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00:00Your Monday spread lines, including a look into the future in the association because why the playoffs are now they're
00:06going to start up tomorrow night and Wednesday at the play-ins before we get to the, I guess you
00:11call it real play-in with the top six seeds that are already minted into the playoffs.
00:14They rejoin the field and away we go and starts with the Philadelphia 76ers. Let's take a look at Wednesday
00:19night's game here, Joe. The Orlando Magic in town to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Are the Sixers healthy? Somewhat.
00:26Is Joel Embiid going to be there? No, he's not.
00:28Will he be back for a playoff run if they keep winning? We don't know that either. But the one
00:32thing we do know, Joe, the Philadelphia 76ers popping up as a one-point favorite for this game on Wednesday
00:37night's play-in.
00:38And also remind them, Joe, how the actual playoff structure goes, who needs to win, and also if you lose,
00:44can you still survive?
00:45Yeah, well, that's the big question, right? And if this was under normal circumstances where we knew we were getting
00:54a fully healthy Philadelphia team, meaning Joel Embiid, you know, in his recent appendectomy, we didn't have something like that
01:02to worry about.
01:03I don't see how they don't open a four, four-and-a-half, maybe even five-point favorite at home
01:09in this spot against Orlando. But that's not what we've got here.
01:13We're going to have to depend an awful lot on Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to carry the offensive load
01:20here.
01:21And listen, they have been pretty good without Embiid. If anything, this year, they've shown us the opportunity. Hey, they
01:28can play. The Orlando Magic, you know, they are very physical.
01:34And Franz Wagner back here with Boncaro now, they could do some damage here. Styles make fights, right? This is
01:42one of those games where the styles are going to be real interesting.
01:45Can the Magic bully their way on the road to a home? I think the spread tells you everything, Donnie.
01:52Wouldn't shock me if Orlando goes off the favorite, but I'm not expecting some sort of high-scoring, high-flying
01:58game either.
01:59I think this game lands under the total. I think it's a rock fight, and I think that will benefit
02:05the Sixers as opposed to trying to get into some shootout here because Orlando has been playing in some shootouts,
02:11and they have shown less defense and more offense this year.
02:15Different game once you get to these playoff structures. You see that total there listed around 222-19.5. Let's
02:21get to the next game we'll talk about in the play-in rounds, which starts tomorrow.
02:24That's the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets. The Heat of the Road team, the Hornets are the home team,
02:29and they're favored by 5.5 points.
02:31Now, typically, Joe, when we see a Heat game, we're talking mid-230s, high-230s, even into the 240s as
02:36a total. Look at that, sitting at 226.5. The favorite, Charlotte Hornets at home here in the play-in
02:43round. What's your spread line for this game?
02:44Well, what it was is I watched this game open. It was, what, 5, 5.5, Donnie, and then all
02:51of a sudden, I watched it jump to 7, 7.5, only to get steamed right back down to the
02:59Miami Heat.
02:59And listen, Eric Spolstra and the Miami Heat, forget about what you saw in the regular season. They were just
03:06here a year ago, Donnie, as a 10 seed, right?
03:09Having to win two games to get into the postseason. And, well, hello, that's what they do. Not a lot
03:15of experience here on this Charlotte team, but they are home.
03:19And, listen, the Miami Heat have been, they scored more points as a franchise this season than any other season
03:25in its existence.
03:27They're playing a different brand of basketball. But, boy, oh, boy, it is hard to look at this team. They'll
03:33be ready for it.
03:34They've been awful down the stretch. But, my goodness, giving them 5.5 or 6 points feels like an awful
03:40lot.
03:41I think the market realized that once this thing got bet up to 7, 7.5, because here we are,
03:46Donnie, this morning at 5.5, even 5's now starting to pop up.
03:50The association getting it rolling this week in the playoffs. It just means more, as the SEC would like to
03:56say here.
03:57Teams winning, teams going home, teams trying their best. And also, the first round of the NBA playoffs typically takes
04:024.5 months to play,
04:03because, like, one game every four days to make sure you hit every television window so we can all watch.
04:09But, the one thing we had an issue with this season in the NBA, which was just about as bad
04:13as it gets, is teams actively not trying to win.
04:17Here's a tweet from ESPN Insights, Joe. It is also the first season in NBA, it's possible to be the
04:23WNBA, in NBA history,
04:25in which eight teams had a win percentage of 333 or worse. Look at that, Joe.
04:31A horrible league with eight teams here basically punting every single night.
04:38Ty, we've been doing this a long time. I do not remember ever in NBA history in a season where,
04:47for the final month,
04:48I'm looking at 19s, I'm looking at 20s, 22-point spreads.
04:54What a month left to go, Donnie, and we're looking at going, yeah, it's ridiculous.
05:00We had teams battling each other, both teams actively trying to lose.
05:05I mean, that's what the NBA gave us for the back half of the year.
05:10Congratulations, Adam Silva. I'm so glad it is over here, Donnie. You have no idea it's regular season.
05:16You know what I'm interested to see, too, because we understand that the way you're supposed to get better is
05:22if you tank, you get the draft picks.
05:23The draft picks can't say no to you, essentially, like free agents can.
05:26But the one thing, like the Wizards, with 17 wins here, they traded for a couple superstar players
05:31and actively tanked and shut them down when they were eligible to play to make sure it's worse.
05:36So do we just get that catapult from Washington next year if they win the lottery, get the number one
05:40overall pick,
05:40and then just show up with a couple all-NBA-type players?
05:43That'll be interesting to watch because you know what happens if that works, Joe?
05:47Even though there's, oh, you can't tank at this point,
05:49which you're still going to be able to tank no matter what the NBA does,
05:51which every organization goes, let's just do what the Wizards did.
05:53Midway through the season, we'll break up our team, we'll tank the rest of the way,
05:56we'll make up fake injuries and end or pay fines for our superstar players,
06:01get the best overall draft pick, and then reload the following year.
06:04That'll be something to watch, but it's just a bad premise in the NBA
06:07where we're not asking for you to be the best team on a year-to-year basis,
06:10but just play the players that you have so you can watch a decent basketball game.
06:14We didn't get a lot of that, but to tell you what we did get,
06:16a lot of Jokic statistics this year, Joe.
06:18How about this?
06:19Nikoli Jokic is now the first player to ever lead the NBA in rebounds per game
06:24and assists per game in a single season here.
06:27Yet he sits 50-1 to win the MVP.
06:30Yeah, well, triple-double machine here, right?
06:33Has enough games.
06:34I don't...
06:36It's going to be very interesting, Donnie.
06:38So much has been made about this award,
06:40and it cracks me up given the fact that most of these guys,
06:44I don't know how much they care about it.
06:46I really don't.
06:47I mean, whether they played 65 games or not, I don't think it matters to them.
06:51And so, I mean, I think what matters is what happens from this point on for the rest of the
06:56season here
06:57and whether they make it to a championship and win one, but I could be wrong,
07:01but I don't think he's losing sleep over it one way or the other.
07:04The tournament bracket has been set, Joe,
07:06and if we take a look at the play-in tournament in the Western Conference,
07:09it's the Clippers going to take on the Golden State Warriors
07:11and then also the Phoenix Suns taking on the Portland Trailblazers in the East.
07:15It's going to be the Hornets taking on the Heat and also the Philadelphia 76ers
07:18and the Orlando Magic.
07:20And away we go, Joe.
07:22Yeah, off and running, Donnie, is what they say here now, finally.
07:26But, again, bad, bad, inconsistent.
07:31How Orlando doesn't beat the second and third stringers off the bench of the Celtics yesterday
07:38is beyond me.
07:39But, okay, now you've got to go and take on Philadelphia.
07:42This is just bad basketball across the board with these play-in teams.
07:48By the way, I do like this, Joe.
07:49Look, for round number one, like we get fired up on a Saturday and a Sunday here,
07:53and I love the way the NBA actually does this because you tell me, look,
07:56I yell at the NBA for six months out of the year.
07:59The league stinks.
07:59I want nothing to do with it.
08:01All I'm going to do is handicap by fading the public and picking up some dollars here.
08:04But once we get to Saturday, Joe, 1 o'clock game, 3 o'clock, 3.30 game,
08:086 o'clock game at 8.30.
08:10Now, hold on.
08:11You know what?
08:11Let me get into this right now for you as well, Joe,
08:13because we'll get to Sunday in just a second.
08:15But we're always led to believe that you just got to put games at 10 o'clock on Saturday.
08:19So why in your biggest games, Joe, where you want the most people watching,
08:24that all of a sudden we get something that makes sense here?
08:26A 1, a 3.30, a 6, and an 8.30 start on a Saturday.
08:30That sounds like just about every single person can watch this basketball game.
08:34Why don't we have these structures more throughout the season?
08:37Yeah, I agree, Donnie.
08:39It made a lot of sense there yesterday, even as bad as some of those games were.
08:43It made a lot of sense, though, right?
08:46And get them all to start right around the same time.
08:48Everyone go to bed by 9 o'clock.
08:50All the games are done, and everyone's good to go, Donnie.
08:52Everybody wins.
08:53So I do like the simple fact that maybe you showcase some of the better games earlier
08:59and one primetime game by 8 o'clock.
09:02I think we can all agree on that, no?
09:05Yeah.
09:05So then let's go ahead and look at Sunday's slate.
09:08Fantastic, Joe.
09:091 o'clock start there.
09:10Fantastic, Joe.
09:113.30 start.
09:12Fantastic, Joe.
09:146.30 start.
09:15Then you bury the Spurs, which everybody wants to watch Wendy at 9 o'clock.
09:19So half the country won't watch that game.
09:22But we put a game on 8.30 on Saturday night where people can watch,
09:26and then we go 9 o'clock on Sunday.
09:29Stupidity reigns sometimes, Joe.
09:31It just does.
09:32Yeah.
09:32And almighty dollars, right?
09:34Because that's what it's all about with them is let's figure out how we can maximize across
09:38the board.
09:39And kudos.
09:40You're not going to have as many eyeballs on that late game as you would have if it was
09:44the, oh, I don't know, 6.30 game, Donnie.
09:47You know how excited Spoh is, Joe?
09:49Talking about this game going up against the Hornets.
09:51Let's hear from him.
09:52Yeah, I don't know.
09:53Like, it is like the NCAA tournament.
09:56It's like FIBA.
09:57You know, it's harrowing.
09:59It's nuts.
10:00You just got, you have to absolutely embrace it.
10:02It makes you feel alive, that's for sure.
10:04If you're a competitor, you don't want to have to go.
10:07Like, you don't want the season to go the way, you know, it can to put you in the play
10:14end.
10:14But once you're in it, it's exhilarating.
10:16And you have to embrace the competition, embrace how every single possession really does
10:23matter.
10:23It's a game seven.
10:26You know, and so I just want our guys to take on that challenge, you know, and do whatever
10:35is necessary, you know, to get that one.
10:38You can't think ahead of it.
10:39You can't think of, you know, two up, two down.
10:42You have to stay in the absolute present moment of every single possession.
10:50What important it is to win these games in the play and other playing games, we have
10:53the Trailblazers and the Suns and the Magic and the 76ers, Warriors and the Clippers, Joe.
10:58Give me your excitement level as we line this up.
11:01And by the way, if we take a look at the Sixers game, right?
11:02I'm a Sixers fan.
11:04All the airs out of the balloon with Joel Embiid probably not going to play where the intriguing
11:08part was, oh, if the Philadelphia 76ers, Joe, could be healthy with their starting five
11:13for the playoffs, they might be a dark horse.
11:15Now that is like beating a dead horse, not the dark horse now with the Sixers.
11:20All right.
11:21Listen, it's again, bad basketball, Donnie, with some of these playing teams.
11:25The only team, the only game I'm actually interested in seeing is going to be that Portland
11:30and Phoenix game.
11:31I think that's going to be very interesting here because Portland, hey, you show me a little
11:37something, you know, I don't think either of those teams are going to go very far once
11:41they get out of the play in there.
11:42But the reality is nobody expected either of those two teams to be in a spot to make
11:48the playoffs, much less, you know, be as competitive as they were.
11:53And Portland has shown me a little something here down the stretch of the regular season
11:57and considering the way their season started, this is impressive work here by what the Portland
12:03Trailblazers have done.
12:05Let's squeeze in a little Jamal Mosley, head coach of the Orlando Magic right here.
12:09Eight players available tonight, how do you explain what happened?
12:13You got to give them a ton of credit.
12:15Those eight players played hard, they played their hearts out, they played together, they
12:19moved it, they shared it, and they made a ton of shots.
12:21You know, some of that was given to them by us.
12:23He turned that ball over 19 times for 23 points as part of it.
12:28Again, they had a ton of shot making going on and then us turning it over was a part of
12:32that big cause.
12:33I know you're still digesting this game, but what could you say about Philadelphia having
12:37to go there in the 7-8 playing game?
12:38Yeah, I mean, this is the opportunity right now, and that's all we can do.
12:41You can't control what happened in this game tonight, this one is done, and so you got
12:45to make sure you focus your time and attention and energy all on the Philadelphia 76ers right
12:50now.
12:50You gave a lot of credit to Joe before the game.
12:52To be able to pull off a win with guys deep off your bench, eight players like that, like
12:56what stood out about it?
12:57Orlando Magic coming to town to take on the Philadelphia 76ers, we'll see how that plays out.
13:01But understand this, too, owners love to play, and because, like the Philadelphia 76ers,
13:05at least you get one more home game that you can try to sell that building out.
13:08Let's get after it, people.
13:10Fun on a Monday, absolutely.
13:12Postmasters tournament here.
13:13We're waiting on the NHL to solidify their bracket, but in the NBA, we got those brackets
13:18finalized.
13:18Now, let's get after it here.
13:19It's Donnie Wrightside.
13:20It's Joe Ranieri as we welcome in Kevin Walsh on this Monday.
13:24Heating up on the East Coast in more ways than one this week, Kevin.
13:28Yeah, we got a lot happening here.
13:30We certainly do.
13:31Playoff set.
13:32Tonight's the WNBA draft as well.
13:36Major League Baseball, a couple of good series, so we got some good items here.
13:39Good items, nonetheless, and also some players getting paid in the WNBA, some players taking
13:44less than the WNBA.
13:45That's not what we're talking about right now.
13:47We're talking about the NBA finalized, Kevin.
13:50Play-ins are here into the first round, and I got to tell you this.
13:54I said, you know what?
13:55I get angry at start time so many times, Kevin.
13:58Now, we're going to enjoy these playing games because it's playoff.
14:01Some of these are win and lose, go home.
14:02Some of these, okay, we lost.
14:03We get a second chance.
14:04We get that.
14:05But once we get to Saturday, Kevin, we got a beautiful slate spread out perfectly.
14:10Final game of the day at 830.
14:11Everybody can watch him play, and I get excited, but Kevin, what excites you the most about
14:16this playing round?
14:18Man, oh man.
14:19I don't know if it excites me, but I am blown away at the, and I mean, Donnie, obviously,
14:28you know, close to you.
14:29The scheduling conflict that has Sixers Magic moved to Wednesday, canceling out the rest
14:38advantage you are supposed to get for playing in the 7-8 game.
14:43I'm not entirely sure, considering it is if the favorites hold actually supposed to hurt
14:50Orlando instead of Philly.
14:52The Magic should have said, well, we can host the game Tuesday, so we now host the game.
14:56This is nonsense that we have to play later and are the road team here.
15:03That, I know you were getting into it earlier a little bit too, right, Joe?
15:07Just that loss from the Magic.
15:09Like, there's a couple of teams where, like, a loss would have been embarrassing, but there's
15:13not many where it would have mattered.
15:14Orlando was one of the few that mattered and was embarrassing.
15:20Very embarrassing here, but the reality is one of those teams has to advance here from
15:26these play-in games here, and I don't know, of all of these teams, I thought Phoenix and
15:32Portland is the most fascinating here with two teams that I think might actually be able
15:36to punch above their weight.
15:38I don't trust any of the others.
15:40I don't care who comes out.
15:41I don't try.
15:41They're all one and dones as far as I'm concerned.
15:44No?
15:44Well, I think Charlotte is the most interesting because we have enough evidence.
15:50You guys go through the numbers every day, right?
15:53Yeah.
15:53I think Charlotte is booked like one of the five best teams in the East, I would argue.
16:00They are at best in eight seed.
16:02With the way the play-in broke, Detroit will be favored, but it is incredibly rare.
16:10You could get a one-versus-eight where you go, these are both good basketball teams and
16:17they hate each other.
16:18We are, again, people have talked about the grind the regular season has been, and you
16:23need multiple rewards.
16:25Like, to be honest, Denver beating San Antonio in the regular season finale is really a reward
16:30because if chalk holds, we get Jokic-Wemby in round two, right?
16:33Okay, that's a reward.
16:35Pistons Hornets for the fans, that's a reward.
16:39I don't...
16:40Does anybody really want to watch Pistons Magic?
16:42That's NBA TV the whole way through.
16:46Prediction Markets Edge right here on the early line, a half hour of fun on a Monday.
16:49No better way to start your week.
16:51It's on the right side, and it's Joe Ranieri.
16:53Hot topics here, and we give you that look of where you can invest your money.
16:56Yes, buying those contracts or no contracts with a fade here, Joe.
17:00The NBA playoffs are starting this weekend as well, and also take a look at the NHL playoffs,
17:05which we'll get into a little bit later.
17:06The Masters just ended.
17:08More fun to be had in these predictive markets, and we're ready to go.
17:12Donnie, I can't wait.
17:14Definitely now that the playoffs are coming, not only for the NBA, but for the NHL will
17:19be here.
17:20These predictive markets are great markets to invest in here, series by series.
17:27So, love it.
17:28Can't wait to dive in.
17:29Take a look at some fun here, and also, when we understand the predictive markets trying
17:33to build on the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic, that game's going to take place
17:37Wednesday on the Kelsey Marketplace.
17:39We don't have a market just yet, Joe, but we saw the favorite here, the Philadelphia 76ers
17:43at a minus one.
17:44It'll be interesting to see where that changes if it does up to Wednesday with the Sixers
17:48being the home team.
17:50Supposed to have this game on Tuesday because the Flyers are home in their own building.
17:53They had to push that game back one day here.
17:55So, building into that, Joe, if you did take a contract out, do you think the Philadelphia
18:0076ers will hold home court advantage in that game or the possibility of the Orlando Magic
18:05coming on the road and stealing that game and moving on into the playoffs here where the
18:10Sixers would have to fight their way through a second chance game?
18:14I don't, there is no way I can trust the Orlando Magic to do anything.
18:19I mean, they had a chance, Donnie, coming into yesterday, you know, to guarantee them not
18:25having to play in the play-in, right?
18:27All they had to do was beat the scrubs of the Celtics, and they couldn't even do that.
18:31So, I definitely think that Philadelphia at home is an advantage here.
18:38Orlando has been much better at home than they've been on the road.
18:42I think even without Embiid, all signs point to Philadelphia having a legit shot at winning
18:49this game, and likely it's going to be a little bit lower scoring, but I absolutely think Philadelphia
18:55is live here.
18:57How about Miami at Charlotte?
18:58This game's going to take place Tuesday night, 7.30 p.m.
19:01The favorite in this game is the Charlotte Hornets, but Miami's the road team.
19:05If you look at just winning the game outright, Joe, Charlotte is favored at a 66% chance to
19:10do that.
19:11So, if you just take them essentially here with a $100 investment, that pays back $150, but
19:16if we include the spread in this, Joe, currently trading at 48 cents for Charlotte to win by
19:21six and a half points or more, which basically means a seven-point victory, a $100 investment
19:26pays back $209.
19:27That's plus money.
19:28Miami at Charlotte for all the marbles.
19:32Well, so here's the deal.
19:33You have youth versus experience here, right?
19:36You got a very young and inexperienced Hornets team taking on a very experienced Miami Heat
19:42team that did it a little different this year, way more about pace, right?
19:47So, all right, my question is, are the Hornets going to want to get into a up-and-down battle
19:52with the Heat?
19:53Does that make any sense?
19:55Somebody has got to play defense.
19:57This is where experience matters, Donnie.
19:59In moments like this, Charlotte, great run.
20:02They're an inexperienced team that has never been in a spot like this.
20:06I think getting those points with the Heat might be the safest bet on the board here in
20:11the play-in.
20:12Going to need guard play to show up here.
20:14And Tyler Hero from three-point range, absolutely.
20:16But if you think that he can score, Joe, 20 or more points in this elimination game, $100
20:20investment pays back $154.
20:24Right back out of Prediction Markets Edge, on the early line, Joe, the focus is on the
20:29association.
20:29I'm telling you, I get angry at the regular season.
20:32I love the postseason, and it gets started now.
20:34We just talked about that fade, the public poll.
20:36Who's going to actually win the East?
20:37But the focus before we get there, Joe, who could be in the Eastern Conference Finals
20:42matchup?
20:43Do you know who leads on the Calci marketplace?
20:44It's Boston versus Cleveland at 37%.
20:47Do you know who's close involved there?
20:50Detroit versus Boston at 35%.
20:53So Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston here.
20:56The commonality is people think Boston's going to be in that Eastern Conference Final, Joe.
21:01Well, again, and this goes back to what happened yesterday, crazy enough, right?
21:06So you got the Knicks now, because they lost, have to face the Hawks in the first round.
21:11And now the Cavs are going to get Toronto.
21:14And listen, no disrespect to the Raptors, but that's the weakest team coming in out of
21:20the East in the playoffs here.
21:21And yeah, that's an easy one, I think, there for the Cavs.
21:26And now they're on the opposite side of the bracket from the Celtics.
21:30So it all lines up to me.
21:32I mean, Cleveland is looking at, you know, Toronto and then likely Detroit in the first
21:37two rounds.
21:39Detroit's not going to be a cakewalk, but I do think experience matters.
21:42And that's what the Cavs have in this spot to be able to get to the Conference Finals.
21:47And that, to me, is what it's all about.
21:49You got to get there, I think, in order to be able to maximize the profits in this market,
21:54Donnie.
21:54And the Cavs will have the easier path.
21:57By the way, fading the favorites here, if we take a look at Detroit and Boston, those
22:00top two seeds, $100 investment would actually pay back $152.
22:03So yes, you can take those guys' conference, but there's just as much money as well in those
22:08no contracts if you can find the right scenarios here.
22:10Which brings us to our next equation, our fave, the public poll is, who's actually going to
22:14win the Eastern Conference here?
22:15Is it Boston?
22:16Is it Detroit?
22:17Is it Cleveland?
22:18Is it a team that we're not paying attention to?
22:20Because we said the Philadelphia 76ers with Embiid would have been fun.
22:23They're not with Embiid.
22:24They're only 2%, Joe.
22:25But Boston, the favorite here by a wide margin.
22:29Yeah, by a wide, wide margin there, Donnie.
22:33And they should be.
22:33Again, experience here is what's going to matter.
22:37As good as Detroit has been, and they have been phenomenal, they're not going to be a
22:41cakewalk.
22:42You know, nobody's just going to go in and bully Detroit.
22:45But I do think when push comes to shove, Donnie, I would much rather have teams that have been
22:50there with a Donovan Mitchell, right?
22:52Or even a James Harden, as opposed to, you know, or Boston, who is obviously has the rings
22:58and the hardware to show for it.
23:00I think likely it's going to be one of those two teams that's going to have to win it all.
23:05Let's take a look at the Western Conference champion here.
23:07It's going to be a lot of fun, a lot of superstar talent out there.
23:09They're the top two teams, which again, it's a wide margin.
23:12We saw Boston is the heavy favorite in the East.
23:14Oklahoma City currently trading at 58% as a chance to be the Western Conference champion.
23:19Behind them is the San Antonio Spurs at only 25%, Joe.
23:22And then we have Denver at 14%, everybody else, 3% and 4% there.
23:27The heavy favorite Oklahoma City team, and it looks like they're probably going to match
23:30with San Antonio.
23:31But the heavy favorite, as we said, OKC, Joe, what do we think about that?
23:36Yeah, well, what I think is the Spurs blew a huge opportunity last night to win that game
23:41against Denver, who sat everybody but Jokic, and they still couldn't get it done.
23:48So the only guy that sat out for the Spurs was Wemby, and they got embarrassed.
23:53They got boat raced in that game.
23:55So now what happens?
23:56Well, yeah, now you're going to have to go through both Denver and OKC in consecutive rounds
24:02in order to make it to the finals.
24:04And as good as they have been, you know, youth and inexperience, you're not getting past Denver
24:10in the second round.
24:11Sorry, not going to happen.
24:13I think Denver has already shown that even with their backups, they can beat you.
24:17And they have beaten them pretty convincingly now for three straight games.
24:23I think Denver is the team, Donnie, that if anybody's taking down OKC, it's got to be Denver.
24:29Hey, take a look.
24:30And if you do like Denver to win the East Western Conference, again, not even the championship
24:34here, $100 investment will pay back $715 with Jokic and the boys here.
24:39So let's take a look at the pro basketball, the NBA finals matchup here.
24:44The favorite is going to be Oklahoma City versus Boston, Joe.
24:47A 21% chance.
24:49The secondary favorite, Oklahoma City versus Detroit.
24:52The third favorite here, San Antonio versus Boston here, Denver versus Philadelphia, 11.6.
24:59I don't know where that crept up from or who's investing in that.
25:01That sounds kind of crazy.
25:02But the leader, Joe, we're looking at basic chalk here.
25:05Number one seed OKC, number two seed Boston in the East.
25:09That's the leader right now.
25:11Yeah, and again, this is one of those markets, Donnie, where you're investing into the repricing
25:17of the market as the playoffs move on.
25:20You don't necessarily have to have the exact matchup.
25:24You just got to have the teams that are going to be in their conference finals.
25:28That's what's going to matter, and that's what's going to let you buy in here.
25:31So even if you don't think Cleveland is going to win, if you think Cleveland can make it to
25:35the conference final, well, then that's going to be the east side of your bracket.
25:38Because whatever you're buying in with the Cavs being the east side champion, you're going
25:44to make money once they get to that finals, likely against Boston, and I think the winner
25:49from there is going to move on to the finals.
25:51And I think the same thing with the West, right?
25:55Tell me who you think it's going to ultimately come down to.
25:58Is it going to be Denver?
25:59Is it going to be OKC?
26:01I think either which way, I think the east side is where the value is in this market.
26:06And sometimes you take a look at fading the favorites once again.
26:09If Oklahoma City and Boston is the favorite right now, trading at 21%, you take a look
26:13at the no contract, trading at $0.78, so $100 investment pays back $129, so you get every
26:19other matchup.
26:20But Oklahoma City versus Boston, one upset there, you'd be able to cash yourself in some
26:25tickets, which then brings us up to who is going to win the NBA championship this season.
26:29And quite frankly, from the first day of the season, it was always Oklahoma City.
26:33They're still the monster favorite.
26:35Behind them is San Antonio.
26:37What's the discrepancy, Joe?
26:3944% for OKC, 17% for San Antonio.
26:43Two Western Conference teams up top of those standings.
26:47Well, I'm going to say something crazy here, but I think Houston has got some value here.
26:52I think they absolutely have some value here.
26:56Listen, a month ago, I was laughing at the Rockets and being like, yeah, they're going to
26:59be lucky if they make it out of the first round.
27:02But, I mean, they looked absolutely broken.
27:05You had the Lakers really starting to roll.
27:07But what a difference a month makes, Donnie, because finishing the season, the Rockets looked
27:12every bit as good as we thought they would with Durant, and it's all starting to come
27:16together.
27:17I think the Rockets have some value here because, Donnie, they could very well on their side
27:22of the bracket make it to a conference final here.
27:26And what would that ticket be worth then?
27:29Exactly, because you're taking a look once again at winning an NBA championship within
27:33this marketplace, Joe.
27:34You don't have to win the NBA championship to become profitable.
27:37And you take a look at the price points here.
27:38A $100 investment on Houston to win the championship pays back $5,000.
27:42What if he told you Houston would win a couple rounds and that $100 investment would then be
27:46worth $400 or $500?
27:48Boom!
27:48You cash out.
27:49Who cares if those guys actually win the championship or, heck, even make it to the championship
27:54round?
27:54It's a lot of value on the table out there, and if you think San Antonio can carry in
27:58that, you know, season success against OKC into the playoffs, we'll find out.
28:02But a lot of great hot topics here.
28:04Continue to roll along on the prediction markets right here on the early line.
28:08Showing you, and it's Donnie Wright's at NBA Hatch.
28:10It's fantastic.
28:12We'll be back after this short break.
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