Always Bet On Black w/ Ian Parks: NBA Picks + Who Is The NBA ROTY: Kon Knueppel Or Cooper Flagg?

Reese, Kmac and Alex speak with Ian Parks to discuss his weekend picks and the Rookie of the Year Race in the NBA.

Ian Parks from Always Bet On Black w/ Ian Parks joins the Sports Shop to share his picks in the NBA. Who will win this weekend: Charlotte Hornets or Miami Heat? New Orleans Pelicans or Phoenix Suns? St. John's Red Storm or Seton Hall Pirates? Jayson Tatum is set to make his return for the Boston Celtics against the Dallas Mavericks tonight. Tatum tore his achilles nearly 10 months ago and this would be Tatum's first game since then. In his return, wil tatum score more than 13.5 points? Will he record more than 3.5 rebounds?

The Charlotte Hornets have been one of the surprise teams in the league lately and rookie guard Kon Knueppel has been a major reason why. Charlotte has surged back into the Eastern Conference play-in race while winning roughly 15 of its last 18 games, with Knueppel providing efficient scoring and elite shooting that has helped fuel the run. The rookie has averaged around 19 points per game while shooting over 44% from three and even broke the NBA rookie record for most three-pointers in a season. His play has pushed him to the front of the NBA Rookie of the Year race ahead of Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks. While Flagg still has slightly bigger counting stats — about 20 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game — Knueppel’s efficiency, Charlotte’s winning stretch, and Flagg missing games with injury have shifted the momentum of the award race toward the Hornets rookie as the season enters its final stretch. Who should win ROTY: Knueppel or Flagg?