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00:00Spread lines you need to know for tonight, and it always starts in the association because we are waiting to
00:07see what that finals matchup is going to be.
00:09On one side, it's already the New York Knicks waiting, getting healthier by the moment, and it's game six, San
00:14Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
00:16If the Spurs do lose tonight, they got to go play down in that dirty water in Galveston, and away
00:22their postseason hopes go.
00:24But if they win, they can force a game number seven. Look at that line. Minus three and a half
00:29is a favor towards the San Antonio Spurs, and a total listed at 219 and a half.
00:34The public loading up on those Spurs. Line not moving so much. Hmm. Could we maybe have a play in
00:41hour number two, Joe?
00:42But for you, what's that spread line tonight between the Thunder and the Spurs?
00:46You know, in a lot of spots, Donnie, I'm seeing it split here. It feels like everyone thinks Oklahoma City
00:52is going to get the whistles like they usually get here, and that'll be the end of that.
01:00Wemby, though, you're going to skip all of that and create all of this drama about the optics of the
01:10league.
01:10You better show up in game six. So I find it fascinating that when OKC is one in this series,
01:18Donnie, the totals have gone over.
01:20When San Antonio is one, it's been all about defense and fewer points.
01:25And yet, I thought for sure we'd see this total into the 220s by now, and we're not.
01:32218 and a half is an open. I'm seeing 218 and a half, 219, maybe 219 and a half.
01:38So it looks like the markets are kind of split. They don't know which way to go.
01:43I think it's correlated. If you like OKC, bet the over. If you like the Spurs, bet the under, Donnie.
01:50In Major League Baseball, Joe, we waited for a long time. Do you know what gets you angry, ridiculous strike
01:55zones?
01:55And what I mean by that is, oh, well, Dave Smith tonight, boy, he's got a wide strike zone so
02:00you can paint those corners.
02:01Oh, no, tomorrow's Tom Davis. You can't paint any corners.
02:04Make it make sense. It never did. And people told you and looked right in the eye to you and
02:09said,
02:09it's nice to have the human element, which means errors are wrong, and that's what happens.
02:13No, no, that's ridiculous here. ABS comes in, Joe. What do we have, like 2,000 overturned calls?
02:18Love to see it. I can't wait till we get the automated strike zone so I don't have to see
02:22this anymore.
02:23Ready, Joe? I'm a catcher. Here's where the ball is coming in.
02:26Oh, I caught it out here. Boom! Let me bring it to the center of the plate three feet in.
02:29Again, I'm done with that. And once we get the ABS, you won't need that anymore automatically every single pitch.
02:35But how about this, Joe? One of the toughest sports to, you know, look at and say you want a
02:39referee, maybe the NFL.
02:41It's just too big, too fast, and too many rules, and they get a lot wrong.
02:44But in the NBA, a lot of it is subjective. And we've known over the years where the refs, you
02:49go to the rim, Joe, and lay it in.
02:51If the basket goes in, a lot of times they don't blow the whistle.
02:54If they miss the basket, it goes to the floor. The three-second late whistle will go to the free
02:58-throw line.
02:59How about Adam Silver discussing future plans to implement an AI-automated system for reviewing calls?
03:05Now, does this mean, Joe, like VAR in soccer where, yes, team total over one and a half, got it
03:12done.
03:13Oh, no. It's going to this thing called VAR, and they just took it away from me.
03:19How do they do that in the NBA, Joe?
03:22Well, Donnie, it's ironic the timing that he brought this up, seeing how we're coming out of a Game 5
03:28where it might have been one of the most laughable, officiated games that you've ever seen
03:34where guys are getting whistles for falling down on purpose.
03:40Maybe one of the best acting jobs we have ever seen by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5.
03:45The memes are hilarious.
03:48And then he comes out and says, yeah, we're thinking about maybe, oh, I don't know, maybe bringing in some
03:53AI to help me.
03:54You think?
03:55Because you can't send a team to the free-throw line like that when defenders are just standing there
04:02and guys somehow fall down and blow the whistle.
04:05It was laughably bad there, Donnie.
04:08So, yeah, I'm all for it.
04:09Bring it in because the NBA is the worst offender.
04:13AI ref calling games in the NBA.
04:16Oh, boy.
04:16And also, you're going to think, hey, was the NBA programming to make sure this game gets extended to Game
04:207
04:20and call more fouls on one team?
04:22You know those conspiracies certainly will be down the line.
04:25But there's no conspiracy here, Joe.
04:27You brought it up to start the show with a cup of hot Joe.
04:30Champs-Sharani reports, the NBA has warned the Spurs' Victor Webanyama for violating media access rules.
04:36WEMB bypassed media obligations after Game 5 on Tuesday night.
04:40I'm shocked because, like, the cardinal sin.
04:43Again, Joe, we get back to you.
04:44Don't bet on your team when you're playing basketball.
04:46It's illegal to do that.
04:47You know what else is right up there?
04:49You better talk to the media after this because this is what we pay you for
04:52and this is why we have media sessions.
04:53Otherwise, Joe, there will be no media sessions whatsoever.
04:56One of the biggest, brightest, worldwide stars in the association.
05:01Yeah, I'll speak when I want to and only got warned for it.
05:04Interesting.
05:06Well, again, Donnie, but coming off a situation where all he did was get warned
05:11when he, you know, threw a flying elbow at Nas Reid's head.
05:14And, yeah, he got thrown out of the game.
05:17So what?
05:17There should have been some sort of monetary fine there.
05:20And many people still think he should have been suspended.
05:23But now?
05:24Now he skips?
05:25And what?
05:26Dylan Brooks in the first round?
05:27Yeah.
05:28He doesn't go to the party.
05:29He gets $25,000 and, like, the list of guys who have had to pay for doing
05:34exactly what Wemby did, only he gets the stern warning?
05:38You got to be, it's laughably bad, the favoritism in the NBA.
05:43The Walter Group owns the Los Angeles Lakers now.
05:46Bought it off the bus family.
05:47If you don't know anything about them, yeah, you could just throw in tons of
05:50places, which include the Los Angeles Dodgers.
05:53So you see in yourself, money is not at issue here.
05:56We're going to be a first-rate organization.
05:57But understand this, business owners are smart.
06:00They didn't get there by wasting money across the board.
06:03Whoa, Donnie, they almost paid a billion dollars to Otani.
06:05Yeah, you know he's profitable with that contract, probably two-, three-fold
06:09on top of it.
06:10How about this story from Dave McMenamin?
06:12New story comes in, the Lakers announcing layoffs across various departments
06:16Wednesday as the franchise undergoes a reorganization under new leadership.
06:20How about that?
06:21We see this all the time.
06:22The NFL, which only goes up in ratings and only goes up with price points here,
06:28they lay off people all the time in their front office.
06:30No surprise to the Lakers, but some of them are like, hey, the Lakers are probably
06:34one of the more profitable franchises in sports.
06:35It doesn't matter.
06:36You know what matters to a business?
06:38Joe, being more profitable here.
06:40The greed, man, kicks in.
06:43Well, and we saw this.
06:44I mean, new ownership, new people.
06:46And it's not just unique to the NBA.
06:48I mean, we did see it in Portland as well.
06:50I mean, that guy fired everybody.
06:52And, well, he's just not rehiring anybody.
06:55Minnesota, when I think it was A-Rod and his group came in to purchase, same thing.
07:02I mean, it's corporate America.
07:04It doesn't make a difference if it's the NBA or any place else.
07:07New leadership, new ownership brings in their own people.
07:10We've seen it.
07:11It's not a new story here, Donnie.
07:14I'll tell you, it's a good point you bring up on that, because I forgot about that Minnesota
07:17Timberwolves store with A-Rod buying out the previous owner.
07:21But when that leaked, because the previous owner was upset, and you're going to, like,
07:25say you sell a house.
07:26Like, you know what?
07:26I'm going to sell my house, and it's worth $500,000.
07:30If I would have waited a year, it's worth $1.5 million because the market went crazy,
07:34but you agreed to sell it a year before with that $500,000.
07:37He tried to get out from under that.
07:38And what he did was leak out the new proposals from A-Rod and that new ownership group, which
07:43was incredible.
07:44Because as a fan, you want to hear that your team gets bought, and that owner goes, money's
07:48no expense.
07:48I bought this because I want championships.
07:51That's all that matters.
07:52I'll spend as much money as I can to get that.
07:54And the fans are like, ooh, thank goodness here.
07:55But the A-Rod group came in, and their proposal was, we're not paying this payroll.
07:59We are dropping it by at least 25% to 30% right away.
08:03We are getting under all of those luxury tax numbers.
08:06And you know the fan base is going like, oh, I hope this deal never goes through, and
08:09we keep the same ownership group, and we keep on spending all this money.
08:12It's a great point you bring up.
08:13Now, talking about those Timberwolves here, as a segue, Dante DiVincenzo, you know what
08:18we saw?
08:19Achilles injury goes down.
08:20Oh, no, probably going to take away the next season.
08:23But we just saw Jason Tatum have a great timeline, have a great surgery, a great rehab, and come
08:29back to be the Tatum that we knew in less than a year.
08:32Could Dante DiVincenzo do the same thing next year?
08:37You got to feel for him, too, because he's, you know, here he is, pulls his Achilles, right?
08:44Rehab is broke.
08:44Now he's got to watch all his buddies there, and former team, the Knicks, in the NBA five.
08:49Tough go for DiVincenzo, though.
08:51But you're right, Donnie.
08:52The, you know, the meds have changed over the years here.
08:57And the whole restructuring of it and getting it, getting guys ready to go.
09:02Listen, I mean, we're watching Patrick Mahomes 160-some-odd days out, right, from blowing
09:08his stuff up.
09:09And now he's out on the practice field.
09:12So it's changed over time.
09:14They've gotten really good at getting these guys ready to go.
09:17How about this next story?
09:18And I need this here.
09:20If you don't think, since 1999, we haven't seen a Finals appearance for the New York Knicks
09:24in that time frame here, that place is going to be on fire.
09:27And let's just say it's OK, Sue, as a series lead.
09:30They have a great fan base as well.
09:31We're all watching the NBA Finals.
09:33Can you picture Game 3 with the President of the United States in Madison Square Garden?
09:39The haters, the lovers, two great basketball teams, NBA Finals.
09:44You might be able to get a new CBA just on the ratings alone for that basketball game.
09:50I need this to happen, Joe.
09:53I need this.
09:54Oh, you know, I'm sure it'll happen.
09:56I mean, listen, you know, presidency politics aside, Donnie, the guy is from Queens, right?
10:03I mean, the guy grew up a diehard Knicks fan, so he should be able to show up in Madison.
10:09Finally, the Knicks are in the Finals.
10:11I mean, he suffered just as many years as every other fan, Donnie, being a Knicks guy
10:17and growing up in Queens.
10:18And, well, now he's got an opportunity to go see him in the Finals.
10:22So, you know, I hope it does happen, and it'll be a lot of fun the next morning.
10:27Absolutely impressive at that point.
10:28I mean, I need this.
10:32Yeah, well, he's got, he sounds a little bit like Victor Webanyama there, doesn't he?
10:36He sounds like a little bit like the alien going on there.
10:39But the big question is still, who are they playing?
10:44Is it going to be San Antonio?
10:46Is it going to be OKC?
10:48We still got a lot coming up here on that game coming up here tonight because, let's face it,
10:53I don't know, did Adam Silver threaten AI with the refs and maybe they swallow the whistles tonight,
11:01or are we just watching flopping all over the place?
11:04We'll talk more about it as the early line continues here on The Grid.
11:09Hour number two, rolling along on the early line, Sports Grid Network.
11:12Down to the right side, Joe Ranieri.
11:13Welcoming Kevin Walsh, host of In Game Line with Gabriel Morenzi.
11:17The biggest games on the network, he's got you covered here, Kevin.
11:22Enjoyment at night, betting live in front of the people, and away we go.
11:27And we got some big topics to talk about, Kevin.
11:29How are you feeling this morning?
11:30I'm feeling good.
11:31I'm feeling good.
11:32I'm wondering if one of those topics is, for some reason, on the way out,
11:37because there's not many days left, and A.J. Brown being a Philadelphia Eagle,
11:42we're saying, hey, you know, it's a great relationship.
11:45A.J. Brown, who cares?
11:47Also, not true.
11:49But also, who cares?
11:50He's obviously leaving the Eagles.
11:52What are we doing?
11:54Yeah, Joe and I have been talking about that here, saying, you know what?
11:56I've never seen a superstar, wide receiver, superstar player in an organization
12:01know he's going out, no animosity from anybody.
12:04Everybody's holding it tight.
12:06Nobody knows what the compensation was.
12:07This is what it's probably been agreed upon for, like, six months at this point,
12:11and away we go.
12:12We'll get back to those topics and more, Kevin.
12:14But tonight, we've got a big one in the NBA.
12:16Knicks are over there.
12:17Relaxation, hanging out in New York City, building towards their first home game,
12:22which will be game three since 1999 in the NBA Finals.
12:25But tonight, the San Antonio Spurs, they are the favorites, Kevin.
12:28Minus three and a half and a total of two, 19 and a half.
12:31Is it revenge for Webb and Yama?
12:33And do we get a seventh game in the series?
12:35Or can Oklahoma City be like, whew, let's handle this,
12:38because now we get roughly a week off before we can play in the NBA Finals?
12:42So I lean towards San Antonio in the game, but I'm not desperate to bet them at minus three and
12:50a half.
12:50Like, I think the, like, what is home court advantage worth in the NBA playoffs?
12:58Like, because it is, you know, quite the flip.
13:01Although we did close at three and a half in game number five.
13:05So maybe it's worth three and a half and the teams are even.
13:10I don't know if that's what people believe.
13:12I don't think it's necessarily the case here.
13:15But again, I lean Spurs.
13:17They've said someone who thought the series was going to be OKC and seven.
13:20It's set up to be exactly that.
13:24I think it's challenging to figure out how you want to bet these superstars because they jump off the page,
13:32right?
13:32They're talking that Wemby's not shooting the ball enough off of the loss.
13:37So the Wemby props stand out.
13:39Shea is now scoring an efficient 30 pieces.
13:42So if he can get the efficiency up, he could certainly get you a 30-point performance.
13:48But the worry is that this game gets a little ugly because the, you know, when the Spurs have it
13:55going, it's defensively.
13:58They held the two wins, the Thunder, in regulation to 101 and then 82, I believe.
14:06So I think it's a, I have a cautious approach heading into this.
14:13Some of the props will be interesting, certainly.
14:16We were saying it earlier, too, Kev.
14:19I mean, it's, there's a clear trend here.
14:23If OKC wins this game, this is likely flying over the total.
14:28If San Antonio wins this game, it is likely flying under the total.
14:33At least that's what we've seen here.
14:35Because if San Antonio is going to handle business here tonight, then it's going to have to be on the
14:40defensive end here.
14:41So it feels like, all right, San Antonio wins.
14:45I'm on the under here tonight.
14:47Yeah, I don't blame you at all.
14:49And a 219 and a half.
14:51That, like, you're not paying for that correlation, I feel, with the way, like, they didn't adjust the total relative
14:58to who they have booked as the favorite, which is a little bit interesting.
15:02Because I think they very well could have posted 217 and a half, again, after they were going to post
15:07200 and a half, right?
15:08So I don't, I don't mind the look at all here.
15:11I'm a little interested in De'Aaron Fox, 13 and a half points.
15:16Fox last game was 415.
15:18He, the issue with Fox, though, is he's so clearly not healthy.
15:24Like, give him credit for going out there and playing.
15:27It's the Western Conference Finals.
15:29But they mention it pretty often on the broadcast.
15:32And once they say it, you can't unsee it.
15:34He does not have, like, I don't know how much De'Aaron Fox could even dunk right now, it feels
15:41like, watching him play.
15:43But his numbers are not adjusted off of the volume a ton.
15:47So he's an interesting look here, I think, tonight.
15:50For me, I'm going to the association.
15:51It's been so kind to me, Joe, over the past six months, just looking at some public fade opportunities.
15:56And would you believe it?
15:57Spurs are the favorite tonight.
15:58Minus three and a half.
15:5962% of those tickets coming in on the San Antonio Spurs.
16:03That line has not moved off the three and a half.
16:06We're taking tonight the OKC Thunder.
16:09Plus three and a half.
16:11Maybe an outright victory, Joe.
16:12Maybe a 100-97 loss that you still get the chicken with a victory here.
16:18I'm going Thunder.
16:19I need to win this week.
16:21Bring it home for me, SGA, and the boys tonight.
16:24And I want to see Wemby maybe crying in some spilled milk later, which means I want some money.
16:28Joe's got the Braves.
16:29I got the Thunder tonight.
16:31Let's get after it, Joe.
16:322-0 and head into a Friday.
16:33That sounds like a good idea.
16:36All right, no problem.
16:37I think it's going to be great, in fact, here.
16:40I think it's going to be a clean sweep.
16:43So let's get to some of the action tonight, Joe, that will be sticking out, which includes my, I can
16:47call them that, OKC Thunder, taking on the San Antonio Spurs.
16:51You go to the Kelsey Marketplace to win this game outright, Joe.
16:54There's a 59% chance that San Antonio does that.
16:57If you think the Spurs will win this game outright, Joe, $100 investment pays back $167.
17:02But for me, I'm taking the three and a half points in this game, so the no contract on San
17:09Antonio covering it, $100 investment, would pay back $197.
17:14Go, OKC.
17:17OKC tonight.
17:18What a chance to close it.
17:20Will San Antonio bounce back at home?
17:23A lot of questions here, Donnie.
17:24But the big question is, which way is the market going to go?
17:28Because we have not seen a lot of movement in either the total or the side, Donnie.
17:33And we saw a lot of movement through the first five games.
17:36But we're kind of frozen at the three and a half and the 219, 219 and a half mark.
17:43But it is correlated to me.
17:45If you like San Antonio to win, I would bet the under.
17:49Because their path clearly for victory against this team is by playing defense, dominating the boards, and limiting the free
17:58throws and all of the easy buckets for OKC.
18:02If they do that, Donnie, this thing is flying under the 219 and a half here tonight.
18:07NSGA usually guaranteed to score 30 points, 32 points, 33 points.
18:11If you feel he gets over 29 and a half, which means 30 points, $100 investment, would pay back 186
18:17here.
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