Ben and Donnie spend the second hour of the show taking an early look at the 2025-26 NBA futures odds at the FanDuel Sportsbook before they reveal their top storylines entering tomorrow night’s highly-anticipated NBA Draft!
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On June 25th at 7:30 p.m. Ditch the guesswork. Ben Stevens, Kevin Walsh, James Young and Tom Vecchio have your NBA draft betting coverage. Pick by pick, bet by bet. All night long. We got all the insights and expert analysis because betting blind isn’t a strategy. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. On June 25th. Only on Sports Grid. Oklahoma City now becomes one of four NBA teams ever, one of three NBA champs ever to win at least 84 total regular season and postseason games. It’s just the beginning, Ben. And you just look at a team with, you know, these guys at such a young age. And you know Chet’s got a team option. He has a team option. Jaylen Williams team option. Team option Ben they’re all coming back. The early line only on sports grid. We are seeing unbelievable temperature surges over the past couple of days. So I want to ask you this question to let the people know like how do we account for that in our handicapping. Like two good pitchers on the mound. But you look at a place like Wrigley Field, let’s just say 20 mile an hour winds blowing out 90 plus degree temperatures. Is it almost like you say to yourself, you just have to fade the environment and not worry about the pitchers, because if we’re hitting fly balls, they’re going your pro baseball today only on sports grid. As we know, it’s just we enter every year and it’s like, is this the Ravens time? Is this Lamar Jackson’s turn? Can they get past the Chiefs and all of these other you know stalwarts of the AFC. But it’s always really about Kansas City when we’re talking Baltimore. This potentially Adam as I send it back to you potentially is a game changer in that you get a very talented quarterback at a discount price. Newswire only on sports grid. We welcome you to our number two live right here on this Tuesday morning on the early line on Sports Grid. He is Donny right side. I am Ben Stevens, frankly. Let’s call it like it is this second hour dedicated to the NBA early here in the second full day of the fool off season kind of doctors nightmare. But there’s so much to break down. We have conference odds out and available with the early looks into next year in 20 2526. We have the NBA draft in round number one tomorrow night on a Wednesday in BC. The Cooper flag coronation. The ace Bailey draft stock slide even plummet at this moment. And how the lottery is going to play out. So many storylines to dive into here for the draft starting tomorrow night inside the Barclays Center. Doctors a lot to break down. Are you okay? It is mostly NBA focused here, despite it being the offseason following the end of the NBA finals. Yeah. Why not? We’ll see what happens here because it’s still fresh in our minds of the anticipation. And for the Philadelphia 76 ers fans like I and myself and the millions around the world. Hey look we got a draft pick here. It’s going to be number three. It’s going to be Ace Bailey. Is it not going to be V.J. Edgecombe is going to be a trade of the Sixers going to get Giannis Antetokounmpo with that three pick here. We don’t know what’s going to happen. So the anticipation of a new season is always fun because you turn the page I think a lot of NBA fans like just stop talking about OKC. Let’s get back to what works like great. Who cares about game number seven. We got a Kevin Durant trade. I’d rather talk about that here. You had a big trade last night for the Celtics. Is Porzingis going to go before the draft. Because understand this. Most of the times when you make these deals like you want that draft capital to use this year when you make that deal like what’s going to be the point of okay we could have made the trade Tuesday but we made it Thursday. Now you got to wait a year for that draft pick that you could have cashed in for the capital now. So I expect more deals to go down before we even see Cooper Flagg go number one. Overall. Tomorrow’s draft. Yeah, they really could. Doctors. There was a lot of conversation between those in the know that around the NBA draft would be most of those monumental marquee deals that we would see this offseason until we get to free agency, which was rather quiet last summer around the association. And it feels like at times in the NBA, you look forward to the summer more than the actual basketball on the floor. Not us here, but we’ll continue to break all of that down in our number two. All right, doctors conference odds now available on the FanDuel sports book with a very early look at the 20 2526 NBA campaign. And of course, we start in the Eastern Conference because there is so much to dissect because so much is up in the air. You look at the teams on this list and whether it’s a devastating injury to a star player or a head coaching vacancy that has not been filled and is not looking overly optimistic between the teams, we expected to contend this past year that did actually contend and we think could do so next year. There’s a fatal flaw, it seems, for everybody. The Cavaliers booked as a favorite. They were the one seed in the Eastern Conference but ousted in the second round by the Pacers and only five games and ousted in the second round for three consecutive years. All three years really the Donovan Mitchell has been in the land the Cavaliers plus 270 as the favorites. But what’s the issue with Cleveland? Well Darius Garland their all star point guard, set to miss a substal amount of next year with a big toe injury. Undergoing surgery a few weeks ago. Okay, how about the Knicks right behind them, 3 to 1. The Knicks don’t have a head coach, and it’s not looking overly optimistic for that big splash we expected New York might make if they made the critical decision to dismiss to dismiss Tom Thibodeau, the magic have the third best price, only backed by a dollar and a half at plus 420. Listen, I believe in Paolo Banchero, but this team can’t score. What are we even doing. The Celtics at plus 550. The very short favorites all of last season. Of course the injury to Jayson Tatum. We’re not sure we’re going to see him next year. And Jrue Holiday now dealt. Anybody have any idea about the 76 ers in the Eastern Conference. Champs who forced a game seven in the NBA finals. The Pacers had a 15 to 1 price alongside the Detroit Pistons doctors. Let’s start at the very top. Are the Cleveland Cavaliers the rightful favorites in the Eastern Conference entering next season? Yes, I do believe so. If they keep that team intact as is, we thought they were the best team overall in the conference this year. Going to do battle with the Celtics. But they have home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference finals. So for me it is the Cleveland Cavaliers. And they’re getting the benefit of the doubt because again the New York Knicks are really talented. They don’t have a coach yet. We’ll find out when the coach is there and see sort of that mojo to start the season. The Orlando Magic you’re right. Now they get Desmond Bane over there in the trade this past week and a half ago. Now to add more instant offense. But it’s still the Orlando Magic the Boston Celtics at plus 550 price. We don’t even know who that starting lineup is going to be. The Philadelphia 76 ers with all that talent tank the rest of the season last year which is the right thing to do. And they have a top three pick. And then the Pacers at 15 to 1 where it’s like wait a second. You don’t even have Tyrese Haliburton. So for me in my money the Cavaliers I do believe are the best team here. I’m very intrigued by the Knicks at 3 to 1, but I, like you, might be able to go all the way down like the bucks at 23 to 1. Or maybe the Pistons say we’re that team building through. We got a taste of the playoffs last year. Fought hard with the New York Knicks. Weren’t able to beat them. But maybe next year we can take that next step. You might be getting a discount on some average teams that might be able to make playoff runs deep into it, because we’re certainly not saying, well, hey, OKC is here. They’re going to win it next year or Denver Nuggets. They’re going to be ready to go with LeBron James. And the Lakers are going to retool. There are so many question marks in the Eastern Conference where it’s almost like you take the top two teams or you try to fall down and like give me 25 one, give me 40 to 1, give me 50 to 1. For somebody to try to make a run into a profitable ticket for you next season. Maybe I’m discrediting Desmond Bane a little bit, who averaged 19 points in 69 games a season ago, hasn’t played quite 70 in 4 of the five seasons he has been with the Memphis Grizzlies. That, of course, a spark. And of course you like Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner. But those were basically the two guys that did anything worth anything for Orlando in this postseason. And really all of this year, you know, a team that maybe could finish top four, top five and win a playoff series. Sure. Third best number at that price, I think speaks more to the Eastern Conference chaos around the magic than it does to Orlando. Even with the addition of Desmond Bane doctors. It’s so funny looking at the New York Knicks. They are about the only team on this list that has somewhat of a proven pedigree. Of course, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals this season for the first time in two and a half decades and does not have a catastrophic injury to a star player. Brunson back, cat back. We expect OG Anunoby and McHale bridges to return as well. Yet they don’t have a head coach and they fired the guy that got them to these very new heights in his five years in the Big Apple. Tom Thibodeau to not really have a clear direction at this moment. We brought you the update from Shams Charania earlier on in this last hour. Micah Nori, former Minnesota Timberwolves or current Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach interviewing for the job. Three formal interviews now conducted by that Knicks front office Nori Taylor Jenkins, who was fired drastically at the end of the year by the Grizzlies, and Mike Brown, who was also ousted rather dramatically by the Sacramento Kings. Not the guys I think Knicks fans were like, yeah, that’s the guy to replace Tibbs to bring us to the NBA finals. Yeah, I think we’re looking at this and saying maybe the Knicks are up to some devious things behind the scenes because you know what their M.O. Is, okay, we’re g to fire Tibbs and maybe we can get, I don’t know, a superstar head coach to come our way. Maybe it’s Jay Wright. We got some feelers in. Maybe it’s him. We can make that move. And he got cold feet. So then the B plan was like, well, all the good coaches are taken, and rightfully so. That’s typically. So let’s reach out to some of these guys and see if they want in. I don’t want in, I don’t want in. But maybe they’re still going behind the scenes going, okay, if we bump up that salary for you and we can try to make a trade, can you just cause a stink within your organization that goes like, yeah, why you Jason Kidd I don’t want to be here anymore. And I’m not coaching. I’ll just retire at this point. Like pull one of those and then go to the Knicks for twice as amount of money as he’s making now. And away the Knicks go. Because it doesn’t seem like this is really well thought out of, because organizations usually don’t fire their head coach, who is a name guy who doesn’t have any issues in the locker room unless you have a rock star ready to go, which certainly fell through. So the Knicks are saying, like, let’s hold this, because what if they hire Taylor Jenkins today or in two months? Does it really matter? No it doesn’t. I think they’re up to some devious things behind closed doors to try to get a coach o. Donny. Right side is asking more on the early line next. Enter into the magical world of Mukluk. Com or even the smallest of spins can win real cash prizes. Adventure into over a thousand of the best Vegas style slot games. So what are you waiting for? Unlock your free welcome offer today! Join the fun where winners play and players win. The two guys that can do it all. It’s too much electricity this morning. This is a good time. We’re having a lot of fun. I had to do a triple take. Why? Because of parody? I didn’t mean to offend. Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Vote management is a dirty word. Let him rip. You know what circumstances provide the results? What? How do you do this one? Oh, Donny, you got such a good show there. A network that is booming. The early line only on sports grid. The game is on. The stakes are high, but the action isn’t just on the field. Rearranging that rhythm. Get it inside. Sports grids in game live. Your ultimate second screen experience. Eight and a half point live wine. Every prop, every play, every day. Anything can happen. It’s complete chaos. Ha ha. It’s smarter to be on sports grid. We’re going to go through every single thing, and I’ve got a great team behind me that’s going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. There is going to be an energy to game time decision that you will feel night in and night out. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. There is not going to be a better place, I promise you, than game time decisions. I’m Kevin Walsh. Tune in to game time decisions weekdays on Sports Grid. Did you know sports books tend to draw a tighter bet lines for events that get even more bettors, like championship games or major matchups? My tip? Try betting on less popular sports. You might have a better shot at beating those odds. Now go get lucky. See you in Las Vegas. Let’s get lucky. Live right here on this Tuesday morning on the early line on Sports Grid. Still taking a look at the early odds for the Eastern Conference. Chaos really flipped upside entering 20 2526 around the association. Doctors we’ve talked the Cavs, the Knicks the magic. Now let’s talk te Boston Celtics who at this point last year like plus 200 plus 150 to win the Eastern Conference. We’ll talk about that as it pertains to the Oklahoma City Thunder out west in just a little bit. The Celtics even without Jayson Tatum and now dealing Jrue Holiday are still a very talented team that in an Eastern Conference where basically all the front runners have some sort of fatal flaw should be a contender, at least a playoff team with an opportunity to make a run. How do you view that plus 550 price on Boston? I like it because again, you’re right, there’s still talent there and you’re not getting the plus 200 price. And they’re getting decent quality players back, which they did for Jrue Holiday. But that guy’s more of a locker room guy. And you wonder how that fits in. But if you’re trusting the process here for the Celtics like we usually put a timeline on okay. Won’t be back for a year. Tatum got injured much earlier than what we’re talking about Tyrese Haliburton. The reason I bring that up is we put so much stock on the regular season. Doesn’t matter. It’s all about the playoffs. So what if I told you yesterday like Tatum has a very good rehab. Like he didn’t even wait two weeks, three weeks to get his surgery. He got injured the night before he got his surgery the next morning. Let’s just say he’s up on his feet then by, I don’t know, late February next year. Like getting good workouts here can make it to the playoffs. And a round or two you get Tatum back like not at 100% MVP level, but a good player added back into that rotation. Because if you are going to move Porzingis. And by the way you got nothing out of Porzingis in this playoff run with sickness and injury. Whatever he had. If you turn that into a quality basketball player as well who knows where. Now you might be saying to yourself like yes, it doesn’t sound appetizing to take the Boston Celtics to start the season knowing Tatum won’t be there. But if this is about we don’t care about anything and we’re a playoff ready squad, and Tatum gets added back into the equation in the playoff run next year, why not in this Eastern Conference? It’s not a great conference. Yeah I guess it’s fair right? We are not medical professionals. Despite calling Doctor Donnie Doctor Donnie at times. Is there a chance that Tatum or Tyrese Haliburton could return for the postseason? Maybe. But you’re not banking on that when you bet any of these prices at the moment. And I think the Celtics are going to be a playoff team. Heck, I saw enough out of Indiana and its grit with how much balance and depth the Pacers have. Even without Tyrese Haliburton, probably to be a playoff team in some form or fashion next season as well. I think there’s two compelling teams that are longer than 10 to 1. You could maybe make an argument that might be worth a sprinkle in terms of value right now. First it would be pistons at 15 to 1, the six seed last year in the Eastern Conference gave the New York Knicks a fight. In that opening round. A young core, much like OKC only ever improving, you would hope, together gelling in that unit. And how about your Philadelphia 76 ers I mean it was abysmal last year. Worse than abysmal. The worst words that you could come up with Paul George should stick to podcasting in any kind of assessment I have on the 76 ers PPG is not included. But if Joel Embiid is even relatively healthy, call it for 60 to 65 games. Okay. Tyrese Maxey is still there. Jared McCain was scorched earth to start off his rookie year before suffering an injury in. The Sixers have picked number three tomorrow night. I’m not banking on the Sixers to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, necessarily, where they have not been since reaching the finals with I back in 2001, but at 11 to 1 to maybe even get to the second round and give me a chance to cash that ticket this early on, am I crazy for thinking Philly might have some juice? No, because the juice, it’s all about the price. Like if everybody again is plus 100. Like, no, we’re not betting the Sixers because they never get to the third round of the playoffs. But if you look at last year and say, okay, what was the fundamental issue that went wrong? Everybody got hurt. But understand this too. Like you look at the record how they finished the season. That’s not extrapolating into this season. Why? Because they tanked on purpose. They tried not to win. They did a perfect job which instead of losing their draft pick, which by the way, would have went to OKC. They kept their draft pick this year and it’s a top three. So now if you say I’m getting a healthy Joel Embiid or getting his knee surgery last year, which you’re right, healthy doesn’t mean I’m going to automatically be an MVP. And you probably will never get to those levels again. But a quality starter in your lineup for 55 plus games. And Paul George says, you know what? I was embarrassed last year. Maybe I get myself in some better shape and concentrate on basketball. Tyrese Maxey, one of the better young players in the NBA. And you’re right with McCain, really good draft pick for the Sixers. Instant offense when he gets it. And if let’s say you get a V.J. Edgecombe or even an ace Bailey, that just adds another player into that rotation that you have. So an 11 to 1 price value is in the eye of the beholder. Most people say the Sixers stink. I can’t believe the way they finished the season. You have to remove that from the equation. That was a tank job done absolutely perfectly well. If you line up the starting five for the Sixers next year and a couple bench pieces, why can’t they give a run to the oh no. Orlando Magic are so tough. Stop it. Like it’s all about the playoffs if you can be healthy. I agree with you. The Sixers price point there at 11 to 1 is a good price point for them next season. If things go well for Philly, early, 11 to 1 is going to evaporate by the time we get to December. Around that Christmas time in the association, the Milwaukee Bucks 23 to 1. A lot of conversation around Giannis when they were ousted in the opening round by the Indiana Pacers. Was that his final game and his final scuffle with Tyrese his father John Haliburton on the floor? Would that be the last moment for Giannis Antetokounmpo in a bucks uniform? I feel like some of that is kind of quieted down. Doctors around Giannis that I don’t know if I’m willing to bet the 23 to 1 price on the bucks, but I do think Giannis is playing his basketball in Milwaukee next season. Yeah it looks like he is going to play there. But you look at that roster again without Dame who knows what we’re going to get back from an aging veteran cominf of that Achilles injury. You always see the bucks 23 to 1. It’s Giannis. You know they’re going to put up a fight here. Giannis will play 72 or 75 out of the 82 games and be there in the playoffs. They’re just not good enough. But again they’re not good enough at a plus 100 price. But at 23 to 1 where you know Giannis stays. He’s getting agreements from that head coaching staff general manager and ownership group. We’re going to make moves for you here because Giannis goes and goes. What are we doing next year. We’re not doing anything. Giannis and you’ll be happy to be here. Giannis will be the first one to get up to that podium. Love Milwaukee won a championship there. It’s time to move on I will not play for this organization and I’ll be elsewhere. So he must have got some assurances that they’re going to fortify that lineup. Ben. Yeah, I don’t know how though. Doctors, they don’t have a lot of draft capital. They don’t have a lot of money to spend out there inside the Pfizer forum. I guess we shall see. For the bucks, we’ll go to the Western Conference on the other side of the break. Of course, we will focus first and foremost now on our reigning NBA champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are basically already expected to be back in the NBA finals next season as well. All of that comes next on the early line. And. We are seeing unbelievable temperature surges over the past couple of days. So one day I ask you this question to let the people know, how do we account for that in our handicapping, like two good pitchers on the mound. But you look at a place like Wrigley Field, let’s just say 20 mile an hour winds blowing out 90 plus degree temperatures. Is it almost like you say to yourself, you just have to fade the environment and not worry about the pitchers, because if we’re hitting fly balls, they’re going yard pro baseball today only on sports grid. Their team total was 19.5 wins. I told you to go under. And it’s by far the best bet I have recommended on this network in four years. They can’t get out of their own way. And now Sloot is out for the year. Let’s hope Sloots gets back because I respect the hell out of Sloot and I want her to go out on her own terms. Hopefully we’ll have her back for the 26 season. Betting above the rim only on Sports grid. Kevin Duran, at the age of 36 years old, after 17 seasons that he has played in the NBA, is now on his way to H town. I don’t think it’s a great move. I wanted him to go to a ready made championship team full of a veteran roster and see if he can ring Chase that way, not to go to an organization on the come up that if you just stay the course. And also what better blueprint than we have than just staying the course and OKC right. The early line only on sports grid. The game is on. The stakes are high. But the action isn’t just on the field. Rearranging that ring. Get it inside sports grids in game live. Your ultimate second screen experience. 14.5 point lifeline. Every prop, every play, every day. Anything can happen. It’s complete chaos. Ha ha. It’s smarter to be on sports grid. The Eastern Conference in the early. Look at the odds for our following NBA season feels more chaotic. All of our contenders with something to highlight and point out. The Western Conference seems a little bit more clear cut between the teams, and the reliable pieces we know are going to be there entering next season. And of course, that starts at the very top. Doctors with our now reigning NBA champions, who frankly, from the odds expectations this year were thought to reach that stage and they capitalize. And next year, much of the same anticipation. Oklahoma City plus 125. Damn near even money to win the Western Conference. Get back to the NBA finals for a second consecutive year. The R. S is that two short of a number? Is it too much expectation this early on on OKC? Yeah there’s no value in the plus 125. Like even if I told you like hey Donny that’s going to be a winning bet. That’s great. If it cashed tomorrow at plus 125. But the cash this ticket you’re sitting here on June, you won’t cash it basically until June of next year to plus 125. Nobody’s going to do that at this point. Here you take a look at some of the other teams which are much better equipped to beat OKC than maybe we’re looking at the Eastern Conference where it’s like, boy, we don’t have one of these two teams that we know are going to be dominant throughout the regular season and to the playoffs. When you think OKC is but a lot more veteran groups, a lot more moves to be made. But the simple answer is I don’t even care if it wins a plus 125 on a 12 month investment, like tying up, let’s say $100 there to get that back. It’s almost like that layaway program. But again, you’re no guarantee. Like you want to say, okay, well, I want to bet 100 bucks on the Clippers at 13 to 1. Like, okay, we’ll file that away. And it might turn out to be a $1,300 ticket in a year. That’s much more worthwhile. But so many things can go wrong when you’re betting a plus 125 price. Because the one thing that we always equate it to, Ben is right. Let’s just say you take the Sacramento Kings, our squad here a 271 price to yeah to win the Western Conference. And you say okay if I bet 100 bucks on that and next year nothing goes right. It’s like that’s a long shot plus 270. But you know, it feels worse betting 100 bucks on OKC to get back. 125 and SGA goes down with an injury or Chet Holmgren is out for the year. We’re not banking on that happening. But you’re like, well, why don’t I bet 100 bucks on that? That was a terrible investment here. At that point. A lot can go wrong for a price point that’s not extremely high. Listen, that gives you the idea that if Oklahoma City starts off 19 and four, in the first two months of the year, that’s going to be minus money by the time you get to Christmas. So that’s pretty ridiculous. But we did see some lower expectations. Do you think that early on like let’s just say let’s say like the rockets like are good. Like like there’s so much less movement there. Like if they opened up at a 10 to 1 and they go to 19 to 4 like, yeah, they drop it to a 3 to 1, like, okay, there’s still value, but how much lower can you go. Like a minus like before you even get to, you know, Christmas break or New Year’s at that point where you’re right about it like, hey, they’re 20 and one. Okay, let’s just say ty dropped to -110. It’s like, I should have just waited because at least I’m only losing a little bit. But I know they’re really healthy and playing really good basketball as opposed to a slow start. And you go like, oh, look at that. They’re plus 225 now by the time we get to December. Right. So that’s I’m just trying to counteract that. There’s no real wiggle room. It’s like oh I got the greatest number ever. You know it’s tough. It’s tough with that plus 125 I remember the end of February this past year, the Celtics, despite really not being the top seed based on how things were playing out in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland versus Boston, as we expected, became minus money or damn near even money with the same sort of expectations. All to say, we talked about this yesterday, how many championships would this young core in Oklahoma City win together? These are the expectations. But it’s hard to replicate. So never take it for granted. Of course the price on the Houston Rockets now drastically shorter with Kevin Durant at plus 550. The Timberwolves have been n the Western Conference finals each of the past two years. Hasn’t been great for Minnesota. The Lakers need to figure out the roster, but still have two guys named LeBron and Luka. That should be important. The Denver Nuggets, in my estimation, still have the best basketball player on planet Earth in Nikola Jokic. I don’t know if I love the Clippers or the Warriors, but you get some price. How about the two teams in the Lone Star State? The Spurs with a healthy Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox and probably Dylan Harper and the reigning rookie of the year winner in Steph Cassell is 17 to 1. A good number in the Mavs are reloading with Cooper flag almost immediately. If you’re looking for a longer shot around the Western Conference. And basically everybody is because of that drastically short number on the Thunder, where do you go? Yeah, it’s not a huge long number, but still I think there’s value in the Denver Nuggets at that plus 950 price. Because if they are healthy you know they will be in the playoffs and they will be hell on wheels. I mean heck you take a lookt what round number two Denver Nuggets OKC. Where did we get to a game. Number seven. They’re going to be there. Maybe even Jokic wins another MVP. But the thought process from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. You’re getting down to 9 to 1 13 to 1 16 to 1 going like whoa I’m actually getting competent teams right here at some pretty good prices here right. But that’s what you get because Oklahoma City is thought to be so good. But the Western Conference you got some options in the East. You’re just taking fliers known commodities out West I would say MVP odds next. We are seeing unbelievable temperature surges over the past couple of days. So I want to ask you this question to let the people know, like how do we account for that in our handicapping. Like two good pitchers on the mound. But you look at a place like Wrigley Field, let’s just say 20 mile an hour winds blowing out 90 plus degree temperatures. Is it almost like you say to yourself, you just have to fade the environment and not worry about the pitchers, because if we’re hitting fly balls, they’re going yard pro baseball today only on sports grid. 13 totals 19.5 wins. I told you to go under. And it’s by far the best bet I have recommended on this network. And for years they can’t get out of their own way. And now Sloot is out for the year. Let’s hope Sloots gets back, because I respect the hell out of Sloot, and I want her to go out on her own terms. Hopefully we’ll have her back for the 26 season. Betting above the rim only on sports grid. Kevin Durant at the age of 36 years old, after 17 seasons that he has played in the NBA, is now on his way to H town. I don’t k it’s a great move. I wanted him to go to a ready made championship team full of a veteran roster and see if he can ring Chase that way, not to go to an organization on the come up that if you just stay the course. And also what better blueprint than we have than just staying the course and OKC right. The early line only on sports grid. The game is on. The stakes are high. But the action isn’t just on the field. Rearranging that ring. Get it inside sports grids in game live. Your ultimate second screen experience. A couple of eight and a half point lifeline. Every prop, every play, every day. Anything can happen. It’s complete chaos. Ha ha. It’s smarter to be on sports grid. The early odds for 20 2526 around the National Basketball Association are out. NBA finals odds to win a championship in conference odds. Of course, to win the East and the West and be in those spots to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy, so too are the MVP odds as well. Early for next year in doctors. We will see two very familiar names at the top. Nikola Jokic, who has won three MVP awards now in the last five seasons, and Shay Gilgeous-Alexander, our reigning NBA MVP. Jokic a slightly better number at plus 220 $0.40 in front of SGA. Let’s start right here right now. Is it already a two player race for the MVP hardware next season? No I think it’s a three player race. I don’t think anybody else can even get into that race. You take a look at Nikola Jokic Shay Gilgeous Alexander. But I do throw Luka Doncic in there because he’s now in Los Angeles. The pedestal goes higher. The prime time games go higher. The elevation of playing with LeBron James and being on social media every single day go higher and also understand the motivation where you don’t want to say, like you’re sitting there in Dallas, right? It’s like, h, I’m not in a big market. He was in a big market, comfortable in that environment, and then goes out to LA and you need to win at a high level in Los Angeles. It’s one thing, hey Dallas, you get to an NBA finals, that’s fantastic. But in Los Angeles it’s championship or bust. And LeBron James understands that. Knowing that he would like to rack up 1 or 2 more before he gets out of town. And Luka is going to be a big reason why that could possibly happen. So Luka comes back focused and in shape. Like, you know what, I’m in Los Angeles, I can’t hide now. I can’t even go through my normal offseason routine, which he’s a great basketball player doing that anyway. I think he has the extra motivation coming in and the extra limelight. Being in Los Angeles, where I like that. 750 price, am I saying he’s going to win it? Not necessarily. But if we do look at SGA and Nikola Jokic, you know they’re going to battle for it. But I do think Luka Doncic, rightfully so, will be in that equation. Let me just add this too. It’s like, well Donnie why don’t you just throw in Giannis I just think sometimes like the fatigue like catches Jokic. But Jokic his numbers are so outstanding with a tm that we expect to be really good next year. Again we look at Giannis Antetokounmpo like what does he have to do 3820 and ten every single night to get noticed in Milwaukee. He’s a great player and deserves to be in the MVP race. I just don’t think he can win it because the expectations are are 24, 12 and eight. Yeah, he’s just not doing like wait, that’s an unbelievable night. But we expect so much more Giannis and a team that I don’t think is going to fulfill high expectations next year. Donnie that might be the case right. Posting 38, 20 and ten were being a little bit exaggerated here, but posting those type of numbers for Milwaukee even to be a top four seed in the Eastern Conference might be what is necessary next year. It also feels funny looking at Luka Doncic playing alongside LeBron James and saying anybody playing with LeBron? Even now, two decades into his NBA career at the age of 40 plus, and say that they have a better chance of winning an MVP on a team with LeBron James than they did as the superstar, basically by themselves at a former organization, you would ultimately think LeBron steals some shine. Even at this stage of his NBA tenure. I kind of agree with you, though. The expectations in Los Angeles for this historic franchise in the purple and gold, if they are realized and actualized, that’s where Luka Doncic. This number makes a lot of sense to me at plus 750. And there is fatigue for Nikola Jokic. And we look at a guy that was top three in every category this year points, rebounds, assists who averaged a triple double. And we’re like yeah what else dude we’ve you been doing that for the last five years now. But the funny thing is it’s almost like when he doesn’t win the award one year, some of that voter fatigue pays off and you’re like, this guy’s pretty darn good. So is it going to be Nikola Jokic who lost the MVP award to Joel Embiid now two years ago or three years ago won the award. Then two years ago now lost at the SGA. This year he gets back winning the hardware for a fourth time in a six year window in 20 2526. Last year, I didn’t like the price on Nikola Jokic to bet in the preseason. In the summer. If you wanted to make the argument this time around, doctors, I do think it’s a worthy one. And by the way, you know, what’s interesting too is we talk about voter fatigue or people already out on SGA, a great player, great family man. You know,u see the interviews and it just feels like like that was the trashiest MVP we’ve ever seen. And I don’t like that basketball team. It’s like, well, Shai Gilgeous Alexander puts up the same statistics he did this previous year. Oklahoma City is the number one seed. They’re going to be like have the binoculars out. Like hey that was good. But who’s next in line. Like Nikola Jokic is so good. And so in your face it’s like dude I know like Embiid was close to him there. And I actually agree. Embiid should have been the MVP. But we know Embiid got an extra couple votes there because he hadn’t won it before. And Jokic won it. Now SGA was like look this is an unbelievable season. We don’t know if OKC is ever going to be the number one seed again. He’s having a great season on par with Nikola Jokic. Let’s just give it to him. And now I think we look at him like what do you want to go back to Jokic. He’s got a couple of them SGA. We’re already done with that. Oh Luka shiny toy in LA. Number two overall seed behind OKC. Dropping 30 points a game like he gets the benefit. We shouldn’t it should be done like almost like like the old BCS era. Like feed the statistics to the machine, press the button and whoever comes out unbiased, that’s who the MVP. But we’re humans. We don’t like to do that. And we’d get angry at that, even if it always spit out. Nikola Jokic is the most proficient player because of what he does on offense with the assists, rebounds and certainly the correlation to the team with user rate. But Luka Doncic is going to get that boost next year like we want to give it to Luka. It’s finally his year. He hasn’t had one. Is he on an even playing pace with Jokic? He gets the benefit. He just got to stay healthy and the Lakers have to be good. Which why that should be the expectations anyway. Anthony Edwards star continues to rise around the NBA. He’s 13 to 1. Victor Wembanyama also at 13 to 1. If health is there and the Spurs are good, Wemby should be in consideration as well. But I kind of agree doctors with that tier of three. First the tier of two based on pedigree. And then if it’s not based on fatigue or matching stats. Luka Doncic at plus 750 makes a ton of sense. All right, let’s talk about some future MVP consideration or maybe some future NBA stars in the 2025 NBA draft round. Number one tomorrow night in Brooklyn and Luka’s former team somehow, someway got rewarded with the number one pick in the NBA draft lottery and thus winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, his coronation tomorrow night as the number one pick is not a guest ers. It is not even. Oh, that’s likely to happen. But maybe no, it’s going to happen. -100,000 for Cooper Flagg to be that first overall selection to the Dallas Mavericks. The San Antonio Spurs pick second -9000 for Dylan Harper that basically in the books as well. V.J. Edgecombe -280 to go third overall. That’s where the Philadelphia 76 ers select. And then after the top three there is not minus money anywhere else the R s and the rest of the top ten. And we have a market. We have betting odds available for those first ten picks in the 2025 NBA draft. Early on in the lottery. So let’s start with the draft conversation. Doctors. When you look at one and two, that solidified what happens after, you know, here’s what I like to make a point as well. Like the NBA sometimes, you know getting in the background conspiracy theory, love the fact that Cooper Flagg goes to Dallas. That team is supposed to be good. He’s going to get in with the organization right away. We’re going to watch him and not have him wallow away. And New Orleans Pelicans ore Charlotte Hornets. Same thing with Dylan Harper. You have one of the more fun up and coming basketball teams in the San Antonio Spurs. Get the number two pick right away. Going to get a guy that could have an impact in that lineup and say what you want against the Philadelphia 76 ers. They have stars. And you have a chance to add a guy that’s going to be able to go day number one and be an impact player I love the way that sets up where it’s like hey Flagg goes to Washington. Awesome. In five years nobody ever hear from that guy again. And maybe he forces his way out and makes some big money in a big city and can actually win some champions. But I do believe that third spot is interesting because the Sixers understand one thing. Like you have a veteran locker room. If a kid comes in like Ace Bailey and hearing that the parameters of, well, if he comes in for a workout, you better commit to him the number three. And I’m like saying like, we really like him. We’re probably going to pick him. But I can’t say like I want him to work out and he’s coming in. If we have some sort of handshake agreement, we’re going to take him. Three no matter what happens here, who we like in the draft. But he probably was going to go three. But do you want that as a kid coming into your team going like he doesn’t want to be here or Edgecombe if even if you had it close, like right. Vijay Edgecombe ends up close to ace Bailey and BJ’s like, man, I aced those interviews. Maybe they have a great workout, but this kid’s going to fit right in on day number one as opposed to his agents talking about Ace Bailey. Like, we never want to be here. Do what you can. Skip practice here. Maybe force r way out. That’s going to have a big edge. But Ace Bailey should be three. But he’s dropping because he wants to drop. Maybe it is Vijay Edgecombe I don’t think it’s going to be Nicole. It’s one of those two players to the Sixers at three. And right now the favorite of course is going to be Vijay because he wants to be a Philadelphia 76 ace. Bailey maybe doesn’t Trey Johnson a slightly better price even than Ace Bailey to go third overall plus 440 for Johnson plus 460 for Bailey. We’ll talk the big storylines of the NBA draft next. On June 25th at 7:30 p.m. Ditch the guesswork. Ben Stevens, Kevin Walsh, James Young and Tom Vecchio have your NBA draft betting coverage. Pick by pick, bet by bet. All night long. We got all the insights and expert analysis because betting blind isn’t a strategy. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. On June 25th, only on Sports Grid. The two guys that can do it all. It’s too much electricity this morning. This is a good time. We’re having a lot of fun. I had to do a triple take. Catching. Why? Because of parody? I didn’t mean to offend. Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Road management is a dirty word. Let him rip. You know what circumstances provide the results? What? How do you do this one? Oh, Donnie, you got such a good show there. A network that is booming. The early line only on sports grid. Dialing it back to his old days with Saint Louis and Arizona. Buy or sell. Goalie will finish top seven in fantasy first baseman. No, I’m going to say no. I think he’ll fall off. Older player here. He’ll fall. He’ll be top ten but not top seven here. Top ten I would say I buy a top seven. I’m going to say no here. I think he’ll put up decent numbers here, but not as good as he was. He’s I think he’s at about 340, 350 all year long. Fantasy sports today only on. Every five days. It’s really exciting when Skenes pitch is and it’s terrible watching him pitch because every time he pitches, they don’t score. Having him hit the lineup probably would actually help. When he pitches. There’s no way to do it because you can’t. But yeah, it’s beyond frustrating. And the numbers would tell you, you know, the books have adjusted Farrell coast to coast only on sports grid. Tomorrow night is the 2025 NBA draft inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It starts around 8 p.m. Eastern Time. It is round number one now the NBA draft for the second consecutive year, split into a two night event with round number two following on Thursday, the year we started to look at some of the big storylines that will be following on our NBA draft special, Starting Live right here on Sports Grid tomorrow evening, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Myself, the coach James Young, G. Kevin Walsh and Tom Vecchio from our studios in new Jersey as well. We’ll be all breaking down the draft for the entirety of night. Number one, round number one. Here are a couple of the main storylines for me that I think will be fascinating to follow, both in the next 24 hours leading up to the draft and of course, throughout round number one as well. It starts for me at the very top. Number one Ace Bailey’s draft stock slide slide might be too kind. Plummet could be another wao look at it, but yet the odds are really interesting here. Doctors Ace Bailey is not favored to go anywhere in the top five. He is not the favorite to be the first, second, third, fourth or fifth overall pick. And yet his odds to be a top five selection now stronger today than they were even yesterday. And yesterday was also minus money -185. Now it’s -270. I’m not sure the odds track one of those numbers somewhere. Someway is wrong. So how long do you think Ace Bailey is going to wait? Doctors tomorrow night to hear his name called in the NBA draft? It’s hard to say. And we’re only one day away. Like, oh, you probably should have this nailed down, but I bet you we’re gg to get some information that comes out later today or early tomorrow. Like, hey, fences were mended here and now he’s fine with going to the Sixers or as high as he can possibly go, because understand this, this is a business that loves upside and loves talent here. Right. So Cooper Flagg is going number one to the Dallas Mavericks. What happens if the agent for Cooper Flagg goes nope. No we’re not going to Dallas. You already got A.D. There. You got Kyrie Irving. This isn’t his team. We want to go 6 or 7. You know what happens. He goes number one to Dallas whether he likes it or not. And quite frankly Dylan Harper doesn’t have those same like we always thought he was going to go to Dylan doesn’t want to go to the Spurs. You know where he’s going to the Spurs whether he likes it or not. So there are question marks on Ace Bailey and what his upside are. So talented, so raw at this point. But what he can be like, hey, could be Tracy McGrady out there. He could be one of the better, you know, a young Kevin Durant. Like we hear all of that stuff of what he can be. But the fact of the matter is, if he was a surefire, he’d be going number three no matter what he said to the Philadelphia 76 ers. That’s what I find interesting, Ben. And also if it’s not just the Sixers like well the team that’s going to pick number 4 or 5 or like they’re automatically going to take him. They’re saying well he could slip down to 7 or 8. At this point the talent isn’t making up here. Maybe there are more question marks than we think on Ace Bailey, because again, the original premise is Flagg can say whatever he wants. I Dallas, if you draft me, I’m going overseas. You know what happens? Dallas drafts him number one overall and says, you’ll be happy to be here and like it, and you’ll enjoy the Dallas marketplace. So that’s what I’m finding interesting, whe Ace Bailey is saying, I don’t want to go here. I don’t want to go there, I’m not going to work out. And the team at number four is like, he’s not making it past four, then I don’t care if he passes with the Sixers, we’re taking him here where he might drop to six or 7 or 8. That’s what I’m having a tough time with right now. So there it is on Ace Bailey for me again, I’m not making a full comparison to Chad or Sanders, but the talent in question for Ace Bailey is not really the issue. It’s how he has gone about this draft process, denying private workouts for certain organizations. You got to play the game to be a part of the game, regardless of how good you believe that you are, which was Scheider’s issue throughout the NFL draft process. Skipping out on workouts at the Senior Bowl and Big 12 Pro Day. Basically to only have one that rubbed some people the wrong way in Boulder. That’s all I am saying in that comparison. I don’t think Ace Bailey is waiting until Thursday night in round number two to hear his name called. The odds makers still expect him to be a top five pick, but where exactly? This spot? As you saw that Ace Bailey is favored to be one of those first ten selections. Is it sixth overall? It’s where the Washington Wizards are drafting another storyline. For me, doctors is something you just mentioned. The very fact that Mavericks won the lottery, the very fact that Dallas is picking first overall. Basically, the villainous Nico Harrison. Ar dealing Luka Doncic gets rewarded despite the fact that Dallas had a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery in earning that first overall selection, the fourth lowest odds of any team to get that first overall pick since the lottery began back in 1985, and moving up ten draft slots was a lottery record for the Dallas Mavericks as well. So much conversation about what is Dallas doing. They have cratered their franchise with one deal, trading away Luka Doncic. They just extended Daniel Gafford. They got Derek Lively back. Both guys should be healthy. And now they get Cooper Flagg. The rest of Mavericks could be a playoff team right away in 20 2526. Good. That’s what we want to see. More good teams in the NBA. Send good players to good teams. Don’t reward those franchises that have been bum for 25 years at this point. I love it like the fact that it’s sacrificed the Sixers like, wait a second. Sixers had a much better chance at the ping pong balls. Get number one. They didn’t. They wound up with three, which they’re fine with. But if it was the Dallas Mavericks I’m saying to myself like oh no like I don’t mind this. Oh what a crime it is at this point. Yes, they should have paid more of a price, theoretically, karma wise, right, for trading Luka Doncic. Yeah, how stupid that was. But I don’t mind the Dallas Mavericks getting a good player back, because it’s a good team with a good player that will be able to enjoy next season. Like, did anybody want, hey, I would like to see Cooper fly go to Washington. Why? So you can never enjoy him at any part ever of his career at this point. Send him to a franchise that expects to win. We’ll all watch him in prime time, and it helps the Dallas Mavericks and it helps the Western Conference. I love the fact that the Mavericks got the number one overall pick. Good team gets a great player. Let’s go. Let’s keep it in the Lone Star State. Sneaky doctors. Not just the Mavericks moving up, but also the rest of the top three the Spurs and the Sixers into the top three. The Utah Jazz with the worst record draft fifth since the updated lottery in 2019. Where there’s the three teams with a 14% shot in the updated margins to try to de-incentivize tanking the team with the worst record in these draft lotteries has not won it, but the Spurs drafting second. The prince that was promised the generational talent and Victor Wembanyama two years ago. Rookie of the Year Steph Cassell fourth overall last year. Rookie of the year. You’ve got the two reigning rookie of the year. You just traded for De’Aaron Fox. And now you’re going to have Dylan Harper. More than likely things are good in San Antonio as well. And finally doctors the idea of chaos. As we have discussed outside of the top three there is no minus money in the top ten. We could see some trades both on draft night leading into the draft these next 36 hours as well. Exactly. And the fun of trade night begins when teams make trades. They got to put on hats they’re not actually going to go to. Nobody knows who actually has what. That’s the fun of it as well. The NBA makes no sense at all. So there you go NBA. We’re ready for you. Best part is the rockets drafting for the Suns at ten. More on the early line next. Round. On June 25th at 7:30 p.m. Ditch the guesswork Ben Stevens, Kevin Walsh, James Young and Tom Vecchio have your NBA draft betting coverage. Pick by pick, bet by bet. All night long. We got all the insights and expert analysis because betting blind isn’t a strategy. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. On June 25th. Only on Sports Grid. It was the first time, I think, in Dodgers history that the ballpark was full in the first inning. Everybody was there to see. Shohei Ohtani threw his first pitch as a Dodger, and I had mixed emotions about this for a few reasons. Number one, it was a reminder of, wow, this is so crazy, right? You’re watching him hit 98, 99, even 100 on the radar gun going, this guy is not human. Nobody should be able to be this good of a hitter or this good of a pitcher. Fantasy sports today only on sports grid. As we know, it’s just we enter every year and it’s. Is this the Ravens time? Is this Lamar Jackson’s turn? Can they get past the Chiefs and all these other you know stalwarts of the AFC. But it’s always really about Kansas City when we’re talking Baltimore. This potentially Adam as I send it back to you potentially is a game changer in that you get a very talented quarterback at a discount price. Newswire only on sports grid. Oklahoma City now becomes one of four NBA teams ever one of three NBA champs ever to win at least 84 total regular season and postseason games. It’s just the beginning, Ben. And you just look at a team with, you know these guys. It’s such a young age. And you know Chet’s got a team option. Has a team option Jalen Williams team option. Team option Ben they’re all coming back. The early line only on sports grid. We’re doing what to end out our number two live right here on this Tuesday on the early line on sports Grid. It’s normally how we start our number three our third and final. But we end it here for the sequencing of things that we have. And Brian Fonseca coming our way to end out the show in our number three doctors to end out our two. It’s time to hear from the people. After a historic and record setting audience for game number seven of the 2025 NBA finals, 16.35 million viewers, the most we have seen for a finals game in six seasons. We wanted to ask, right? It was part of the conversation entering between Oklahoma City and Indiana. What would the TV ratings be? How significant would it be in the history of the Association? Frankly, we got a great championship series, but how many games did you all watch? That was the question. And fade the public. How many NBA finals games did you watch this year? All seven. Only game seven. Some games zero. Games you had to know with. Some times the audience that we get at Sports Grid and the responses we receive with the votes at Sports Grid on Twitter and our fade the public polls that despite game seven setting records or at least in the last six years or so, it wasn’t going to look great for the NBA. How many NBA finals games did you watch this season? Zero games. The winner 41.6%. Second most selected 31.7 being some games all 718 only game 78.7, but that 8.7 probably filling out and making the difference to get to that 16.35 million viewer number. Doctors, which way did you vote in this fade the public poll? Some games, some of the games. Right. And also not even like I probably caught a portion of just about every game just because you want to check in on that. But you know, what’s funny about that too, is also like one of the questions we could have asked, like, did anybody watch like a single game all the way through? And maybe some people did that in game number seven, or maybe some people tuned out after Tyrese Haliburton got injured. But you know what’s crazy? Like when I sit down and watch an NFL game, which I don’t watch all hockey games, even when I was, you know, big fliers fan and there’s too many things to do. I don’t watch all the Sixers games. I’ll get it for bits and chunks. Maybe if the game is close, you’ll tune it in. Like NFL games. I tend to watch like all the way through from opening kickoff all the way to the final because you’re watching a spread or maybe a prop that comes in or you just generally want to watch it. But I would like to ask the people, like, did you watch and sit down like, hey, you know what? I was ready to go for game seven. I watched it all. Watch game seven is an anomaly, but even like game four, like, hey, you know what? I’m on my couch at 8:00. I’m going to watch the entire thing through to 1130. I think that’s interesting. But the fact of the matter is, the voting went almost, what, 73% of the total votes combined for some games and zero games is crazy. Because we had a competitive series. It was very good all the way through and did get the seven games. Now, granted, there’s a lot of people that are answering this. Just hate watching the NBA, just pushing zero even though they probably watched two games. Just to say, you know what, let me just shove it there a little bit more. But it is interesting to find out and see, because the ratings reflected that. We knew it wasn’t going to be a good rated series because I don’t care what you like. SGA is a superstar, but he’s in Oklahoma City. And look, even if you had SGA in Los Angeles, right, it would have changed because it’s LA and he would have had a higher boosting there. But the fact that you said like only game 78.7, which is interesting, all seven only 18% because that’s the true basketball fan. Some of the games really only 31% in NBA finals, which is there’s not much going on right now, people. Zero games, 41%. This was an interesting poll all the way through, but you knew zero games would pop up because again, the hate bets are the hate votes certainly were coming through strong no doubt. So 16.35 for game seven peaking at more than 19 million viewers. Again, our most watched NBA finals game in the last six years. That’s great. But the first couple games of the series did not really generate a lot of that luster. In fact, doctors and average, including that highest rated game for game seven of 10.2 million viewers, our least watched NBA finals. Excluding the Covid influenced seasons of 2020 and the bubble in 2021. Since 2007, down 9% even from last year. In the finals between the Celtics and the Mavericks. With all of those numbers taken into account, as Donny and I tried to tell you is this series was starting with the whole idea of mid-sized markets, blah, blah, blah. The NBA has already negotiated their next TV contract. They know their payouts for the NBA finals years in advance, but for them, where they could recoup some advertising revenue was if this series was extended. And the thought early was the Thunder. Such a staunch favorite. We might be lucky to see five games, let alone six, certainly not seven. So the fact that we got to seven and a great basketball series and a tightly contested and competitive basketball series, I think the NBA overall is probably thrilled with that result. That would just be my take on this situation. So we end out our two with Fade the Public. What is our three? Start with MLB breakdowns next.
