Mavs vs. Wolves and Celtics vs. Pacers: Western and Eastern Conference Finals Previews | OM3 THINGS

Mavs vs. Wolves and Celtics vs. Pacers: Western and Eastern Conference Finals Previews | OM3 THINGS

welcome to the old men of the three things with JJ reck and Steve Jones we’re we’re minus one we’re minus one this morning I you know what I’m actually really looking forward to this you know the kai just he just talks over us all the time it’s just so disruptive oh man I’m here I’m happy uh exciting basketball game sevens are weird uh I will give a nod to Nikas because I’m sure he would have said this today one of Luca Anthony Edwards Jason Tatum or Tyrese halberton is going to win a championship y there we go I think overall these playoffs to some degree the entire season it feels like a passing of the torch now if Denver had won and we’re here today you know there’s still the possibility joic gets his repeat but we’re not there we’re not there there’s going to be a new best player on the best team that wins a championship right there’s not many of those guys that are active um joic added to the list last year we’re gonna have another one this year uh so it is truly going to be a passing of the torch moment um rather you know we RJ and I did our our sort of reactions last night to the game sevens I agree with you game sevens are always weird um I thought the Minnesota Denver Series in general was strange it was just a strange series it was hard to digest or not uh digest but sort of predict what was going to happen game to game uh but let’s start with that series uh in terms of the Western Conference Finals Dallas Mavericks beat OKC in six games Minnesota goes on the road beats Denver in a game seven where they’re down 20 points in the second half um I think there’s a lot of interesting things about this series uh but I just want to start in general with what do you think the sort of one or two biggest keys to you are for either team or just an overall matchup that you’re particularly zeroed in on uh I think it’s going to be which team can establish their identity defense comes to mind for me with both of them because of the ways that they have gotten to the Conference Finals establishing their defense on either end of the floor I think it’s ties back to something you’ve said a lot during these playoffs you got your Batman’s you got your Robins you need alfreds this is a series where hey we have Batman we have Robins but the alfreds are going to have to show up my mind is more intrigued to see how each team tries to uh defend each other what they start out with and what they land on so what is Minnesota going to start out with is it going to be just dropped with Rudy is Kyrie going to have space and he’s going to be able to operate and he’s done a really good job especially in that OKC Series balancing the playmaking and the shot making how do they treat Luca is C going to switch on to him uh what does that that open up for Dallas on the other end Anthony Edwards are you going to show help are you going to be able to rotate like you did against Oklahoma City um how does cat get loose is probably what I’m thinking about as well because he’s so important to that Minnesota offense and so does he get the same switches does he get double teamed is he able to catch in the right spots that’s where my mind kind of starts with because I I think we know both teams can defend only one of them is really going to impose their will in this series and I just want to see where they start with and how they get there I’m glad you started with the defense because that was the first thing I sort of wrote down was I feel uh and and the playoffs because of pace and because of a lot of the physicality uh it it’s felt like uh outside of a a few games here and there in each series it’s felt like a defensive playoffs right and I think this probably encapsulates these playoffs more than anything because I I look at this as a defensive series Dallas of course number one defense in the NBA the last 20 games of the regular season um we’ve watched them against the Clippers we’ve watched them against OKC they do a lot of things really well um they have a lot of size they have a lot of length they’ve got the engagement from K Kyrie and Luca Josh Green Off the Bench providing the ball pressure component which I want to touch on in a second um and of course Minnesota who you know I think has been hyperbolized as people saying it’s been the greatest defense they’ve ever seen I’m not going to go that far but certainly the best defense in the NBA this season and uh a a very formidable uh group um some of it is Personnel some of it is schemes but this is a defensive series I don’t expect this to be uh a a high-paced high-scoring series Luca always does a good job of controlling Pace Dallas I think was eighth in Pace during the regular season so they look for opportunities to run um the biggest thing for me for both teams is how do we get two on the ball that is the biggest thing for me and you you bring up the drop stuff with Rudy so so sort of like when I when I look at uh matchups I I think I would expect Jaden McDaniels to start on Luca MH um and I I probably would expect Anthony Edwards if not starting on Kyrie to take some of that those Kyrie matchups um Mike Conley as well of course so with Luca um you know you think about let’s say the Clipper series where they were in drop and they did a really good job of cutting off drives Terrence man for most of that series was into the ball didn’t allow Luca to to put him in jail and put him in a disadvantageous spot Jaden McDaniels is going to have his his hands full but again you’ve got Rudy there on the back line so Luca and I thought at times in the OKC Series he did get two on the ball uh and you know it’s PJ Washington in the corner right it’s they’re playing out of rotation Josh Green gets a drive they get a lob right so if Minnesota can stay out of rotation and just basically say we’re going to trust McDaniels uh we’re going to trust Anthony Edwards we’re going to trust Mike Conley we’re going to trust nikil Alexander Walker uh to guard these guys and make life miserable then I think Dallas at times will have trouble to score and that’s not to say Luca Kyrie are not going to make ridiculous shots Luca Kyrie are not going to have 40-point Outburst against this defense I’m not saying that they’re two of the greatest offensive players in the world but if Minnesota can stay out of rotation and not put two on the ball against this team what does that do Steve it’s the other guys you shut that water off and and that’s going to be the big one and now based on what you said my mind is thinking okay what’s what would the adjustment be do we now just put other guys in action do we try and get Anthony Edwards to switch and make him navigate do we try and get Luca to switch on Conley and get a post up that way uh now the importance of Kyrie to where okay that guy can make those shots to where we don’t feel as comfortable with that do we do we see that like I feel like Minnesota is at their best when they are able to defend with conviction and if Dallas is in that kind of standpoint like you mentioned where they can trust their guys to stay home and now the kickouts are there but we can close back out we have help points guys we can help off of Rudy’s protecting the paint That’s where Dallas has to avoid in this series they can’t let Minnesota defend with that level of conviction um and so I’m trying to I’m trying to think like if Luca is able to score in the post and make plays in pick roll I think it gets really tough for Minnesota he can cycle through their personnel I think it gets really tough okay uh so let’s assume for a second that uh Carl Anthony towns maybe he’s on Derrik Jones Jr let’s assume um Anthony Edwards Mike Conley one of them is on PJ Washington or vice versa Cat’s on PJ Washington one of them is on Derrick Jones Jr so whether it’s just in space or it’s to create a switch Luca brings one of those guys up he then gets Jaden McDaniels Anthony Edwards off of him maybe he likes the Anthony Edwards matchup as this series progresses but again you use the first screener and you can do it in space or you can do it just to manipulate the matchup um I didn’t want to talk about this yet uh because I wanted to do this in the Boston Indie thing but dang it uh something really bothered me during the Indie uh Nick series particularly game six and seven just because I called those games and I was you know Courtside watching it and it’s going to be interesting in that series and we’ll get to Hal Burton’s defense and his shows in a second but Joe Missoula is going to he’s going to go after Halbert right um and let’s let’s say let’s say it’s Jason kid and Luca say all right we want to go after this guy and they have some success with it and they’re like all right we’re gonna we’re gon to head you’re wearing a show um what New York was doing with Halle Burton’s man on those screens is they were holding the screen and halberton in particularly in six and seven did an excellent job of rerouting the basketball the screens were so high that Jaylen Brunson was coming off at 35 40 feet and because halberton did a good job on the show and because they were holding the screen there was enough time for n Smith whomever it was to get back in front and it was bugging me because the reason teams don’t hedge anymore is cuz all you have to to do is slip behind the defense or ghost screen it and you’ve created a four on three and it was driving me crazy it was driving crazy there was one time in game seven where joshh Hart literally was like oh I can slip behind and then Jaylen he like Jaylen didn’t pass the ball so then he stopped Jaylen threw it to him and then he went to a dho and N Smith ran through Josh arton as a foul but my point is whether it’s cat not wanting to switch on delca potentially Mike Conley though I think I think they’ll trust him initially in this series um there are opportunities if you’re going to be in a hedge and you’re going to be in a hard show to bring a player up and create a fouron three the advantage that Luca has and an advantage that a lot of these bigger wings and bigger ball handlers have is that they can see over the top of the defense right so they can make that pass with a simple jump pass uh um a direct pass a little floating pass now all of a sudden you’ve got a guy going downhill four on three so that’s another just little X Ando thing that I’m like will Minnesota be in a show if he does the thing we’re talking about which is Target a specific guy to then get into the main action and and then it ties back to hey there’s two on the ball now they’re having to rotate and uh I’m glad you mentioned the C matchup because in my mind if he’s on DK Jones Jr if he’s on PJ Washington in theory does that now unlock them as screeners and rollers and now you’re able to create an advantage that way and and get them on the short roll get a cake Rudy’s obviously done a good job in the paint and stunning but I’m intrigued by kind of the little gaps Dallas can find um Anthony Edwards do how much do you think Anthony Edwards looks to attack Luca and Kyrie in this series yeah I would say I would no I would say he he will look to attack them for sure and you know if as that sort of series progressed with Denver um he was comfortable with whatever matchup he had and part of that was Denver was double teaming him so much right so I I think the thought process there was if I go Target someone and bring them up into a pick and roll where they’re just going to double team me right so I you know it was interesting because I there was some stuff last night as I was watching the game and following Along on Twitter because that’s unfortunately what I do sometimes when I watch games uh there was some stuff talking about his reads right and I I think this potentially regardless of if they double team if they Blitz I think this potentially is the biggest thing for Minnesota in this series um know Anthony Edwards didn’t have seven great games against Denver but he averaged 28 on 50% shooting and 37% from three like he had a great Series right his ability to make reads against the length of Dallas whether it’s on his drives trying to hit a weak side whether it’s in a double team whether it’s in pick and roll and gaffer Lively is in a drop that to me is a key part of this offense for for uh Minnesota because Dallas throughout the playoffs they have used the length to create deflections turnovers get out in transition and again if you’re talking about halfcourt offense and halfcourt defense this is going to be a bloodbath at times in this series as as teams make adjustments there you know there’s always the weird game there’s always the weird game where there’s an adjustment or somebody has a a high shot variance but I think overall in the half court it’s going to be tough to score um even though these teams have unbelievably good players on the offensive end so Edward’s ability to make reads and not turn the ball over against this length of Dallas I think is huge I I think it’s key too uh the shot making is key the playmaking has been huge I think the willingness to make the reads depending on the help you’re showing has been big yeah if he if Minnesota’s able to get stops and Anthony Edwards is able to attack in in transition or early offense that opens up a new layer I think for Dallas one thing you mentioned the size and the length I’ve love the timing on their rotations to where they’ve been able to just kind of shorten windows for you where you think a play is there now there’s a big here they’re releasing and kind of rotating that way so he’s going to have to make sure he makes the right reads I’m very intrigued as I think about Dallas in rotation car Town’s a little bit different OKC couldn’t necessarily find the the balance between drive and kick and drive and score and cats got that ability to well I can just shoot this or I’ll drive make a play um the big big passing that he could have with Rudy in this series could be interesting um but with when it comes to Edwards he again if he’s able to feel comfortable with those matchups and now Dallas has to feel like they have to show more help that’s where it gets tricky like my mind is trying to think about how much does Dallas want to put to on the ball as well what are their when I brought it up when I brought it up I was talk basically talking about Luca and ant yeah yeah for sure for sure it’s both it’s both sides of that yeah because in my mind Dallas was able to settle in in both of those two series with hey this is what we’re giving you but do they get uncertain you know if if cat has it going is is that now you have to post in the double it’s different rotation if ant’s driving is the help going to be there so that’s where it’s like okay if Dallas gets ding there we have a whole different ball game yeah um Luca is clearly banged up he has had a few I would say a few Luca s games where he’s Distributing playmaking scoring efficiently um but overall it’s it’s very clear I mean I was watching the game the other night they listed four things that he’s dealing with right knee ankle shoulder elbow wrist you know Achilles whatever it’s just he’s banged up right he’s banged up um and I I think you could make an argument that Dallas has one against the Clippers and Dallas has one against the number one seed okl City without Luca being at his best so a question for you can Dallas win this series if Luca is not at his best they could but boy it ain’t going to be easy I think the the difference is if Luc is not at his best Minnesota is now able to stay out of rotation and trust their defense as you mentioned earlier and stick in that drop and contest Luca shots and now how much of the playmaking is opening up how much is he creating for everyone else I don’t think Dallas likes that version of the series you know they were able to kind of survive some of those moments against OKC when Luca didn’t have it going and you could tell the moments where Luca was trying to okay I need to hit this shot or I need to go for this Miss OKC pushes they’re gone I I don’t think that Minnesota I mean I don’t mean I don’t think that Dallas survives a a bad Luca series against this defense because where do where are you going to go unless unless Kyrie just goes nuts yeah that’s going to be a really tough thing because they need Lucas scoring and they need to open things up yeah and I’m I’m glad you mentioned Kyrie because I I think to me that that’s sort of you you look in a series and you’re like all right what’s the swing here like what what can swing a series one way or another and to me I mean this seems obvious but I think it’s important because Kyrie wasn’t the best version of himself against Oklahoma City either right and he was certainly efficient but in terms of volume and what he was at during the Clippers series and what he was at all season it wasn’t the best version of himself I thought he played well it’s I’m not saying he didn’t play well um but I think his his scoring his aggressiveness even at volume I I think is really important in this series um like this could be a series where you’re just like Kyrie we we actually need you to take 20 to 25 shots a night uh particularly if all that rotation stuff is not happening right we’re we’re asking you Rudy goar’s in a drop we’re asking you to go create right for yourself right we’re a little bogged down we’re asking you to go create an isolation for yourself and he has to be more than comfortable to do that because I think that could ultimately maybe it’s not every game could ultimately swing a game where Dallas gets a little bogged down offensively Kyrie does his magic magic right um the other the other thing on this series I I think is just interesting um is is just the bench and and you brought up the role player stuff and I talk about this all the time the alfreds blah blah blah um NZ Reed so massive in that game seven second half last night just that stretch uh we talked about on the on the uh on the live reaction last night with me and R.J like it goes from 8582 to 9282 uh because Nas Reed makes four straight plays right uh so he’s massive nil Alexander Walker is massive um talk about his defense look he’s a guy who is more than capable he’s you know he he’s been a little inconsistent in the playoffs of course he’s more than capable of going four for five from three in a game so he can swing a game on the other side Derek Lively uh and his ability to offensive rebound defend the defend the paint Tim Hardaway Jr you know he throughout his career has had these sort of massive swings in efficiency where uh for four or five games you’re like oh he’s in a shooting slump and then the next seven games you’re like holy [ __ ] uh that’s the second coming of Vinnie Johnson I love it you know so um he’s going to be he’s going to be huge as well I I look at the benches and and think what games and how these teams can create an advantage of through that I think Nas Reed probably is is sort of the biggest swing or X Factor when we talk about the benches I I would agree with that I think Nas Reed his ability to drive is going to be huge in this series uh especially with how Dallas likes to defend so if he’s able to get pain touches and finish that way it’s big I with Dallas’s bench it feels like they need a Tim Hardway Junior series they need his shooting uh they need his spacing if he’s able to also be someone who makes Minnesota think um that gets really interesting I know Dar Jones Jr not a part of the bench but if he can continue to make defenses pay that’s just the story for Dallas can we make can we make you pay for how you want to defend us yeah yeah um yeah both PJ and and Derrick Jones Jr they’re shooting and catch and shoot stuff off the ball and truthfully at times you know attacking Closeouts I thought I think both both those guys in both series have had some really nice moments attacking Closeouts and making plays um the big thing last thing I mention because it’s the last thing on my notes for this series was just uh you know with Lively and Gafford a big part of the Dallas halfcourt offense is the threat of them behind and for a lot of the Clippers series uh they they W unable to get behind um you know in that Oklahoma City series at times you know you think about Chad by the way in that in that game six how many times did he get behind the defense right it’s like so I think with goar I think with goar um you know where he’s positioned uh these guys may just have to buy in to like we have to get every offensive rebound and nothing can happen at The Rim like we have to like we that is our that is our job this series it’s not I I just don’t Envision it where goar all of a sudden is like I’m going to be way up and I’m gonna allow Gafford and Lively to get behind and there’s a vertical lob threat or it’s we’re in rotation I I just don’t see Minnesota you know unless these guys are you know shooting 70% through three games and and just absolutely torturing these guys I just don’t see Minnesota uh making that adjustment I think gobear is going to be in that heavy drop and again it’s going to go back to okay how do we manipulate some matchups here uh let’s move on to Indie Boston just some overall uh thoughts from you on I Boston’s playoffs so far they’ve done their job taken care of business everything they need to do in those series they accomplished and I think you know there’s probably going to be some adversity talk but they did lose game two of each of those series and immediately had to go snatch it back um um it’s going to be a different adjustment but Jason Tatum has been able to make plays make reads and drive uh Jaylen Brown has been really really good in this playoffs I I hope people realize the numbers that he’s put up and you mix in Drew holiday and Derek white and their impact on both in so I just think it’s been a taken care of business run so far this is going to be a different series for both these teams though uh how show with Indiana I I think with Indiana my mind comes to one Boston has stronger defensive Personnel to a degree in which we feel or in theory they could feel comfortable with a lot more switching and I think Boston offensively on the other end they can attack Indiana in different ways to where Indiana’s defense not known for it but they’ve been active and as the series has gone on they’ found different ways to impact things they’ve made adjustments once they key in on things they’ve been pretty good when Boston has the full weight of their lineup we can just kind of toggle different things and your your help points or now okay we’re leaving Derek white or we’re leaving Drew holiday or it’s Al Horford or Chris Toops when he comes back Boston can keep Indiana in rotation and Boston can also kind of mix and match and attack different items if they have that right mindset offensively which is always the question for me with Boston but if you think about okay we don’t want to switch Tyrese halberton onto this matchup that works but that’s Drew holiday potentially short rle that’s Dereck white potentially on the short rle they can make the those plays they kick out look who’s catching the ball that’s where Indiana is now going to have to sustain defense in a different way um so I I just think in my mind can Indiana find the gaps offensively because they’re going to play they’re Collective uh they play with great Pace but then defensively if Boston does what they need to do are they going to be able to sustain their defense over the course of a series yeah I think I want to talk about indies’s offense versus Boston’s defense but uh I think it’s less important to can Indie stop Boston that’s the question mark you go uh sort of even really down the line um with Boston and I I feel like there’s a lot of favorable matchups that they have um and their ability to get teams in rotation and I think specifically about this series uh Missoula and I brought this is why I brought it up earlier with with the the hedges with halberton so whether it is a straight pick and roll whether it is um their sort of V2 horns 2 action where they go to that triangle rip screen slip to get behind um they’re they’re going to get behind the defense like if if halberton whether he’s switching or not they manipulate these screening angles so well and you’ve got Al Horford spaced you’ve got Jaylen Brown spaced on the week side whoever Drew holiday so the communication’s got to be excellent how they guarded uh New York in terms of physicality being up to touch uh the off ball defense on Devan chenzo particularly games four through six that stuff is going to be massive but this is a very different team to guard it just is and the the sort of marker for me I I think about what makes these two offenses great for me with with Indie it’s it’s them their ability to spread you out have multiple actions create multiple Closeouts and eventually they’re going to score in the pain number one team in the league in points in the paint and a lot of that is because they are playing so fast even off of make that it’s hard to set your defense they just flow right into actions using throw aead passes get ahead passes whatever so that’s them with Boston I think the marker for me this series is going to be the rotations and the three-point volume like can Indiana win the math game against Boston that in some ways is is I I think as important as any matchup or whatever any strategic thing it’s like can we limit the three-point shots can we limit the defensive errors that cause a breakdown and into rotation uh so sometimes I think look I think think sometimes when you play Boston you got to be like hey hey we’re kind of willing to live with Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown you know taking ISO tough to taking ISO tough step back threes like we you in some ways you have to be willing to live with that against a favorable matchup you know what I mean by that yeah yeah uh otherwise you’re just in rotation they’re GNA they’re just going to rain threes or they’re going to score at The Rim and and I think that’s where it gets interesting how much switching does Indiana want to do what do they want to live with do they employ pressure just to kind of get Boston to start their sets later because in my mind if there’s a concern if you’re Boston which way you go with the way the Pacers play do you get trapped into that to a degree where now you’re taking some quicker shots you mentioned the three-point volume which type of Threes are you generating are these pull-ups are these quick ones off pick and roll are these the ones where Indiana is in rotation and they’ve had to defend and they’re trying to recover do you slow down too much and now it’s okay we we we feel comfortable with Tatum attacking this matchup or brown attacking this match up there’s 16 on the clock we’ve just started our action they only had to defend one pick and roll and they stayed at home to your point to try and get you to take a tough two and now we miss Indiana zooms the other way is that where the series could get shaky but can Indiana put Boston in that zone over the course of seven games you know yeah I I’m glad you brought up the ball pressure because I was actually was thinking about it this morning and and obviously we’ll we’ll we’ll find out we’ll find out that’s the beautiful thing about sports we can sit here and talk and we’re like oh that’s what they were thinking okay all right you know what I mean but I was thinking about the ball pressure component and there’s two teams that have pressured more in the backourt significantly more than uh everybody else in the playoffs and it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Ana Pacers uh there was a ton of possessions in this series against New York where the Pacers had not one not two but three defenders in the back court and if you look across the board in these NBA playoffs in the tracking era I mentioned this in game six on the broadcast there have been more possessions with backourt defensive PR pressure on average across the league than in any other playoffs in the tracking era and it’s not an insignificant margin it’s 36 possessions you know on average this season versus uh I think the second was like 28 so this is a key thing so you bring up the pace how fast does Boston want to play and there are times [ __ ] they’re an awesome team and they’re great but there are times when they get a little bit slower and a little bit less decisive and can get bogged down that is that’s been the case whether it’s been Brad Stevens EMA udoka uh Joe Missoula like that has happened all right so if Indie pressures does that slow them down a little bit does that make them more deliberate um if Indies then try to play in a track meet does Boston then try to play in a track meet um so you know stuff like Jaylen Brown in transition right was one of the best players in transition in the NBA like how much can he get loose in transition last piece on this that I I wanted to just talk about is it is remarkable uh in a and it it should be intuitive but we don’t talk about it enough it’s remarkable in a league where everybody’s always talking it’s a Mak or Miss League it’s a Mak or Miss league for sure it is the statistics this postseason on the rebounding battle where the teams that win the rebounding battle have won something like 55 games and they’ve lost 13 or 14 games it’s it’s there’s a massive disparity and Indie in that Nick series they lost every game they lost the rebounding battle but there was a toughness and a pursuit of the basketball that I thought was really important and it’s going to be important again it’s the little stuff that Aaron neith keeping a ball alive getting a second possession for Boston it’s pton Pritchard crashing out of the corner like you look at these little swing things and they happen all the time end of quarters start of quarters a star getting arrest all of a sudden TJ McConnell comes in they go up five more points in three minutes right these type of little stretches in games and little plays in games are not insignificant and so I think the rebounding battle will be important in this it’s always is but I think it’ll be really important in this Boston Indie series I agree and you know the data backs it up it’ll be interesting I mean Boston can’t has to find a way to crash the glass Indiana can’t give those up but for some reason while you were saying that I was trying to think about how Boston defends Indiana and how different of a series that’s going to be for them and can Indiana make those plays where they are able to get rebounds offensively and now they get some of those easier threes like I’m just it’s not it’s not purely a pick and roll series like we know Indiana has pace and Tempo and ball movement player movement Boston’s going to have to sustain sustain their defense and they’re going to have to find a way to continue to make those efforts and make those rotations in a way they haven’t had to in the playoffs so far you know in my mind I was like hey if Miami can find their movement they they couldn’t if Cleveland can find their movement they just didn’t have enough people if Boston is now constantly in rotation and they’re reacting on defense what does this series look like or does Boston find a way to say hey we’re going to switch we’ll bog you down that way we feel comfortable with these people guarding Tyrese we feel comfortable these people guarding Pascal we’re going to take away Miles Turner uh take him off the table so he can’t hurt us in multiple ways like he’s done during this postseason that is where it gets interesting because if Boston can sustain their defense to and play it at a high level I I think Indiana’s path to Victory it just the margin slim I’m I’m curious to see how Joe matches up um because he I think he has some options uh in particular the who who guards kakum um does he use Drew as a little bit of a RoR as he’s done at times this season does Drew take the seaka matchup um you know how much is Drew on halberton and I would expect Dereck white to start on halberton but how he uses Drew this series defensively is going to be interesting to me it’s one of the one of the fun things all season about Boston is you know you certain games you’re like oh Drew’s got the primary guy and then you’re like oh Drew’s got the fifth guy let’s see what creative stuff Joe does with Drew so fascinating stuff uh I’m so excited for both these series I really am uh Steve thank you as always um Nas we missed you but we managed we found a way we found a way all right man

The NBA Western and Eastern Conference Finals are set! JJ Redick is joined my Steve Jones Jr. of The Dunker Spot to share their initial thoughts heading in the Dallas Mavericks (Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving) vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves (Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns) and Boston Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown) vs. the Indiana Pacers (Tyrese Hailburton, Myles Turner) matchups.

0:00 Intro
1:35 Mavs vs. Wolves
23:33 Celtics vs. Pacers

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.