The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight X Fantasy Pros - NBA Finals Best Bets: Clippers "built for run," Knicks sleeper, Nuggets underrated

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

Jason Timpf is joined by Matt Modi of Betting Pros to discuss the best bets in the NBA as we approach the playoffs. Can anybody get in the way of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets oh repeating as NBA champs? Some of the best bets to make are Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers, and Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Good to be back after getting out of town for a little bit yesterday to do some skiing up in northern Arizona. We have a very special show today. We have Matt Modai who does NBA live streams for betting pros. He's going to come on the show. We're going to talk about his top three NBA finals bets, as well as his favorite MVP bet. He's also a die-hard Sixers fan.

It's tough time to be a Sixers fan. So we're going to get into the weeds on the Sixers and let him vent for a little bit. Matt, first of all, let's get started with this. We're going to do it countdown style. Okay. We're going to go from three to one. Who is your third favorite title bet at this point in the season? Sure.

My third favorite title bet, drum roll, please. I'm going to go with the Los Angeles Clippers. Obviously, they have, first of all, I guess I should go with the odds. So right now they're tied with the nuggets for the second bet. odds to win the title, which I think is kind of crazy that they're tied with the nuggets in the first place, but we'll get there at plus 475 odds. So what I like to do with, because I always think about something in terms of like the best value bets from a win from a percentage in terms of what's the win percentage of the bet in terms of the odds and what's the win percentage of

what I actually think of this play. And for context, the odds, a plus 475 has a win percentage of like 17, 18%, basically telling you, okay, we think there's like a 20% roughly chance that the clippers are going to win the finals, which I think I can get there. I mean, like, obviously they have the obvious qualifier that you have to stay healthy. That's, they're the biggest question mark for them of any other team. But hey, they've been healthy this year. I know Paul George has been out for the past couple games, but nothing crazy. And both him or him, Kauai and James Hardin, they're all on pace to play the most games they've played in years. They've kind of lost contention to be the one seed, but regular season, that stuff happens. I'm not necessarily scared

off from that. And I just love what I've been seeing from Kauai Leonard. Like he's never been a huge regular season guy. I mean, he played what, like 52 games when they, when the Raptors won the finals back in 2019. But he's been phenomenal. MBA.com and I'm not exactly sure how they come up to these stats, but they list him as like the best ISO score in the NBA. And we've all seen him turn into the Terminator, absolutely just game record in the playoffs. Even the two games he played against the Suns last year, he was amazing. And I just think that the Clippers have everything they need to win. And I like it from an odds perspective. So tell me, tell me, Tell me where I'm wrong about the clippers.

I'm super high in the clippers, too. They're going through a little bit of a downstretch right now, which is a typical thing for a veteran team. It honestly was kind of crazy that they were as locked in as they were for so long right after the trade. And like they've kind of gone back and forth between wins and losses for a little while. Their defense has gone down a big level as of late. But I think that's just typical regular season malaise.

When you kick everyone's ass for a few months, eventually it's just kind of human nature to let up for a little bit. they kind of fall into this category of NBA teams that typically doesn't do super well in the postseason in the sense that they're very perimeter oriented with a bunch of guys that kind of like play both sides of the ball but on the perimeter. So think teams like Boston teams like Oklahoma City, teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, where they have all these rangy wings that can guard and can score on the other end of the floor. The difference between the clippers and most of those other teams except for Boston,

obviously is amazing. But the difference between the clippers and teams like the Pelicans and the Thunder is they have the real interior physical imposition element, which I think is super important. Like Hawaii is like the one guy who's really a perimeter skill player who seems to go up a massive level when he gets to the postseason because he's so much stronger than everybody. And he can get to his spots. And then if he's Zubach just gives you that interior kind of physicality, a guy that can bang bodies with Nicole Yokic, but not only that will give issues to other bigger centers in the league.

He historically has given Anthony Davis issues on the offensive glass. He's a guy that could bury and give issues to Chet Holmgren, even like a Rudy Gobert. So they bring a good combination of like real two-way perimeter talent while also having that interior size. I also like that James Hardin is slotted into a role where he can have a bad night and it's not the end of the world. I liked what you said about the seating.

I agree, particularly in the Western Conference. I just don't necessarily think it matters all that much. because like no matter where you are, you're going to have a tough go of things. I was looking at it earlier. It's like if you're the one seed, it's like you're probably going to face the Lakers or the Warriors. That's not a fun first round series.

It's like then you're going to face potentially like Denver, Phoenix in the second round. And then you're going to turn around and play in Oklahoma City or the Clippers. And then you're going to turn around and play a team out of the Eastern Conference. So to me, specifically in the West seeding doesn't matter as much as long as you have that home court in that, in that first round series. I think that's something that matters quite a bit. But I think they're built for a postseason run.

And honestly, I do view them as a value bet as well. You're not getting a better combination of talent and experience with a top-end superstar the way you get with Kauai. We had Sam Vesini on the show the other day, and he said that he would take Kauai as the second best playoff player when healthy in the league right now. I'm not sure if I'd have him quite that high, but he's in that conversation. And really, like you mentioned the Phoenix, you mentioned the series against Phoenix. last year, like, he was a total ass kicker while he was out there.

He's amazing. He just, he just, his body didn't hold up. And that same health qualifier really applies to every single one of those teams. Is there a specific matchup with the clippers that scares you, though? Honestly, it's, it's the nuggets. Part of me is just because, like, we all watch the bubble because there's nothing else to watch. In a two-man game with Jamal Murray and Yokic, just put them in a complete blender.

I do think they've come out of that a little bit, like the following playoff run, they made it to the Western Conference finals and they won the last two games against Utah. And Paul George was incredible. He like the pandemic p jokes all went away. So like if the nuggets, I'm not predicting this, but if they somehow get balanced in the first two rounds, that would be the biggest worry for me for the Clippers would be the nuggets. I think the Timberwolves, I don't trust their late game offense. And I think we'll have to see what it's like, because this is the best perimeter defense that

Rudy Go bears had when he was on the jazz. He had to do everything. He was like the entire defense. and then the Thunder. I was listening to that podcast you did with Vassini. They're a little bit too young and a little bit too slight. The third worst rebounding team in the league, I think. That's going to come back.

And then the Sons, I just don't trust the depth. It's like, is Bradley Biel going to play in the playoffs? And then what do you have outside of them? Like, Grayson Allen has been incredible. But if you're telling me that he's their fifth most important player, like that concerns me. And then Nirkich is the healthiest he's been in years. So really, it's the nuggets. And that's not a hot take because they just won the title.

last year. Yeah, I actually, I think the clippers are just a way better version of the Suns. That's why I'm not particularly worried about Phoenix. Denver, it's interesting because I agree. They would be the team that you would be worried about. And by the way, every team in the league should be worried about Denver. They're the best. Specifically, though, there's a couple of different things that I like about that matchup for the Clippers, at least to give them a shot. And it's one, Zubach, just having another big body to throw at Yokich. But also, they kind of have the like the the the the nuggets have defenders that are good in help situations but aren't good on the ball and so against teams that are more like top heavy with superstars and then

like role players down the roster they can really load up on stars and have really good help and recover schemes the clippers have the unique ability to kind of spread you out and you run out bodies like who is going to guard like who is jamaul murray going to guard in that matchup you know what i mean like there is going to be opportunities to find matchups there that they can take advantage of. I give the clippers a legitimate puncher's chance to beat Denver, although I would pick Denver. All right. Drum roll again here for your number two favorite championship bet. Okay.

So this one I cheated a little bit. Technically, it's not to win the title, but it's to come out of the east. Okay. And it's not the Celtics. I don't know if this counts, but it's not the Celtics. And before I give you the team, I kind of just want to get your thoughts on kind of my logic here. So right now, the Celtics are plus 115 to win the East. That's a win percentage of you have to win basically above 46% of your bets at plus

115. And I don't know, like, is there a 50% chance that the Celtics are coming out of the East? Probably. And maybe it's just like fatigued because they've been so good for so long that you just start to pick nits where maybe you shouldn't. But my issue has always been with the Celtics is they just don't get to the rim. And unless you have elite jump shooting, like the Warriors. with Steph and Clay or lead mid-range with Kevin Durant and Booker.

Not that I'm saying they should be title favorites, but it's just, it's hard for me to envision them winning four games in a seven-game series. In an East that might not have the top heavy teams like the West, but it's much better than it was last year. Like the Celtics attempt, fifth fewest shots in the restricted area. The second fewest in the paint,

but not in the restricted area. They average the most above the break three-pointers, the most pull-up three-pointers as well. And yet they look magnificent. when shots are falling. But then you have like the first three games against the heat where they can't make a shot and everything just looks stagnant and looks just like they don't have a professional like a Mike Conley to run normal offense.

So before I give you the team, I'm just curious about your thoughts on basically the field versus the Celtics. Well, really quickly, before I go there, has that line moved much with the recent bucks resurgence? Like, do you remember where that line was a couple weeks ago? I don't. I just checked this yesterday as plus one. I actually think it's gotten more likely that this I think the Celtics have become even bigger favorites because they got they won nine nine straight at this point I think is what it is you know I picked we were I can't even remember what exactly I think it was with the nerd sash guys we were talking about whether or not we take the Celtics or the field in the Eastern conference and I went for the Celtics and I honestly I honestly feel like a little bit better than a 50% chance feels like the right number so if it's plus 115, that actually feels like pretty solid odds to me.

Sure. The one thing that really worries me about Milwaukee in a series with Boston is, I was literally watching this morning just with Tyrese and Buddy Heald last night. Like Derek White and Jalen Brown and Drew Holiday is just a torture chamber of perimeter defenders. It's crazy. And they can all switch and they, and they're physical. And like, what I worry about is kind of like what happened with.

Dame when they kind of ran out of gas against the Pelicans a few years back, where it's like just a good, strong physical perimeter defender can wear Dame out and make him inefficient. And he's already kind of having a pretty bad efficiency season by his standards anyway. Now, Milwaukee's defending a lot better and they're starting to figure some stuff out in terms of their spacing and pick and roll. And I do think Milwaukee has a real shot to win. but I would probably give Boston a little better than 50% chance that they would win it. Okay. Yeah. I mean, that's fair. Again, it's one of those things where you get, like I said, you get fatigued. But my, so my pick to come out of the east is actually the New York Knicks at plus 850.

That's essentially the plus 850 odds is essentially a win percentage of 10%. And I went through it like, okay, if I'm not taking the Celtics and let's go through the field. The calves, I think are really good. I think they're a really solid regular season team. I'm not sure that they can they can win three series in the east. He's like maybe I'm too scarred from from their series against the Knicks last year, but they just got bodied. And I have a tough time seeing them win three straight. As a Sixers fan, I'm contractually obligated to not think that Doc Rivers can coach a team

into the finals. I mean, I will never get out of my head that Hawk series. He played Dwight Howard, Ben Simmons, and Fibble at the, on the same time in a game seven, must win game. It's just I can't get there. And, you know, with the Sixers, first of all, I can't be a Homer and come in here and say, I think the Sixers, but really, around. is like I just have too much uncertainty around and beats me. And even if he comes back late March,

which is what Woj reported? Like what Embed are we going to see? Is he going to be the ass kicker that he was at the beginning of the year? So that left me with the Knicks. And I don't, I think they have everything they need. Like obviously the one thing they need is health. They're missing three fits of their starting lineup. That's not great. But I think part of my logic for the Knicks is I think Jalen Brunson is like a legitimate superstar. And I believe that it was Vassini who was making that same point on your show when he came on. But he's awesome. Like his raw stats are good, 27.7 points per game for over 40% shooting from deep, about seven assists per game. He's running the second most pick and roll possessions per game pretty efficiently. And you can't go under

that screen like you used to. Like he'll shoot he'll shoot from deep. He's averaging about four pull-up three-pointers per game off the pick and roll. And he's shooting like 38%. And then outside of Brunson, I just love their roster. I like, they've they've shooters now like OG is a good spot up shooter boy on can get hot even Chenzo he's been he's been chucking it like crazy recently um and then we'll have to see like OG and randall should be back with enough time to be ramped up for the playoffs we'll have to see with Mitchell robinson um and I think that this year more than any year they can withstand randall if he decides to to just not play well in the playoffs like that series

against the Hawks that Brunson wasn't even on team like that's a different a different time so I don't know like for plus 850 like I just think they have everything they need And I think they could beat the Celtics in a seven game series. But maybe I'm crazy. Plus 8.50 to win the East. I love that bet. The Knicks are a team that I'm super high on. I think they're literally constructed for the postseason.

I am like super, super, super high on Jalen Brunson. I was actually thinking about this yesterday. I gotten a bunch of trouble this summer for saying that I thought Jalen Brunson was better than John Morant right now, like that John Morant would probably eventually pass him. sure, but that he's better than John Morant right now is just like a playoff game manager who can really navigate the half court slowdown physical environment and everybody killed before and I'm like, this dude's literally killing everybody this year. Like he's awesome. He's unquestionably been better than Dame this year. Yeah. Like that's not even up for debate. Like Jalen Brunson is

incredible. Dante DiVincenzo is actually turned into one of the best three and Deguards in the league this season, which is like a crazy value ad for the Knicks. And then you have this incredibly physically imposing front line with O.G. and Ninobe and Julius Randall and Mitchell Robinson, if he can come back. Mitchell Robinson is like a huge matchup problem for teams, especially on the offensive glass and just kind of in general around the rim. He's also had before he got hurt one of the better defensive seasons of his career. I also think teams are going to run out of bodies in a lot of ways. Like you can imagine an environment where, you know, you're going to have to throw your biggest, strongest forward on Julius Randall. And it's like,

who's guarding O. G. Anobie. And he's, a guy that can play that bully ball kind of back to the basket style and can cause some problems in matchup situation. So I'm super high on the Knicks. As a matter of fact, like among the among those teams in the Eastern Conference, and Sam and I were actually talking about this when we did the show the other day, if they played the Bucks like tomorrow, I'm not sure that I wouldn't pick the Knicks. Now, we'll see when we get to April because the Bucks have a lot of time to figure things out and they are trending in the right direction in a lot of ways. But it's not impossible to imagine that the Knicks could beat a Bucks team in a second

round series and then go to Boston and play a super physical brand of basketball and bait them into their worst tendencies of settling for bad jump shots and not attacking the basket and all of a sudden they end up coming out of the conference. That is not infeasible. So it's like to me plus 850 is an incredible number to get the Knicks out. I love that bet. Yeah. All right.

Go ahead. No, that's exactly my logic. Like, you know, I wouldn't like that at plus 400. I love them at plus 850. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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What is your favorite title bet for this season? It's the Denver Nuggets. I tried to be different, but I just think it's a Denver Nuggets. They're tied with the Clippers to have the second best odds to win the title. I think they should be the second best team behind the Celtics. They're plus 475. Like I said, that's a win percentage between 17 and 18%.

I'll admit that they have a little bit of concerning offensive stats. Like they need to be, if not number one, like top two offense in the NBA to win the title. Right now they're 12th in net rating. Part of that like Murray's missed some games. They're 30 and 12 with him in the lineup with an offensive net rating that would be equivalent to the fourth best in the NBA.

And that's not even talking about when Murray and Yok could share the floor, when they just break basketball. together. And it kind of reminds me last year, like they were the one seed for so long in the regular season and had such a cushion that people kind of forget that post all-star break, the nuggets didn't look phenomenal. And I looked this up because I wanted to like make sure my memory was correct. Like they were after February 15th last year, they were 13 and 11 with a net rating that would put them at like 17th in the NBA. Then the playoffs started and they lost a combined four games. And like I do think the West is better. So yeah, they probably won't make it to the

finals by only losing three games. But kind of what I got to is like, okay, how many playoff runs? Like what happened to the last two healthy playoff runs for Jamal Murray in Nicole Yokish? They won the title and then they beat the Clippers and they made it to the Western Conference finals. And they had two year break where Murray wasn't healthy. So I just think that they're undervalued because they're not quite having the regular season that they had last year. And they're probably not going to be home court, but they prove that they can win on the road in the playoffs. So that part doesn't scare me. Kind of like we said with the Clippers, like I don't really need them to be the one seed. So I just think that like the nuggets the nuggets are the best bet to win the finals, especially at plus

475. I'm actually all season long. I have been confounded at why Denver is so such a long shot in Vegas to win the title. Like I just doesn't make any sense to me because I understand the optimism surrounding Boston. They have a super talented roster. They're kicking everybody's butt in the regular season. But that was pretty much since EMA Udoca came on board and they made the Derek White trade. they've kicked everybody's butt incessantly since then. That's never not been the case, right? And so I struggle with it from the standpoint of like, Denver is such a textbook championship favorite because we've seen them do it before.

They have the best player in the world. Everybody on their team is back and there's more continuity. And also, like, as you look around the board, like, every team has these like glaring flaws. Like even with Boston, it's like, what are their last four losses? it's like, oh, Denver, Milwaukee, the Clippers and the Lakers, all games where they settled for a bunch of jump shots and missed a bunch of shots. Now, that's not to say Boston can't win. Like, to me, Boston should only be slightly behind Denver. But to me, they should be behind Denver. And so I 100% agree with

you. I see them as a as a real value ad. I'm not as worried. I'm not, I'm not as worried about their, about their offensive issues during the regular season. For starters, like, Jamal Murray has missed a healthy chunk of time that has kind of thrown a wrench in some. of the data. Also, like, there's been extended stretches of the year where they've defended harder in the regular season than they did last year. Ironically, that stretch last year that you're talking about post all-star break, that kind of got me off their scent because I was like thinking, okay, this is a team that's a mediocre defense and an elite offense. They're going to need to be sharp going into the postseason. Like, they're going to need to be on top of their details.

They're going to need to be really on a string defensively, at least to get to the level they need to get. And then it ended up not even mattering when we got to the postseason. And like really, it comes down to to just kind of put a bow on it. It comes down to just my core basketball philosophy, which is like playoff basketball is one with a physical interior style of play in a grind out, slow down, half-court environment. And there is literally not a team in the league that does that as well as Denver. And to me, I've said this on the show before, and I feel strongly about this. If they are healthy, meaning their core five guys are healthy, I would be surprised if they did not win the title. Because I don't, like, legitimately, like, if the Clippers upset them, I'd be like,

wow, I did not see that coming. Like, legitimately, it is something that I feel very strongly about. I think, I think that we see the healthiest gap between the best player in the world and the second best player since LeBron around like 2012, 2012, 2013. Like, he is head and shoulders above the field, in my opinion, and getting them at, what was the number one more time? 475 to win the title. Plus 475 is insane to me. I think that that's such a great bet. Who's your favorite MVP bet right now?

So, I mean, Yoko is the favorite to win the MVP, and he should be the favorite to win the MVP. There's only one other guy that I wanted to throw at you, and that's SGA. Right now he's plus 250, and he has the second best odds to win. Plus 250, that translates to win percentage of about 28, 29%.

I don't know. Is there a third of a chance that SGA wins the MVP? Like if the Thunder who are hot end the season with the one seed, right now they're tied with the Timberwolves. And I think they've won like, what, seven straight at this point, something like that. Right now they're like a half game behind the Timberwolves in terms of record against teams above 500. They have the second best net rating in the entire NBA only behind the Celtics. Like, I don't know.

Is that crazy? I'm not going to say that I think SGA is going to win the MVP or that that's even my favorite bet. It's just if I had to give you someone that's not Yokic. Honestly, the case for it would be what you were just saying about Yokic. Like, what if, what if they let their foot off the gas here down the stretch of the season? And what if they, what if Denver ends up winning with, like, ending up at the four seed? And what if from there, you know, Yokic sits four or five games and, you know, just kind of does what he did at the end of last season, which is basically punt the MVP to Joel and B. If he does something like that, if he does something like that, SGA just becomes the winner by default.

And I think that's reflected in the odds. Yeah, it is. That said, like, man, they look so sharp right now, Denver does coming out of the break so far. That would be the one kind of bit of reticence that I have. But yeah, I think, I think that, like, SGA makes sense as a, as like a long shot bet simply because of the fact that we saw Denver do something very similar last year. Also, it's just crazy to think about, I was, like, this was literally what I got into all that

trouble for yesterday, but like you could make a case he should have won last year. Yeah. No, I wasn't making that case. I thought Joel deserved it. But like at a very minimum, he's going to be a three out of four MVP with a with a second place finish in a year where he literally punted the award. Like this is a run of dominance that we have not seen since LeBron in the, in the early 2012. And we should all be thankful that Jamal Murray and, and then were out. It, uh, well, wasn't, uh, Jamal Marie was out and then Michael Porter Jr. was out as well, I think in 2000, uh, um, in 2020. Um, in 2020, if I remember correctly. Yeah. So like that, yeah, like, we should all be thankful because it's very possible, especially in that 20, one season, which was kind of wide open and there were a bunch of like that weird Hawks team made it to the conference finals.

And then that weird clippers team without Kauai made it to the conference finals. Like, even that son's team to me didn't feel like a traditional championship contender. Like that feels like a year Denver wins it if they're healthy too. So like, I think it's incredible what we're seeing from Yokic. All right. So I turn on the game this morning. I'm watching Celtic Sixers. And I'm fine. There's some silver linings there.

I've seen some stuff. We'll talk about it here in a second. But then I look, I look, because I haven't followed the Sixers super closely since Embed got hurt just because we're not going to learn anything super interesting about them. As a Sixers fan, where are you at with this team, man?

How are you doing? How are you holding up? Yeah, I'm okay. I appreciate you asking. You know, it's kind of funny because when Embedde was on his run of dominance, I was like, you know, I think this is the best roster the Sixers have had, specifically to compliment Joelle Embed, like the Jimmy Butler roster was better. Last year, the roster was probably better, but they're more able to withstand an injury

to Embed because they could just, you know, let it hard and run the show. And then Embedie gets hurt. He misses a month. And I'm like, do they only have one other good player on their roster? It's like amazing how different their team looks like. Maxi's awesome. I love Tyrese Maxi. you know, is he ready to run the show in the playoffs maybe or maybe not.

But where I'm at with the Sixers is like if they if they can't get to like if they can't get a top six seat, which right now they're currently the six seat are tied with the heat in terms of record. But they're only a half game up on both the Magic and the Pacers. Even if the B. comes back and at the end of March and he looks good. Like I just have a hard time seeing them really making a run because you don't know how his knees is going to hold up even if he comes back healthy. And man, the East is just so much better this year than it has been. Like every other year of the sixers I've lost in the second round, they've waltzed out of their first round opponent. Like they beat the heat pre-Jimmy Butler.

They beat the Raptors post-Kawai a couple years ago. And last year they beat the Nets team that wouldn't have been the 60s if they didn't have a great first half with Durant and Kairi. So where I'm at with the Sixers is I wear Eagles hats and I wear Phillies hats and I don't wear Sixers' hats. Yeah, well, the case for the Sixers to win the title is MB goes into the postseason and just kills everybody. and it's hard to imagine that happening this season under the circumstances. I mean, he is a rhythm player. Conditioning is a very important part of his success. And it's difficult to imagine him just like stepping back out onto the court in late

March and then being like, okay, let's start from the eight seat and let's see if we can do this thing. Like it just seems, it just feels like a long shot. There are encouraging things. Like I am such a huge Tyrese Maxi fan. I remember when I ran into him in VIII. Vegas at Summer League a couple years ago, and he came out of the locker room just like, or he came out of the, uh, the rec center there at UNLV, just like completely drenched and sweat

after a workout. And I'm like, dude, it's July and like everyone else is here just like relaxing and having a great time and you're in the gym just like kicking your ass, getting ready, you know, for next season. And I, I, I love his combination of downhill speed and pull up shooting. I thought last night he was cooking everybody on the Celtics. He's cooking Tatum. He's getting like cooking Derek White, he's cooking Drew Holiday. He's getting better at his kickout reads. He's got a 2.5 assist to turnover ratio ever since Joel Embed went out. He's maintained his efficiency for the most part. He's been at 27 points per game at 57% true shooting since Embed one out, which is really solid, especially when the entire scheme is devoted towards trying to slow you down.

He can turn the corner on the best perimeter defenders in the league. Absolutely love that guy. And honestly, like, I do think he's good enough to be a good, legit number two next to Joel and Bid. I also like, I really like this Ricky Council, the fourth guy. He's awesome. He's awesome. Like, I was, I've watched, like, the handful of Sixers games I've watched in the last couple of months. I've been like, I keep, I remember the first time I was like, who is that? And then like, I'm watching him last night. I'm like, here's Ricky Council again. He's got, he plays with a lot of motor. He's a good athlete. He rebounds really well. He can put the ball on the floor and like make plays off the bounce. I was pulling the stats earlier. His per 36 numbers this year, 24 points per game in eight rebounds,

or 24 points per 36, eight rebounds per 36 on 62% true shooting. So he's producing like a 24 and 8 guy efficiently in the small spurts that he's out there on the floor. I really like that. I have one gripe. I really don't understand why Buddy Healed is starting for them. and here's the case. I understand

like Tyrus Max, he's competing on defense. He had some really good possessions against Jalen Brown last night. Like J.N. Brown was trying to pick on him and he was just holding his ground, picked him clean twice through an offense foul. But like he does have some limitations on that.

He's just a little small. And he almost like plays too hard for his own good on defense. Like he sometimes he like overreacts and jumps and gets out of position, which can hurt him sometimes. But like I really do think you need someone of the D. Anthony Melton ilk at the, to a guy that's like a more defensive-minded perimeter, like kind of like guy that you can throw on the other team's best guard.

And like Buddy healed to me as a guy that's like he's your textbook, like high volume three-point shooter that's pretty efficient. And you could run things like go screen actions and stuff to get the defense and rotation. It's a good start. And I like him as a bench weapon. And in general, I like him as a talent add to the team. But to me like having another skill guard next to Tyrese maxi is setting yourself up for

failure on the defensive end of the floor. Also, historically, Buddy Heald tends to kind of run into efficiency issues when it gets into really physical defensive environments, which again, happened against Boston last night, other than the first two shots he hit. So like, I just wonder, like, how do you feel about the buddy healed move? Do you think it like makes sense for them? And do you agree with the way that they're using him so far? Yeah, I think it makes sense when Embedde's healthy because his gravity is going to be so helpful for Embed. And Beed and the paint can clean up a lot of issues they would have defensively. but yeah, I kind of agree that it would make more sense to start the Anthony Melton.

Like the Anthony Melton also missed a ton of time when the Sixers are losing a bunch of games. He missed, I don't know, like six weeks, whatever it was. And I love The Anthony Melton. Like I think like as long as I've been a Sixers fan, like in the Embed era, they haven't had a guy who can both shoot and play defense. It's been either or it's been JJ Reddick. It's been Seth Curry or last year they had PJ Tucker. He can at least do both. And that's just it's a revelation to watch.

I also think, I mean, I haven't watched the ton of. of Buddy Healed, but probably coming on the Sixers. He's got limitless range. I thought he would have a quicker trigger. He doesn't, he doesn't quite shoot as just unconscious as you would hope for. He's a little bit of a better playmaker than I was expecting. Like, he's done a pretty good job with assist. But yeah, I mean, I think the problem is he makes a lot more sense with Indeed in the

lineup because like I said, that gravity is just so helpful. And their two-man game could end up being pretty good, like probably not as good as him and JJ Reddick because that was really good. And even Seth Curry was really. was really good for the one year they had him. And it's two-man game with Maxi's awesome. But yeah, I kind of agree. Maxi buddy-heeled backcourt without having,

like with Bebo Paul as the rim protector, it's just not going to get it done. Yeah, I, that's, I totally understand it within the context of the Embed move. I thought the same thing. I'm like, okay, this is JJ Reddick, Seth Curry basically is like essentially going away from the high pick and roll you know, pocket passes to the to the foul line for Embed and back to some of like just the dribble

handoff stuff that he did so much with those guys. And I do really like that. But again, like to me, it's matchup based and it makes a ton of sense. It's almost like a staggering kind of thing with Maxi as a way to keep running offense. So like you can have Maxi led units because Maxi's demonstrating he can score and run an offense without Embed out there. Like that's that's how damn good he is. And so you can kind of construct lineups accordingly and make it work. To me like DeAnthony, Melton is literally like a slightly lesser version of Contagius Caldwell Pope. Like he's a good, big athlete at that position who can guard. The difference between him and KCP is KCP is more of like an off the catch,

off the dribble handoff kind of guy. D Anthony Melton actually has some off the dribble pop. Like he can really put the ball on the floor. But to me, like, that's the mold is you look at it in the same way that you can have Murray and KCP and it works because KCP can guard Steph Curry. And KCP can do take on these higher leverage defensive assignments. you look at it as Tyrese Maxine D. Anthony Melton. And then if the matchup makes sense, if they're a team that doesn't attack,

like, for instance, if you're playing Boston, then yeah, like maybe Buddy Hill makes more sense because they're going to be initiating more offense through Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, and it's more on, you know, Tobias Harris and Kelly Ubre to guard on the perimeter. You know, like I like him there. I just don't necessarily agree with the way that they've used him so far. All right, Matt, why don't you tell us about where we can find your work? Yeah, sure. So as you mentioned, I do NBA betting live streams for betting pros on directly.

on their YouTube channel every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 11 a.m. Anything else you can find on my Twitter slash X handle? I don't know what we're even calling it these days. At Jedi in my last name, Modai, J-E-D-I-M-O-D-D-I. I'd have some sort of Star Wars stuff in there. But yeah, I appreciate having me, and that's where you can find me. Hell yeah, dude. All right, I have one last question for you, Mr. Star Wars fan. Have you read the Thrawn books? No, I haven't. I have not read any of the books. Maybe I'm a poser, but I've not read any of the books. I'm disappointed, Matt. I'm disappointed. Hey, this was a lot of fun. I really appreciate you coming on the show.

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