00:00All right, so my sense is that the Knicks were in complete control
00:04against the Hawks from the majority of the game,
00:06and the score doesn't even really do it justice.
00:07I never felt like the Knicks were going to lose.
00:09I probably think the Knicks are going to win again tonight,
00:12but Dexter, I am not sold on the Knicks just going to Atlanta
00:15and wiping them out.
00:16Obviously, if they go up 3-0, that's it.
00:18But Knicks are just way more talented,
00:20even with guys in and out of the lineup the other night.
00:23I feel like this is the Knicks series to lose,
00:26but I can't discount the Hawks from taking a game or two in this.
00:29I do think that they're going to battle.
00:32Yeah, my prediction here was Knicks in five,
00:34but that's still with respect to the Hawks.
00:36The Hawks do a lot of things well.
00:37They're a good three-point shooting team.
00:38They've played much better defense since they traded Trey Young
00:40and have changed their roster.
00:42They were good at generating turnovers
00:43and getting out into the fast break and scoring.
00:45However, the Knicks stopped them from doing any of that.
00:48The Knicks won the fast break points 12-9 in this game.
00:52They won the rebounding battle.
00:54The Hawks didn't shoot well from three.
00:55They controlled the pace.
00:56The Hawks are fifth in pace in the NBA this year.
00:58The Knicks were 25th.
00:59Who controls the pace is going to win this game,
01:01and the Knicks did that in this one.
01:03And so I felt good about the Knicks coming out of game one.
01:06I think there's going to be some adjustments here in game two.
01:08I think they can do the same as well.
01:10I like the Knicks to win tonight,
01:11but I like the Knicks to take this series in five.
01:13Wouldn't be shocked if it's a sweep, though, as well, Craig.
01:15Wouldn't be shocked at that at all, but I'll give the Hawks again.
01:18I just wonder what the crowd will be like in Atlanta.
01:21Some of the other teams will be shook up there.
01:23All right, Dexter.
01:24Thanks again for coming on.
01:26Dexter's kind enough to stick around to discuss some of the other games in the National Basketball Association tonight,
01:31so let's take advantage of it, Dexter.
01:33I mean, I guess the big question tonight, honestly, is between these next two games that we're going to discuss,
01:38is there a chance that the road team just stays in the game?
01:41Because that was not the case in game one.
01:43We'll start off with Denver and Minnesota,
01:44a series that I think we all think has a chance to maybe even go the distance,
01:49because naturally Minnesota's a good team.
01:51But playing in Denver and playing at altitude and this quick a turnaround, it is tough.
01:55Total 231.5, and Denver's seven-point favorites tonight.
01:59Do you think that the Nuggets blow out the Timberwolves tonight,
02:03or is there a chance they could just hang around in the game?
02:07Yeah, no, I like, if you like the Timberwolves and the points in this one,
02:11I'm with you on this.
02:13I think the Timberwolves are going to bounce back well.
02:15This is a very well-coached team with Chris Finch.
02:17This is two teams that have battled the last couple of years in the playoffs.
02:20They know each other extremely well.
02:22I think this is one of the series in the first round that has a great chance to go seven
02:26games.
02:27I expect Minnesota to respond tonight.
02:29You know, I think Minnesota's going to win tonight,
02:31but if you're not feeling great about that and you want to take Minnesota and the points, that's it.
02:35Listen, Jamal Murray had himself a very interesting game in that first matchup.
02:40He did not shoot the ball well from the field.
02:42He was over eight from three, but he got to the line a ton.
02:45That's going to be the key for Minnesota.
02:46Can they stay in front of Jamal Murray?
02:48Can they not allow him to get to the line as easily?
02:51I think that was a huge difference in the game.
02:54Minnesota, they leave a lot to be desired at the point guard position,
02:57and that's an advantage that Denver has,
02:59but you cannot make the gap that wide as it was in that game.
03:02I think if Minnesota does a better job on that,
03:04able to get some buckets easily with Julius Randle,
03:07get him going to help Anthony Edwards,
03:09I think they've got a really good chance to win this game.
03:11I like them to bounce back and go back home with things tied at one.
03:15So I like Minnesota tonight, but I like that plus seven or plus seven and a half,
03:18whatever you're getting, I would rock with Minnesota on that.
03:21Okay, fair enough.
03:22That game will be tonight.
03:24And then the least exciting game of all,
03:26I poked fun of this over the weekend that the NBA is forced to show these games
03:29between the Cavs and the Raptors.
03:31I got to tell you here, no one loves either of these two teams,
03:34and I don't think Toronto has any chance, by the way, in this series.
03:37Cleveland is playing really well, Dexter.
03:39Like, that trade may keep them interesting in this playoff run for a while here.
03:45Like, if somebody told me they won the East, I would not call that crazy.
03:49Like, Cleveland is playing excellent basketball right now.
03:52Toronto is not terrible, and they made them look like the Wizards in the last game.
03:59Wizards catching strays from Craig in this one here.
04:02No, it's all good.
04:04Listen, I think this is not a good matchup for the Raptors.
04:06I just don't think they have enough offense.
04:09And, look, the best player in this series is going to be Donovan Mitchell.
04:13You know, what you get from him.
04:14And then, you know, listen, it's an interesting thing for the Cavs
04:16because they swapped their 26-year-old point guard for a 36-year-old point guard
04:20in James Harden, and the Cavs need their backcourt to be cooking.
04:23And I just think they have too much for the Raptors.
04:26I think they have too much in their frontcourt with Jared Allen and Evan Mobley.
04:29And this is a perfect-to-me series for the Cavs to go with their double-big lineup
04:35that the Raptors just can't handle.
04:37I don't think the Raptors have enough scoring.
04:40You know, you started some grumblings from Brandon Ingram after the game.
04:43He only had nine shots.
04:44He's not happy with the amount of shots he's taken.
04:47Emmanuel Quickly has been in and out the lineup with his injuries.
04:50I just don't think the Raptors have enough here.
04:53This is another series, Craig, where I would not be surprised if it's a sweep.
04:57To your point, though, Toronto's better than what we saw in Game 1.
05:01The problem with Toronto is they just don't shoot the ball well enough from the outside,
05:06and that's just the market advantage that the Cavs have over them here.
05:10So this is why the numbers are, and you see it on your screen right now,
05:14this is why the numbers are what they are in terms of the series,
05:17where the Cavs are minus 1,000 favorites here,
05:20because I just think the talent gap in terms of offense is just so huge.
05:24And so, yeah, maybe Toronto's able to scrap out a game,
05:27but it wouldn't shock me if the Cavs sweep this one.
05:29The guy on the left, Scotty Barnes, has got to come up very big, I think.
05:33Yeah.
05:34Get past this.
05:35Okay, so there's got to be a video somewhere in the world of Luka Doncic right now
05:39rehabbing as fast as he can to get back on the court
05:41because he saw his team win in Game 1.
05:44What a big surprise.
05:45The Lakers not only win, but made it look easy against Houston.
05:48Now, Kevin Durant didn't play, so naturally that was part of the story.
05:52But at this point, does it matter?
05:54Like, the Lakers are up 1-0, even if Houston ties it.
05:58You know, like, L.A. is doing their job,
06:00and if they can hang around and somehow get Luka back in a week and a half,
06:03who knows what could happen?
06:05Yeah, that's what they had to do, Craig.
06:06They had to try to extend the series.
06:08I thought it was imperative they won Game 1 without Kevin Durant.
06:11We saw that line move after Game 1 once it was announced that Kevin Durant was out.
06:15I think it was 5.5, went down to 2.5.
06:17So that shows you how impactful it is.
06:18And then this Houston offense,
06:19they don't look like they can do anything without Kevin Durant.
06:23So I don't know if the Lakers can steal another game at home.
06:26If they can, this is huge.
06:28We'll see if Kevin Durant plays.
06:29But the fact that they got one,
06:31they can just extend the series in any way and get it to 6 or 7,
06:34and you can get Luka Doncic back,
06:36you have yourselves a huge chance.
06:38So huge win for the Lakers in Game 1,
06:40and their confidence is only up and higher here.
06:43All right, thanks, sir.
06:44I'm going to let you go now, I promise.
06:45All right, thanks, sir.
06:46We'll see you next time.
Comments