Playoff Verriables: Finals Picks, Leap Candidates, and More Group Chat

Justin, Rob, and J. Kyle Mann open with a thought-provoking question about the NBA playoffs before jumping into the highly anticipated return of the Verriables ahead of all of the playoff excitement. This year, Justin’s playoff Verriables pose questions like: How many teams can realistically win the East? If not the Thunder in the West, then who? Who’s going to be the leap guy? Lastly, the guys predict every matchup on the board and make early Finals picks. (0:00) Intro (2:53) FanDuel ad break (3:30) Should the NBA move to a shorter series? (6:35) Verriables intro (10:10) How many teams can realistically win the East? (19:34) If not the Thunder in the West, then who? (34:46) Who’s going to be the leap guy? (44:35) FanDuel ad break (45:56) Amazon Prime ad break (46:27) Which player or team exec has the most riding on this postseason? (59:14) Playoff matchup predictions (1:26:52) Early Finals picks Hosts: Justin Verrier, Rob Mahoney, and J. Kyle Mann Producers: Victoria Valencia and Isaiah Blakely Production Supervision: Ben Cruz and Conor Nevins Additional Production Support: John Richter and Chris Wohlers Social: Keith Fujimoto and Isaiah Blakely Verriables Music by: John Robison The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Order and it will come. Like today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Playoff Verriables: Finals Picks, Leap Candidates, and More Group Chat is an episode from The Ringer NBA Show by The Ringer.

This episode is 94:18 long.

This episode was published on Apr 16, 2026.

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