STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The NBA playoffs are down to four teams. The first semifinal matchup starts tonight when the Minnesota Timberwolves play the Oklahoma City Thunder, although I'll really be paying attention tomorrow when the Indiana Pacers take on the New York Knicks. Jesse Washington from ESPN and Andscape is a regular here and joins us. Hey, there Jesse.
JESSE WASHINGTON: Hey, Steve. How are you?
INSKEEP: I'm doing OK. Thank you. I am thinking about a moment one year ago when the Pacers were also in the semifinals against the Celtics. And I asked you a vitally important question about this, and I have a recording of one year ago. Here's what we said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
INSKEEP: OK, so I'm a journalist. I'm just going to cover the game straight, but secretly, I'll be pulling for the Pacers. Do they have a shot tonight?
WASHINGTON: No, they do not.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
You said no, no chance. It turned out they had no chance. It seemed like they'd have a chance, but the Celtics wiped them out. All right, but the Pacers are back, and this time, the Celtics have been disposed of by the Knicks, and they play the Knicks. Do the Pacers have a chance against the Knicks?
WASHINGTON: I'm happy to report, the Pacers have a pretty good chance.
INSKEEP: Wow. That's fantastic. Tell me why.
WASHINGTON: You know, they're playing great basketball, but the reason is Tyrese Haliburton. You know, these semifinals have got a quartet of young up-and-coming, great future of the league guards. And Tyrese Haliburton has been playing great, hitting huge shots, making semi-obscene gestures, which we love to see.
INSKEEP: OK.
WASHINGTON: And so the Pacers are playing great, and it's going to be nip and tuck with the Knicks in the East.
INSKEEP: Although I did watch as the Knicks destroyed the Celtics in the final game in the last series, that was a shocker.
WASHINGTON: It was, but Jalen Brunson, one of those four guys, is just an amazing player, the Clutch Player of the Year award with the NBA. We saw why in that series. And so in the fourth quarter, the Pacers are going to have to control this guy. That's their only hope of winning.
INSKEEP: Is defense. Defense. Well, let's talk a little bit about the Timberwolves. They're looking to punch their first-ever ticket to the NBA finals. What are their odds?
WASHINGTON: Their odds are great. They've been playing fantastic over this past couple of months or two, and Anthony Edwards is the guy, you know, 23 years old jumping over the rim, going around you, going by you. They got a great supporting cast. They're deep, so the Wolves are playing maybe the best basketball of the playoffs so far.
INSKEEP: Although, didn't the Thunder enjoy some wipeouts on their way to this point?
WASHINGTON: They did, but the Thunder got taken to seven games by the champs of two years ago, the Denver Nuggets. So they're coming off a very hard-fought Game 7, but they're deep, they're very fast. Their defense is tremendous. They swarm. And so the Thunder and the Timberwolves is going to be an incredible matchup. I can't call that one.
INSKEEP: Wow. I'm just listening to you and getting a sense that of these four teams, there's no really clear favorite. This seems to be a very well-balanced set of semifinals.
WASHINGTON: It is. People like the West. I like the West. I didn't mention Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the presumptive MVP of the league, who plays for the Thunder. So whoever plays better out of Shai and Anthony Edwards, aka Ant, is probably going to come out the West, and they'll be considered the favorites. But I wouldn't be surprised to see anybody take it this year, which is great for the league.
INSKEEP: Yeah, absolutely, to not really be able to predict. But of course, someone will demand that you predict, and that someone is me. If forced to pick one of these four teams, who seems like a slight favorite?
WASHINGTON: You know, you guys always get me up here under false pretenses of friendship.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
WASHINGTON: But, you know, I keep coming back for more.
INSKEEP: Thank You.
WASHINGTON: You know, I'm going with the Thunder. They just look too deep, too strong, too young.
INSKEEP: OK, which is what we often say about Jesse Washington - too deep, too strong, too young. Jesse, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
WASHINGTON: Yes, sir. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF ONRA'S "I WANNA GO BACK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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