Latest news with #TomHaberstroh
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Pacers-Thunder is (almost) the most unlikely NBA Finals ever
Why Pacers-Thunder is (almost) the most unlikely NBA Finals ever Yahoo Sports contributing NBA writer Tom Haberstroh and NBA writer Dan Devine discuss the unlikely paths for Indiana and Oklahoma City to make this year's championship series — and look at the minuscule odds that bookmakers had for this matchup coming into the season. View more Video Transcript This week's big number, Dan is 1%. Advertisement As in, that is the likelihood that we would have seen a Pacers, Thunder, NBA finals based on where they were preseason and how Vegas and bet MGM saw the whole landscape, the title contender landscape. 99% of the time, this doesn't happen, but we got that 1% and you're asking yourself, has there been an NBA Finals matchup that was this unlikely, a 1% chance. Based on preseason odds. And the answer is that this is one of the biggest long shot NBA Finals matchups we've seen in a very long time. The only one that we've had, Dan, that can best this, believe it or not, is the 2022 NBA Finals matchup of the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. Advertisement So, according to sports Um, in 2022, Dan, Boston was coming off a 500 season. Brad Stevens is out, he moves upstairs to the front office. This guy Emi Udoka takes over for this, this team. Kemba Walker's out. They traded him for an old Al Horford. What are the chances that Al Horford can, can still have enough juice left to run to the NBA finals and maybe win a championship for them. Yeah, there was a lot of skepticism about that Boston Celtics team. They were listed at + 2000 to win the East in 2022 before the season. That was the sixth shortest odds behind the favorite, of course, Brooklyn, behind Milwaukee, Philly, Miami, and Atlanta, also more likely to make the NBA Finals preseason in 2022. Advertisement And then on the other side, the Golden State Warriors. Like they were two years removed from being like one of the worst teams in the. NBA getting the James Wiseman pick and they were not expected to be the favorite coming out of the Western Conference. So outside that, that had like a 0.9% chance rather than a 1, like solid 1% chance. So this is a matchup that we wouldn't have expected, but kind of likely in some senses of what these two teams can do and what they've proven. This is a really interesting finals.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SGA's MVP night & OKC's smothering D with Tom Haberstroh and Knicks fan therapy with Jonathan Macri—plus Asa Newell talks NBA Draft
Kevin O'Connor and Tom Haberstroh saw SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder lay the absolute smackdown on Anthony Edwards and the Wolves on Thursday evening, and both are ready to declare the series a wrap. Little hope remains for Ant and company in their 0-2 hole, and KOC takes it a step further declaring that the MVP is clearly levels better than Minnesota's young superstar. Up next, Knicks fans: Kevin sees you, and Kevin hears you. Please sit down, get comfortable, and tell KOC how Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith hurt you. Because that's what his friend and New York Knicks diehard fan Jonathan Macri did after the never-say-die Indiana Pacers did the unthinkable, yet again. Plus, projected 2025 NBA Draft first-rounder Asa Newell joins Kevin O'Connor from the Combine in Chicago to break down Newell's game as a floor-spacing, switchable big. (0:37) Thunder vs. Wolves Game 2 reaction with Tom Haberstroh (26:27) NBA All-Defensive Team announced (29:36) Nuggets hire David Adleman as head coach (31:31) Pacers beat Knicks in heartbreaking fashion (34:07) Post-game Knicks therapy session with Jonathan Macri (1:12:27) Asa Newell joins from the NBA Draft Combine 🖥️
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SGA's MVP night & OKC's smothering D with Tom Haberstroh and Knicks fan therapy with Jonathan Macri—plus Asa Newell talks NBA Draft
Kevin O'Connor and Tom Haberstroh saw SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder lay the absolute smackdown on Anthony Edwards and the Wolves on Thursday evening, and both are ready to declare the series a wrap. Little hope remains for Ant and company in their 0-2 hole, and KOC takes it a step further declaring that the MVP is clearly levels better than Minnesota's young superstar. Advertisement Up next, Knicks fans: Kevin sees you, and Kevin hears you. Please sit down, get comfortable, and tell KOC how Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith hurt you. Because that's what his friend and New York Knicks diehard fan Jonathan Macri did after the never-say-die Indiana Pacers did the unthinkable, yet again. Plus, projected 2025 NBA Draft first-rounder Asa Newell joins Kevin O'Connor from the Combine in Chicago to break down Newell's game as a floor-spacing, switchable big. Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander react after the Thunder beat the Timberwolves in Game 2 of the 2025 Western Conference Finals. (Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images) (Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images) (0:37) Thunder vs. Wolves Game 2 reaction with Tom Haberstroh (26:27) NBA All-Defensive Team announced (29:36) Nuggets hire David Adleman as head coach Advertisement (31:31) Pacers beat Knicks in heartbreaking fashion (34:07) Post-game Knicks therapy session with Jonathan Macri (1:12:27) Asa Newell joins from the NBA Draft Combine 🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP run be remembered?
Yahoo Sports NBA contributing writer Tom Haberstroh and senior NBA writer Dan Devine highlight Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's stellar 2024-25 season and talk about his journey to becoming this year's winner. Hear the full conversation on 'The Big Number' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript Shay Gildris Alexander is probably gonna be named the MVP. Advertisement He's the MVP in my book. He is by far the, the scoring leader this season, 32.7 points per game. And then when you look at the plus minus, the steals, the assist to turnover ratio, the lead. shit, I think is a big part of this and people are saying, Dan, like, free throw merchant, our favorite, Doris Burke is talking on the broadcast and bringing up that NBA Twitter believes he's a free throw merchant. I understand why people are frustrated with all the foul calls that he gets, because I think it's unusual the way that he gets these calls. But that's true for every superstar in the NBA. Jokic benefits from the whistle, Dodgeic benefits from the whistle. Advertisement LeBron does every MVP candidate in the NBA will get one or two calls a game that you're like, did he really foul him there? Do you have any thoughts on like how you'll look back? On this MVP race this season, one of the challenges with MVP voting, and I, I do have a ballot, and I did vote for Shay over Jokic in 2nd place. One of the challenges is balancing sort of the sober-minded statistical analysis with, I don't think that narrative is a dirty word. I think this is, I think storytelling is a really important part of our business and also of what our jobs are and what we do. To me, the Thunder were the story. Advertisement of this season. The driver of that literally and figuratively is Sha Gilda Alexander. Like they do not, yes, you can, you know, you can make the argument that he has the better supporting cast around him and Jokic has to do a heavier carry job and so on and so forth. And like everything about how Oklahoma City plays with the way that they structured the team to be a 5 out team with Chet at the big, the drive and kick, the guard guard screening actions, everything that kind of got. The ball rolling for Oklahoma City. All of that flows out from Gilous Alexander. This is not purely unethical hoops. There's more to it than that. Advertisement And then you like zoom out and it's 35 and 5, 50+% shooting with the steals and the blocks. And you're talking about Michael Jordan territory, like the, the in terms of production, not just from the guards, but from anybody, hitting those numbers, it's Jordan and it's SGA.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"The BEST DEFENSE I have ever seen!" - How OKC is so SUFFOCATING
Tom Haberstroh and Dan Devine have uncovered the jaw-dropping truth: the Oklahoma City Thunder now possess "the best defense in Playoff history." The guys explain what OKC is doing to make things so uncomfortable for their opponents, and how the juggernaut defense likely won't be solved any time soon. (1:05) - Is the Thunder defense best in postseason history? (10:05) - Numbers behind Thunder's suffocating defense (15:20) - Live-ball turnovers forced by Thunder defense (19:10) - How Thunder stifled Anthony Edwards (22:40) - Thunder shut down Wolves' corner threes (28:10) - How will SGA's MVP win be remembered? 🖥️
