Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / PGA Championship preview with Matt Rudy, Sloan Piva previews the NBA Playoffs & prop bets presented by unjuiced.bet & Trent's Picks brought to you by Circa Sports

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PGA Championship preview with Matt Rudy, Sloan Piva previews the NBA Playoffs & prop bets presented by unjuiced.bet & Trent's Picks brought to you by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

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Our number 2 welcome back, It's Miller and Condon on the Iowa
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Sports Radio Network. Glad to have you aboard with us
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here today. Take it up until 2:00, then we
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will be off the bench with Sean and Lucas from 2:00 until 5.
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Right now, time to preview the PGA Championship.
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Talked about a little bit earlier on, but a deep dive with
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our friend Matt Rudy, who has been helping me out along with
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Ken for how long we've been together the last 8-9 years,
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something like that. Before that, he was on with Ken
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for a long, long time and he joins us here today on the eve
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of the PGA Championship. Mr. Rudy, good to talk to you
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once again. How's everything for you as we
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get ready for a different kind of scene for the PGA
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Championship? It's good to talk to you.
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I think I've been talking to you for going on 10 years and Ken
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for 25. So I feel like I my name is
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almost in parentheses on the show now.
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It's always good. It's it's always good for when
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major season comes. I always like talking to you.
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So it's a it's a good day. It absolutely is.
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And Matt, as you've grown accustomed to throughout the
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years, these are golf tournaments that are special.
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A golf on a place like this in Des Moines, you know, across our
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network now across the state, most important in the state of
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Iowa, but it's not like it is in a lot of other locales.
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It's about the majors. And if there is ever breaking
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news that is out there. I want to start though with the
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date here. And after they moved the PGA
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Championship up from its old August date into May, on the
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surface it made a whole lot of sense.
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You got April with the Masters, May with the PGA.
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We get into the US Open Father's Day and then we first finish up
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with the oldest one in the British Open.
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I think I'm ready to go back. I I want the golf season that
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that matters for more of the casuals and I'm more on the
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casual side of things. I'm not a hardcore golf guy, but
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I watch pretty much every weekend.
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I usually have a bet going every weekend on top of it and that
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definitely helps. I miss, I think the August PGA
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Championship. Is there a sentiment like that
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inside the PGA Tour and a possibility maybe moving it back
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to a different date? Well, I, I think there's a,
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there's the traditionalist in me thinks that having it in the,
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you know, in its, you know, back in hot, the hot of the summer.
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It's, it's something to look forward to or to the way to
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finish off the season. But I think what the mayday does
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is it does bring a lot more of the country in play.
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You could conceivably have one in Texas.
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You could, I mean, there's, there's a lot more places you
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could do it where it's not 7000°.
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But I, I mean, I know where you're head of this because
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you're the guy who likes the bloodbath.
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So you want to see people melting and not being able to
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walk eighteen holes and that, you know, I think that be a part
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of the challenge. I do.
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The Pgas and they they're spot because they're competing with
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big legacy events. You know, I think they're doing
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the right thing. And the Super strong invent, you
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know, they, they've been historically invited all the
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live players that should be in the field because they want to
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have all the best players together.
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And you know, they're and they're trying to make the most
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out of the, you know, the PGA member, you know, the the field
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with a bunch of players. I can't win like Masters does.
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So yeah, I like, I like April, May, June, July and I just wish
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there could be of being finished to the season from the PGA Tour
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because I don't think the I think the FedEx Cup playoffs are
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the ones that need the revise, not not the PGA Championship.
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Well, we look at this week, Arana Make will be the scene.
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We'll have some crazy Philly people, I'm sure that are going
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to be a part of it, making their way over there to the Golf Club.
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Tell us a little bit about this course.
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It feels like on the surface and some of the things that I have
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looked at, it's going to be a bomber's paradise.
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Open things up, taking some trees out.
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How do you see the perspective, the way this is going to look
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and how this course is going to play starting tomorrow?
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Well, I like the PGA. The folks that set up majors for
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the PGA I think do the best job out of any place leaving.
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You leave the Masters out because every year they have an
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infrastructure and easy to get what they want.
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But when it comes to changing locations, I think the PGA of
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America and then Players would back this up, does a great job
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and evaluating the golf course for what it is and making them
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making opportunities to take good shots and score while not
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making it overwhelmingly easy. I think this is not a super long
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or demanding course off the tee. It is a par 70.
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It's 7300 yards. So I'm not sure how that we're
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going to necessarily see crazy under par numbers, but I do
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think they'll be good score be good.
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So as I've said on your show lots of times, I I like it when
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the golf course is not a main character and players do is is
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what everyone is responding to on TV.
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But and I think mainline it'll be kind like we see if there's a
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lot of historic golf courses and I think Iran makes for a good
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minor golf course, not one where we need to be ooing and eyeing
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about all the incredible visuals.
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And it's going to start tomorrow.
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Mentioned this earlier, the first tee time all the day Ben
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Griffin goes off along with little Fitzpatrick will be in
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that first group, 5:45 central time.
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That means 4:45 for you out there in the mountain Time zone.
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Getting going early there, what they got early sense Sylvania,
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what's going on? The the we get spoiled with the
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masters because the field is, I mean, I think it might not even
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be 120 most years. I think there's some years where
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the masters field is only like 105 players.
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So I'm coming along on that and that part of the East Coast
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because you're, you know, you're further east and you're for,
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excuse me, further W than New York.
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That is more fun. So you can give more and more.
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And I think the they want to always give themselves enough
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room to adjourn in case weather does come in.
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I like that. I like when they pay attention
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and say, well, what run? What are ways that we can give
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ourselves a little room to to make happen if if we do have to
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make some changes? Hey Matt, we're having a little
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bit of trouble here with your phone line.
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I'm going to try you back real quick and get you back on on a
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different line, starting to cut out just a little bit.
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We'll try back Matt Rudy and get him back on the line with us
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here as we preview the PGA Championship and want to make it
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sound as good as possible for everybody out there.
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So I'll I'll do this on the fly as we're speaking here.
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We'll dial Matt Rudy back up. And as I'm doing that, of course
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the betting favorite is Scotty Scheffler and find an
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interesting 5 to ones are out there in the market.
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Possibility that maybe we're going to be seeing Scheffler at
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this point with the possibility of hearing him maybe even
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better. So there's a 5 to 1 I saw in the
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market yesterday. So these are the numbers
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currently from Circus sports plus 454.
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Scotty Scheffler. Rory is the second choice.
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He is 10 to 1. You have the third choice is Cam
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Young and how well he's been playing here recently.
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He sits at 12 to one. Jon ROM up next, no shot that
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I'm going to be betting ROM coming up this week going to be
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staying away from that one. Ludwig Oberg plus 1850.
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There's Xander Shofley, you know I'm going to have a ticket to
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him at 19 to 1. Dechambeau just shy of 25 to 1.
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Matt Fitzpatrick 27 to 1. So those are the top eight in
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the betting odds currently from Circus Sports.
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I think we got Matt Rudy back on with us.
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Matt, you still there? I am.
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I would do I sound better now? Yes, yes, loud and clear.
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And yes, we, we hope that everything stays, you know the
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joys of technology, right as we're working here in 2026.
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All right, talking about the top.
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Let's start start with the Scotty Scheffler conversation.
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It's a part of the conversation every single time.
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Form looks good, slow starts, I guess has been the story from
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him. Well, if he can just go out
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there and be OK tomorrow. It feels like that plus 450 or
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five to one that's out there in the market right now.
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Betting wise, that thing's going to be a lot shorter than that.
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I got a ticket already on Scheffler this week.
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Your thoughts on the betting favorite?
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Well, I, I mean, the problem with Scheffler is what we saw
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with Pete Tiger, which is the more you win these things and
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the more people think you're going to win.
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I mean, I mean, I think he's, I mean, obviously he's the
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favorite. He's finished second in the last
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three events he's played in. But you're just not going to get
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paid very well if you bet him. I mean, I mean, if you can get
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better odds on Matt Fitzpatrick, you know, we'll call him, I
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guess we'll call him the Big Fitzpatrick now, even though
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he's he's he's a shorter guy, I think he probably loves being
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called the big, the big Fitzpatrick.
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Give me, give me the batting odds on on Matt Fitzpatrick, a
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guy who's won three times on tour.
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Not, not that I think he's necessarily a better bet than
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than you are more likely than Scotty to win, but I just think
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the the odds are better, you know, so Scotty's a tough one to
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bet on and he's very consistent. So you're not really going to
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get any love trying to bet him top 10 or top five or any of
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those other, you know, those other metrics.
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I I think whenever that happens, though, that does present a lot
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of interesting opportunities in the rest of the field because,
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because by definition, you're going to get, you know, some
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something more attractive it with, with, with other guys
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who've been playing really well. And I, and I think that that
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when you see a great example, little Fitzpatrick playing with
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his brother and the team event in New Orleans and all, it shows
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you that when you get your opportunity and you can you get
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your card and then you, you get out there and play.
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Just being in the, you know, in the cauldron, so to speak, and
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proving to yourself that you can do it can have an enormous
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impact right away. And this is a guy who won on the
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European Tour at the end of the year and now is quickly proven
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himself to be a very talented and effective PGH where player
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with the you know, he's got, he's been playing in final
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groups, He's been he's been winning tournaments with his
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brother. You know, those are those are
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great players to take a look at because the outside of kind of
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the the core, you know, the the real insider people in golf who
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know, you know, kind of know that story that that Alex
10:13
Fitzpatrick story hasn't really spread wide enough outside to to
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impact the the the batting line is watch is what's happened, for
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example, with Scotty Shuffler. So I like seeing those kind of
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heater, I guess I would call them heater stories.
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You know, someone who's really come along in the last few
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weeks. There's there's some opportunity
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there, I think. I guess we put these two guys in
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the same bag, John ROM and Bryson Dechambeau going to the
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tournament there. The what?
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The 4th and seven betting favourites.
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But obviously the headliner live guys coming over didn't go very
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well in the Masters. Dechambeau not even making the
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cut. They can get almost 4 to one on
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Dechambeau to miss another one. I don't think this is going to
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happen. Feels like a course that's set
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up well, but just the forum and going into it now, looking
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towards the future and what live golf, if live golf's going to be
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there, what it means for both of these two guys and what it means
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for this week. Right.
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I mean, at least there's no distractions.
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You got these two guys. I mean, Dechambeau has been
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negotiating behind the scenes to renew his live contract and
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that's not clearly not going to happen.
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And and John Ram, I'm sure is still owed a pretty decent
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amount of money from live. So all this stuff happening just
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means these are guys who have to answer a lot more questions this
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week than other players have to leaving aside that the
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distraction part of it. I mean, I, I think Bryson has
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built himself more of a buffer. He's lived this kind of live
11:33
lifestyle for a few years and I think he thrives on it.
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So I don't, I don't, you know, I don't think the normal prep kind
11:40
of questions about majors is, is, is big a deal for Bryson as
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it is. It's proven to be for Jon ROM.
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I think ROM is the guy that really misses the traditional
11:50
lead in the tournaments where he's playing and, you know,
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challenging full field events and courses that are getting
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progressively harder to get ready for majors.
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And that's proven in his in the way he's played in the last few
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years in majors. So I I would feel much more
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comfortable betting on someone like Bryson to figure it out
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then betting on, I mean, ROMs obviously Got Talent and, and if
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he's in his right, you know, in the right condition, he and
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Scotty Scheffler, I think are the two best players in the
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world. I just don't think he's proven
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to be in that spot right now. What to jump into kind of a
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group of guys in that they're not the top tier, they're not
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even in the middle. They're they're somewhere in
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between. It's a group of guys that I have
12:29
all circled for different reasons that I'd like this week.
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Ty Hatton, I, I think really routing into good form.
12:35
Victor Hovlin, who's played so well at majors throughout the
12:38
course, JT, Justin Thomas. It feels like maybe finally it's
12:42
starting to turn for him just a little bit, that group of three,
12:45
Hovlin, Thomas and Hatton. Is there anybody that you like
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more than the other? Because I'm probably going to
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wager on all three of them. I I have to say, I really like
12:54
where you're at with Patton because he is a guy who has been
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percolating on the right in the top three or four in the
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leaderboard in majors for the last couple of years.
13:04
And I think what we saw was Xander Shockley is there's a
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process to this for some players, you know, where you
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have to go and, and be in it. And, and Hoblin just had had
13:13
that experience to, you know, carrying the the third round
13:15
lead into the into the end at the PGA Championship.
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And, you know, I think you've got to go in and be on the
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skillet and maybe even fail a couple of times and just, you
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know, until you figure out how to do it.
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And I think when you look at those two guys in particular,
13:29
Hoblin and Hatton, those are examples of extremely talented,
13:33
really flood ball hitters who just, if they keep putting
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themselves in position to do it, you know, that's, you know,
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that's, that's it's going to happen for them at one point or
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another. I don't know so much about the
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Justice the Thomas pick, but what I do know is he has a very
13:48
weird and symbiotic relationship with the PGA Championship.
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So I mean, that's maybe he'll be the guy who wins 4 majors in his
13:54
career and all four of them are PGA.
13:56
There's just something about this particular event, I think
13:58
because it sets up closer to a PGA Tour event where, you know,
14:03
bombing it high and, you know, swinging from your heels can be
14:05
rewarded more than some more nuanced golf courses in the Open
14:09
Championship Rd. are at Augusta National.
14:12
There's, there's just something about the vibes of the place
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that make them feel good. So I I I don't think you can
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discount that. What about Jordan Spieth, still
14:20
on the precipice of a career slam?
14:22
He gets this opportunity once a year to complete it at the PGA.
14:26
It feels like there's no shot. What is it, 83 straight starts?
14:28
I think without a victory for Spieth, people are going to love
14:32
him. But I've already heard it.
14:33
People are pointing to next year when the PGA goes to Texas, his
14:36
home state that they're pointing at.
14:38
Maybe that's the time to get over the hump there.
14:40
This is one of the, I don't know, It's a different golf
14:43
story than we're used to. This young star comes on the
14:45
scene, he's winning majors and now we anymore, though, he's
14:49
still OK, not at those levels. It has to be incredibly
14:52
frustrating for Jordan Spieth. Yeah.
14:55
And I think that he came out so fast and, and we've, I know
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we've talked about this before on your show.
15:00
The the issue that he's always had is he doesn't have the
15:03
natural firepower that other players have.
15:05
He just doesn't hit it as far and he has to be very he has to
15:09
be really odd and almost dominant with other parts of his
15:12
game. And there was a two or
15:13
three-year stretch where he was the greatest long putter.
15:17
And, you know, maybe that's a tour had ever seen 20, you know,
15:20
152025 footers. His statistics were just
15:23
otherworldly. And you know, and that runs in
15:26
streaks and slumps. You're not going to make 20
15:28
footers every week. So he spent a lot of time
15:31
retooling and he had some physical, you know, some
15:33
physical issues and injuries, you know, trying to get back to
15:36
that confidence place because he really does play with a lot of
15:40
swagger. And, you know, excuse me.
15:43
I don't think this is the same kind of situation where we watch
15:47
Rory try to win the Masters for, you know, however many years to
15:50
complete the Grand Slam. Rory has this obvious physical
15:53
firepower. It made it seem like an upset
15:55
when he didn't win the unfortunate reality for speed.
15:58
And I think he's kind of in that category of, I mean, he's a
16:01
little better than just another guy, but really he's kind of
16:04
just another guy in that 25, you know, group of 25 or 30 players
16:08
under the best players in the world.
16:09
Now that, you know, you can definitely win as just just one
16:13
of those guys. And we've seen it in the last
16:15
couple of years in majors. But to to say he's, you know,
16:19
he's one of the top five or six picks that you'd want to put
16:22
your money on this week. I don't think that's the case.
16:24
All right, here's a different type of conversation for you.
16:26
Matt Rudy joining us as we preview the PGA Championship.
16:29
So Justin Rose is just always a guy that I've enjoyed.
16:32
We're the same age. I was working at the golf
16:35
course, Sonny Bray and Osage as a high school senior where I see
16:39
this guy my age out there competing in the British Open
16:42
and finishing in the top five that season as I'm working in
16:46
Osage. But the different conversation.
16:47
So I've always obviously kept a close eye on him and and
16:49
watching that and that we makes this equipment change a month
16:52
ago. I mean, talk about feels like
16:54
ruining your chances and maybe what are your final great
16:57
chances. He was playing so well.
16:59
The equipment change, going to McLaren Golf.
17:02
Help me out here because I get it, it's money.
17:04
These guys are independent contractors.
17:06
You get those checks when you can, right?
17:08
But this one is head scratching for me, a guy in his mid 40s
17:11
playing really good golf. Well, I, I, you're right.
17:14
And especially because he's done this before and he got into some
17:18
Hanoi equipment a few years ago and fell off the face of the
17:20
earth. So I, so I do think that having
17:23
gone through it, he's certainly going to be more in tune or
17:26
aware of the potential pitfalls. And I do think that with this
17:31
McLaren deal, part of the reason he took it is because he was
17:35
able to, to design all the stuff from scratch exactly to his
17:39
specifications, as opposed to it being adapted, you know, a
17:42
current line of clubs being adapted to match, you know, this
17:45
was a clean sheet with some pretty incredible engineers.
17:48
And, and, and to be honest, when you make these deals, ideally
17:51
what they're doing, and this is what they always did with Tiger
17:53
when Tiger switched to Nike, for example, if they just take what
17:56
you're making and make clones of those clubs and just put the,
18:00
the badge on them from the company that you're playing
18:02
with. So, so I, so I don't know how
18:05
much of that happened with Panama, but it would be shocking
18:08
to me if he showed up to play in this event with clubs that were
18:12
really that much of A deviation from the clubs you played
18:15
before. And I don't believe that McLaren
18:17
is even making woods yet. So it's so it's not as if he's
18:20
switching out drivers and wedges and putters and scoring clubs.
18:24
This is a matter of putting new irons in play.
18:27
And I suspect that the specs on those irons are identical to the
18:31
ones that he had in his bag when he was winning his last event
18:33
here a couple months ago. So probably a little bit
18:35
different than the ones that get at like Golf Galaxy off the rack
18:38
just a little bit. I would guess, I mean don't hold
18:41
me to that, but I'm going to, I'm going to guess that the the
18:45
leading technology team in F1 is probably been able to look at a
18:50
piece of metal and go, yeah, we can make something that's the
18:52
same as that. Matt, you've heard the T the
18:56
guys that I've kind of been dancing around, the guys that
18:58
are going to be playing this week.
18:59
So who do you like this week? You know, it would be amazing.
19:04
I think I'll always like Brooks Kepka for events where you don't
19:08
think he's going to do anything. And he's got kind of a
19:10
frustrating relaunch into the PGA Tour because he hasn't
19:14
gotten into some events. He's been on site waiting to get
19:16
in. And I think chip on his shoulder
19:19
annoyed. Brooks Kepka is the most
19:21
interesting Brooks Kepka. So that's where I'm going to put
19:23
my money this week. Brooks Kepka, it is Matt Rudy.
19:26
We will recap things on Monday if your schedule allows.
19:30
You bet Anytime. That's Matt Rudy joining us as
19:32
he does throughout the golf season on the eve of the majors.
19:36
Always love the conversation with Matt Rudy and a big thank
19:38
you to him for joining us here today.
19:41
It's Miller and Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
19:43
We got more coming up here and we start to look forward in the
19:47
NBA. Two teams have already advanced,
19:49
another on the precipice with the Spurs.
19:51
The one question that we have, who's going to be playing the
19:54
Knicks coming out of the East? We're going to get into that as
19:57
we get ready for Game 5 coming up this evening with Cleveland
20:01
and Detroit. We'll talk about that game six
20:03
with the Timberwolves and the Spurs and a whole lot more NBA
20:07
conversation and a little betting talk as well.
20:10
Sloan Paiva getting to join us on the other side as we roll
20:12
through. So when's the edition of Miller
20:14
and Condon? Stay right there on the Iowa
20:16
Sports Radio Network back with you.
20:18
It's Miller and Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio NETWORK.
20:21
I'm Trent Condon and Ken Miller, back with us tomorrow.
20:25
Joining us right now though, Sloan Paiva from Athlon, so we
20:28
talk a little MBA and a whole lot more coming up with Sloan.
20:31
We'll get into some betting tips as well as Sloan was able to
20:35
help us out a little bit with some fun player props over
20:37
there. This portion of the program
20:39
bought brought to you by unjuice dot bet 30% off your
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subscription right now with the code KX and O unjuice dot bet.
20:46
If you like those player props and Sloan, I got to tell you
20:49
this might be a place that would intrigue you just a little bit
20:52
taking a peek around over there. They have helped me out with my
20:55
by prop betting here recently as well and diving into the prop
20:58
market. It's a fun one, and as I know,
21:00
you know Sloan. Absolutely.
21:02
How's it going, guys? Yeah, really, really interested
21:05
in the player props tonight and it's been a really fun ride.
21:08
This this playoffs has been really, really exciting.
21:11
So let's talk. Absolutely.
21:12
Let's start with what we saw last night.
21:15
The T Wolves go down 32 about 80% of the time in a tie series.
21:19
The team that wins game five goes on to win the series and
21:23
certainly feels like that trend is going to continue with the
21:25
Spurs with having potentially a Game 7 at home in a game six.
21:29
Obviously at Minnesota coming up here in a couple of days on
21:32
Friday night, going back to that one, every time to me, it felt
21:36
like the Timberwolves had any kind of run.
21:38
The Spurs just had a response and that happens a lot at home.
21:41
I definitely get that, but I love the toughness, I love the
21:44
grit of this Timberwolves team. The Spurs are just better.
21:48
And, well, the Spurs just have Wemby.
21:51
Yeah, it helps to have Wemby, one of the best players, I think
21:54
one of the most dominant players that we've ever seen, really.
21:58
I mean, he's just exerting as well out there.
22:00
Obviously, he had a chip on his shoulder after getting ejected
22:04
from the previous game. And the Spurs shop 53%, they
22:09
were they, they won the points in the paint battle 68 to 36.
22:14
I mean, we're talking about how Minnesota has been playing
22:17
tough, but you're not playing that tough if you're losing the
22:20
points in the paint battle by almost double.
22:23
And then, you know, Spurs out rebounding the the Timberwolves,
22:27
but they're also setting up great shots with great passing.
22:31
You know, the Spurs had 25 assists to Minnesota 17.
22:36
Spurs exerted their their will on defense, lots of blocks, lots
22:40
of steals, forcing lots of crucial turnovers and clutch
22:44
time. So yeah, it's it's really,
22:47
really hard to see San Antonio letting up the kind of momentum
22:50
that they they had in a 29 point victory and, and what was pretty
22:54
much one of the most crucial points of the playoffs that we
22:58
saw last night. Let's say the Timberwolves get
23:00
the win Friday night. They force a Game 7 back in San
23:03
Antonio. When we get to that point and
23:06
the likelihood that Wemby is not going to be ejected from the
23:09
game, what is the blueprint for a Game 7 on the road?
23:12
For the Timberwolves to be able to pull that off again, giving
23:15
them game six, What has to be the game plan for them in order
23:19
to pull that off and pull off another shocker to get to the
23:21
third straight Western Conference final?
23:24
I think the blueprint involves Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert
23:27
doing something down low and trying to get a, you know, a
23:31
rise out of Wimby, maybe try to pester him a little bit more.
23:34
He's shown that he can get a little emotional that that
23:37
elbow. I mean, obviously it it produced
23:40
one of the most meme worthy photos of the year with his
23:44
teammates reaction with the wide open mouth like what in the
23:47
world? He just lost his mind there.
23:49
So maybe if Julius Randle gets tough and, and tries to scorn
23:54
him a few times, you know, gets, gets, you know, throws them a
23:56
little elbow or something, that's not going to hurt
23:58
Minnesota chances. But, you know, Rudy Gobert shot
24:01
one of four in that last game and Julius Randall was 6 of 17.
24:06
So they're between the two of them.
24:09
They were a combined -37 So it's, it's not great when you're
24:14
2 big tough guys are absolutely getting neutralized.
24:17
So both, the blueprint involves both, or at least either of them
24:22
to get a little bit more physical, get into Wendy's head
24:26
a little bit and make him, you know, you know, hopefully draw
24:29
some fouls for the Wolves fans. But yeah, it's, it's going to be
24:33
tough. And Wendy just looks locked in
24:35
and he's just so disciplined to defender that it's going to be
24:38
very difficult. We're used to a certain type of
24:42
ascension that needs to happen in the NBA playoffs.
24:45
You go back to Michael Jordan having to overcome the Pistons
24:48
and there's so many of these stories throughout the years.
24:50
There's kind of tears is when be a guy that can break that, that
24:53
can just do it and do it this early in his career, making the
24:57
playoffs for the first time, making this kind of run and
24:59
doing it this early. Do you see the skill set and
25:02
with it the team around him that in a Western Conference final
25:05
can knock off this Thunder squad and with it get into the NBA
25:09
Finals? Yeah, that's why I'm not betting
25:12
against the Spurs, because he looks just so effortlessly
25:16
dominant. And he also looks pissed off.
25:18
You know, he looks like he really wants to win it.
25:21
And it's there's nothing more scary than a dominant player who
25:24
looks angry and looks, you know, really hungry.
25:26
We saw that with Jordan for so many years.
25:29
You know, Wendy seems like it was like a seamless 27 points
25:32
and 17 rebounds. But he's also making some pretty
25:35
good passes, 5 assists. And of course, he's got the
25:38
three blocks. It seems like 3 blocks is like
25:40
you can pencil it in. It's kind of like when Nicola
25:43
Yokich a few years ago on their NBA title run in Denver when he
25:47
was just a lock, he could you could sharpie him in for a
25:51
triple double almost every time the the Nuggets took the floor.
25:54
Right now, it feels like the three blocks for Wendy is like
25:57
the baseline. But yeah, he's just, he's just
26:00
on a different level. And it's it's great for the NBA
26:03
that we have this type of player right now because with LeBron
26:07
sort of fading into the into the sunset, it seems like Wembe
26:12
might be the one that gets handed the the keys to the game.
26:15
And and he's going to draw viewers for a very long time
26:18
because there's nobody quite like them.
26:20
Jumping over to the East, the Knicks await, as the Thunder do
26:23
in the West, the winner of Cleveland and Detroit.
26:27
So here we are, both teams, old serve at home, back to Detroit
26:31
for Game 5 coming up this evening.
26:33
Is it as simple as that? Back home, jump aboard with the
26:36
Pistons? I think that's the way that I'm
26:38
leaning. I'll tell you what, I liked it a
26:40
whole lot more when the opener came out of 3 1/2 as opposed to
26:43
the four and a half. And I should have jumped aboard
26:45
what I could have last couple nights ago.
26:47
But the Pistons 4 1/2 point favorite tonight at home against
26:50
Cleveland. What do you see?
26:52
Yeah, I'm, I'm with you, Trent. I think the Pistons should win.
26:56
The Cavs have still not won a road playoff game this entire
26:59
postseason. So that's, well, 11 games or
27:02
something. It's ridiculous.
27:04
That said, I I think it's going to be a bit of a rock fight.
27:07
I do have the Cavs covering the four and a half.
27:10
I think that, you know, the four in the hook is a good.
27:12
It's a good point for you to to maybe get the the underdog here.
27:17
Maybe, maybe get go for it on the on the points because 65% of
27:21
spread betters that Detroit -3 1/2.
27:25
But that's why it went up. So it's I think Cleveland can
27:28
stay in it at least. Well, you know what they're
27:31
doing. They're they're hunting out
27:32
Duncan Robinson, who's a terrible defender, and they're
27:36
absolutely exploiting Jalen Duran, who looks like he
27:38
shouldn't even be playing in the playoffs.
27:40
He's been a complete liability for Detroit.
27:43
I don't know how this guy who looked so good in the regular
27:45
season has looked so bad the whole postseason, but he's he's
27:50
a tempting player to to target on the underfront on the the
27:56
points and rebounds or maybe even points plus rebounds plus
27:59
the stiff. I'm going under.
28:01
I'm attacking him because I think he's going to end up
28:03
getting benched if he keeps playing the way he's played.
28:06
And then Donovan Mitchell, he's just so good.
28:09
He can single handedly keep Cleveland in this game.
28:12
He went for 39 points in the second-half of Game 4, which is
28:16
just one of the better halves that we've seen in post season
28:19
history. So you could still get taught
28:22
Ben Mitchell at plus money on most score books to score 30
28:25
points, which might feel like a trap, but to me that's too
28:29
tempting to avoid at that value. Talking with Sloan Paiva from
28:32
Athlon as we take a look at the NBA playoffs.
28:34
Sloan. The winner of this one will get
28:37
the Knicks. As I mentioned before, the
28:39
Knicks playing so well 21 point losses to the Hawks in this
28:42
playoff. The sweep of what they did
28:43
against the Sixer Sixers, it just, it feels like they're
28:46
clicking at an incredible rate right now regardless.
28:49
Detroit, Cleveland. How big of a favorite do you
28:52
think the Knicks should be? Oh, geez, the Knicks have just
28:56
looked so good. I mean, they're on a scorching,
28:59
scorching run. They've, they went from looking
29:01
like the second or third best team in the East in the at the
29:04
end of the regular season to the best team in the East.
29:07
And now they look like the best team in the NBA.
29:10
And they have a + 19 1/2 per game differential this
29:14
postseason. They're averaging 124 point,
29:17
120.4 points and allowing 101 points per game, which is, you
29:22
know, that looks like an NBA champion right there.
29:25
You know, they're they're shooting over 40% from three in
29:28
the playoffs. They're taking good care of the
29:31
ball. They're sharing the ball
29:32
seamlessly. They're rebounding, they're
29:35
making keys stops in the clutch. Jalen Brunson looks like an MVP.
29:40
They're doing a lot of this without OG and an OB, mind you,
29:43
and and when he gets gets back to full health, good Lord, look
29:47
out. So they have everything you
29:49
could ask for in the champion in the red hot at the right time.
29:52
I think New York might be bringing a championship back
29:55
back home for the first time in what decades.
29:58
So it's it's pretty exciting. Obviously basketball is better
30:02
when it's when the New York Knicks are good.
30:05
So as hard as it is for me to say as a Boston Celtics fan, the
30:08
Knicks are hot right now and they are the team to be, I
30:12
think. So an Eastern Conference
30:15
championship or the whole thing? Because, boy, I still can't get
30:19
there with the Thunder in the way that they are.
30:21
Even if Jalen Williams with that hamstring injury is out an even
30:25
longer time. You're saying win the whole
30:26
thing or just win the East? I'm saying they're going to win
30:30
the whole thing. I'm calling it right now.
30:32
It's I know it's, I know it's a daring thing to say.
30:35
It's it's, you know, very courageous.
30:38
But yeah, I mean, I, you know how much I love OKC.
30:41
I said at the beginning of the the playoffs that there is no
30:44
way anybody is beating them, but New York has found something
30:48
here and Karl Anthony Towns helping at point forward and
30:54
they're just rough and tumble defense and his rebounding.
30:58
Jalen Brunson clutch play. If OG and Anobi comes back to
31:02
full health, I don't think the Knicks will slow down.
31:06
So I I know it's a tough call to make, but but because OK, OK, C
31:10
is still going to be very good and I think that's A7 game
31:13
series that it might be a damn good one.
31:15
But yeah, I'm calling it Knicks. Knicks are winning it all.
31:18
Right. We'll put that one file that one
31:20
away for a little bit later. Sloan piva with us here today on
31:22
Miller and Condon. Want to jump over Sloan and take
31:25
a look at a couple of potential destinations.
31:28
And this offseason is going to be dominated.
31:30
We got a great draft with so many great college players
31:33
coming in and a lot of excitement that's going to be
31:35
happening there. But what is going to happen with
31:37
LeBron? What's going to happen with
31:39
Giannis? Those two guys, the decisions
31:41
both in the front office for Milwaukee and what is Lebron's
31:44
decision going to be? Let's start with Giannis first
31:47
destination that makes sense to you, even if he is going to make
31:50
a move because this has been something that has dominated
31:53
what the last 2-3 years now of where he's going to end up
31:56
ultimately. How does it play out for him
31:58
this summer? Oh, man, I mean, I, I see
32:02
Giannis moving, but it's very hard with the money to try to
32:06
figure out exactly where he's going to go there.
32:09
I've heard some people saying that it's possible he lands in
32:13
Boston, which is crazy to me. It would be very difficult for
32:17
me to see the the Tatum and Brown Jay duo breaking up.
32:22
But I mean, the crazier things have happened, right?
32:24
Giannis is one of those dominant players that would make it
32:28
worthwhile probably for Boston, but it would be very, very
32:31
difficult. That said, you know, if the
32:34
Timberwolves don't win the series, maybe the Timberwolves
32:38
make a play. They've got enough salary to try
32:40
to make it work. I think they would be paying
32:43
pretty hastily with it, with the draft picks.
32:46
Obviously the Knicks, I mean, the the Cavaliers, not the
32:49
Knicks, The Cavaliers would be interested.
32:52
I would have said the Knicks before this playoff run.
32:55
And then there's always the Lakers.
32:57
You know, Los Angeles seems to always make things happen that
33:01
you don't expect that they'll be able to.
33:04
But yeah, the the Lakers would happily take Giannis aboard,
33:07
especially if LeBron moves on. But I think Lebron's probably
33:12
going to come back. Will he come back to the Lakers?
33:15
Will that relationship with Polinka eventually sour or will
33:20
they will they run it back since Luka hasn't been healthy this
33:23
playoff? That's a good.
33:25
That's another big question. These are big question points.
33:28
I don't think he's retiring though.
33:30
LeBron seems like the kind of guy to me that will do a
33:33
retirement tour and he'll do the jersey swaps after each, you
33:37
know, final home, final Rd. game against against teams.
33:41
It just seems like he's going to milk it.
33:43
He'll probably wait as long as possible to make his decision.
33:46
He probably won't air a decision vision on ESPN like like we've
33:50
seen in the past, but he's going to draw it out for sure.
33:53
I'm right there with you and I really struggled to envision all
33:58
of a sudden we wake up someday or you get the alert on your
34:00
phone. LeBron James is retiring.
34:02
I I can't wrap my mind around that happening.
34:05
I saw the the odds that are out there and it was some faraway
34:09
places, but still the implied odds were, you know, something
34:11
like 81%. I think it was that he was going
34:14
to come back for another year. I think it's like 98%.
34:17
I mean, my implied ads are much different than what it is.
34:20
So the next question becomes where is it where?
34:23
Makes sense? There's a lot of talk about him
34:25
going with Steph to Golden State and those guys may be finishing
34:29
together. The potential of that happening.
34:32
1 angle that I think makes a ton of sense to me is if the Knicks
34:35
do not win that championship, they fall just short.
34:37
Say they fall to the Thunder in the NBA Finals.
34:40
Is him going there and maybe being the final piece?
34:42
Because we've had the LeBron in New York conversation so many
34:45
times over the last two decades. That's the one that I like most
34:48
and I think he can get it at 8:00 to 1:00.
34:50
I also like that part. Yeah, and he's one of those
34:53
players. I mean, he's he's probably the
34:56
player that you could say whoever, you know, wherever he
35:00
wants to go, he can probably go right.
35:04
And you know, there's there aren't many teams besides maybe.
35:07
OK, C they're going to say it now.
35:09
We're all set. I mean, it's LeBron James.
35:11
He's he makes everyone around him better.
35:13
And that's one of the reasons why he's considered one of the
35:16
greatest of all time. He's just one of the smartest
35:20
and most talented and most athletic specimens that we've
35:24
ever seen play the game of basketball.
35:25
So yeah, I think if the Knicks want to take a stab, they can
35:29
absolutely take him on. They've got a lot of large
35:32
contracts, so they would be able to make it work.
35:35
But yeah, it's it's definitely, he'll definitely come back.
35:39
I don't see him going back to the Cavaliers.
35:42
I don't see him going back to the Heat.
35:44
I I think it's possible that he teams up with his old buddy
35:48
Steph Curry, but then they'll have to arrange some contracts.
35:52
They'll probably have to do away with Draymond somehow.
35:57
And then you got, you got a couple of long shots.
35:59
I mean, what if he, what if he went to Dallas and re teamed up
36:03
or now he's not going to team up with AD because AD already got
36:05
traded from there. So, but yeah, it's it's you
36:09
could do a lot of mental gymnastics to try and figure out
36:11
where he's going to go, but I think it's going to be a
36:13
complete surprise like it always is with him.
36:16
You never know. That is for sure.
36:18
Sloan Paiva joining us. Sloan.
36:19
Hey, last thing you mentioned a couple of things.
36:22
Donovan Mitchell, 30 plus points and plus money.
36:24
Something that you're looking at, Any other props for tonight
36:27
or even looking forward to Friday with the Timberwolves and
36:29
the Spurs? That'll jump out to you.
36:31
You're going to be playing. Yeah, I'm going, I'm going under
36:35
on Jalen Dern's over under. He's he's like, I think I you're
36:39
getting like over under 12 1/2 points.
36:42
He's such a bum this playoffs. I'm going under the 12 1/2
36:45
points. I think he's going to be sitting
36:48
for most of the second-half because I have just had it with
36:51
this guy and I'm sure his coaching staff has as well.
36:54
Yeah, Kate Cunningham over under 26 1/2, That's easy.
36:58
I got him to score 30 points with that plus money back.
37:01
And then I've got to start Thompson over on the combined
37:06
defense. So blocks plus steals, you can
37:08
get him at over 3 1/2 plus money.
37:12
So I'm I'm hitting that one because the star Thompson has
37:15
just been so big defensively. Make it happen, Sloan.
37:18
Best of luck to you. We'll talk to you again next
37:19
week. Appreciate it.
37:21
Always a pleasure, talk to you soon.
37:22
Sloan Paiva with Athlon joining us here on Miller and Condon and
37:26
a breakdown to some of the props he likes and the NBA playoffs.
37:29
Speaking of props, unjuice dot bet that is a place to go if
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Coming back on the other side, my pics of the day, including
38:23
some of those prop picks are coming up presented by Circus
38:26
Sports. That's next is Miller and Condon
38:28
on the Iowa Sports Radio Network wrap things up on a Wednesday.
38:32
Miller and Condon on the Iowa, the sports radio network.
38:34
Ken will be back with us tomorrow.
38:37
Excited to get the old man back in the chair.
38:39
He's working hard out there. He's working a couple of jobs as
38:42
he sadly makes his way towards a retirement.
38:45
Want some details about that? Hoping to coming up here in a
38:48
little bit and a way for our great listeners to say thank you
38:51
to 30 years on the air helping start sports talk radio here in
38:56
the state of Iowa and in Des Moines.
38:58
And Ken gonna call the career at least on the radio front of
39:02
things. Still doing some work out of
39:03
Prairie Meadows, but he'll be back with us tomorrow and always
39:06
good as Ken and I can go back and forth a little bit as he
39:09
will be back with us. My picks of the day presented
39:12
each and every day by Circa Sports.
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o.com, go to circawithussignuptodayandeveryday@kxno.com
40:03
for today. We look to bounce back.
40:06
It was a losing day yesterday. We went three and four overall
40:08
in our picks. We're right back to the well
40:10
again. We got 7 more for you today.
40:13
Let's build on what we did on Monday.
40:15
All right. Props for tonight, we got four
40:18
of them starting in baseball. I am going to jump aboard with
40:22
James Wood over 1 1/2 total bases.
40:24
That is plus 1:30. We're also going to go over
40:27
Mizaroski tonight. What a pitching match up.
40:29
Him and King with the Padres and the Brew Crew.
40:31
That's a good one here this evening.
40:33
Over 7 1/2 strikeouts for Mizaroski as he has been red hot
40:38
on the bump against that Padres team at home for Milwaukee.
40:41
I'm going over Tobias Harris points tonight.
40:44
I tried this one before, didn't go well.
40:46
Let's get the bounce back. We need over 18 1/2 points for
40:49
Harris and over Dean Wade. 3 pointers, 1/2.
40:53
He's just got to make a triple or laying -6160 on that. 1-2
40:57
bets in baseball tonight. Playing the Braves, plus 1/18 at
41:00
home against the Cubs and jumping aboard with the
41:03
Cardinals at the A's. Plus 1:30 there.
41:06
And I said it earlier, would have liked to do a whole lot
41:07
more at -3 1/2. I'm still playing the Pistons.
41:10
The home team has dominated this series.
41:14
Think that continues tonight as Detroit gets it done against
41:17
Cleveland Pistons, Cardinals, Braves.
41:20
Dean Wade over 3 pointers, Tobias Harris over points,
41:23
Mizarovski over strikeouts and James Wood over total bases.
41:28
Lot of overs. Props have been good though here
41:30
over the last week. That'll do it for today off the
41:33
bench with Shawn and Lucas's next right here on the Iowa
41:35
Sports Radio Network.