yes, the
next beat them directly, but Jason Tatum the torn Achilles.

Speaker 3 (05:41):
There.

Speaker 4 (05:41):
They also had some really questionable decision making as far
as it shot twenty consecutive three pointers in the space
of a game and then just looking at the Knicks
in their own mirror here they were down twenty points
on a seemingly nightly basis from a playoff perspective, and
they do deserve credit for scrapping back and finding ways
to win, but is that really a sustainable way.

Speaker 5 (05:59):
To win best squall games moving forward?

Speaker 4 (06:01):
And then just with the roster in itself, there's certainly
fair critiques Michel Bridges being underutilized as an offensive weapon
this year Karl Anthony Towns, he was a net negative
with Jalen Brunson on the floor. They had a negative
six point nine net rating in the conference finals there
where they were ultimately eliminated. That can't really happen with
your two best players, now, I would push back on
that and say, once again, that's more of a roster
issue than anything Thibodeau could have done in that. But

(06:22):
I think that's kind of the message that is being
sent by the next and there are a lot of
people in that kitchen cooking right now.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, you're right about that, all right, So we will
We'll just continue to jab at the New York Next
conversation because look, we appreciate it giving us something else
to discuss over these next few weeks until they do
decide on a head coach. And it is a big
position with a lot of expectations and a team that
we know a ton about because they just finished up
their season. But man, I I it's it's a tough

(06:50):
one for me to really grasp at this point in time.
And TIBs, I'm not like I said yesterday, I would
have brought him back. I would have I would have
brought him back, and I think he earned the opportun tunity.
And oh, by the way, if it doesn't go right
at the middle of the part season, you at least
had that card right now now you want to get
their attention, tib C. And now it doesn't work. It
didn't work for different Nuggets didn't work for you know,

(07:12):
most teams that fire their head coach and have success
in that season, but you just never know it's something
like that because Tim's is so different and that team
I thought from Afar was really together. But more and
more you're starting to hear about the cracks and whether
or not there's truth behind it. But Brunton, his old man,
is catching some strays. Yesterday, Yeah, you know, just from

(07:35):
you think back on the trading of Dante di Dipacenzo,
how all that went down and.

Speaker 5 (07:40):
Him chirpin with Rick Brunson.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, yep, yep. So there's there's definitely something going on.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
And I think you nailed it by saying, we look
at this team all cute and Cuddley doing podcasts.

Speaker 3 (07:50):
Getting the commercials.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, all right, Josh Hart and Jayleen Brunson cool. But
other than that, maybe not as tight as we once thought,
that's all.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
And even like when you break that down like for starters,
Derek Brunson thing like the Dante Divincenzen interaction that happened.
The direct quote that Dante was yelling at him was
this is what happens when they let you make the decisions,
Like that's a pretty telling quote to be spitting from
the free throw line there, and also for the yeah,
for Rick Brunson in specific, I understand that he has

(08:21):
a legitimate resume as a coach, but I understand like
he is not just James Brunson's dad. But to the
same token here, isn't really the best thing when your
best player's dad is on the coaching staff here, like
as a head coach, as Tom Thibideau, is that the
best spot to be possibly put in because it is
impossible to fully separate that even with all the coaching
experience in him obviously being qualified with Rick Brunson, so

(08:42):
that kind of complicates thing. And then looking inside this
next team there, there's kind of all these like fractions here,
like there are the Villanova guys obviously, Karl.

Speaker 5 (08:49):
Anthony Town sort of seems to beat his own drum.

Speaker 4 (08:52):
Mitchell Robinson certainly a guy that beats his own drum
and is not afraid to throw out an Instagram post
about I'm not just here to rebound and things like that.
That certainly there's the pot a little bit, and you
can just kind of see that there might have been
more cracks. And then when speaking from it from like
the organizational standpoint, Leon Rose and Worldwide West deserve the
utmost credit for building this team, making a ton of
really smart decisions. But when success starts to turn around,

(09:14):
everyone wants a little bit of a piece of that credit.
Like James Dolan, who I knowed Sam was very much
theorizing had to have at least a hand in this.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
It had to be a miserable past twenty years running
the Knicks for James Dalton.

Speaker 4 (09:24):
There was a lot that went wrong, a lot of
poor imaging. And now it's fun again that You've got
to better believe that he wants to be back in
the spotlight that I've heard some of the rumors of
him hand picking where the celebrities are sitting and being
involved in that action, making sure Timmy Shallowmey is set
up with posted up watching this game, all that kind
of stuff.

Speaker 5 (09:41):
That the vibes have changed in New York. This should
be like a riding high moment, but.

Speaker 4 (09:45):
I almost feel like it's a little bit of everyone
wanting a bit more piece of the credit than they
may necessarily deserve.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
Well stated, and I do know this much.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
Dolan might have seemed like he backed off, but there
were people that were saying, and you know I heard
on NBA radio he never backed off completely. He was
still in the mix. That's understood. He's the owner, very invested.
Of course, it's the New York Knicks. And then whether
we're talking about x's and those players to keep whatever
it may be, coach to fire or celebrities in front row.

(10:13):
I'm not sure how that works. Seems like a fun gig.
I would imagine you're going to.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
Ruffle a few feathers with that conversation as well.

Speaker 2 (10:20):
Oh you know what you were, You were front row
and that was that was round one.

Speaker 3 (10:25):
This is this these a converage finals. Now we're bumping
you back three rows back. We'll see. Also, speaking of
catching strays on NBA radio was great.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
Doc Rivers caught strays pretty pretty bad because it was
what could Tibbs do in the future if he does
get another opportunity, And they were almost saying like, look,
you think it's a shock why Doc Rivers continues to
get these opportunities.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
What does Doc do well?

Speaker 2 (10:49):
And then my man goes, Eddie Johnson goes, Doc Rivers
can talk himself out of a paper bag, man, like
he is about as smooth as it gets and that's
what you need, right and to play the pol politics
that side of things, and Tims is of my way
or the highway type of guy apparently, and you know
it ruffled a few feathers and maybe if he went

(11:09):
about it a different way.

Speaker 3 (11:10):
But he's sixty seven too. I want to say, yeah,
I didn't know he was that old.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
He's not changing, is his point? Like, once you get
that age, man, I'm forty four, I'm not.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
Changing, sure, And for like the Doc Rivers conversation, let's
not forget how he even got hired by the Bucks
initially here that he was brought on as an advisor,
and then he's helping Adrian Griffin guide this team. And
then all of a sudden, Adrian Griffin with a winning record,
I forget the exact number is something along the likes
of like twenty seven and ten or something like that,
far better than any record that Doc Rivers ever produced

(11:40):
with this Bucks team. Doc as a special advisor, all
of a sudden, Hey, you know who really could get
the most out of his team.

Speaker 5 (11:47):
It's me. I can't believe I'm in this spot right now.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
And then that's how he gets the mid season higher
like that's the dirty, dirty game, the dirty part of
this kind of the politicking. But Doc has done it
quite well and obviously created quite a few opportunities for himself.
The results on the court certainly not speaking for themselves
from the Bucks perspective, but Doc, he'll do it again
if he does get chased out of Milwaukee.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
All right, a lot of people watching. We do have
an NBA Finals that we will get to. I will
we will end up with some Sixers conversation because it
was an intriguing Sean and I were talking before we
started rolling. There was a Keith POMPEII article that was
out there that I missed, and full disclosure, I will
leave that for another day, but I missed it and
I was surprised to hear what Sean had to say

(12:29):
to me, and it's a shame. But we'll talk more
about that little Sixers conversation at the end here. But
let's open it up NBA Finals Game number one. Of course,
we know about the history and how much the Oklahoma
City Thunder are favored by when it comes to all
THINGSBA or NBA Wagering now down to minus six fifty,
so money coming in on the Pacers. As far as

(12:52):
series price is concerned. This was as high as Oklahoma
City at minus eight hundred, so minus six fifty on
the afternoon morning of Game one here plus four seventy
five for the Pacers. That was its highest plus five hundred.
I remember, I don't think I've ever seen anything higher
to that. But now down to plus four seventy five.
So some significant movement as far as okay See is concerned.

(13:12):
But that's no surprise, Sean, because at the end of
the day, people want to get involved and you're just
not going to lay minus seven hundred minus eight hundred.

Speaker 4 (13:19):
Yeah, right, I do think that is the story here,
and I mean that's what makes it difficult with all
this is like I do think the Pacers continue to
be a disrespected team. I do think they're a more
talented and more polished basketball team than they've really been
giving credit. Still, But with that being said, there is
just a lot to this Oklahoma City Thunder team that
they've done the rebuild exactly right. They've built this next, flourishing,

(13:39):
next generation with all these future picks, all this young talent,
that it is not stopping anytime soon. But do not
let that short sell you on how good they are.
Currently they have the reigning MVP and shake Yotis Alexander.
They have a borderline historic defense on how efficient they are,
and the biggest selling point on this Pacers team throughout
this playoff run it's been the depth, It's been the pace.
Those are things that's to take The Thunder have graded out,

(14:01):
playing at a faster pace, forcing turnovers at a higher rate,
and they have the depth and talent to match Indiana.
So what I would say with the Pacers' greatest strength
is probably taken away in this series. I do think
that ultimately there will be too much that the Oklahoma
City Thunder do have. But I give Indiana a bit
more of a puncher's chance than I think a lot
of people do.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
All right, Yeah, look, there's an interesting few ways of
looking at this series, and I know the Gambler Gang
is somewhat swayed into believing that the Pacers are going
to make this a good series. I I'm all over
the place, I'll tell you where I'm at. I just
feel like that the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to
be too much in the fourth quarter and specifically maybe

(14:40):
in the second half right, we know about their third
quarter runs. I don't see that stopping. This is a
team that just has been doing it all season long,
and they have been dominant, absolute dominant.

Speaker 3 (14:52):
Just take a look at the numbers. This isn't a fluke.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
Like if you tell me Sga has an off night,
he's still going to command double teams. They're not gonna
run one half off on them. Check could get going.
Check's a hell of a basketball player. Jalen Williams, some
might call him Jamal Williams either one. He's incredible, all right,
and he's proved his worth and then some we just
go down with the Caruso move and the size.

Speaker 3 (15:15):
Advantage and you know, like I'll pepper you with you.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
A few things that I have read in the last
two days that people are trying to make the case
for the Indiana Pacers year.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
And first of all, tonight's spread is now ten yeah,
ten points spread.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
So the focus on game one here, Sean, give me
thirty seconds on this one. How do you feel about
giving ten points here?

Speaker 3 (15:35):
For okay, see in.

Speaker 4 (15:36):
Game one, I mean there is very much This is
my prediction for these two games, and I'm trying to
put my finger on which one is which I do
think the Pacers steal one from this Oklahoma City Thunder team.

Speaker 5 (15:46):
I go back to Indiana one to one.

Speaker 4 (15:48):
The game that they don't steal, I think Oklahoma City
probably wins by like forty.

Speaker 5 (15:52):
Is kind of my concern here.

Speaker 4 (15:53):
I think from a betting perspective, it's worth taking a
swing on the money line in both games, and I
would probably lay off that if if the Pacers do
win tonight, but we're getting plus three forty on the
money line right now. That's one that I'm laying tonight.
That I do think is they have a real chance
on it. And for the thirty seconds for how it's done,
you got to make sure you're playing at your pace.
You got to make sure that you're the team pushing
the tempo in Oklahoma City can do the exact same

(16:15):
thing that they can run with this team at a
better rate than any team that they face so far.
But the Pacers have to make sure they're playing their
brand of basketball. And Tyrese Haliburton, man, I know it's
been an incredible playoff run that he's earned a lot
of respects, you still got to take it up another notch.
This has to be one that you're at least in
the vicinity of a player like Shake Gildis Alexander, and
my fear is that that unique shot for him becomes

(16:36):
more problematic in this series than we've really seen to
this point.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
Cousin Nikki check in and he likes, Okay, see in
five And you know, look, I guess a lot of
people are saying five, and I get that's what we
have to do, right, We got to make a call
as far as games are concerned. But just because we
say five doesn't mean every game is gonna be a blowout.
And That's where I'm at. Like I do think the
Oklahoma City Thunder are going to raise Delarry O'Brian Trophy

(16:59):
neck week. They're going to be the NBA champions of
this season, no ifense butts about it. If they don't win,
this could go down as one of the greatest upsets
in sports history, just being real about it, which is ridiculous.
But and then with that, I think that we're gonna
see some good games. I think that we're gonna see
some six seven point victories and guess what, that doesn't

(17:20):
cover the number. So in a way, I'm kind of
pitching you the Pacers. But back to my original thought, Sean,
and one thing I want to pitch you is the
from the conversations that I've heard, things I've been reading,
it starts, it ends with three pointers for the Pacers.
If they're able to hit their three pointers, they're obviously going.

Speaker 3 (17:38):
To hang in the game. Will that be enough for
them to steal games?

Speaker 5 (17:41):
Though?

Speaker 4 (17:42):
I mean, they've been incredible at execution down to the stretch.
And if we are going to throw a critique on
this Thunder team, it's still the youth. It's still the
message that we've brought in here, and honestly, like even
with all the success that they have, they haven't played
in a ton of like super tight games. Like there's
far more convincing data for how Indiana has operated in
the clutch this postseason. First, the Thunder who've kind of
had a fairly easy path. I know the Nuggets pushed

(18:04):
them to seven. They certainly have had games where they've
had to battle down the stretch, and I'm not doubting them,
like I do think they are fully capable. But if
we're just comparing these directly based on what we've seen
in this playoffs, that if it comes to a crunch
time game, you can make a case that you trust
the Pacers a little bit more. So that's probably the
direction I would say there. And to your point about
like even if it is in a series and five
it being closed, think back to the Pacers Celtics series

(18:25):
in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. That was a
sweep by Boston, but every game went down to the
wire there. Like, I did not feel like the Pacers
were far off in that series, despite what the ultimate
history books will say that was a four to zero series.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
Law, Yeah, you're right, and that's why.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Look, this number continues to climb, Like maybe people are
starting to think, like you.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
Are, where we'll see a blowout.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
I don't think that the Pacers are going to go
in there and get blown out in game one.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
Could it happen, Sure, that's how good Oklahoma City is.

Speaker 2 (18:54):
But I feel like Game one is going to be tight,
third quarter, second half.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
Okay, Ce's going to do their thing.

Speaker 2 (19:00):
I guess I have to stick to my guns and
take the Pacers plus to ten. That there's a lot
of points.

Speaker 3 (19:06):
And again, I think in game one you could see
a slow start.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
That's probably where I would if I was wagering on
tonight's game and putting it out there for the people,
I would say, you know what if there was going
to be some nerves, because I think it's a wash
in that category. Both teams have never been to the
NBA Finals or you know, none of these players have
twenty twelve for Oka see as far as franchise is concerned,
two thousand. I want to say for the Pacers both
in the finals, but these players have never been to

(19:32):
the NBA Finals before, so I think nerves will definitely
be a factor.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
And I do believe playing at home a little bit more.

Speaker 2 (19:39):
For OKAC, I think the Pacers will come out and play, lose,
hit a couple of shots, and start rolling. But if
they don't, it could get ugly like it did in
that final game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Oklahoma City.
But I'll bet that the Pacers do have a good
first half.

Speaker 3 (19:54):
I think third quarters will be okay.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
See, it will tighten up in that fourth quarter, back
and forth, a couple big shots made, and it's going
to be teetering right around that six seven, eight point mark.

Speaker 3 (20:04):
I think the PACER's gonna played to me.

Speaker 4 (20:05):
Yeah, that's That's how I look at it as well,
and kind of my same message that I think like
it is worth even if it is a blowout, and
look it's completely like horrible tonight, I'm going right back
to the well for game two that I think it's
one of these two games is the recipe or what
the Indiana has to be fully focused on get it
back to Indiana with a one to one series split.

Speaker 5 (20:23):
And I do think they make that happen here. So
I do think it's worth.

Speaker 4 (20:26):
With the numbers, the crazy numbers that are being laid
out there once again, plus three forty on the money
line that coming from Draftking sportsbook there, I think that
is worth laying and taking a chance on. And if
you do take that number both nights and like they
cover one of the two, you're up money there. So
that's sort of what my mindset is with these first
two games.

Speaker 3 (20:41):
All right. And then another thing I'm reading is we
know how good defensively okay see is but a lot
of their points come off of steals. Yeah, And people are.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
Saying that, look that you know Carlisle and company, and
you got some steady hands bringing the ball up for
the Pacers. They don't think that that's going to be
that much of a factor as far as steals and
transition turning into points for OKC in this series, specifically
Game one, What is your thoughts on that, Because we

(21:10):
know how good both teams.

Speaker 3 (21:11):
Are, and I give the advantage to OKC, but it's a.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
Whole different ballgame when we're talking about let's just say,
like the one game where they held Minnesota to twelve
field goals and had thirteen steals at halftime.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
Yeah, yeah, I mean yeah, Indiana's been very good about
limiting their turnovers, but I do think the thunder r
level that they have not quite seen, certainly in this
playoff run and really throughout the season here that we've
seen Tyrese Haliburton held the four points in the regular
season against this team, and like, I think, probably one
thing to keep an eye on throughout this is I
think they're gonna shift Haliburton way more off ball than
we're accustomed to seeing that he is very much the

(21:45):
engine of this Pacers offense and the guy that needs
to be the primary decision maker. But when you're talking
about the Alex Carusos, the lou Drs, the case and
Wilace is the Jalen Williams that are gonna all get
chances of guarding this dude picking up ninety four feet.
I think the secret to creating shots for him is
to play him a little bit off ball. I do
wonder if that impacts and turnovers a little bit. If
you're asking Aaron Natesmith or Andrew Emhart to be the

(22:06):
point guard of this team and take the ball out.

Speaker 5 (22:08):
We may see a little additional TJ.

Speaker 4 (22:09):
Mcconna, which could be fun for us out here to
add a little more ball handing on the court up there.
I still lean I guess like Indiana has been very
good about it, it will show up in stretches, but
I do think they're smart enough to overcome it. So
I don't think it'll be as convincing as we've seen
with Oklahoma City and some of these other Western Conference matchups.

Speaker 5 (22:25):
But certainly a storyline of monitor.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Total games five and a half on DraftKings sportsbook plus
one twenty under five and a half at minus one forty,
you got a.

Speaker 3 (22:35):
Ton to choose from here.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
Over at Draft Kicks, of course, the series spread for
a lot of people out there. Pacers plus two and
a half is at plus one twenty. Okay, see minus
two and a half is minus one forty. Minus one
and a half is your favorite there at minus two
ninety for the Thunder, Pacers plus one and a half
games at plus two thirty five the exact games five
plus two thirty four plus two forty six games plus

(23:00):
three hundred seven plus three fifty You think this is going.

Speaker 4 (23:04):
Six or five, I'm going six. So I do like
the over for the five and a half minus one
forty there that I do. The Indiana stales one of
the first two in the in Oklahoma City, and sort
of the same dance happens when things go home for them,
and I don't think Oklahoma City wraps thing up more
than that. I guess my gut play here is the
Pacers win tonight, the thunderblow him out tomorrow, the Thunder
win game three, and he had a punches back wins

(23:25):
game four, and then Thunder went back to back to
close things out. That's sort of the blueprint that I
have laid out or expecting. There could see either one
of those splits going in the other direction, and there's
certainly is still a chance to Oklahoma City rolls and
while we're throwing out some of these series bets I
did want to throw out also offered on DraftKings.

Speaker 5 (23:40):
There's a ton of player props uff that's real good.

Speaker 4 (23:42):
The three point makes leader in the series, Tyres Haliburton's
the favorite at minus one twenty five. I really think
he's gonna have some struggles getting his shots off there.
You can get Aaron Nasmith at plus four to twenty five,
which is the second best odds there.

Speaker 5 (23:54):
I think that's really worth the swing that he's gonna
be gun.

Speaker 4 (23:56):
And we've seen how red hot that he can get
and how how much that can change a game there.
I do think he well, he's clearly their best three
point shooter, and I think there's gonna be a conscious
effort to generate looks for them. So laying the plus
four twenty five for Aaron Nasmith to lead this series
and made three pointers, I do think is a really
good bet. Bet.

Speaker 2 (24:12):
I want to focus on Pascal Siakam for a second.
We know what he did, of course Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
Whether you would have voted for him not still a
different story. He did lead, yeah, did lead the the
series and points uh and I have one article I
read that he was going to be a little bit tough,
a tough assignment for the for the thunder here, regardless

(24:32):
of who's defending him. Your thoughts on that conversation, do
you think Pascal Siakam is is that that dangerous in
this series?

Speaker 4 (24:39):
He's a strange mix of player that like he he
almost is like a bigger version of shake Yodis Alexander
in the way that his movement is that I think,
like if I'm describing Shay, his number one best quality
is there is just this like variable movement or or
it's tough to stick with or predict what he's his
unpredictability as he goes through lane. Siakam has a lot
of those same qualities and is obviously a couple of

(25:00):
inches bigger, and there is not this kind of clean
matchup for Oklahoma City. One interesting storyline to watch with
that is like looking at the matchups here, Oklahoma City
has gone back and forth whether they do the double
big lineup which at Holmgun and as a Heartenstein on
the floor together when these teams matched up during the
regular season that Homegan was not active for either one
of those games, so kind of don't have an indication
of how they want to guard it. I was kind

(25:21):
of surprised seeing how many minutes the Hartenstein still clocked.

Speaker 5 (25:24):
He played a ton in both those regular season games.

Speaker 4 (25:27):
I think that Siakam sort of has an advantage over
either one of these guys, and home Gren probably has
a better chance at it. But that's probably the X
factor for this Pacer series. I do think Halliburton's gonna struggle.
I do think the defense is going to cause some problems.
Siakam is the one dude that can get a bucket,
can get red hot, and has a championship ring on
his finger already, so he's a good player. He has
his ups and downs. He isn't as aggressive as I

(25:48):
sometimes would like to see. If he can play an
attack mode from start to finish, he certainly can be
a difference maker in the series.

Speaker 2 (25:53):
Nineteen and a half is his number on DK minus
one to five. Give me a box score final points.

Speaker 4 (25:59):
As far as tonight for Sam, I'll go twenty four,
eight and five.

Speaker 5 (26:03):
I do think it can be a good game right.

Speaker 2 (26:05):
Off the rip excellent, all right, And then we were
talking a little bit about this last week where if
if SGA is the focal point and I'm not you know,
Rick Carlisle here, but pretty easy for me to sit
here and say that that guy's pretty good.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
As matter of fact, what did I just read?

Speaker 2 (26:24):
SGA has a chance to be the ford player in
NBA history to win the scoring title, regular season MVP
and Finals MVP in the same season, joining Luel Sender
of course, Cream Michael Jordan Shack. Can SGA repeat the
historic feat here?

Speaker 3 (26:44):
Yeah? Why not? Finals MVP? He is the favorite. I
think he's minus six hundred if I'm not mistaken.

Speaker 5 (26:49):
Yeah, I would guess so that it certainly is.

Speaker 4 (26:51):
He deserves it assuming that the series goes as we
all expect there, So yeah, I do think he gets
added to that list here. It is incredible with the
growth of Shay, the way that he has been everything
this organization could ask for from a face of the franchise,
from a culture center, allowing guys to develop and grow
around them. So he's been everything this Thunder team could
have hoped for and more. I'm really impressed with the
way that they've kind of built around him, gone at

(27:13):
his pace and allowed him to flourish to the fullest extent.

Speaker 5 (27:15):
So he's made the most of the moment.

Speaker 4 (27:17):
Shout out to him and this Thunder organization obviously reaping
the benefits there.

Speaker 2 (27:21):
Cause Nikki check him back in. He likes Siakim as well.
He'll average twenty six plus in this series. Well, if
that's the case, there's money to be made on Pascal
Siakam and I think that's where.

Speaker 3 (27:31):
We need to focus.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
If you are wagering on this series like it's real
easy for him, I'm not sitting here tell you take
the under on SGA.

Speaker 3 (27:40):
That's not what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (27:41):
Do not do that, because he'll finish right around that
number no offense, butts about it and most of the
time probably will go over his player pop. But the
end of the day, as I said, I'm not Rick Carleile,
but they cannot do what the Minnesota timber Wills did
because that was not a recipe for success. You must
make somebody else do the scoring. So will it be
Jalen Williams. I think we talked about this last week,

(28:01):
and you're really high on Chet.

Speaker 3 (28:03):
For my money, I think Chet's to play as well.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
And it's not to say that I don't think Williams
is going to do his thing because he's been he's
been a badass this playoff run. But Chet has so
much potential. And oh, by the way, his number is reachable.
His number is obtainable. It's sixteen and a half. He's
averaging fifteen and a half. But again, we're talking about
the NBA Finals. It's the ultimate series. It's the final.
They were talking about it being a puzzle each series,

(28:29):
each team that they've been going up against. You have
to figure the puzzle out. It's win four more games
and you are done.

Speaker 3 (28:35):
That's it. You're going down in history as the champion.
And I just think that.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
We're gonna see the ultimate team style game from OKC,
which they've shown us that they're very capable of, not
a selfish team at all. They're highly dominant, they got
really good scorers and especially the size of vans down
low with Chet. So I look at Chet at sixteen
and a half shot, I might wager on him every
single game.

Speaker 3 (28:56):
Him and Siaka might be my play every single game. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (28:59):
I like that.

Speaker 4 (28:59):
And just in from tonight's games perspective, I did write
up three prop bets for DraftKings Network last night. I
do like the under on Tyrese Haliburton of seventeen and
a half there. I do think that he's just going
to struggle to get the necessary shot volume to get
to that, and at his core, he's still pass first guy,
So I think Haliburn plays it a little bit overly
passive in Game one. As the series starts to get settled,
I still think he'll pour in like twelve fifteen beat

(29:21):
in the mix a little bit, But seventeen and a
half feels a bit too large for me. Then I'm
going Miles Turner over five and a half rebounds here.
Turner did not exceed that number at any game in
the previous matchup against the Knicks there average just three
point two rebounds per game. But I think the cleaner
comparison is against the Cleveland Cavaliers the series earlier. He
went over at in four of those five games there.
He's going to have to be a man on the

(29:41):
boards against this thunder team. He's probably going to be
the likely matchup with Hartenstein there, who attacks the last
at a really great rate and is very productive at it.
So I think Turner has got to grow up, and
six rebounds feels very attainable to me.

Speaker 5 (29:52):
As of yesterday.

Speaker 4 (29:53):
That was a plus one ten odds as well, and
another plus money odds is lou Dort to over two
and a half three pointers that I like here. I
do think that they're gonna make a clear, conscious effort
to force the ball out of Shake Gods Alexander's hands.
We've seen lou Dort sort of be the guy that
ends up with the wide open looks throughout this thunder run,
and he has punished teams. He's made four to three
pointers in four separate postseason games. He also shopped the

(30:14):
ball significantly better at home all season, shot forty five
percent in Oklahoma City compared to thirty five percent on
the road. There, they got the home crowd behind him,
There's gonna be energy in the building, and I do
think lou Dort sees plenty of shot volume from the
perimeter tonight.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
All right, I love the angle on that.

Speaker 2 (30:28):
Once again, Sean could be found in all things socials.
And as he just said, for the folks over at
DraftKings Sportsbook, make sure you're checking out all of this
content at DK Network dknetwork dot com. How about that,
of course, you here Julian Edlow at three thirty every Thursday,
right here on the Gambler. All right, I don't want

(30:51):
to dive into just some final scores here, but we
are going to give us the final score prediction to
the NBA Finals.

Speaker 3 (30:56):
We gotta go on the number. We're gonna wag it.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
We're gonna put a couple bucks on it. There's worse
things that I've wagered on before. What else are we
missing here? When it comes to some series the series
player props some of the cool things that they are offering,
and whether or not points leader for the series three's
leader that you already discussed, rebounds leader, assist leader. Is

(31:20):
there one that maybe jumps off at you a little
bit then the other? We got points per game, assist
points per game, rebounds points per game, head to head points.

Speaker 3 (31:29):
There's a ton to choose from over at DraftKings. If
we were talking.

Speaker 2 (31:32):
About the rebounding leader for this series, Chets mindus one
to eighty five, Einstein plus two to twenty and then
a drop off to Siakam plus four.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
Fifty, Jillian Williams the thirteen hundred.

Speaker 2 (31:44):
Is there anybody outside of those top two or is
it excuse me, let me back it up.

Speaker 3 (31:49):
Is it anybody but Chet in your mind.

Speaker 4 (31:52):
Yeah, I do, actually, and I'm going right to the
Pascal Siakam well here at plus four fifty, and sort
of my thought process in getting there is I think
and Hartenstein will compete with each other for rebounds a
little bit here as far as who is the who's
the leader. Very curious how they divvy these minutes up.
I think the minus one eighty five in favor of
check here indicates that the books are believing that he'll

(32:12):
see a clearer opportunity and hart and Stein gets his
minutes limited there. That was the case in this past series,
but in the matchup with the Denver Nuggets where they
did have obviously Nicola Jokic Hardesty played a ton of
minutes in that and was the leading rebounder in that series.
So I think that fully comes down to the minutes
a lotment there. But on the other side of things,
the Pacers are going to have to attack the glass.
I do trust Siakam even more than I do trust

(32:32):
Miles Turner there. He's just kind of has a little
bit of the Joel Embide critique where he's very large,
very big, but not an instinct as a rebounder type.
Guy kind of still a very good player, very important
player to their team. But Siakam is a dude that
I kind of trust to attack the glass more and
win that the thunder do go quote unquote small with
homegrim as the five there, Siakim is the guy that
I think can clean up on those, all right.

Speaker 3 (32:54):
He we cousin Nikki check him back in. He likes
Caruso to have five plus steals in the game. Cousin
nikky on is something there.

Speaker 5 (33:02):
He'll be a problem.

Speaker 4 (33:03):
There will be some Alex Caruso just swinging games throughout
this Five is a lot I can see.

Speaker 5 (33:07):
I'm not taking it off the table there.

Speaker 4 (33:09):
I'm not sure if there's anything from the prop perspective
to get in on that. That's definitely a big time
payout if you can get in on that, not rolling
it out completely, but five is a lot of steals.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
Five is a ton of steals, all right.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
And then the highest single game scoring performance in the series
SGA minus four to seventy five. Again, I'm not gonna
sit here and tell you that he won't be the
guy because he can go out there and score forty
in his sleep. But Jalen Williams at eight to one,
siak him at nine to one, Haliburt and at sixteen
to one, Chat at fifty to one. Those are some

(33:42):
names that definitely have some interest. Is there anybody that
we should take a shot at?

Speaker 4 (33:46):
I unfortunately think that this is Sga is to lose here.
Led the league in scoring across the regular season, still
averaging twenty nine point eight points per game across this
playoff run.

Speaker 5 (33:55):
He's the real deal.

Speaker 4 (33:55):
He's the epicenter of their offense, and I don't think
there's a player on this pay his roster that can
stop him in one on one settings. I do think
that will be a conscious effort to make sure that
is not the case that he does not have free
range to just attack guys off the dribble. But ultimately
he gets his points no matter how, no matter what
defense has thrown his direction, He's seen it all to
this point. He gets the free throw line when he

(34:16):
needs to, gets the mid range where he needs to,
can still shoot the three Esga is gonna be kind
of the leading scorer in this series.

Speaker 5 (34:22):
I pretty feel pretty convinced about.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
The only one that I would even take a flyer on.
Even then, it's like, you look at is Haliburton with
that number, it's sixteen to one, right, did I say that?

Speaker 3 (34:33):
Yeh, sixteen to one Haliburton.

Speaker 2 (34:35):
Can Haliburton get to a forty point mark, He's gonna
have to score more than forty. Can Pascal Siakam get
the forty? I think Pascal Siakam probably is an easier
way and easier laying to get into forty. He's at
nine to one. But if I was to take a flyer,
I would take a shot at tygres Alburn.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (34:51):
The problem I have with the Haliburton stance is it's
so up and down in comparison to two stars. They're
like ESGA a bad game for him, He'll still get
you at least one. Like he's still going to be
in that mix here Haliburton. Just in this playoff run,
he's had four games whereas he scored over thirty. He's
had three games where he's been held to eleven points
or fewer. I do think we see that play out
in this series that I do think it'll be a
Haliburton game where he gets red hot, scores a ton

(35:14):
of points here, but I think there'll be another matchup
in which he's almost a non factor there where you
don't feel his presence as a scorer. So when talking
about the total points scored or the leading scorer in
the series here, I think the ebbs and flows of
his game just don't kind of match up for that,
and this thunder defense is gonna be more bothersome than
any opponent that he's faced as far.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
There is only one game though, the highest single game
scoring performance in the series.

Speaker 4 (35:34):
Okay, okay, interesting, so maybe you can kind of get
to that there. I think I still lean SGA, but
that you can have me more convinced about a flyer
from that direction.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Then yeah, look as far as points per game, right,
which is.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
Points per game? All right? So these are different markets.

Speaker 2 (35:53):
But yeah, the highest points leader, sorry, this is Live
on the fly highest points leader for Kings minus thirty
five hundred SGA. So that tells you all you need
to know about that series. And I wouldn't even say
waste your money. Again, nobody wants to see him get hurt.
But if he does get hurt, then you're you're in
the running. You get an opportunity, and there are some

(36:14):
big names, big numbers attached to some decent names here.
You can get Siakam at twenty eight to one, Haliburn
a forty five one.

Speaker 3 (36:21):
Jillian one is a twenty five to one. Teacher McConnell
is listed after Haliburn.

Speaker 4 (36:27):
That is interesting. Maybe we get a legendary TJ. McConnell performance.
I certainly would be all there for that, and do
hope that is the case. That does surprise me that
he's remotely in the mix.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
There the hell is going on there? That's a huge like,
I feel like they're missing a player too. Anyways, well,
we won't waste time on that one. And then they
have the points per game here as far as marker,
excuse me, points.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
Per game, thank you to average twenty plus points per
game in the finals, Jail Williams minus three fifty Siakam.
These are just like some limited markets that don't include SGA,
which we like that Siaka minus won seventy Haliburton plus
one twenty Chet plus four seventy five. I actually liked
this angle, Sean because it does remove SGA, which is
the answer to every question we've had so far, so

(37:15):
it kind of makes things a little bit different. But
to average twenty plus points per game, give me a
player that you think in this series not named SGA
that could get there.

Speaker 5 (37:23):
Siakam would be my next go to there.

Speaker 4 (37:25):
And I'm also saying you can get him to average
twenty five plus at plus two to eighty there, I
think there's a real chance of that as well, but
he's gonna have to play in attack mode. The probably
the biggest fair critique of Siakam is sometimes that he does,
you know, not have the games where he's attempting as
many shots as his talent should dictate. There before a
guy to average twenty. I do think Siakam gets there
in the series. I think the Pacers will need him too.
They're gonna need some sort of offense. So I like

(37:46):
that number there.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
I thought he got the forty one time. He did
it thirty nine, though I knew he got up there
one time against the Knicks. I had a great series
against the Knicks. Yeah, thirty seventeen, thirty nine, seventeen thirty
one in that final close out game. The issue is
Oklahoma City aren't the Knicks. And defensively he's gonna have
some tough competition down low again, though Cleveland with some

(38:10):
decent size right twenty one, twenty one, eighteen, so I
can get there with twenty five. I don't mind taking
a flyer on that, because again, somebody's got to do
to damn scoring in that. So something to keep our
eyes on there to average twenty five plus points per
game in the NBA Finals. Pascal Siappen plus two point
eighty here on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
I might have to take a flyer on that shot.
I'm right now one down like it. I like that
as well.

Speaker 2 (38:33):
All Right, we've bloviated, we've given our picks here, and
I'm not gonna do this on the fly, but know
that these numbers will cash in in a big way.
Sean Bernard your final score for tonight as well.

Speaker 5 (38:49):
I do think it's gonna be high paced.

Speaker 4 (38:50):
I do think both these teams that Indiana's gonna make
an effort to get out and run in Oklahoma City
could match. I'm going one twenty one Indiana, one seventeen
Oklahoma City. I do you think it's a battle. I
do think it's a fight. I think the Pacers still
game one one one one seventeen Pacers correct one thirty

(39:11):
one three okse Okay.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
I like it even higher, and that's ay, oh yeah,
I like that was the thing that hit me the most,
and that Knick series is like Oklahoma City might score
two undred points in the game, could adven. I just
was like, dude, they have no the pacers, they don't
have interest.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
Sometimes it looks like in stopping them on defense.

Speaker 4 (39:34):
Yeah, I mean I think that they can lock in
and be a better defensive team than they get credit.
Naysmith and em Hard in particular are kind of the
the troublemakers against opponents back courts. I would say there,
but uh, I mean, they're certainly an offensive minded team.
They certainly want to get out and run, and I
sometimes they're get the ball out of the basket and
start running. The end of the other direction is like
their form of defense to an extent. So I yeah,

(39:56):
it's gonna be high scoring, it's gonna be running gun,
it's gonna be a shootout. Should make for some fun
bass well, but maybe not. What people have in their
head is a NBA finals or postseason matchup.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
All right, So we.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
Got some exact scores, we got some winning plays. Sean
Banar going with the dog in Game one. Here, I'm
going with the dog plus the points. So we're all
Team Indiana.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
Pacers.

Speaker 2 (40:16):
Here's hopefully we get a good series and have some fun.
We are going to have some fun and for Game three,
just to let everybody know, no, Game two will be
on Sunday night, great television viewing experience there, love it.
And then Game three Wednesday night, folks, the Gambler Gang
getting together for the NBA Finals as we always do.
Did last year, did the year before. It's all running

(40:38):
together last year, last year, last year. Last year it
was the Celtics, Celtics, Yeah, Celtics ended up winning. The
year before that was the Nuggets and Heat right, yeah, yeah,
we did.

Speaker 3 (40:49):
That as well. So here we are.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
It's a tradition, but this is different. We're gonna have
even more crazier time because we have a thing called
the Wheel of Miss Fortune. Oh yeah, it's gonna be
a great time on Wednesday night for Game three. We'll
break that one down a little bit further of course
on Monday all next week and looking forward to doing
so with sham Minard and Sam Austrey of course, Juni

(41:13):
l are great guests that have joined us talking on
things NBA basketball. Mark Hemmy Junior will be live on
Saturday from eleven to one with Sean Bernard tough cover
radio show Care wait to hear what you guys have
to say, recap in Game one, looking forward to all
things in Game two, and mixing everything in from the
sports world Live on the Gambler once again eleven to one.
I will be off on Friday, much needed day off.

(41:35):
I'm gonna go ahead the course.

Speaker 3 (41:37):
The yeah man, gotta get some golf.

Speaker 2 (41:39):
Colling, dude, I haven't played golf since my birthday last
week of April. I'm dying. I'm dying, so I'm using
a day. I'm getting out there tomorrow. No rain on
the radar, so I said, let's go. But we'll be back,
of course all next week, as I said, live show
on Wednesday inside the Gambler Lounge. Before we get out
of here, though, Sean Bnard quickly on this one, if
you would not mind, we were talking about some Sixers

(42:01):
conversation before the recording. You brought up an article that
was written by Keith POMPEII and apparently the seventy six Ers.
Behind the scenes, a lot of people in the PR world,
a lot of people that handled the interviews, setting up
the behind the scenes stuff for media credentials, all new
like people that we have formed good relationships. Yeah, that

(42:22):
everybody has good relationships with and you know what, at
the end of the day, damn good people were let go.

Speaker 3 (42:28):
The hell happened there?

Speaker 4 (42:29):
Yeah, it's a very strange kind of storyline here. I
guess my interpretation from afar here would be that a
lot got out behind the scenes that shouldn't have last year,
in regardless to Joell and Bee's health and some other stuff.
The inside the locker room kind of perspective at the
mindset of the organization seems to be we're not sorting
through who the problem is and just kind of starting
over here. From a personal standpoint, I'm pretty sad for

(42:51):
all these guys. I think a lot of very good
people and everyone that I had a connection with inside
the six organization essentially got the same paper. So disappointed
for them, feel bad for them, and do you think
that they were good people and great at their job there?
So it's an interesting storyline, I guess, kind of just
a little bit of an under the radar story.

Speaker 5 (43:08):
Surrounding the Sixers. There some of demonitor moving forward.

Speaker 3 (43:11):
How many people do we have a number?

Speaker 4 (43:13):
I might be in that POMPEII piece. I'm double digit.
I'm pretty sure, but I don't have the specific number.
I saw at least like six or seven names that
I full out recognized.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
What Well, again, they know what's being leaked and what's not.
Now to fire everybody? Come on, dude, what's going on there?
That's that's that's a tough look. That's not right.

Speaker 5 (43:37):
I don't know that Joel's bodyguard.

Speaker 3 (43:38):
By the way, Joelle's bodyguard got.

Speaker 5 (43:41):
Charity, I guess is his title, but his personal security guy?

Speaker 2 (43:44):
Yeah, but if he's Joel Embids's personal security guard, was
it just supplied by the team or was it Joel
Ebids guy?

Speaker 4 (43:50):
Well, I would assume so if they were able to
fire him, I paid him there. But the guy that
was constantly trapping with Joel and doing all that kind
of stuff on road games, all that sort of like
he there will be a new dude doing that moving forward.

Speaker 3 (44:02):
I guess should I put my resume in it.

Speaker 4 (44:05):
Might as well. Yeah, I'll roll around with Joel. I'm
not actually quick to stick up for Joel here. Did
you see that Ringer rankings yesterday?

Speaker 2 (44:15):
I try not to read anything Ringer but teach their own.
I would just say you know, like people know that
he's a lightning rod. Right mentioned Joel ebid It gets
out a conversation on the same side, like he can't play, Sean,
he's not healthy.

Speaker 4 (44:34):
I get he's a really difficult one here, but Sean Brace,
if I'm asking right now the top one hundred NBA
basketball players, where would you rank Joel be currently even
with last year considered.

Speaker 2 (44:47):
Can't believe you're doing this to me, Like I have
to sit here and say he's still a top ten.

Speaker 5 (44:56):
Player half eighty four.

Speaker 3 (45:00):
Yeah, that's a stupid he's still a top ten player.
But this is it. This is like we're at that
line and again it happened last year for me.

Speaker 2 (45:10):
I know that people are gonna be like, oh, we knew, Fine,
that's fine, but like you still battle through it. What
took place in that nixt series played in the Olympics, Like,
all right, it's still Joelle Embiid and and he is
one of the most dominant players, if not the most
dominant player, every time he takes the floor.

Speaker 4 (45:27):
He was clear cut top three player in the league
eighteen months ago.

Speaker 5 (45:31):
Like, yeah, everyone.

Speaker 3 (45:32):
What a lot has changed in the eighteen months?

Speaker 4 (45:35):
Sure, no, I hear you and come on, dude, Yeah,
that's where I'm at. That's like Christian Brogan was eighty third,
Like what are.

Speaker 5 (45:43):
We doing here?

Speaker 2 (45:47):
That's good, good work by the ringer that actually pushes
me over.

Speaker 5 (45:50):
It makes me want to read them. Yeah, no, they
know what they're doing.

Speaker 4 (45:53):
I do think that it is fairly intentional with it there,
but yeah, pretty ubsurd stuff. I do think the jewell
embid pendulum has once again swung to are too negative.
And Zion Williamson, by the way, who has all these
same availability issues and more legitimate like character concerns here,
he was in the top forty for this list just
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (46:09):
Yeah, all right, that's fair, that's fair. Yeah, you're right,
so you gotta be even with that. But right, they
know what they're doing. It's Joello bead regardless.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
We'll see what happens six or twenty five to one.
You're taking a piece of that action next year.

Speaker 4 (46:23):
I'll have myself talked into it by the time we
get there. At this current point, I don't see the
vision quite yet. We'll see how much.

Speaker 2 (46:30):
I have myself talked into it. All right, that's all
we needed on that front. That's Sean Manard I'm Sean Pray.
Let's get the hell out of here. Since there's twenty
five to one, you're gonna talk yourself into that.

Speaker 3 (46:40):
I love it.

Speaker 5 (46:42):
Season Ace Barely, Season is right.

Speaker 3 (46:44):
Quentin Grime is gonna be back.

Speaker 5 (46:46):
Quin Grimes will absolutely be back.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
McCain's gonna be back.

Speaker 5 (46:50):
Yep, Maxie, yep. Paul George, we're putting it together.

Speaker 3 (46:55):
Get the band back. Maybe Joelle em Bead's new security guard.

Speaker 5 (46:58):
Let's go.

Speaker 3 (46:59):
Sean the best, good luck on all the plays.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
We'll continue follow you on socials, read them over at
dknetwork dot com.

Speaker 3 (47:06):
Keeping a moving a lot going on here.

Speaker 2 (47:08):
We have a we have a wrestling roundtable coming your
way with Nick McCone, Von Johnson, Jason Finelli, and John Jansen.
That's coming your way a little bit later on the
station here seven o'clock. It is money in the Bank
Sham Benard. Of course, yes, that is that what we're

(47:29):
doing here, Money in the Bank.

Speaker 3 (47:32):
Round table, Baby, let's go. That's coming your way at
seven o'clock tonight.

Speaker 2 (47:38):
So for all you wrestling people out there, nobody does
it better than the great Von Johnson we saw the
other night at F one Arcade. Nick mccollin, Jasonelli and
John Janson for Sham Benard, I'm sean, Brace everybody, go
luck on those plays.

Speaker 3 (47:48):
Let's go Pacers. We'll talk to you about Piece.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
The pix and Roll Podcast can be found on foxphlcambler
dot com