KD VS MEDIA! Is Kevin Durant Getting To Much HATE?| Did Warriors Blow The Series To The Celtics?
106In This Live Stream We Discuss
Stephen A. Smith and Kevin Durant have reached a similar status in their years-long back-and-forth.
This particular battle began when Smith, on ESPN’s “First Take” earlier this week, said that Michael Jordan is responsible for changing the game of basketball for the worse because he was “so phenomenal that the NBA marketed the individual,” causing the game to be more “individualized — because people wanted to be like Mike.”
Durant panned the clip.
“My theory is that guys like Steve, Skip [Bayless] and Shannon [Sharpe] have changed the game for the worse. Playas like Stephen [Curry] and Michael can only push the game forward,” Durant tweeted.
On Friday’s “First Take,” Smith came back after Durant. First, Smith said that, like Stephon Marbury, whom he also got into a tiff with recently, Durant’s media production team has asked him to appear in a basketball documentary. Why seek his opinion if it’s invalid?
The Warriors have an opportunity to draw even in the NBA Finals on Sunday after the Celtics stole Game 1.
Golden State blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead Thursday and were outscored 40-16 in the fourth quarter of a 120-108 loss. It was the first time the Dubs lost at home in this postseason and just the third Game 1 loss during Steve Kerr’s tenure.
Boston has now supplanted Golden State as the Finals favorites, though the Warriors are even heavier favorites for Game 2 on SI Sportsbook despite their collapse.
So, what bets are worth parlaying in Game 2? I picked four with the SI Sportsbook bet builder to create a four-leg, same-game parlay.
Regular-season record: 117-113-2
Play-in/playoffs record: 75-76
Bet on the NBA Finals at SI Sportsbook
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney during the second half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals in San Francisco, Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Jed Jacobsohn/AP
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 3 Golden State Warriors (Boston leads series, 1-0)
Time: 8 p.m. ET | ABC
Spread: Celtics +4.5 (-110) | Warriors -4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Celtics (+145) | Warriors (-175)
Total: Under 215.5 (-110) | Over 215.5 (-110)
Leg 1: Jayson Tatum Over 3.5 Assists
Jayson Tatum’s playmaking was his method of impacting a game in which he shot poorly throughout. He finished with a game-high 13 assists against the Warriors on Thursday, his second game with double-digit assists this postseason. Tatum passed Marcus Smart for the team lead in assists per game on the playoff run with his big night and he now averages 6.3 dimes per game. I’d shy away from being too bullish on Tatum’s Game 2 assist total because he may look to get himself going more after his 3-of-17 showing, but he’s still a threat to swing the ball around the perimeter to his teammates spotting up and can easily rack up four or five assists, if not more.
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