We have a thrilling Eastern Conference final in the NHL…
a still-active Western Conference final in the NBA, and a GM shot us straight.
Panthers, Wolves Claw Back
What Happened: The NBA and NHL each delivered a thriller last night, although the two series are in much different places.
With an overtime victory, the Panthers tied up their series with the Rangers at two games apiece. The back-and-forth nature here (both teams have won a home and road game apiece) points to it going the distance.
The Timberwolves and Mavericks were about five minutes from wrapping things up in the minimum four games before Minnesota secured its first victory of the series. Dallas is still in the driver’s seat, but as we saw against the Nuggets in the previous round, counting out the T-Wolves might be premature.
Why It Matters: Oddsmakers still have no love for the Rangers. Yanno, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. The no. 1 seed Rangers. Despite the series against Florida being tied and New York holding home-ice advantage, the Panthers are still -142 favorites to advance over the Rangers (+118). Starting to wonder what gives there…
As for the NBA, the Wolves getting on the board extends the series, but a 3-1 hole is no easy climb. They are still +450 underdogs to complete the comeback, but history isn’t on their side — of the 154 teams to take a 3-0 series lead in a best-of-seven in NBA history, none of them have blown the lead completely. Only four even got to a Game 7.
How We’re Feeling Today
Impressed by Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti and his honesty.
Back in February, Presti acquired Gordon Hayward in a trade that…didn’t work out. Hayward averaged five points for the Thunder and ended up riding pine for the team’s final three playoff games.
When asked about the trade, there was no massaging from Presti, to his credit. “I missed on that,” Presti conceded. “That’s on me.”
Trades fail all the time. The difference here is that Presti didn’t try to obfuscate, or use some nebulous reason as an excuse why the deal bombed.
When a trade works out the way the Hayward one did, there’s no hiding the bad results. And yet, GMs try to do it all the time. Salute to you, Sam Presti, for not treating your fanbase like idiots.
The Look Ahead
Tyler Seguin POINTS – Seguin is coming off a two-assist performance in Game 3, his third and fourth point of this series. For the postseason, he ranks fifth on the Stars in points (12), despite being shuffled up and down the lineup. But in a matchup in which the winning team has scored at least three goals in each victory, there should be points to go around, and Seguin’s five goals and seven assists illustrate his versatility and skill. Can he produce a single point tonight? At plus money, it’s not a bad wager in our eyes.
