Mavericks-Timberwolves will be the cleanse NBA fans need after suffering through the end of Pacers-Celtics

mavericks-timberwolves will be the cleanse nba fans need after suffering through the end of pacers-celtics

Feb 22, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates with Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: IMAGN-719043 ORIG FILE ID: 20240222_krj_aj6_00218.JPG

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here's Prince J. Grimes.

What's up hoops fans. Hope your day is going good. If not, there's only a few more hours to go before the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks tip off to hopefully bring a little more joy to the night.

If nothing else, it should be a much more sober game than the drunk mess we witnessed between the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics last night.

Talk about nobody wanting to win. I can't think of another playoff game where both teams appeared so incapable of sealing the deal. First, the Celtics couldn't put the game away after leading by as much as 13 late in the third quarter. Then, the Pacers couldn't put it away after leading by five in the last two minutes of the fourth.

Even then, the Celtics failed to snatch the game back, needing a tough corner heave by Jaylen Brown just to tie the game with six seconds left. At home, they just couldn't seem to take control of a game Indiana very clearly didn't want either.

It was a clinic of turnovers and bad shot-making at the wrong time, with the best players from both teams at the center of it all. Everything you don't want to do in the closing minutes of a game. The opposite of clutch.

But somebody had to win and the Celtics eventually came out on top in overtime. It wasn't good basketball, but it was entertaining.

The series in the West will hopefully deliver a little more balance on that scale of good and entertaining. Between Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards, this series features arguably the two best players remaining in the playoffs. And though I'm fully on the Minnesota bandwagon and picking the Timberwolves to advance in five games, I expect it to be a hard-fought five games.

That begins tonight with Game 1. Hopefully these teams give us something to wash away the Eastern Conference stench.

The music behind Inside The NBA

TNT Sports

Earlier this month, TNT's Inside The NBA gave hoops fans a good surprise when the broadcast opened its halftime show by playing Kendrick Lamar's Drake diss Euphoria.

The song had only been out for a day at that point but, as Inside The NBA has been so good at doing all these years, the broadcast was able to integrate a moment from pop culture into the show and get some funny reactions from Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal, who were unaware it was about to be played.

If you've ever wondered what goes into the decision-making process of choosing songs for the show, you don't have to wonder any longer. FTW's Bryan Kalbrosky talked with a few of the good folks at TNT Sports to learn more about how they put together a soundtrack for the show. His story sheds a light on just how much thought goes into everything they do.

Clever audio programming like this has become one of the many secret ingredients that leads to the continued success of Inside the NBA. Music is typically the first part of the halftime studio show and sets up whatever the crew is going to talk about for the next 15 minutes. None of this happens by accident.

“We’re just trying to throw as much stuff in front of Shaq, Charles, Kenny and Ernie that’s going to get a reaction out of them,” Keith Robinson, a TNT Sports studio producer for Inside the NBA, told For The Win. “It created a moment.”

Check out Bryan's full story on How Inside the NBA's soundtrack became the unexpected star of the playoffs. It's definitely worth your time.

One to Watch

(All odds via BetMGM)

C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images

Dallas Mavericks (+155) at Minnesota Timberwolves (-4.5; -190), 8:40 p.m. ET

As I said earlier, I'm rolling with the Wolves in five this series. And as unpopular as that may seem, it's actually the most favored result at BetMGM with +400 odds -- just slightly better than Wolves in seven at +425 and Mavericks in six at +450. So, because that makes my pick for Game 1 fairly obvious, I'll give a prediction on the 206.5 total and take the under.

With the way Minnesota defends, I think Dallas may need a game to figure how to attack. The Timberwolves were 4-3 to the under in their series against Denver, including the first two games and the last two games. Dallas' games were 4-2 to the under in their series against the Thunder.

Shootaround

-- Ernie Johnson gave an emotional Sports Emmy speech amid Inside The NBA's uncertain future

-- DJ Burns lost 45 pounds since NC State's March Madness run, while preparing for the NBA Draft

-- Paolo Banchero had a classy response about Caitlin Clark receiving more ESPN coverage than the Magic

-- The latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft has Bronny James going to the Celtics

And that's it from me y'all. Enjoy the Mavs-Wolves game.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Mavericks-Timberwolves will be the cleanse NBA fans need after suffering through the end of Pacers-Celtics

OTHER NEWS

4 hrs ago

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy 'getting fed up' with owner Jerry Jones: report

4 hrs ago

Who Should Steelers Hope Wins Training Camp QB Battle?

4 hrs ago

Goaltender's dad talks up the Oilers' chances of lifting the Stanley Cup

4 hrs ago

Phillies turn rare 1-3-5 triple play against Tigers, 1st since 1929

4 hrs ago

Discount Burger Check? Chiefs' Reid Shares Hilarious Commercial Story

4 hrs ago

'Devastating loss': Digital lending library, Internet Archive, removes 500,000 books after being sued by publishers

4 hrs ago

Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: WTA ‘Big 4’ state of play ahead of Wimbledon

4 hrs ago

Would a Toronto byelection loss spell doom for Trudeau?

4 hrs ago

BlackSuit ransomware gang blamed for ongoing car dealership outages

4 hrs ago

'Unreal' injury-time equaliser saves football powerhouse

4 hrs ago

Nigel Farage accused of cosying up to the Kremlin by former NATO boss

4 hrs ago

Dagestan, in southern Russia, has a history of violence. Why does it keeps happening?

4 hrs ago

Marines revive a World War II airfield on Peleliu in Pacific pivot

4 hrs ago

Fortnite Brings Tilted Towers and Other Fan Favorite Locations, But With a Twist

4 hrs ago

Shadow of the Erdtree Puts the Cherry on Top of Elden Rings Main Strength

4 hrs ago

Anger erupts as Albo's governor-general is awarded payrise

4 hrs ago

Charo Makes Rare Public Appearance at Project Angel Food Event: 'Life Is Beautiful' (Exclusive)

4 hrs ago

Boozed-up England fans sing '10 German bombers' chant in Cologne

4 hrs ago

Show Respect: ‘Boys are surprised we talk about this, it’s become normalised’

4 hrs ago

After clash with prosecutor, judge reserves ruling on restricting Trump’s rhetoric about agents’ classified documents search

5 hrs ago

Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan ‘doesn’t deliver’ any ‘energy price decrease’ until 2040

5 hrs ago

Where to watch Netherlands vs. Austria live stream, TV channel, lineups, prediction for Euro 2024 match

5 hrs ago

China lunar probe to return to Earth with samples

5 hrs ago

Report: Knicks’ OG Anunoby declines player option, enters unrestricted free agency

5 hrs ago

Saints offensive line ranked 19th in the NFL

5 hrs ago

Senators acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from Bruins

5 hrs ago

Why Qld feels like home for the Blues

5 hrs ago

Seahawks waive 3 undrafted free agents, make UFL champ signing official

5 hrs ago

Andrew Scott Frantically Runs to Hear Taylor Swift's ‘Style' at 'Eras Tour'

5 hrs ago

England’s Test series v New Zealand: Date, kick-off time and TV channel

5 hrs ago

Bills' McDermott Says Von Miller Has ‘Something to Prove’

5 hrs ago

US prosecutors want Boeing to face criminal charges

5 hrs ago

Finance Minister Michael McGrath set to become Ireland's new EU Commissioner

5 hrs ago

Red-hot Cardinals get huge boost in return of star catcher

5 hrs ago

How police use the mail to spy on you: 60,000 cases in last decade with little pushback

5 hrs ago

These 3 Republicans are Trump’s most likely VP picks

5 hrs ago

Roy Jones Jr. announces his son, DeAndre, died by suicide

5 hrs ago

Luxury Gyms, Like Equinox and Life Time, Are Taking Over Big Retail Spaces

5 hrs ago

Automobili Pininfarina PURA Vision wins prestigious Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2024

5 hrs ago

Pop legend Robbie Williams wears his AFL jersey to see if he still gets recognised in London - with some very surprising results