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00:00Flipping it over, Joe, to the Association.
00:02Let's head out to the Rocky Mountains here.
00:04The city of Denver, the Knicks, taking on the Denver Nuggets tonight.
00:07The favorite overnight was the Denver Nuggets, both outlets now, Joe,
00:10showing the New York Knicks as a minus one-and-a-half point favorite tonight.
00:14Knicks, Nuggets, center stage, 9 p.m.
00:17What's the spread line there?
00:19Well, you got to love it, right?
00:20I mean, Denver last night held serve against the Lakers there, 120-113.
00:25Now they welcome in the New York Knicks, who had a rough go of it there at home
00:31against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
00:33Yeah, you know, Denver is supposed to have Aaron Gordon back tonight, apparently.
00:39So that was what they were on track for.
00:42So getting him back is huge, especially on the second of a back-to-back here.
00:46It's a tough spot for the Knicks.
00:49But something tells me, maybe with Aaron Gordon back,
00:52maybe a little more defense here tonight, Donnie.
00:54I might be looking towards an under here.
00:57A little late-night action in the NBA, 9.30 start Eastern.
01:01The Los Angeles Clippers in town to take on the San Antonio Spurs.
01:04Just dusted off the Detroit Pistons, and that didn't help my wallet from last night.
01:08But tonight, the favorites are the Spurs.
01:10Minus eight overnight, now still sitting at minus eight.
01:13As you see that graphic, 224-and-a-half.
01:15Spurs, one of the best teams in the NBA.
01:16The Clippers come to town.
01:18Can they cover, Joe?
01:19What's your spread line here?
01:21Well, I mean, Donnie, that was over before it started last night.
01:24Against Detroit, because literally San Antonio could not miss a three.
01:29They shot club, what, over 50% in the first half alone from three.
01:33So I do think that regresses a little bit here tonight.
01:37The Clippers are a new team, man.
01:38And anytime I can get Kawhi Leonard, all right, and this new cast of characters
01:43that are really starting to come together for the Clippers,
01:46I'll take the points here, Donnie.
01:48Spurs second of a back-to-back.
01:49They are good, but it wouldn't shock me if maybe a little rest happening here
01:54tonight with the Spurs.
01:56Seven games in the Association tonight.
01:58Some really good ones here.
01:59And also, as we point out, to start the show, Dallas from Avericks, Boston.
02:02Celtics, Boston favored by 15.
02:04Tatum returns to the court tonight in Boston.
02:07Let's watch TV, just like us on the Sports Grid Network.
02:10Let's flip it over to the Association tonight.
02:12And welcome back.
02:13Jason Tatum expected to probably be back in the starting lineup here for the Celtics night.
02:17At least we know he's going to play and a two-touchdown favorite.
02:20But Joe Mazzulla is always one for quotes.
02:22And they asked him, saying, you know what, what do you think about Tatum's comeback?
02:26Quote, I might not be alive.
02:27I go to bed questionable and wake up probable.
02:30Leave that riddle there, Joe.
02:31How about that?
02:32Can you decipher what he's talking about?
02:34Well, listen, whether he actually plays tonight or not, Donnie,
02:37the fact that we're even having this discussion after,
02:40I can remember that game against the Knicks,
02:44watching him blow his Achilles out, right?
02:46And going, oh boy, that's all right.
02:48We're not going to see him for now.
02:49The fact that he is even healthy enough, not on the intro,
02:53and has an opportunity to play, and here we are the first week of March,
02:57I don't know if it's stupidity.
02:59I don't know if it's just unbelievable medical science.
03:03But I think either way, Donnie, we're going to find out.
03:06Part of me just wishes the Celtics were 20 games out of a playoff spot
03:09and there would be no reason to bring him back.
03:12But I certainly hope they're not pushing this envelope because, you know,
03:16they're second in the Eastern Conference right now.
03:19And maybe, you know, take a look at Jalen Brown after the first quarter.
03:22Going to have to go back in the locker room and smoke a pack of cigarettes
03:25because how frustrated it is.
03:26Like, man, stop shooting the basketball.
03:28Tatum at this point.
03:29But here's Derek White talking about the return of Tatum here.
03:33Derek, what's the balance of making sure Jason feels comfortable
03:36and at the same time him being able to acclimate to how this team has changed,
03:41especially from individual development standpoints since last season?
03:45Yeah.
03:46I mean, obviously we play a little bit differently,
03:48but, like, JT's been around all year.
03:51So he's been in those film sessions and, like, in the locker room with us.
03:55I mean, obviously he's been away from basketball for a while,
03:58so it's going to be kind of like a little grace period for him.
04:02But at the end of the day, we all just want to win.
04:05And so that's really what we're focusing on,
04:08and we're all going to do whatever it takes to win games.
04:12Uh-oh, uh-oh.
04:14Joe, is he wanted back in the locker room?
04:16Is that what I'm hearing out of that?
04:17Didn't seem too exciting.
04:18Like, hell yeah, team leader's back.
04:20MVP style should be ready to go.
04:22I'm hearing a lot of, yeah, he's going to be rusty,
04:24and we'll just see if we can go win.
04:26Uh-oh.
04:27Of course he's going to be rusty.
04:29I mean, they say, Donnie, the average time to return is about 10 months.
04:34But let's not forget, Durant didn't play for 18 months
04:38after tearing his Achilles, right?
04:40So, and they kind of right around the same age when that happened.
04:44So, you know, this is, I wish him nothing but the best luck.
04:48And he is one of the best players in the NBA.
04:51You need him back out there.
04:52I would want him back out there, but I only want him back out there, Donnie.
04:57You know, we don't have 30 games to get the rust off for him.
05:00Yeah, he's, they're going to have to use him correctly.
05:03And I think Missoula and company, I think they'll handle it the right way.
05:07But knock on wood, let's make sure he doesn't have any setbacks here
05:11for playing some sort of stupid Wednesday night game, you know,
05:15with 15 games left in a regular season.
05:17That mean nothing.
05:19By the way, you saw that points prop here for him listed at 12 and a half.
05:22It's interesting, too, because maybe in a closer game,
05:25he would get a little bit more run coming back.
05:27But this line is 14 and a half to 15, depending where he's shopping at.
05:30And you see the 12 and a half.
05:31I think that's manageable, but I don't think his goal tonight
05:34is to come back and, like, score.
05:35It's almost like, let me get in the flow.
05:37Let me get some cardio.
05:38Let me get some shots up.
05:39And also for the Celtics, this isn't a do-or-die game tonight
05:42against one of the teams that you're supposed to absolutely plaster.
05:45It feels like there will be a minute's limit.
05:46And also understand this, too, Joe.
05:48It's not good for athletes to come back on the court,
05:51particularly with, let's just call it, Achilles injury,
05:53and say, you're going to go seven minutes in the first quarter,
05:55six minutes in the second quarter.
05:57Then you're going to take off halftime and play four minutes
05:59in the third quarter.
06:00This feels like he's probably only going to get a half
06:02because you want to see the exertion,
06:05and then you want to sit him out and see over the next two days
06:07how that Achilles actually handled it.
06:09I would doubt, Joe, if he plays past halftime.
06:11I really would.
06:14Listen, again, it all depends on how you use him.
06:16It'll be great emotionally for the Celtics and for the fans
06:21to get him back out on the court and see him there.
06:23But there is zero reason to push him at any point in this.
06:28And let's see what he's got.
06:29I mean, I would look to fade it, Donnie.
06:31I'm going under that total because let's see how he looks first.
06:36But, yeah, I think it's going to be more about the let's get him out
06:40on the court here with his teammates.
06:42Live in effect on a Friday, it's the Early Line Sports Grid Network.
06:45You know how we get down here.
06:46And a daily meetup here, which you love to see.
06:49DRS Joe Ranieri and Kevin Walsh.
06:51He fought for this time spot, and we're going to let him in
06:54because, wow, he's young, he's talented, and he's my protege,
06:56as some like to say here.
06:57Kevin, come on in.
06:58Have some fun with us.
06:59Some like to say that.
07:01More than zero people.
07:03I don't know if more than one, but more than zero.
07:07By the way, there is one guy out there right now
07:10that's hate-watching this show right now who does work for the network.
07:12I'll let you figure out who that is a little bit later in the show, Kevin.
07:15But we've got to get down to the business today.
07:17Hey, you're looking live for the Denver Nuggets tonight in elevation,
07:21maybe getting healthier by the moment, taking on the New York Knicks.
07:24And also, Kevin, overnight we were seeing the Denver Nuggets favored
07:27by one and a half, switching back and forth.
07:29I'm seeing right now the Knicks back to favorites at minus one and a half
07:32on the road to take on the Nuggets.
07:34Give us a spotlight of this game.
07:36So I think this is one of the classic NBA spots in the regular season
07:42where you have to just say, oh, all right, it's a back-to-back,
07:45so who's playing?
07:48The spot where all of a sudden the NBA's 65-game rule,
07:52which was a bad idea the second they implement it,
07:55and they've been finding that out slowly but surely,
07:58is I actually think Jokic will play, and I would be stunned if he didn't.
08:03Because despite what everybody wants you to believe about Nicola Jokic,
08:06she actually does care about making all NBA and being the MVP,
08:12it just, oh, it's a coincidence that he's right now on pace to play 66 games.
08:17Right, right, right.
08:19Now, I don't know about his counterparts.
08:21In a weird way, though, Denver might be healthier in this game
08:25than they were last night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
08:28There's a lot of talk that Aaron Gordon could be back here.
08:31So this number shooting back towards the Knicks is a bit of a surprise to me.
08:37Jamal Murray sometimes is touch-and-go when it comes to the second leg
08:40of these back-to-back, so perhaps that's the indication.
08:43Aaron Gordon on a minutes restriction.
08:45But when I eye this up, I'm not seeing a spot where Denver
08:51should really be booked as a home underdog,
08:54even if it's a slight home underdog.
08:57Yeah, and it feels like if Aaron Gordon is back,
09:02as crazy as it is, it feels like maybe less points.
09:06I mean, the Knicks, we talked about it yesterday here,
09:09certainly have ratcheted up the defensive end.
09:12They did again against Oklahoma City.
09:14That's their M.O. now.
09:16So it feels like, I don't know, getting over mid-230s
09:19seems like a stretch to me here.
09:21Yeah, I don't think you're wrong.
09:23And I know the number isn't as high from a Denver team total perspective,
09:28but last night they scored 120 and went under their team total.
09:34It's, when you get Jokic back,
09:37who is the most impactful offensive player in the league right now,
09:41these numbers get very high.
09:42Just using last night's 122.5,
09:45and again, I know that's not where this total is booked right here for this game,
09:48but just to use that number, we are now in a 15-game sample size since Jokic is back.
09:54Under that, in 11 of 15 games, and two of the overs came in overtime.
10:00It's just a lot.
10:02And I, for the Knicks, we even talked about that game earlier this week, right, guys,
10:07where I spoke to some Knicks fans.
10:10You would have thought they won that game because they didn't get embarrassed, right?
10:13The defense actually played well.
10:15That feels like the M.O.
10:17I think you're spot on, Joe.
10:19I'd be very cautious of this total here.
10:22We're going to get to a little college basketball in a moment, Kevin,
10:24but some of the big news tonight is the Boston Celtics getting Jason Tatum back
10:28and what it means for that locker room.
10:29We didn't know coming into the season what we would get out of Boston.
10:32Ah, middling team, maybe looking to restructure a couple big names out of town,
10:35and we'll see what we have because those contracts are starting to get a little bit expensive.
10:38Tatum comes back.
10:39They're one of the best teams in the NBA.
10:40Does this upset the apple cart?
10:42And also, expectations for Jason Tatum tonight.
10:45Listen to 12-and-a-half, Kevin, as his points prop.
10:48It's very difficult to tell, like, what is the minutes restriction here?
10:53Like, to some degree, you should argue there should be no minutes restriction.
10:56He should not be back on the floor until he's completely 100% fine,
11:02but that is impossible because he wants to be out there,
11:05and Boston seems to be – it's not as bad as when Durant was in Golden State.
11:10Where they were pushing him to come back.
11:12But Boston seems to be playing the dummy here.
11:15A very proud and smart organization is like, whatever you want, Jason.
11:19Hey, if you're going to play Friday, we'd love to have you.
11:22We see nothing wrong with you playing in March,
11:26and Damian Lillard, who tore his ACL before you,
11:30has never once considered playing a game this season.
11:33Or Halliburton, who has been ruled out for the year the entire time
11:36just because he was injured a little bit after you.
11:39The whole thing is very uncomfortable to me, and I will add on top of that,
11:46I've heard some people suggest that this is just going to be
11:49some simple, smooth transition.
11:52Tatum won't step on Jalen Brown's toes.
11:54No, no.
11:54He's just going to replace Shireman's minutes.
11:57And Hugo Gonzalez – right.
12:00Hey, Tatum, go guard and stand in the corner.
12:03In what world?
12:04He's been the best player on this team since he pretty much entered the league.
12:09Maybe one Isaiah Thomas season.
12:13This is not something where if Tatum is out there,
12:18I expect him to just stand in the corner like P.J. Tucker.
12:22This is going to take time.
12:23I think in Boston, and I don't think the amount of time necessary
12:28is going to just be this season.
12:31I'm not saying Tatum makes them worse.
12:33I didn't think they were going to win a championship without Tatum,
12:36but just because he's coming back now and playing 18 minutes,
12:39maybe off the bench, I don't –
12:40I'm not running to bet Boston futures like some others might be.
12:46I'm with you.
12:47I don't understand.
12:48I mean, I –
12:49what's the over-under minutes he plays here tonight?
12:51Because I'm looking to fade his, you know, his points prop all day long here.
12:56Because who knows if he steps on the court, he gets six minutes,
12:59and he's like, ah, it's a little tight.
13:00They're not going to push him at this point, right?
13:03Well, you know what, though, Joe?
13:04They might not check on him.
13:06Based on what we're seeing here,
13:08he's just going to go out there and do whatever he wants.
13:10Joe Mazula's not even going to ask him how he's feeling.
13:12Mazula's going to burn through the minutes restriction at this point.
13:15That's my read on the situation.
13:18Yep.
13:19By the way, here's my read on the situation.
13:20Studio looks absolutely fantastic.
13:23Crystal clear microphone.
13:24You got glasses on.
13:26You don't have a headset on.
13:27Really accentuates the positive.
13:28Makes you look professional.
13:30And I'm going to get that in and also talk about Miami, Ohio.
13:32Undefeated tonight.
13:33Do they do it, Kevin?
13:35Miami, Ohio.
13:35Do they do it against Ohio tonight?
13:37Unbeaten regular season.
13:39They do.
13:40They do.
13:40And if they do, we assume that will secure their position in the tournament,
13:48which makes the Pearl family very, very upset.
13:54You see it.
13:55It's Game Time Decisions live tonight, 6 p.m.
13:57Eastern with Kevin Walsh and Gabriel Morenci.
14:00What a weekend ahead.
14:01Kevin's going to help you pull through and the rest of the crew.
14:04We'll be right back after the short break.
14:05Kevin, thanks for rising and grinding with us.
14:07I'm going to go over to the association tonight.
14:09I was taking decent basketball teams the past couple nights here.
14:12And that doesn't work out, even though the numbers aren't really what you want to see.
14:15I'm going to go tonight.
14:16Troy Trailblazers taking on the Rockets.
14:18This game is in Houston.
14:19And the line overnight opened up at 7 1⁄2.
14:21It's down to 6 1⁄2 at most outlets.
14:23Only 35% of the tickets here coming in on the Portland Trailblazers.
14:27Back to the basics on a Friday, Joe.
14:29Taking the Trailblazers with the points, even though the public is loving the Houston Rockets.
14:34You know what's going to be in the 9 o'clock hour?
14:36The New York Knicks traveling to take on the Denver Nuggets tonight.
14:40Sensational game anticipated.
14:41The New York Knicks currently in the Kelsey Marketplace trading at a 52% chance to win this game outright.
14:46Of course, Denver trading at 48%.
14:49If you want the spread here, New York to win this game by 1 1⁄2 points.
14:53Trading currently at 50% and over 229, trading at 51%.
14:57Good night tonight, Nick Game.
14:59Do you feel your Joe for the Rocky Mountain area?
15:02Yeah, and listen, it's going to be a very good game here.
15:05The Nuggets, though, on the second of a back-to-back last night.
15:09They handled business.
15:10Another triple-double for the Joker, but he had to play 38 minutes in doing so.
15:16Aaron Gordon back for the Nuggets here tonight.
15:19They're saying it just feels like fewer points than what you might expect here, certainly for a Nuggets game.
15:27It's listed at, what, 2.30 and a half.
15:30I don't know.
15:31Nuggets team total under, full game under might be a pretty good market to look at for this one.
15:38By the way, you can bet props on this marketplace as well.
15:42Joe, if you think that Colin Jokic has a monster game tonight, which includes 30-plus points.
15:46That's currently trading at 42%.
15:48A $100 investment there pays back $257.
15:53You want some late-night action tonight?
15:54How about 9.30?
15:56That's the Clippers taking on the San Antonio Spurs.
15:58Spurs had a monster game, showcase game yesterday.
16:01Handled their business, at least from the three-point line and in the victory column against the Detroit Pistons.
16:06Tonight, they're going to be at home on a back-to-back taking on the Clippers.
16:09If we look at San Antonio to win this basketball game, currently trading at 72%.
16:13The Clippers here, I feel like I can put off the upset, Joe.
16:16That's a nice price of 28%, and a $100 investment there plays back $358.
16:21Clippers, San Antonio Spurs tonight from San Antonio.
16:25This is a different Clippers team.
16:28They're coming in.
16:29They are the more rested side with San Antonio playing a pretty, you know, physical game last night against Detroit.
16:36Blew them out, but still, they are on the second of a back-to-back.
16:40And don't forget, you know, we just saw Darius Garland make his appearance for the Clippers last game there.
16:46Looked pretty good, didn't he?
16:48This is a very interesting and, I think, a very dangerous Clippers team who has their sights set on the
16:54postseason.
16:55Tough spot here, I think, for San Antonio.
16:58I would look to grab as many points as you can now with the Clippers.
17:02And by the way, you can also use those little sliding scales here.
17:05Take a look at the spread and the total here.
17:07If San Antonio wins by 9.5 points, which is effectively at double digits, you can invest $100.
17:11That pays back at $228.
17:13That's plus money.
17:14Or on the flip side here, say, you know what?
17:16I want to buy it up a little bit here, and I'm going to take the Detroit Piston, or excuse
17:19me, the Clippers to get the 9.5, Joe.
17:22$100 investment pays $176 back, and that's them getting 9.5 points, not around that 6.5-point range, as
17:28we pointed out.
17:28But also, Joe, the prop market always going to be hot.
17:31Kawhi Leonard, if he feels he's ready to go tonight, $100 investment on him, Joe, to get 30-plus points,
17:37that pays back $239.
17:40A couple big names in this marketplace that we want to get after.
17:44You listen, big names in this game here who are going to bring it, and betting against Kawhi, never a
17:53good situation here.
17:55I like his chances here, having a big game.
17:59How about this one?
18:00Victor Webb and Yama, Joe, 25-plus points tonight, currently trading at 49%, so a $100 investment there would pay
18:06you back $205.
18:08Plus money, people.
18:09Those are the prediction markets that we're trying to get to the edge on.
18:12Sounds like a great name for his show, right here on The Early Line.
18:15We'll be back after this short break.
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