Kate Constable:
Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us today on the BetUS NBA TV Show. Josh C. here, Chris Farley and Kate Constable joining you today. Yesterday, MLK Day, a huge slate of games, 12 total, tons of action going on. So we’re going to take a little bit of time to recap some of those games. And guys, we’ll just start with what we had on the show yesterday. Chris, unfortunately, you only had one pick and it went south. Tell me about it.
Chris Farley:
It did, it did, it did. I had four total picks on the day myself, but the show started at 4:00, you can’t pick those early games in the show. So all right, I’ll talk about my successes first. Got the Hornets win. That was a good win. Knicks couldn’t keep up. Knicks also, what did they score, 87 points in that game? That was bad. Pels Celtics under, Heat Raptors under too, which looked like that could go over. They were scoring rapidly in the first quarter, but then it really slowed down. So that was good.
Chris Farley:
But this one’s for Alex. Alex, I know you’re at home. You’re smoking a cigar, you’ve probably found a jacuzzi or something. Alex won the bet between the two of us. The Spurs looked like they were going to… they were in position to at least keep that game close. And then the Suns did it again. I mean the Suns are so impressive in those spots because, I mean, back to back four games in seven days on the road and against a team that fights. And the Spurs were completely healthy. So you can tell, I still think I’m on the right side, but it was… three and a half quarters is not enough to be on the right side. You have to be full game. So got that one wrong, but at least I only had one wrong and I didn’t force the issue, I guess.
Kate Constable:
I mean, the Spurs were up by four, going into the fourth quarter, even midway through the fourth, they still felt like they had control. But when Devin Booker puts up 48 points in a game, it’s kind of hard for the Suns to lose. So it is what it is there. I also lost yesterday, Chris, one of mine under 232 and a half in the Bucks Hawks game. Talk about losing it down the stretch. There were 11 total points scored by the two teams in the last 18 seconds. Trey had six threes in those last 18 seconds and I lost by one and a half points. It went over by a point and a half. So not a great day there for me, that was very disappointing to see, but the Heat did win. They beat the Raptors yesterday. I had the Heat minus three, won by I believe it was five. So split the day there for me in terms of the games that were on the show. Josh, I know you had quite a bit of action yesterday. How’d it go?
Josh Chahal:
It was not fun. It was a lot along the same lines of that Milwaukee Atlanta under for you, which by the way, was horrible. I think they had 12 combined points after the six minutes of game in the first quarter as well.
Kate Constable:
It looked so good in the first quarter, 26, 17 after the first. I thought I had it in the bag.
Josh Chahal:
Yeah, that was, that was a horrible, horrible beat for anyone that was with you on that under, but yeah, I also had a pretty frustrating day. I got hooked on the Cleveland total over 220, which was absolutely coasting in the first half and just came to an abrupt standstill in the second half, especially the Nets’ offense in the final sort of four minutes of that game in particular. The OKC team total under which, again, looked great for 24 minutes. But like Chris said, unless your bet looks good for 48 minutes it’s not really worth much. And I got back into bed with the Indiana Pacers. I still haven’t learned my lesson and I’m just… one of those things where I’m going to keep telling myself I’ll stop. But yeah, whether I actually do or not is another story all together.
Kate Constable:
Yeah. That’s one of the teams that’s on our do not bet list Josh.
Josh Chahal:
I know, I know, I know I only have two or three teams on there as well. And yet I still disregarded it entirely.
Kate Constable:
Well, I feel like MLK day, with so many games, there’s the excitement of it. Because games go all day long that you want to get involved in so much action and you have the opportunity to all day. That oftentimes I think for a lot of people that day goes south where tomorrow is also a huge slate of games. So we’ll try not to make the same mistakes tomorrow, maybe pick and choose more wisely in terms of what we play.
Kate Constable:
But midway through the season now, I want to check in on your guys’ power ratings now that we are at the halfway point of the season. All-star break is on the horizon just a couple weeks away, but in terms of where you guys have some of these top five teams, let’s just get your thoughts and compare some. And if we’re all kind of on the same page, so Josh, you want to kick us off with where your top five sit?
Josh Chahal:
Yeah, for sure. So I have Suns, Warriors, Bucks, Jazz, Nets, not necessarily in that order, but that is the top five for me. Pretty much has been for the whole season as well. They’ve shuffled positions amongst themselves, but they haven’t necessarily dropped out or had anyone else come into that top five. I’m pretty confident in saying that, when fully healthy, those teams are the best teams in the NBA right now in the regular season. And I anticipate that to be the case as well for the playoffs. I think they are the five best teams suited to make a proper run, I think, at an NBA title this season. They have sort of the pieces within each of those teams. They have the systems in place as well. And I think more importantly, they can get it done on both ends of the floor. The only one that might not fit into that mold is the Brooklyn Nets. But I think that’s also counted by the fact that if fully healthy, they are also on another level offensively that no team can really keep up with.
Josh Chahal:
So those are my five I’m, like I said, very confident in those five positionings and their abilities going into the playoffs. I’m obviously very high on the Phoenix Suns. I have been since pre-season, I will be going into the playoffs. I think that’s a team that not only should you have some sort of future positions on them, I would encourage you to grab some as well. Because I still think there is some value on them, but I think it’s a team that you will be able to ride series to series just given the way that the market seems to, I don’t want to say disrespect, but it doesn’t give them the level of pricing that I think that, not just the play warrants, but the fact that the team itself is at a level now that is firmly established I think, as being a top tier perennial team in the NBA.
Kate Constable:
Do you think that has anything to do… the pricing on some of the Sun’s futures that we talk so much about the Warriors in the west, all the issues with the Lakers? I feel like we even talk more, and when I say we, I mean the media in general, more about the Jazz. The Suns don’t get as much press as they probably deserve right now. Would you agree?
Josh Chahal:
Yeah, they get absolutely none for the level of play that they’ve put forth for over a season now. I mean, even last season in the regular season for how good they played, they were getting absolutely no limelight at all. And I guess you could sort of give it a pass last season to an extent, but this season, especially when they went on that incredible win streak, no one was talking about it. Everyone was more interested in that the Lakers couldn’t string together wins or that, you know, the Jazz were playing extraordinary, regular season basketball again, and that the Warriors were back.
Josh Chahal:
And yeah, like you said, it kind of just gets lost in the news, if you will, if you want to call it news, of everything else going on around the league. So I don’t think that it’s a bad thing for them. I think it’s something that they absolutely thrive all on as well. And I’m more than happy for that to continue to be the case as well. It might help us with, like you said, helping them fly under the radar a little bit and providing that bit of extra value in certain matchups. And if we do get that, Suns Warriors match up in what, potentially a Western conference final, that’s going to be a ton of fun. And I think unless something drastic changes in the next few months, I think I’ll be pretty heavily invested in the Suns in that series.
Kate Constable:
Yeah. Based on what I’ve heard and learned about Monty Williams, I think he probably likes that his team flies under the radar a little bit and isn’t in the news, in the headlines every other day. And he keeps that group kind of close knit and I don’t know, close to the best in that aspect. Chris, your power ratings, how does it differ, compare to Josh’s
Chris Farley:
Very similar. I got the Suns Warriors and Bucks. So Suns one, Warriors two, Bucks three. And they’re all very close to each other. I still keep the Bucks over the Nets, [inaudible 00:08:36] the Nets are my four right now, I got the jazz at five. But you know who’s close to the Jazz are the Grizzlies just because the Grizzlies keep on proving themselves to me anyway, just how much, how much depth they have too. I mean, they play their bench players on a regular basis and their bench players almost always step up. And they’re a deep, impressive team, especially halfway through the season. And we expected that coming into the season somewhat, but I think that they’ve outperformed expectations, especially with some of their Covid and injury concerns in the first half of the season.
Chris Farley:
And I have to make note of too, the Suns, Warriors and Bucks, those three teams, it’s kind of good to know what those teams have in common, right? And the thing that I think of first are the intangibles. I mean, they have continuity, they have clear leadership on the team, right? The Suns with CP3, the Warriors with Curry, the Bucks with Giannis, they have great coaching. So there’s just not a lot of pomp and circumstance around their situations. Maybe that’s why they don’t get as much press. I mean, the Warriors do, obviously with Klay returning and everything. But these are teams that just, they go to work, they operate and they do it very, very well. Meanwhile, it’s teams like the Nets, right? They kind of, right? They’re out there in the limelight. The Lakers are still out there in the limelight, but I just, sometimes I really think that that can really work against the team, especially when there’s not as much continuity.
Chris Farley:
And I have to make a case for the Cavs. The Cavs are sneaking into my top 10 and games like last night are the reason why. I mean, that’s a game, right? They’re favored at home against the Nets. They’re expected to win. Kyrie is still on the court. Harden is still on the court and the Cavs take care of business. And they’ve done that now as a favorite. They’re still covering at a very high rate. So the… I mean, Cavs are a team, talk about a perception shift. I mean, if you were to asked me six months ago, or a year ago, “Where I thought the Cavs would be at this point?” it wouldn’t be in the position that they’re in. So it’s exciting to see some new blood in there as well. And, but it, it’s still a Suns, Warriors, Bucks, Nets for me. And we’ll see if that’s what the final four end up being.
Josh Chahal:
Chris, I got a question for you really quickly. If for whatever reason Kyrie gets vaccinated and he is able to play every regular season game, KD comes back and Joe Harris comes back as expected. Do the Nets jump to the top of your power ratings as well?
Chris Farley:
Ooh, I don’t know if they jump to the top, they would still have to prove it to me for some time because for me… Excuse me, a team like the Warriors or the Suns, even you can make a case for the Bucks as well. I try to measure these intangibles, but it’s really tough. But for me on the Nets, there still isn’t a clear leader. Durant is the best player on their team, but I don’t always feel like the Nets, when their backs are up against the wall, that they know who to turn to, that there’s someone out there who’s vocal on the court. You know, Steve Nash is a good coach, but he’s not exactly the most charismatic, loudest, he just kind of off on the sidelines.
Chris Farley:
So I need to see the Nets with the big three, with their whole team there, with their bench working really well, too in these big game situations where they all step up and they show chemistry time and time again. I mean the talent should put them at number one, no doubt about it. But you know, for me, it’s just tough for me to put them there from what I’ve seen. Some of the inconsistency and obviously all the players in the big three not playing all the time contributes to that. But if they did and give them some time, I think there’s probably plenty of room for them to at least show to old Farley bets here. Because I know that that’s what they want do most that they’re the number one team in the NBA.
Chris Farley:
So I’m just… I’m hard on them because when teams like that get so much press and expectations, let’s get it done. I mean, even last night with Kyrie and Harden, I know Durant’s out of the game, but if your team has that much depth, if your team is that good, win that game, play better in that game, play better defense in that game. So they still have some things to prove it to me, but they’re always going to stay in that top five because of what they’re capable of.
Kate Constable:
You mentioned the Grizzlies climbing up there, the Cavs climbing up there. Chicago Bulls other than the last week or so with some injuries, are they… they’re not a top five team quite yet, but are they in your top 10, at least for both of you? Or where do you fit them in?
Chris Farley:
The Bulls are my seven right now, seven or eight. I might not have adjusted something on my side yet, but the Bulls, when they’re fully healthy, I’ve been incredibly impressed by them. They just feel like a team that they need the pieces that they have to be an elite team, but when they have all the pieces on the floor, you know, Caruso, DeRozan, LaVine, everyone’s working together, they have great young talent as well, and they seem to really be gelling. So the Bulls have a ton of upside. It’s just… that’s a team, right, that we haven’t seen together for that long. So let’s see if they can prove it for a whole year.
Josh Chahal:
Yeah, I’d agree with that. I think I have them about seven, eight as well off the top of my head in and around that range when fully healthy as well. I think that they will go on and keep stringing together some impressive results in the regular season, assuming that they don’t miss anyone for a significant period of time. I still have a lot of question marks around that team come playoff time though. I don’t really think I trust them in a playoff scenario. I think there’s still a lot of holes in that team that will get exposed defensively and offensively. I’m just not entirely convinced either that that style of play is quite going to work in that environment. And especially players like DeMar DeRozan who historically just don’t show up in the playoffs.
Josh Chahal:
And you know, I’m happy to be proven wrong. We saw it last season with Paul George, where I’ve always sort of said a players sucks in the playoffs until they don’t. And once they sort of figure things out in that environment, they become, I guess, the player that you expect them to be, and that you see in the regular season. So maybe this is the season and the team that he needs around him to do that. But yeah, very much one of those situations where I need to see it to believe it with Chicago.
Kate Constable:
[crosstalk 00:14:49]. Go ahead Chris.
Chris Farley:
I’m sorry, Kate. Just if I could expand really quick on what Josh was saying. I think that’s a great point. I mean, we always use football as a comparison here. So why not again? Kyler Murray last night. Kyler Murray has some of the most, I mean, pure athletic talent of any player in the NFL. He’s tremendously quick and fast, has a great arm, but man come these like playoff time playoff scenarios. So far he has fallen way short and there’s a big difference between regular season clutch and playoff clutch.
Chris Farley:
So I would love for DeRozan to prove us wrong too. I mean, I know that he’s had some mental health stuff that he is gone through. So I mean I’m cheering for him, but yeah, that’s a great point by Josh. Until we see him actually step up in those big game situations in the playoffs, it’s going to be tough for the Bulls to get over teams like the Nets and the Bucks.
Kate Constable:
And that’s what my Twitter feed basically for the last 24 hours has said about Kyler Murray. So you’re right. It does all kind of go together. All right. Well, we only have two games today, which is why we were able to chat about a couple other things, but time to jump into those games and as always, let’s check out our leaderboard prior to doing so. And you know what I’m feeling pretty good today, looking at this leaderboard because I have finally tied the great Farley bets with 61 wins. We don’t need to look at the loss column because really those don’t matter at all. All that matters is the number in the win column. Isn’t that right, Chris?
Chris Farley:
Sure. I mean, wins do matter. Losses do matter, unfortunately, too, in this game. However, Kate, I mean, Kate has done… You have done a tremendous job at filtering your picks too. Cause I know it’s tough. I mean these slates, they don’t offer a lot of choices sometimes. Look at those wins, coming up quick. I said it at the beginning, I’m more scared of Kate than I am anyone else catching up to me. I mean, come on. The proof is in the pudding.
Kate Constable:
Well, that’s very nice of you, but the loss column does matter and your win percentage is far superior to mine. So we’ll leave it at that.
Kate Constable:
But time today to talk about the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks. Talk about win columns, Knicks a loss yesterday to thee Charlotte Hornets at home as the favorite, not a good look for the Knicks. Tonight they’re the dog at home by three points. Total here is 214. The total has climbed up a bit from 211 and a half at the open. Josh, what do you think about the total here, whether you like over under and why it’s gone up so much?
Josh Chahal:
Yeah, surprised and not surprised that it’s gone up. I was hoping it would hold it right where it was in the opener and maybe even ticked down a little bit, just given, I think that the and Knicks are involved and they’re in a situation where they’re on a back to back and three in four and had players logging pretty big minutes last night in particular. RJ Barrett playing over 40 minutes. So it could be a tough spot for them to really get up for it. But I think the tip off time yesterday and the tip off time today is certainly helpful and not something that they would normally… a luxury that they would normally get in a back to back if you want to call it a luxury. So that certainly has to play its part. I think the fact that they were so flat and lifeless against Charlotte as well should indicate we get some sort of response from them.
Josh Chahal:
I mean, you can imagine that [inaudible 00:18:11] would’ve been up them pretty badly about that. It’s a team that has to basically play with a level of intensity every single night, because, let’s be abundantly honest here, the talent isn’t quite there. And so if they aren’t playing and they aren’t locked in at 100%, those are the sort of showings you can get from the Knicks. So I think we get much better from them here. I’m hoping as well that the Timberwolves, who are the complete opposite in terms of their pace and style of play, are the ones that are able to sort of push things. And given the fact that New York is in a tough situation schedule-wise, I think the approach from them is going to be to try and run them out the building. And let’s see what they’ve got left in those legs. Let’s really push the tempo and force them to keep pace here.
Josh Chahal:
And that’ll work both ways as well because the Timberwolves defensively will give up a fair bit themselves in that regard. I think the Knicks do have offensively a couple of areas that they can attack. They’ve been very aggressive on the offensive glass of late. If they continue to do that, it’s an area where the Timberwolves, for whatever reason, a terrific offensive rebounding team, but not so good defensively at that end of the floor. So doesn’t make a ton of sense when I say those things, but it’s purely an effort thing. And so if the Knicks are able to, like I said, control that offensive glass a little bit, create those second chance opportunities. Both these teams are going to have the opportunity to generate a ton of looks from beyond the arc as well, the Timberwolves and Knicks defensively give up high frequency looks from three point range.
Josh Chahal:
So if we get both teams shooting pretty much at their average splits across the board here, I can see this one going over even this adjusted total. Now at 214. My number comes out at 218 and a half, which is quite high. And I was pretty surprised with it myself, but the more I sort of dive into it, the more I do like the over here. And like I said, I’m kind of banking on Minnesota being the ones that control the tempo and push the pace here, which it should be enough in itself, I think, to create enough opportunities to score and clear this number.
Kate Constable:
Yeah, with the pace that the Wolves play at and then on a back to back, the first thing that typically goes with the team is their legs. And so oftentimes their defense isn’t as great. That number climbs up. The Wolves have also won five of their last seven games and they lead the NBA in both offensive rating and scoring over that stretch, which is surprising. I wouldn’t think of the Timberwolves as being a team that’s leading the NBA in those categories, but Chris, can they cover the three and a half, three three and a half knowing that they’re playing so well offensively?
Chris Farley:
I think they could. The Knicks, I must say the Knicks probably have a pretty considerable home court advantage above a lot of other teams there at Madison Square Garden. But if it’s also not like a marque spot or a big game on a Saturday or something, sometimes that doesn’t always result in a win. And we’ve obviously seen that plenty from the Knicks this year just disappointing everybody, including their home fans.
Chris Farley:
Really, really interesting stat here. I mean, to me this game is going to come down to the Knicks’ defense. So the Timberwolves are shooting 43.9% from the field this season, which is the same percentage that the Knicks allow to opponents. But when Minnesota shoots higher than that mark, they’re 17 and four against the spread and 15 and six overall. So Minnesota pretty much just has to get going on offense to beat the Knicks, I think.
Chris Farley:
And I think that’s very true in a case like this, where two very similarly built teams, they both love to shoot the three ball like Josh was mentioning, but the Timberwolves are slightly better against the three than the Knicks are. The Knicks have really struggled in that area actually. And we’ve seen so much variance from the Knicks in actually making those three point shots.
Chris Farley:
I also really like what Chris Finch is doing with this team. There’s a lot of positive reports about his coaching. I was kind of moving around the defense, especially for the Timberwolves, creating new opportunities for Russell and others and Anthony Edwards to kind of maximize their defensive effort. So the Timberwolves are a sneaky good defensive unit, but I do think that they should take advantage of a faster pace here. They’re great on the offensive rebounding side.
Chris Farley:
So I’m leaning towards the Timberwolves and I’m considering a play on them. Maybe I’ll talk myself into it by the end of the day. But I think they have a lot of, I mean, the spot favors them, second chance opportunity favors them. And I think they have a lot of momentum right now. I mean, that’s that Kate. They’re number one in offensive rating in the past seven games. So maybe they take this momentum into Madison Square Garden and put on a show, but these in general are two teams that I don’t like to trust very often. So just hearing more positive things coming from that Minnesota camp. And I think they’re rightly favored here. Three is getting a little up there though.
Kate Constable:
Karl-Anthony Towns has scored 25 or more points in four straight games, and he’s had at least 20 points in every game in December. So he’s been playing fantastic, obviously part of leading this Wolves offense and kind of the surge they’ve seen there. So a big game for him tonight would obviously bode well for the Timberwolves in covering that spread. But Josh, you are playing the over, a big night from KAT would also do well for the over. So over 214 and a half for Josh tonight in this one.
Kate Constable:
Last game of the day, already, Pistons at Warriors. Warriors are a heavy favorite, 15 point favorite, total’s 218. Both of these teams though coming off of huge losses, Warriors lost to the Timberwolves by 20 and the Pistons lost to the Suns by 27 on Sunday. Chris, this to me feels kind of like a bounce back spot, get right spot, whatever you want to call it for the Warriors. But 15 points is a lot.
Chris Farley:
Yeah. Am I getting paid extra to talk about this game? No, I’m just kidding. So this game, guys, I’ll tell you, this is a tough one. I mean, we got what a 15 and a half point spread now. I think it opened at 12 or 13, but yeah, I mean, I think the only way you probably can look at this game is the Warriors in this spot after they haven’t been scoring very well. Curry’s been struggling a little bit. Klay Thompson’s minutes are going up, right? That’s a good thing for the Warriors probably. He’s looked pretty good. I mean, that attack to the rim… I forget who he was facing, but that vicious slam dunk that he had. That’s a great sign for Klay that he’s comfortable to play for this team again in, in full capacity.
Chris Farley:
So really the only way I can look at this is the Warriors’ side. But this is a massive line. But that being said, I mean the Pistons, they haven’t covered a spread on a game in a loss since December 23rd. The Pistons have won a few games recently, actually three out of their last five games and three out of their total 10 wins all year have come in the last five games. So Pistons are winning recently, but are they going to march into Golden State? Into, I think it’s called the Chase Center now and win this game? No, I mean… it’s not worth a sprinkle. I think that they could cover though.
Chris Farley:
But something that I’m looking his one with Jerami Grant still out, Kelly Olynyk still out as well. Cade Cunningham has stepped up in some capacities and kind of carried the team offensively on his shoulders, a really bad offensive team in general. I mean, let’s be honest. They are last place in the NBA in offensive rating. But that should, in a game that’s as lopsided as this, it should force Cade Cunningham to try to keep his team within distance. Cade over two and a half threes is plus 150 at BetUS right now. So I think that has some value there, maybe like a one unit play on Cunningham, getting over two and a half threes just to keep his team in the game.
Chris Farley:
I’d also look at Andrew Wiggins in a game like this, where the Warriors can get great distance in this game and really go up. I mean, they are a way better team in every facet of the game than the Pistons. Some of those players who aren’t always out on the floor as much, like Andrew Wiggins now, maybe increasingly with Klay Thompson back, I kind of like him going over 16 and a half points and having a big game in this one and playing a little more than usual. But that… I’ll tell you guys, this looks like a great setup for the Warriors to put on a show. I don’t want to put a unit expecting them to win by 16 with how little they’ve been scoring lately.
Kate Constable:
I think it’s a game that the Warriors are going to put on a show. So I’m taking the Warriors over 116 as a team total tonight, Alex would be very proud of me. I thought about putting the Pistons under 100, but you know what? It’s going to be a big night for the Warriors. Pistons have given up on average, 117 points in their last seven games. They gave up 135 to the Suns, 133 to the Bulls and 126 to Utah in the last five games and the Warriors, their scoring’s been struggling. Steph Curry’s been struggling. So being back at home, I think they come out and have a great shooting night tonight. I think they’re able to do a lot of things offensively against this terrible Pistons defense, especially hitting a bunch of threes. Warriors, take the second most threes per game and Pistons ranked 28th in opponents three point attempts.
Kate Constable:
So big night for the Warriors to hopefully put on a better offensive performance and kind of get back to playing Warrior basketball in that sense. So I like them over team total over 116. Josh, you don’t have a play on this game. I’m assuming you agree with a lot of Chris’s points. This is just kind of an ugly game here. So you’re staying off, but why is that?
Josh Chahal:
Yeah, it’s hard. That number is just spiraling a little bit to the point where you could make an argument that the value is on Detroit’s side here, especially with such a high, high number and a Warriors team that isn’t quite clicking at the moment. Yes, they get Steph back, but we’ve seen how much they sort of stagnated offensively of late. And I think I mentioned it last week that Kerr had come out publicly and said that they’re going to be working through rotations. And that’s kind of the priority right now is to work through what works and what doesn’t work.
Josh Chahal:
And so when you are playing, I guess, a game of trial and error in games in NBA games against NBA caliber teams, you’re going to fall flat sort of more often than not. And I think we’ve seen that recently from them. They’ve had these flat spots, they’ve had lineups that have just been obliterated in the short periods of time that they’ve been on the floor together and have put the team in situations where they haven’t necessarily been able to overcome that. I’m not saying that happens tonight because like you said, everything sort of points to this, being a bit of a bounce back for them.
Josh Chahal:
I can’t get anywhere near this number and it’s hard to lay this many points as a result. But that said, I think the only way you can play it is the Warriors. And an interesting part that Chris said there with the Pistons is when they cover, they win games and when they’re losing games, they’re losing them pretty badly. And I think if you look and you actually watch this team in the fourth quarter, if they’re in position where they can’t win the game outright, they become very disengaged. And that’s when these score lines start to spiral. And it’s something that might necessarily reflect if you’re looking just purely at [inaudible 00:29:05] and box scores and stuff like that. But if you watch the team, they do very much dial it in when they cannot win the game and they start just heaving threes, contested threes at that, not creating anything well offensively, and defensively, it’s just turn styles out there. And the opponents are basically able to get to the rim at will and create basically whatever they want.
Josh Chahal:
So yeah, I guess the crux of what I’m trying to say here is that it’s just impossible to really take a side with any confidence because you’re paying an absolute premium if you want the Warriors. And there is not a world where I think anyone should be NBA betting odds the Pistons in this situation either. So I do agree with you in terms of the Warriors team total, potentially going over. I actually looked at the Piston’s team total under as a potential play here as well. I mean, if you couple both those plays up, it basically says we should just be playing the Warriors on the line, right? If one’s going under the team total and the other’s going over. But yeah, it’s a game that I just think is… has a lot of different game scripts in which either team can cover. And as a result, it’s something that I’ll be staying away from.
Kate Constable:
With such a large number on the spread, live betting doesn’t really… isn’t really an option, right?
Josh Chahal:
No, it’s hard as well. It involves sort of really paying attention to rotations and how each team is sort of approaching the game. Like I said, you should be able to tell within the first half whether it’s a Warriors game where Kerr is still working out certain rotations, if he’s being a little bit more aggressive in pairing up sort of Steph and Klay minutes. Those things matter a lot in play betting.
Josh Chahal:
And I think that, like I said, by the half, you should sort of get a clearer understanding of what the Warriors are doing and whether the Pistons are going to do enough to hang around or whether it’s one of those games where they’re going to just fade late and… We know how good the Warriors are after half time, especially in that third quarter. If we get a Warriors’ third quarter, like we normally do, maybe even laying something like 18 and a half isn’t out of the question or some sort of alt line on the Warriors where, like I said, the Pistons do just dial in, in, especially on the road, especially on the west coast. You know, it’s a game that if they are down double digits in that third quarter, it could end up being a 20 plus point loss.
Kate Constable:
It’s also the start of a four game road trip for the Pistons and they’re nine and 12 against the spread on the road. They’ve only had three wins straight up on the road this season. So Pistons are not a great, well, not a great team, but also really not a great road team. But I like the Warriors in this one in terms of their team total over 116.
Kate Constable:
Questions for today, always the player prop question. Chris has already gone over a couple of those. I like Klay Thompson, actually over two and a half threes. That would obviously help me out a little bit with the total here, but Klay’s minutes are starting to tick up. Started out at 20 minutes. So it’s 21, 23 in the last game. He’s also averaging at least seven attempts per game. And he’s made three threes in two of the four games he’s had back the other games he’s made two threes.
Kate Constable:
So I think against this poor Pistons defense, that gives up a ton of threes and a really a great opponent, three point shooting percentage. I think Klay has the opportunity to get more comfortable being back, play a couple more minutes, get more shots, maybe play a little bit more free against this bad team than he maybe would against a Bucks team or the Suns or a better team, that is. So I like Klay over two and a half, that’s plus 100 right now at BetUS. Josh, any player props on your end?
Josh Chahal:
One, I would be looking to sort of target is Anthony Edwards in that Minnesota New York game. I think he’s someone who has a pretty notable advantage offensively. He should be able to take a lot of what the Knicks give him, whether it’s open looks on the perimeter, whether it’s being aggressive and attacking the basket. He’s someone that sort of has a well-balanced game as it is, and one that should be able to expose, I think, whatever it is New York gives him. So especially in an uptempo game, I’d be attacking probably a couple of those Timberwolves players if he can. For me, Anthony Edwards was probably the stand out there taking a look at his points in particular.
Kate Constable:
And he’s been playing fantastic lately alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. The two of them have been clicking very well for the Timberwolves as of late.
Kate Constable:
Checking out our best bets for the day, only two. Chris doesn’t have any bets today, but I am taking Warriors team total, Josh Timberwolves Knicks. Chris, you can just sit back tonight and cheer for Josh and I, that would be appreciative of us. And that is all we have for you today, I guess not really a short show, but short in terms of the slate we have today. Easy to keep track of all the games going on tonight with only two. Tomorrow will be a different day. We’re back to a very large slate. So plenty of games to talk about tomorrow, and gentlemen we will see you then. Have a good night everyone and check out the best sportsbook site.
