Knicks MOST ANTICIPATED SEASON EVER w/ CP "The Fanchise," Jonathan Macri & Stef Bondy | NY Got Game - video Dailymotion

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Transcript

00:00:00Welcome back to another edition of New York game. Y'all know what time it is. It is Nick's season

00:00:20Cleveland time and I had to have my guys with me as usual. We've done this the last two years,

00:00:25so we had to make it three in a row. Tradition. Three is a good number. Got my guy Jonathan

00:00:29Macri from Nick's Film School and my guy CP the franchise from Nick's Fan TV. We've done this.

00:00:35You guys can see in the background. We've got the new graphics up. It's a new look for New York

00:00:39game. We're excited about a new season. It's only right because this is the most anticipated Nick

00:00:44season in three decades. You don't say. There might be a little bit of pressure. No one told me that.

00:00:51There might be a little bit of pressure. How y'all doing? Y'all good? I'm great, man. I can't believe

00:00:54we were back here speaking on the season. It felt like we were just here speaking on the playoffs

00:00:58and it also felt like we were together speaking on last season. Yes. Everything is just flying

00:01:03by, man. I know. It's flying by. You had a good summer? Yeah, I know. Busy summer but excited

00:01:08to be back because like kind of as you just said, CP, it feels like this has been part of

00:01:13our journey, you know, as people who talk about the Knicks doing this with you and now the Knicks

00:01:19are hopefully at the last leg of their journey and maybe it all comes together. We'll see.

00:01:23I hope so. You know, I just did an episode with our guy, Andrew Salop, combos from combos

00:01:27court. He made some bold predictions. Said the Knicks are going to win it all. He also

00:01:31made some other predictions that upset some people but we're not even going to go there.

00:01:35He had a lot of hot takes, a lot of spicy takes I'll do. But here's what we're going to

00:01:39do on this episode. So usually when J-Mac and CP are here, people, we'll talk, you know,

00:01:44we'll get into stuff in season. We'll have predictions. We'll have stuff like that. We're going

00:01:47to do things just a little bit different this year. We're going to have that kind of talk

00:01:50but everybody knows the phrase every year. I didn't have this on my bingo card. There's

00:01:54something every year that happens every season that you didn't have on your bingo card. So

00:01:59as we go through these topics, these two gentlemen are going to give me some things that they

00:02:03think might come up this year that might not be on Knicks fans bingo card. So y'all ready

00:02:08for this? Fortune favors the bold. Be bold. I want you guys to be bold with it. So I want

00:02:13to start with this because a lot of talk heading into the season, guys, is about the Knicks

00:02:19offensive identity. And obviously they made the change from a guy you were a big fan of,

00:02:23everybody knows, Tom Thibodeau, to go to Mike Brown. And I think a lot of it came with,

00:02:29okay, can Mike Brown maximize this team's offensive identity, right? And I think the big question

00:02:35around here is, do you believe that Mike Brown is the guy that can get the Knicks over the

00:02:41hump with what he can do for this team offensively? Now look, we've seen four preseason games.

00:02:45It's the time of recording this. And preseason is preseason, people. Like, we don't have to do too

00:02:49much with it. But what's your guys feeling about this? CP, I'll start with you. Like, can, do you

00:02:55think Mike Brown's the guy that can get this team over the hump and maximize his offense?

00:02:59I mean, not to bail on the question, but I believe it will be answered at the end of the season or even

00:03:05after his tenure. It's hard to really say in the beginning that he's going to fix everything.

00:03:10You have a lot of good things that you can go off of, right? The first year in Sacramento,

00:03:13he turned that offense around leaps and bounds. Who knew miracles could work that way, right?

00:03:17Led to his coach of the year award. We also know that with the Knicks, despite having a top five

00:03:22offense last year, they were 10th when it came to top 10 defenses. They were also a bit, you know,

00:03:29stuck in the mud. Players will say admit the same when it came to later in the season, as well as into

00:03:34the playoffs, where it became a bit more isolation heavy. It just seemed like every possession, whether it

00:03:40was Detroit Celtics and definitely Pacers, it was points are hard to come by. So they're looking

00:03:46for more diversity, more versatility in the offense. He's certainly preaching the right

00:03:51things in terms of them playing fast, playing with more pace, passing the ball, ball moving,

00:03:55player moving. That's what they need. How they execute and how they fare is a different thing.

00:03:59We'll know more at the end.

00:04:00It is a different thing. And look, for a lot of people, when Tibbs was fired, let go, whatever you

00:04:07want to say, it's a risk. It's a risk in changing a style that you're comfortable with, that Knicks

00:04:12fans have seen. Do you look at this as a risk, a big risk, J-Mac, or is it the risk that Knicks

00:04:17had to take?

00:04:18Nothing worthwhile in the world has ever been achieved without taking a risk.

00:04:22I agree.

00:04:23And if you look at this Knicks roster, you can't, on one hand, spend, I think, the total

00:04:29combined value of their contracts for OG Ananobi and Mikael Bridges, like $350 million.

00:04:33You can't spend that amount of money on those two guys and have those guys be glorified,

00:04:39ancillary, you know, we're going to stand around the three-point line pieces when push comes

00:04:43to shove, which, as you referenced, playoff time, like there were too many possessions where

00:04:48those guys were not involved enough, and Mike Brown very clearly has come in here with

00:04:54an emphasis on we're going to get everybody involved. This isn't going to be Jalen Brunson

00:04:58dribbling the air out of the ball. This isn't going to be Carl Anthony Towns, you know, doing

00:05:02the same thing. So I think it can work. I think it has to work because I know we're going to

00:05:09get to defense later, but if you're looking for pathways for this team to actually make

00:05:13the finals and, dare I say, win a championship, I kind of think like, I mean, top five is like

00:05:20the bare minimum. I don't know how you guys feel about this, but I think they kind of have

00:05:23to be like a top two, top three offense at worst to give themselves a real chance, you

00:05:28know, kind of that Denver model from a few years ago. I think they could do it, though.

00:05:32Yeah, I think they've got to be in the top. I'm going to say top three. I think they've

00:05:35got to be in the top three offensively. I think the thing when it comes to a new offense,

00:05:40you know there's going to be some change. Players are going to have to adapt.

00:05:44I don't have this concern personally, but some people are concerned about Jalen Brunson

00:05:48adapting in this offense. I personally don't have that concern. Are you concerned?

00:05:53Concern is too strong a word, but I want to see it because this is a player. It's like,

00:05:58you know, if someone came to me or CP and say, hey, you guys are doing really great with

00:06:02Nick's content coverage, I want you to just do it about like 35% different. And just trust

00:06:09me, it's going to work. I know you've achieved all the success, but just take my word for

00:06:12it. I wonder, you know, how is he, look, the guy wants to win more than anything. How

00:06:18is he going to respond if he goes through a rough patch or two? That's what I want to

00:06:22see. I'm curious about that. I know he's going to fight through it. I'm curious what

00:06:26it's going to look like and more, I guess, how long it's going to take for him to really

00:06:30embrace and get used to the role that's being asked of him now.

00:06:33You got any concern? Are there any players? Maybe is it Brunson? Is it somebody else that

00:06:36you have concerns about in this new Mike Brown offense? Not concerned with Cap. I mean, he

00:06:41showed us in his short tenure here, his ability to adjust, right? Whether it's adjusting to

00:06:46being a starter, adjusting to playing playoff defenses and being a master at that. And so,

00:06:52yeah, this is going to be a little bit different for him. Maybe they take the ball out of his

00:06:55hands a little bit more and he's going to have to adjust to that a little bit. But one thing

00:06:59is for sure is I don't think that Mike Brown will be the guy who says, okay, we're going

00:07:04to have to be married to this system. I think at the beginning, they're going to figure out

00:07:09where this works. Is it more so the second unit that's running more of a, you know, up-tempo

00:07:14style that Mike Brown wants? And when it comes back to it, they have to make sure that Jalen

00:07:19Brunson is the best version of himself when they get to the playoffs. So if that means adjusting

00:07:25a little bit and putting the ball in his hands a little bit more, you're going to have

00:07:28to do that. But what I'm hearing from you there, and I saw you kind of nod to that too,

00:07:33is it's a good thing. We're hearing malleability. Something that Tom Thibodeau,

00:07:37malleability, that's a T word for the people. Something that Tom Thibodeau was criticized

00:07:41for, right? That maybe he wouldn't adjust. You're saying that, hey, okay, if it does need

00:07:45to be a little more heliocentric at times, Brunson will have the ball. I think that's the part

00:07:49why I'm not worried. I think Brown's going to adjust and I think Brunson will have some

00:07:53stretches where it might look a little difficult, but I believe that he can adjust.

00:07:56Or do you think so? That's fine. It's an 82 game preparation. And you hate to belittle

00:08:03the regular season like that, but where this team is in this Eastern Conference, I think

00:08:07it's fair to say they have a long runway to figure those sorts of things out, which I

00:08:12know we're probably getting into with some other questions, but I'm not worried.

00:08:16Okay, so in terms of the offensive identity, what's the thing each of you guys have that

00:08:20you wouldn't have on your, that somebody wouldn't have on their bingo card?

00:08:23Or does it think it's going to happen?

00:08:25Knicks are top 10 in pace.

00:08:27Top 10 in pace. I like that. That's a huge jump for the Knicks. And with the basketball,

00:08:32you've been watching. What you got?

00:08:34I would have to say, I think they achieve their three-point goals. I think they become

00:08:39either top five, top 10, three-point.

00:08:43In percentage or attempts?

00:08:44They were up there in a percentage. They were an efficient team, but in attempts, I think

00:08:48they're going to get those shots up.

00:08:49Top 10 in attempts per game. Okay, you like pace in attempts. I like that. Okay, we talk

00:08:54about this team. Let's talk about the frontcourt pairing. Because it looks, hasn't been announced

00:08:59yet, but it looks like it is going to be the Twin Towers. It looks like it's going to be

00:09:03Mitch and Cat in the frontcourt. Do you think they can coexist defensively? Do you think that,

00:09:10and do you think this helps with Cat at the four, Mitch at the five? We saw the impact of that,

00:09:15but do you think they can work together defensively? What do you say?

00:09:17Yeah, for sure. For sure. And even in their limited time in the regular season,

00:09:21they showed positive results. Postseason, it was a bit more of a mixed bag. What we're hoping is

00:09:26with a larger sample size, they'll be able to display that. But there's no question, for me,

00:09:31you guys have heard me say that nauseam. Mitch is the guy. No defense, no rebounding, no rings.

00:09:37And he's the guy that's in the middle of all of it. He's a signal caller.

00:09:41He's a guy that if you want to switch and you want to switch him out on the perimeter,

00:09:44guard guys in space, you can do that. He's going to get you the offensive side. He's

00:09:48going to get you second chance. But in terms of defensively, Mitch being down there to end

00:09:54possessions, either as an intimidator, a shot blocker, or just grabbing, securing it at the

00:10:00defensive rebound, that's what they need. And I think it's going to work very well with

00:10:03Carl Anthony Towns. Any concerns for you, J-Mac, especially if you get to the playoffs and you

00:10:07know, you go to get the hack-a-mitch going on. Are you concerned with him as a starter

00:10:11there? Or do you think he's just so valuable in what CP said and what he gives to you on

00:10:15the defense and the rebound?

00:10:16No, I mean, look, the hack-a-mitch thing, and we've read some recent reports that he's

00:10:21trying to make some adjustments.

00:10:22Yes.

00:10:23I think Mr. Bondi, our good friend here. So we'll see if that works. Look, at the end

00:10:30of the day, he is, and I got to give you credit, because everybody and their mother, including

00:10:34me, has spent time trying to trade Mitchell Robinson to this team or that team since he

00:10:38got here. And you have stood your ground, and you should be running victory laps now

00:10:44because, look, Jalen Brunson's the MVP candidate. They're going to go as far as Jalen Brunson's

00:10:49talent could take them. But other than Brunson, I think there's a real legitimate argument

00:10:53that Mitchell Robinson's the most important player on the team.

00:10:56Most important player.

00:10:57Because if you look at, again, can they have a top three offense like we were talking about

00:11:02before with Mitchell Robinson playing 25 to 30 minutes a game? I think they can. I think

00:11:08there's enough talent that even though he may not be the most skilled offensive player in

00:11:12the world, he also makes up for it with the offensive rebounding. So then you go to the

00:11:16other side of the court, it's like, okay, well, how are we going to be at least the top

00:11:19half of the league defense? And I mean, reasonable minds may differ. I don't see a path to that

00:11:25without Mitch playing a significant role. And again, look, we've got a year of Cat at the

00:11:30five. That's some good moments. That's some bad moments. I know what I want to see when

00:11:34the chips are on the line, and I want to see Mitch in there manning the middle defensively.

00:11:38I was not in favor of the double big lineup at first. I wanted to see a little bit more

00:11:45five out, but I tend to agree. I've liked how it's looked in the preseason. I know

00:11:49it's just preseason, but I like how it looks. I think it's the only pathway to be reasonably

00:11:54good at close to a championship level, which is like what a top 12 defense, something like

00:11:58that, something like that, right? The path we're talking like, could you be a top three

00:12:01offense, a top 12 defense? They don't have that pathway. I'm with you without Mitchell

00:12:06Robinson. So what do you guys have maybe for Mitchell Robinson or Carthy Towns that might

00:12:11not be on some people's bingo cards this year? What you got, CP?

00:12:15I'm going to say, bingo cards, stuff, lot of pressure. I'm going to say, be bold.

00:12:30Be bold. We're going to be wrong on some of these predictions. We're going to be wrong.

00:12:35I got one if you want. You got one? Or you want to do something still? 71 games. Yo, I

00:12:46love that you went to the games played. I love that you went to the games played. 71 games

00:12:51played. Yeah. Qualified for defensive player of the year with that. 71 games played. I'm

00:12:56betting on Casey Smith, the master trainer. I'm hoping for limited minutes, not so many

00:13:07back-to-backs. I think Mitch can get there. 71 games. That would be huge. What you got,

00:13:13J-Mac?

00:13:13Three different Knicks will get votes for all defense. Multiple votes. Multiple votes.

00:13:24Yes. Like more than just, like, I think Josh Hart got a vote like some years ago.

00:13:29And one of those you think will be Mitch?

00:13:30And one of the, I think, I mean, Mitch, O.J. Ananobi, and Mikal Bridges. I think all

00:13:36of those three will have what will be agreed upon as good to great defensive seasons.

00:13:44I will say, I really, not that I dislike yours, I really like CP's. Oh, CP's, well,

00:13:50listen. I do think Mitch is going to have a really healthy season. I really do. I feel,

00:13:54I'm going to, he'll play at least 65 is what I'll say. I like your pick there. If you

00:14:00play 71, if there's anywhere, you know, we all have different gambling books and things

00:14:05that sponsor our shows, go bet him for all defense. Put it down. Seriously. If you think

00:14:11he's going to play the games, bet all defense. All right. There you go. You got some betting

00:14:15advice there from Mr. Matt. Free advice. I want to talk to you guys also about the bench.

00:14:20Because I think one of the biggest things we knew was like, okay, Knicks have to upgrade

00:14:23the bench. I think all of us here, we like the moves to get Clarkson, to get Yabusele,

00:14:28Yabusele. I realized the pronunciation came out yesterday. The Knicks had that and so

00:14:33I got to be right on that. So there you go. The bench we saw in the fourth preseason game

00:14:40did not look so good when they had time to start against the Wizards. That didn't look

00:14:45so good. How do you feel about this bench in terms of roles? Do you think young guys deserve

00:14:53more run with this bench? How are you feeling about this bench as we head into the season?

00:14:57Jay Mack, we'll start with you.

00:14:58I think the... I don't know if this is a cop-out answer, but I think the most important question

00:15:05about the bench is how they are utilized with certain starters. Which is to say, when one

00:15:13of Brunson... Really, it comes down to Brunson and Cat. When one of Brunson or Cat's on the

00:15:17floor, but only Brunson's on the floor. Who is he playing with? And how can they make... Because

00:15:22the Brunson only lineups last year very quietly did not go so great. The Cat only lineups

00:15:27went fantastic. And him and campaign and that crew, they were gangbusters. Again, it was

00:15:32kind of went under the radar. So you have coming off the bench and you have Jordan Clarkson,

00:15:39very offense forward player, let's say. Yabusele, kind of in the same mold. We saw maybe don't

00:15:45want to be playing him so much at the five. Deuce, we know what Deuce could do. Deuce could

00:15:48do anything you need him to do. And then probably Josh Hart. And again, if Mitch starts,

00:15:54so then, okay, so you got Josh Hart coming off the bench. You probably don't want to

00:15:58play those guys together too much. But we keep hearing about, okay, can there be more

00:16:03five out? So does that mean we're going to try to also limit Cat's minutes with Josh

00:16:08Hart? Like pretty quickly, the Jenga tower gets a little wobbly. And so again, I go back

00:16:14to my original statement, which is how are all of these guys going to fit in? Because

00:16:17look, we know these guys are good. Deuce, we pride Josh Hart. I know Clarkson has rubbed

00:16:21some people the wrong way. These guys are talented, you know? So how does Mike Brown

00:16:25get the most out of them is what I'm kind of wondering with the bench.

00:16:28That is the biggest question. How do you see the bench working? Do you like this bench

00:16:32unit? Do you think there's something they're lacking? What do you like about this bench unit?

00:16:34I think he touched on it. I think as individuals, you have to, I think, be optimistic

00:16:40in terms of what they got based on what they have last year. As a collective, it's very

00:16:44inconclusive. I mean, he mentioned Josh Hart. We haven't even seen Josh Hart in the preseason.

00:16:49Outside of the first game for a couple minutes. How does he feel? How is he impacted with

00:16:52the splint? How does his knee feel? Remember, he's got a chronic knee condition. Do they

00:16:56need to load manage Josh Hart a little bit throughout the season? So I think coming off

00:17:00the bench frame will be great. But that combo with Hart, Clarkson, Deuce, who gets the

00:17:08playing time in the early preseason? We saw that Clarkson and Deuce were the first two

00:17:13off the bench. Who's playmaking, right? Who's going to get those guys to be the best versions

00:17:18of themselves is the question. Yabusele, another one. He's a guy, most of his points come off

00:17:27of assists. He needs someone to playmake for him. So if you're going to get the most out

00:17:31of him as a pick and pop threat, as a pick and roll threat, who's playmaking? Because Clarkson,

00:17:37he already said, I'm shooting. I'm getting the ball. It's going up. You need to be shooting.

00:17:42Like, that mix is interesting, especially where Yabusele is concerned. I don't want him

00:17:47to get lost. And on that note, if you're running three, because they have a lot of guards.

00:17:53You know, no shade at Pacom Daria, but like, what time is it? Is he still here?

00:18:00Listen, they have a lot of guards. So if you're running three-guard units with the bench,

00:18:04do they need to play with Mitch to be sustainable defensively, to be sustainable

00:18:08on the boards? Are we going to see OG Ananobi be like, again, some size next to Mitch?

00:18:13These are all, again, I'm fascinated to see which way he goes with this stuff.

00:18:16I think it's very interesting. I want to go back to, oh, before we go, sorry,

00:18:20I got to get your bingo card stuff. Almost forgot about that.

00:18:22What's your bingo card stuff for the bench? Got anything for the bench, J-Mac here?

00:18:26Oh, man, I could go really bold here. Eh, to hell with it. Josh Hart is the leading rotation

00:18:35player when it comes to plus-minus. Or on-offs. I'll say on-off.

00:18:41I could see that. Okay. What do you got? I'm going to throw one in here. I got something.

00:18:48For the bench. Yeah. Well, I think if all goes well, you could hope for Clarkson to be in the

00:18:56six-man running. So you like him in the six-man running? That's a hot take. That's all the way

00:19:02out there. That's all the way out there. I got on 6th Avenue. Okay. Let me help you take a little bit

00:19:11here. If Clarkson is to be in the six-man running, what do you see him averaging in terms of points

00:19:16per game? Do you have a points-per-game average here? What are you thinking?

00:19:2016-18. 16-18. 16-18. Okay, this might go to one of my Nadia Bingo cards. We're going to see a game

00:19:27where Jordan Clarkson takes 25 shots. Oh, my Lord. Is it the 82nd game of the season?

00:19:35We're going to see a game this season where Jordan Clarkson puts up 25. Now, I'm not saying he's going

00:19:40to be like 13 to 25. I don't know. It could be 425. If it's 425, that's not a good night.

00:19:46No. For anybody. But he'll get some shots up. He is the, without question, the player on the team

00:19:52that I am not most uncertain about in terms of what he is. We know exactly what Jordan Clarkson is.

00:19:57But in terms of the role, because I could see what you're, I could absolutely see what you're

00:20:01saying come true. He is the sixth man, right? He maybe plays the most minutes, takes the most

00:20:04shots off the bench. I could also see a scenario where he's maybe the ninth man, you know? Like,

00:20:10again, that's no shade on him. But there's the other guys here coming off the bench are good

00:20:14players. So, I don't know. Yeah, it'd be interesting. We've seen Deuce come a lot off the bench first

00:20:19in the preseason. We haven't seen much of Hart. So, it's going to be very interesting to see.

00:20:22What's also interesting is that all three of those guards have something to prove, right? I mean,

00:20:27Deuce shot below standard last year, percentage-wise. He was hampered by injury. Yep. Clarkson,

00:20:32he was injured. And his three-point numbers dipped off last year, despite leading the league in

00:20:37bench points for the last five years. So, you know, Macri's right. He could be a guy,

00:20:41he could be on the penthouse, or he could be out of that damn rotation, depending on how many

00:20:46quality shots he's taking tonight. It all depends on how he's feeling himself. That's the thing.

00:20:50That's really interesting. I want to go back to Jalen Brunson, because with him in this new system,

00:20:56right, you're going to see some of him off the ball. We're going to see that. We've seen some good

00:21:00things with that in the preseason. What do you think the ceiling is for him this season?

00:21:05Because some people say, okay, he's going to play off the ball. The numbers are going to drop a lot,

00:21:08right? And I don't necessarily see that dropping a lot, but I think there's a way he could be more

00:21:14efficient. What do you see for him as his ceiling this year playing in this Mike Brown offense?

00:21:18What do you see? Well, it's going to be an equal opportunity offense. At least that's the goal,

00:21:22right? And if that is the case, similar to what we saw last year, we saw five,

00:21:26six guys capable of having double digit nights. And I think you're going to see the same thing,

00:21:31especially with these guys coming back another year under their belt, the chemistry schedule,

00:21:36things of that nature. So for cap, yeah, maybe points or so may come down his assists. Yeah.

00:21:41Career high assists last year. Maybe that maintains that level or he goes up a little bit,

00:21:46but in the end, in crunch time, those numbers ain't falling off. Mike Brown already admitted when it

00:21:52comes to that final five, we're going to him. That's what you need to do. You need to go to

00:21:57your stars. And I heard, I don't remember who I heard, but this tape saying that, you know,

00:22:02maybe he's Pete. Oh, come on. And I'm like, you know, I watched Jalen Brunson put, put 46 up on

00:22:09the sixes in a playoff game. I mean, if that's the guy that's Pete, give me him in a big spot.

00:22:16Give me him, the guy that took Detroit in, in, in game six, like give me that guy or game five,

00:22:22whatever it was in Detroit. Give me that guy. I'm good with where he's at right now. So even

00:22:26if the numbers come down a little bit, I'm not too concerned. Yeah. For me, it's more about

00:22:30efficiency. That's, that's the thing I want to see. You still think he can be an MVP candidate

00:22:34in this new Mike Brown office? Um, candidate. Yes. I mean, we're in this very weird age where

00:22:40these like statistically anomalous players like Jokic and Antetokounmpo and even SGA to a certain extent

00:22:46exist. So I don't, you know, I agree like candidate, like top five. Yes. Do I think he

00:22:51actually has a chance to win it? I don't know that I go that far, but for me, success for Jalen

00:22:57Brunson this season is not going to be defined in the way that we typically define success for star

00:23:02players in the NBA. It's going to be looking at stats like dribbles per touch. Can those go down?

00:23:07Um, it's going to be obviously looking at defensive on off, which was again, quietly

00:23:13horrible last year, you know, especially cat team was, you know, everybody blames cat for the

00:23:19defensive stuff. They were the same defensively. The numbers say whether cat was on the court or

00:23:24whether he was off, it was Brunson where the numbers tank. Now there was some noise there and

00:23:28who he was playing with and who he was playing against, but still can we see those numbers come

00:23:32up a little bit? The efficiency, like you said, and then this isn't so much him. This is more

00:23:37Mike Brown and his teammates. Can we just get more catch and shoot looks? Yeah. You know what

00:23:41I want to see? Um, ideally open, but yeah, that's, that's all those sorts of things. Cause

00:23:45we know he can do all the other stuff. That's not a question. So this is maybe, I feel like

00:23:49one of the hardest things to put on a bingo card. Cause we know we've seen a lot of what

00:23:52Jalen Brunson is, right? Yeah. So what's the one thing you could possibly see this season

00:23:56that maybe you wouldn't expect from Jalen Brunson that you might not have on your bingo card?

00:24:01I'll go, I'm going to do an assist number, but I, what's his career high? Seven point

00:24:10something? Yeah. I think seven. I think it was just under seven and a half. I think seven

00:24:13four. And I, I don't love this one because I, assists are not the best way often to track

00:24:20whether a player's impact on his team's offense. But since I don't really have another better

00:24:27one right now, 20 assist game this year. Oh, we can go with a single game. That's an

00:24:33interesting one. Um, we saw 17 last year against Denver, if I remember in Denver, if I remember

00:24:39correctly, I think it was 17. You know what? I'll go, I'll go. He averages eight and a half

00:24:45assists or at least eight and a half assists a game. Ah, averages eight and a half assists

00:24:49per game. Okay. Put that down in the bingo card for Jalen Brunson. Eight and a half assists

00:24:51per game. What you got for Brunson? I'm going to go in a tandem. I'll draw Carl Anthony

00:24:56Towns in there and I'll say that they will be top three points per possession

00:25:02in pick and roll. In pick and roll. That's good. I like that. We need that. We need that.

00:25:06I like that. I actually like that. We need a thorough two-man game between those two guys.

00:25:10Top three points per possession in pick and roll. That's what I want to say. I want to see

00:25:13the volume. I, I, I agree with you. That's a, that's a great one. But to me, as much as

00:25:17the efficiency with them, with the pick and roll, I want to see how much they go to it.

00:25:21They go to it. You know, and how does that jive with this, the new look

00:25:23offense would be interesting. You want to see that. Uh, you guys mentioned before Josh

00:25:27Hart and we haven't seen a lot of him in the preseason. You also talked about his health

00:25:32with the split on his finger. You're also dealing with the knee, knee issue that he's

00:25:36had from time to time. How concerned are you about Josh Hart's health? What do you think

00:25:40is a worst case scenario if he's not a hundred percent? And is there a point where the Knicks

00:25:44might want to say, okay, we're going to shut you down, have surgery on that finger and get

00:25:49right before the playoffs? How concerned are you guys about Josh Hart? So I think we all

00:25:53know how important he is to the team, but is there any concern about his health right

00:25:56now as we head into the season? Again, we got to see how he performs with the

00:26:01splint. How does he handle physical contact? Can he get through it? And then I

00:26:05guess as an organization that they'll come to a decision, but when it comes to

00:26:08impacting the game, he's the guy that can do it without scoring and he's got the

00:26:14physical and the mental to do it because as he said last year, he wants to be a

00:26:18servant to his guys. Sure, he wants to have a larger role if he can, but he's

00:26:22going to get in where he fits in. He's still part of that New York great attitude

00:26:26that this team needs. Getting off the after and on the boards, getting out in

00:26:30transition, pushing the ball ahead. That's what Mike Brown wants. He'll do

00:26:34that. He was a triple-double threat last year as a starter. So I think despite the

00:26:39splint thing is worrisome for sure, but he can still impact things and help them win

00:26:44games, even if it's not shooting or scoring with the splint. We have seen that

00:26:49for him. How do you feel about Josh Hart? To go back to Tibbs for a sec, I think the

00:26:52harshest criticism you could levy at Tibbs is that he made the average Knick fan

00:26:56maybe not dislike Josh Hart, but be frustrated on a regular basis with Josh

00:27:00Hart, which if you look at how much love he elicited over the first year and a

00:27:05half and change, he was here. I was getting some older readers to my

00:27:11newsletter throwing out the Buescher comparisons. I haven't seen a guy play

00:27:15the game this way in 50 years. That's what Josh Hart is all about. He's all

00:27:19about bringing energy into the game, being a spark plug, being a live wire, and

00:27:24just doing his thing. And last year, that wasn't the version of Josh Hart that we

00:27:30saw. I know, but yeah, the triple-doubles. The triple-doubles were great. Don't get

00:27:33me wrong, but you know when you see Josh Hart at his best. And to me, we did not see

00:27:37that guy nearly enough last year. Obviously, this back thing is not ideal,

00:27:42but I think a move to the bench, even though he, I know what Josh Hart said, he

00:27:47sees himself as a starter in the league, the whole thing. I think that's gonna be

00:27:50the best thing that could possibly happen to Josh Hart. I happen to agree, and I

00:27:53think, go ahead, I would say keeping him around 25 minutes a game could be a good

00:27:56thing for him. I would say, just based off what he said, is that the turning point

00:28:01for Josh Hart, who relies a lot on his athleticism. Remember, he has the issue as well.

00:28:07So, I think we may find out this year. Is this the turning of a corner for a guy

00:28:12who, you know, needs that to be the best version of himself?

00:28:17I'll see.

00:28:17The minutes thing is gonna be interesting with him, how much he plays, and how

00:28:21he's protected. But give me your bingo card stuff for Josh Hart. I think there's a

00:28:27lot of interesting ways you can go here.

00:28:28I'll go that Josh Hart, how about this? How about he is the NBA's leading rebounder

00:28:42amongst bench players?

00:28:44That's good. I like that. NBA's leading rebounder amongst bench players?

00:28:47Per game.

00:28:48Per game.

00:28:49Per game.

00:28:49Yeah.

00:28:50Okay. I can see that. What you got?

00:28:52Oh, man.

00:28:54Hmm.

00:28:54You can go a lot of ways with Josh, man.

00:28:56You can talk about the, will he shoot better from three this year? Will he get

00:29:00up more threes? Will he shoot a higher percentage? Like, it's, there's a lot of

00:29:04interesting things with Mr. Josh Hart.

00:29:05Yeah, I don't know if that's funny, if he's gonna be shooting a high percentage.

00:29:10Let's see.

00:29:10Maybe the split is what he needed.

00:29:12Yeah.

00:29:12I don't know.

00:29:12I mean, he shot like 45% his first year here after the trade.

00:29:16After the trade. He did. He shot very well.

00:29:19Man, that's a good one. I'll say, next to Brunson, he's a second leader in fourth

00:29:28quarter minutes.

00:29:30Whoa!

00:29:31Wow. That's what that, wow. Next to Brunson.

00:29:35Do they go back to him as Mr. Reliable?

00:29:37That's a good one.

00:29:38Huh.

00:29:39If the, if the offense is sputtering in the too big look.

00:29:43Right.

00:29:43Because, bruv, we've got options now.

00:29:45So.

00:29:47So you can see with the offense sputtering that Mike Brown would trust him a lot on the

00:29:50floor down the stretch. That's kind of what you're envisioning. If the things aren't looking

00:29:54well.

00:29:54With the need for more playmaking.

00:29:58More rebounding.

00:30:00I mean, obviously you're gonna get that with Mitch, but just a bit more athletic, a bit more

00:30:03fluid.

00:30:04With Hart out there, being able to play faster.

00:30:06If you need to play faster, depending on the matchup.

00:30:09Okay. All right. I like, I like that one. That's a good one. That's, that was, that was

00:30:12slightly spicy. I do like that one. Here. Okay. The offense has got so much attention,

00:30:18right? Let's talk about the defense. Cause so much of the attention with this team has

00:30:21gone to Mike Brown and offense. You mentioned J Mac. People forget sometimes that Mike Brown

00:30:27is a really good defensive coach, right? And we, we know that. So with the defensive schemes

00:30:32under Mike Brown, when you look at everything, and I think there's a little bit of look of

00:30:36how does this team look last year? Last year, we saw cat play and drop coverage. That was

00:30:41a disaster. That did not work well. I've been very curious to watch how this team looks early

00:30:45on in the preseason through that. Again, it's only preseason, but what are your expectations

00:30:51for this team defensively? How good do you think they could be? How good do you think this

00:30:55defense could be under Mike Brown?

00:30:56Well, they need to be improved to have a real shadow winning the championship, but we've

00:31:00seen history or shown us that at least like the last 10 years of finalists, the winners

00:31:05typically are a top 10 defense. Typically you'll have some outliers, but typically you've got

00:31:10to play championship caliber defense, man. And with two quote unquote holes in that starting

00:31:15five, they have a unique challenge in, in, in terms of trying to cover their weaknesses.

00:31:20Cause you have two guys where most contenders have one and it's kind of none. Like if you're

00:31:26looking at like an OKC. So for the Knicks, it's deploying their best defenders at all times,

00:31:32whether it's Mitch, it's OG, it's Macal Bridges, it's, it's Deuce McBride. How will Macal Bridges

00:31:39as Mike Brown has alluded to moving around in that defense? What rotations come with that

00:31:45and how do they maximize the defense that way? Whether it's drop or it's switch being able

00:31:50to adjust based on the matchup. So if you have Towns in the drop, make sure that it's a matchup

00:31:57where maybe it is Towns running with the second unit where you have less pull up jumpers, more

00:32:04less mid range jumpers, right? And, and it's more to his, to his, uh, to his standing.

00:32:09Now, if you, if you're going to switch more, you want to make sure that if you're going to put

00:32:13Cat out there on the perimeter, that he's not going to get killed in guarding in space, right?

00:32:19Maybe switching more is more of a, of having Mitch Robinson out there or whatever it is,

00:32:25you want to make sure that you are adapting to what the personnel is that you have out there

00:32:29and who, and who you're going up against. So what I'm hearing again, is that malleability,

00:32:33right? We're hearing that once again, we talked about in the offense, is that something you're

00:32:37looking for too in a Mike Brown defense? Yeah, because you need to be malleable and adaptable

00:32:41to different opponents. But I want to pick up on something you just said about to win a championship.

00:32:45Like so many of these teams have had elite defenses. We just saw one obviously in Oklahoma

00:32:50city. Yep. The Knicks, I don't think with Brunson and Towns on the roster, unfortunately,

00:32:55I don't think a great defense, like an all time defense is going to be in the cards,

00:32:59but even Denver a few years ago, it's not like when you played the nuggets, like you felt like,

00:33:05Oh, the buffet lines open, you know, like they could, they could get stops when they needed to

00:33:11get stops. Not to say that the Knicks last year could not, but there were too many times against

00:33:16Indiana, certainly in the conference finals. And even frankly, at times before that in the playoffs

00:33:22and like throughout the regular season, where it just felt like they had their backs against the wall

00:33:27and they were, they didn't have the answers, you know? So can they get to a level where they just

00:33:35avoid those instances? Again, ideally with both Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns on the floor.

00:33:42And look, if part of the answer this year is, is finding out that, Hey, we'll come playoff time

00:33:46against certain opponents. We may be limited to playing those guys together 15, 20 minutes a game,

00:33:53you know, maybe less even like maybe that's part of the equation, but this is going to be my theme.

00:33:57I keep going back to you have 82 games to figure that out, you know, and there were too many of the

00:34:02times with things last year. It didn't feel like we figured out enough over the first 82 games.

00:34:07Yeah. Regular season is a time. If people say it doesn't matter, that's not true. This is why it

00:34:12matters, right? Because you have that time to figure it out. So for your bingo card, what do you have

00:34:17in terms of the defense? What are you going with in terms of defense, J-Mac?

00:34:20I would like to see them generate more. I mean, Mike Brown talks about how he wants to run.

00:34:26Easiest way you could run is to generate turnovers. Tibbs' defense is very conservative, didn't do that a lot.

00:34:32So I'd like to see, can they, let's say, be top 10 in turnovers?

00:34:38Top 10 in turnovers. Okay. So maybe a little more gambling this year, maybe going for some more

00:34:42steals, playing in passing lanes a little bit more. What do you like for the defense this year?

00:34:46Could it be for the season, the game? What you got?

00:34:47Well, this one was predetermined as opposed to the rest of our bingo cards. This one was a little

00:34:52bit predetermined. I'll go with, and shout out to Macri for this one. I'll go with OG having a

00:34:58five-by-five this year. I think OG having a five-by-five.

00:35:02In a game, OG gets five-by-five. So let's just, for the people, five points, five rebounds,

00:35:07five steals, five assists, and five blocks. Five blocks. It's very impressive. I hope

00:35:12that happens. If it happens, everybody's got to remember. CP said it.

00:35:17I'm going to go look up after we're done here if a Nick has ever done that.

00:35:20Has ever done that. I don't, I don't, I want to say no, but I could be wrong on that.

00:35:24I don't think so. None, I feel like that's something I would have heard, you know, maybe

00:35:27Patrick, maybe Michael Ray Richardson. Oh, well, Willis, maybe. I can see Willis doing it.

00:35:32Yeah. And that offense. I can see that. That's interesting. That's, look, if somebody knows.

00:35:37It's rare. It doesn't happen a lot. It doesn't happen a lot. So let's know. Okay. We want

00:35:41to move on to, because there's a lot of talk about the roster, and every year I always say,

00:35:44okay, who's going to be the X factor on this team? But I want to do something a little bit

00:35:48different this year. Let's look at who do you think is going to surprise on this team, and who do you

00:35:52think is going to disappoint on this team? I think last year for a lot of people, the

00:35:56disappointment was McHale Bridges. He was disappointing for a lot of people. Who do you think is going

00:36:01to surprise? Who do you think is going to disappoint? Go with you first, CP. The surprise will be

00:36:05last year's disappointment. It's going to be McHale Bridges. It's going to be McHale Bridges.

00:36:08One year added to the chemistry with this team. The contract is in tow. It's with a different

00:36:15coach. Didn't seem like him and Tibbs were on the same page last year. I'm going with

00:36:22that based on how Mike Brown wants this offense to be run. More ball movement, more player movement,

00:36:28playing with pace, playing faster. To me, that speaks to McHale Bridges. And of everyone on the

00:36:35roster that's not Brunson and not Towns, he's the guy that can do most of those things with the ball

00:36:42in his hands. Maybe not at a superstar level that Brunson Towns can, but he can, and it's important

00:36:49for him to do so for this team to truly diversify the offense. It's got to be a lot more McHale

00:36:56Bridges in this. So you got to be surprised by who's the player you think is going to disappoint

00:36:59this year? I'm going to go with Clarkson. Yeah, I'm going to go with Clarkson. Oh, you think he's

00:37:04going to shoot too much? I think that because this offense is going to require high IQ discipline

00:37:12and decision-making. I have that term. You guys know it. We don't need that. It was specifically

00:37:19coined for Julius Randle. Julius, we love you, man. Enjoy Minnesota. Good luck out there. That was for

00:37:23Julius Randle. The low IQ plays, the bad decisions. I think Clarkson is going to be full of those. I'm

00:37:31near for it. He's going to be full of those. Also, 33 years old, coming off a bad year last year.

00:37:40I think he could be the guy that slides further down the bench. And you talked about it earlier

00:37:44about when we talked about the bench. He could slide. You said you could see him being anywhere

00:37:47from six to nine, sort of sliding out the rotation. Interesting one with Jordan Clarkson. I think a lot

00:37:51of people are banking on him to have a good year. So that's interesting. What do you got,

00:37:55Jay Mack? Who's surprise and disappointment? I don't know that I expect anybody to surprise me

00:38:01because if I expected that, then it wouldn't be a surprise. But relative to expectations,

00:38:06I would have taken CP's answer. I would have said Mikael Bridges. Since he said it, I'll go with

00:38:11I can't say it. I'll go with the other wing. I'll go with O.J. Ananobi. I think there is kind of

00:38:18an idea of what he is and maybe just as significantly what he isn't. And I think under Mike Brown,

00:38:27you know, look, Mike Brown, we've heard reports that Mike Brown wanted to get O.J. when he was in

00:38:32Sacramento, when he was in Sacramento's head coach. So I think he is going to tap into O.J. and realize

00:38:39if I can get this guy fully locked in, I mean, he could be the difference maker for this team.

00:38:47So what does that look like exactly? It'll be interesting to see. Obviously, I think O.J. is a

00:38:50player that'll benefit from getting out and running more. Mike Brown wants to do that. So that'll be my

00:38:56surprise. My disappointment, again, I would take CP stole my answers. I'll go with a different

00:39:01free agent signing from the summer. I'll go with Gershon Yavasele. But I want to tread lightly

00:39:07here. I don't think he's going to have a bad year. But we even heard Mike Brown say this,

00:39:11I think, a couple days ago. The learning curve for Gershon may be a little bit longer. He spoke

00:39:17to something to that effect. And, you know, if he wants his bigs to do a little bit more,

00:39:23be a little bit more of a hub on offense, is that something that's going to take a little

00:39:27bit longer for Yavasele to adjust to? Especially coming off of that Philly team where that was

00:39:32the Wild Wild West playing for the Sixers last year. Nothing mattered. So it's a little

00:39:36bit of a different animal here.

00:39:37Okay. So here's what I'll do with the bingo card stuff for this. Let's not talk about the

00:39:42disappointments. Let's leave it aside. We don't want to depress the viewers out here.

00:39:45No.

00:39:45The surprises. Mikel Bridges was for you and your surprise. I'll go OG, but I have a different

00:39:52bingo card guy for us.

00:39:53Oh, okay. Then give us a different bingo card. Go ahead. What you got?

00:39:57This is probably insane. Tyler Kolek plays more games than Malcolm Brogdon.

00:40:03Mmm.

00:40:04Yo, that is the spiciest. That is the spiciest all the bingo card stuff that we've had here

00:40:10before. Maybe more than CP71 games for Mitch. Tyler Kolek plays more games than Malcolm Brogdon.

00:40:18I might be sipping a little bit of the Kool-Aid because Kolek coming off of that Washington

00:40:23game is the most recent game we've watched as we're sitting here.

00:40:2520.6 assists, no turnovers.

00:40:27And it felt like a guy who finally realized, you know what? I don't know how many more chances

00:40:31I'm going to get to make an impression. I better do something now. And Brogdon's history

00:40:38in terms of not being able to stay healthy. Cole, how does Mike Brown want to play? He

00:40:43wants the ball to move around. Who's the best passer on the Knicks? I don't even think

00:40:46that's a controversial statement. It's Tyler Kolek.

00:40:49No, hands down.

00:40:49You know, so if, you know, let's say Brunson has to sit some games and other, maybe someone

00:40:53else. So, yeah, there you go.

00:40:56Tyler Kolek playing more games than Malcolm Brogdon. I like, you want to put a number on those

00:41:01games?

00:41:02No, I do not.

00:41:03Just more games. Just a little more games.

00:41:05More.

00:41:05All right, let's go with more.

00:41:06More.

00:41:07That's fine. CB, what do you have? Do you have something for Mikel Bridges or somebody

00:41:11else in terms of a surprise for the bingo card?

00:41:14It would be, it would be Mikel.

00:41:18Well, how good of a season? You think Mikel's going to, I think Mikel's going to have a good

00:41:21season.

00:41:21I think he's going to be, I think he can make the all-star team this year.

00:41:26Mikel Bridges is an all-star.

00:41:28I like, I like that too. Now, if Mikel Bridges makes the all-star, does Catten Brunson also

00:41:33make the all-star team? Well, the Knicks have three all-stars this year.

00:41:35So, depending on how they finished by the break, if they're one of the best teams in

00:41:41the game, you kind of show that team that respect. That's what Cleveland got in with three last

00:41:46year. We've seen it.

00:41:47It's only happened once in the last 50 years with Ewing, Starks, and Oakley.

00:41:51And Oakley. Yep.

00:41:52Yep. That would be, that would be very interesting. Okay. With all that being said, every year

00:41:57we do this on here. I don't, I think last year we all came pretty close with the wind, with

00:42:01the wind totals. I want to do wind total and seeding prediction. How you guys think the

00:42:06Knicks will do this year? Over, under in a lot of places has been, I think I've seen

00:42:1053 and a half.

00:42:1153 and a half.

00:42:1153 and a half is what I've seen on a lot of different books. Do you see the Knicks going

00:42:17over or under that? What's your total wins and where do you think they finish in the

00:42:19East? I've actually had it at 53. Right at 53? I had it at 53. I'll do the 54 just to

00:42:26say go over. I'll do the 54. So you're going over and for your bingo card prediction, what

00:42:33are you saying? How many more over are they going? Well, they had 51 last year. So if

00:42:39I'm going 54, that's three. Oh, so you said you're going 54. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, sorry.

00:42:42I thought you said you were going to go more than 53. So you're going with 54. Just one game

00:42:46over. I'll go one more. That's what you're doing. That's your prediction. And where

00:42:49did they finish in the East? Second. Second in the East. Behind? Cleveland. Okay. Behind

00:42:54Cleveland. What do you say? 53 wins. Second in the East. You guys are lower than I thought

00:43:01you'd be. I thought you might go a little higher with wins. You got fancy. I've got 60

00:43:04ways. I don't think 60. Yeah. Like to win 60 games in the NBA, like there's a reason there's

00:43:11like one. There's sometimes no teams win 60 games. We have seasons like that. I'll go Cleveland

00:43:18also as the number one seed. Although I don't just because I can't think I don't think the

00:43:24Knicks are going to finish as the top seed. I hope they do. I hope we're both wrong. But

00:43:28I don't see anyone else that I really believe can jump up and get into that mid-50s range.

00:43:37Watch like Atlanta or Orlando or someone like that does it. That would shock me. Would it?

00:43:44Orlando or Atlanta jumping up that high would shock me. Well, what's it? Okay. 54 for you.

00:43:52You said 53. 53. I'm going to say 55. 55 is my prediction. I'm going to go 55. I just

00:44:00I don't think Mike Brown's going to go. I don't think they'll go that hard for 60. Right.

00:44:03Even they could. Right. Like I just don't think they're going to go that hard. I also say

00:44:07not to suit two seed in the East. I say to two seed. I don't think the seeding is going

00:44:11to matter that much for this team. We'll get into that in a second. Do you guys want to

00:44:16make any spicy win predictions or no? You say it's staying there. Is there a world? Is

00:44:21there a world in which this team can win 60 games? Sure. I wouldn't. I wouldn't put it

00:44:26past him with my talent that they have looking at the schedule. But I think it would take

00:44:33a lot. And as you said, I'm not sure if they're going to push for that. Yeah, I don't think

00:44:36that's that's I just can't see that. I don't see them. I don't see them pushing for you.

00:44:41J. Mac, do you see any world where they win 60 games? It's this isn't a bingo card thing

00:44:44because it's not a statement. But I'm I'm toying with like if you gave me the

00:44:48choice of the next win 45 games or the next win 60 games. Which would I take?

00:44:55Oh, that's good. And I'm honestly, I'm I'm a little torn. Man, I. You know,

00:45:04actually, OK, maybe this is but I would actually now that I'm thinking about it,

00:45:08I would pick 60. There's too much unless there's injuries, which look, if the

00:45:12injuries are injuries, you can't. And as we saw against the Wizards, this team is

00:45:17really dependent on its top six guys. You know, you take away one of those. OK, if

00:45:21you take away two of them for a period of time, then it's like, excuse me. But

00:45:26there's too much talent on this team. There's I just can't fathom they get like

00:45:31maybe 49. I could see 49 50. I can't see 45. So I would pick 60 before I would pick

00:45:3645. I don't know if that qualifies for I like that question. I would I would pick 60

00:45:40before I pick 45. I think 45 is a little too low. But if they finished. I mean, look,

00:45:46if they finish 52 wins, would it shock me? No, no, it wouldn't shock me at all.

00:45:51But I do think it's interesting weighing all the factors that can contribute to the

00:45:57record and how they play it. It's a new system. How quickly do they adjust? You

00:46:03have a brand new coach who's in New York. Yes, we can look here and say it's all

00:46:07bad April, which it is. But optics is something totally different. And if this

00:46:11team is in a three game skid and it's going slow. Hey, Mike, what's going on?

00:46:17What's going on? Is he feel more pressure? Does he tap into his inner tips? Like, oh,

00:46:21no, I'm rocking these six B7 for the next 10 to lock us in here because the fans are

00:46:28going to do that. They're going to do it regardless of human nature. Three game

00:46:31losing streak, which is good. We're not winning the championship. Three game losing

00:46:34streak, it's over with. We're done. We're good. And you know, I'll be on here rolling

00:46:38my eyes. Yeah. We'll all be on our shows rolling our eyes because that's what's going

00:46:41to happen. Everybody's going to jump out the window. Right. And it's going to happen.

00:46:45They're going to have a three game skid probably some. I hope they don't have a three game

00:46:48skid, but they probably will. Yeah. And some of us will be level headed. Some of us won't.

00:46:54I don't know who you're referring to. The interesting thing is that he's been brought in

00:46:58as the anti tips in many ways. And one of those is going to be how he uses the rotation

00:47:04and extends the bench. Yeah. So will he at the slide of at the sign of adversity? Will

00:47:10he tighten up a little bit? Go the tips around. I can't trust these guys. I think that's going

00:47:16to be interesting to see as the season plays out. I want to that point. What I would find

00:47:22interesting is because you're right. Human nature sometimes can be for coaches to tighten up

00:47:26like this. Yeah. Does he tighten up and move guys out of rotation? Like let's say something

00:47:30you said happened. Let's say Jordan Clarkson falls out of the rotation or slides down the

00:47:34rotation in terms of minutes. Does that then allow something like Matthew brought up? This

00:47:38is one of Matthew's stakes to give Kolek or Adadie more time. Does he say, okay, I'm going

00:47:44to give other guys more time and see what they can do and find out what they're about. Do

00:47:48you think he does that? Or does he go to Tim's route as you said, sticks to his guns and

00:47:52I'm going to play these six guys? Like, do we think any of the, is he more, is he more

00:47:57malleable than we even think to play some younger guys here? Do we see that as possibility?

00:48:02Because fans are going to ask for that too. Yeah. Well, and I'm going to blame it all

00:48:06on J-Mac because J-Mac's the one who said Kolek is going to play four games. Kolek

00:48:11hive right here. Kolek hive. And the last preseason game was that they were cheering for Kolek.

00:48:15Oh yeah. Oh, I love them. They love Kolek. Yeah. But I wonder, I'm just, I'm posing this

00:48:21out there. I wonder how malleable even more Brown could be. Go ahead. There's malleability

00:48:26with play style and minutes and things of that nature. And then there is knowing who are the

00:48:33guys that are going to help me get to the finish line and making sure that they remain like

00:48:39knowing, making sure those guys know that you have their back. Right. And I just, maybe

00:48:46Clarkson's the one guy, but even that, and then there's a whole clutch part of that discussion

00:48:53which we don't need to get into right now. Yeah. No, listen, this stuff matters. So, but

00:48:57I don't, you know, I think it's more in terms of getting to the young guys, you know, will

00:49:02he, if things are not going so well, will he start to push the minutes of the starters a

00:49:08little bit higher? That's maybe the more interesting thing for me. That will be interesting. I'm

00:49:12really intrigued to see how we did a whole episode on breaking down minutes and how that

00:49:15will go. So that'll be interesting to see. Now, the playoff path is going to be interesting

00:49:19because we just talked about win total and seeding and you guys, we all think there'll

00:49:22be number two seed. We think there'll be 53 plus wins around there. Assuming that this

00:49:28team is in the top four, right? Which I think we all think they should be. But assuming

00:49:32they're in the top four, who do you look at in the East and says, okay, this team could

00:49:38give the Knicks trouble here. This is a team I'm a little bit worried about here. Who's

00:49:43that team? Do you have one? Yeah. It's the Hawks. I feel the same way. It's the length

00:49:50of that team that concerns me a lot too. Well, it's the, you look at what's the sort

00:49:54of team that can give the Knicks issues. It's a team that is going to, that like, that is

00:50:03is good enough, has some different things to throw at the Knicks defensively that can

00:50:08meaningfully frustrate them in what they want to do. And the mere fact that they have Dyson

00:50:15Daniels, who might be the best perimeter guard defender in the league. Again, no one's going

00:50:19to stop Jalen Brunson or shut down Jalen Brunson, but Daniels' presence. And then you look at,

00:50:24all right, well, what do the Knicks have the most trouble historically guarding? And that's

00:50:28not just the Knicks, any, any good defense has trouble guarding a pick and roll attack like

00:50:32Trey Young is capable of orchestrating. I just think that Hawks are going to be a really good

00:50:36offense. And again, not a great defense, but have some things to throw at you defensively.

00:50:41And then obviously Chris stops with the stretch five and that whole thing. So it would be Atlanta

00:50:46for me. I like Atlanta. Are you, are you, is Atlanta for you too? Cause you had mentioned

00:50:50them earlier. You say always, always, always, man. And it's like you said, they have the things

00:50:57that give the Knicks trouble. It's it's the guard play. I, I do believe that the, the entertainment

00:51:05factor around Trey Young, I think has clouded our overall perception of, of him as a player. I think

00:51:12he's better than what we lead on. I think a lot of people hate on him for no reason to me as a

00:51:17playmaker, as, as the dynamo for that offense, you have to respect them. If Chris stops going to be

00:51:22healthy, that one, two pick and pop scenario could be a bit dangerous. They've added more

00:51:27three point shooting with Nikhil Alexander Walker, Luke Kennard. They have Jalen Johnson and double,

00:51:33double machine coming back off the shoulder. Is he going to take another step up? Risa Shea has

00:51:38looked better. If he finished the year, well, he looked good in Euro basket and he's coming back,

00:51:43right? That was the number one pick. Don't forget about that. Yep. So they have a lot of different,

00:51:48they have the wing depth to throw at you. Dyson Daniels, as Macri said, that gives the Knicks

00:51:52fits, fits, they're switchable. And I, like I said, the Trey Young factor, I don't think

00:51:58you can, you can understate that. Well coached also. Well coached. Quinn Snyder is a good coach.

00:52:03Yeah. No, I agree with that. This, this is, I guess, a weird one to do for the bingo thing.

00:52:07Cause are we going to say that Atlanta is going to upset the Knicks? I mean, I'm not, I'm not,

00:52:13no, I'm not uttering that out loud. Um, but I, how about this? The, the toughest series

00:52:20the Knicks will get in the Eastern Conference playoffs comes from the Hawks pushing them to

00:52:24seven. Wow. The Hawks will push the Knicks to seven games. I like, what do you say? I do wonder

00:52:33about Orlando do. I like it. Like I'm putting the Hawks as his number one. Okay. Like non Cleveland

00:52:38team. Give me some Orlando, but I want to see what, what the Bain experiment looks like to me. Is that

00:52:44enough on the surface on paper? No, but they have a floor where, you know, you're going to get

00:52:50tenacious defense. Oh yeah. They have a lot of defensive versatility. They always play the Knicks

00:52:54hard. They play them physical. Is Palo ready for that next jump up? I think so. Franz, I'm not so

00:53:02sure. I also don't like the depth on either team, the Hawks or the, or the, the bench depth on the

00:53:07Hawks or the magic. Um, but I do think if you get a, a, a healthy season, I mean, they were still able

00:53:13to, to get as far as they did with Palo and Franz being out with the obliques and they were still

00:53:19able to recover. I think that says something. They did lose Jalen Suggs as well, which I thought was

00:53:23huge. I thought Suggs is huge. I think that says something about that, the makeup of their team.

00:53:28Could they be like, you know, a little bit better than what Detroit was last year?

00:53:32Okay. You know, that wouldn't be a fun series against the magic. So, okay. So let's do this

00:53:38because on your bingo card, you're going to, you have the Hawks pushing the Knicks in their

00:53:42toughest series set to seven. You giving some respect to the magic. If the Knicks play the

00:53:46magic, what do you think they push them to? I still think six, six. Okay. I'm going to put,

00:53:52we're going to put that a bingo card. You have Hawks pushing the Knicks to seven magic. If

00:53:56they play them, we'll push them to six. Okay. I like that. All right. I'm going to wrap

00:53:59on this because this is the most anticipated Knicks season in three decades. There are

00:54:05a lot of expectations for this team. I've been talking about this all summer. You guys

00:54:09have been talking about it when I've been on your shows. You guys are talking about it

00:54:12as well. There's the fan pressure. There is the internal expectations. I'm not sure how

00:54:19much margin for error there is with this team. I'm not sure. It's not a lot is what I'll

00:54:24say. There's not a lot here. What defines success for the Knicks this season? Is this finals

00:54:29or bust? Is it championship? You got to win or bust? Is it Eastern Conference finals

00:54:35or bust? I think last year we all said Eastern Conference finals or bust and then they got

00:54:38to the Eastern Conference finals. Yeah. Yeah. So where are you this year in terms of expectations

00:54:43for this team? Like they got to do this. I don't even like using the word or else because

00:54:46I'm always usually like, well, or else what? What are we going to do? We're going to fire,

00:54:49you know, not we, but Knicks are going to fire Mike Brown. Are the fans going to revolt

00:54:53outside MSG and not go to the games no more? Y'all not doing that. What are the stakes

00:54:58really for this team going into this year? What do you say, CP? I think it's finals,

00:55:02man. Finals or bust? They got, they got, I would be okay with a competitive ECF loss

00:55:08a la last year to Cleveland. Anybody else? No. So opponent matters in how they play against

00:55:17the opponent in the ECF. See, I think you're being reasonable. There's going to be people

00:55:22that watch this and know we're going to see in the comments and be like, nah, what are you

00:55:24doing, CP? It's got to be the finals or nothing. For some people, the season is going to be

00:55:29like that. Yeah. Do you think they're being reasonable? Sure. The team's been in championship

00:55:37drought since 1973, right? So it is reasonable. But look, anything can happen in the playoffs,

00:55:44man. You got to be healthy. Matchups matter. And, you know, you got to be able to deliver

00:55:50in crunch time, money time. Yeah. A lot has to go right. A lot has to go right. The NBA is a very

00:55:56difficult league to win the championship. I think it's the hardest. I think it's the

00:56:00hardest. I happen to agree. Where, where, where were you on this season where all eyes

00:56:06are going to be on our content? All eyes are going to be in this team. The expectations

00:56:09are through the roof. Is this fine? Are you with finals or bust? It has to be finals or

00:56:13bust. And here's, here's why. Okay. The, when they made the trade for towns, and I don't

00:56:20want to get into the weeds too much here because we're almost at the end, but trading for a

00:56:24player with that contract and who is, I think as of now, right now, do, he's eligible to sign

00:56:32an extension for two years, $150 million. You don't trade, you don't trade for that player

00:56:38with the intention of flipping him for someone better. That is your, that's your move. You've,

00:56:44you've planted your flag on Carl Anthony Towns Island. And with the moves that they had already

00:56:50made, obviously from a coverage, there's no Janet Obie and then Brunson before it,

00:56:55like that's your team. And you said, we think this squad is going to be good enough.

00:57:00And if it's not finals or bust this year, what is going to change moving forward after this season

00:57:08that's going to make it easier or a better path? I mean, you're going to tell me, oh,

00:57:12you're two under Mike Brown's going to make a difference. I'm sorry. No, I'm going to pause

00:57:17you right there. Cause I agree with everything you're saying, but I know there's going to be

00:57:22somebody in the comments or somebody watching. They're going to say, well, go get Giannis.

00:57:26Well, look, here's the thing. And that's where it gets, you know, that's coming. That's where

00:57:30it gets to the second part of it, where is, is it finals or bust or is it championship or bust?

00:57:35Here's the thing. If they make the finals and they lose to whoever, it doesn't even matter who

00:57:39comes out of the West. It's the whole summer is going to be about Giannis. Same as if they lose

00:57:44in the Eastern conference finals, same as they lose in the second round, same as if they don't

00:57:47make the playoffs. Any of those scenarios, it's going to be the summer of Giannis. The only way

00:57:51that it is not going to be the summer of Giannis is if they win a championship.

00:57:56All right. So before we get out of here, let me ask you both, cause I actually don't,

00:57:59I actually don't know either of your thoughts on this and I haven't talked to you guys about this,

00:58:03but I said this on the last episode we did. I don't think the Knicks need Giannis,

00:58:08even if they lose in the finals. I don't think they need it. Cause I don't see a world where

00:58:11there's a trade that having Giannis actually makes them better. It will gut their roster

00:58:16and you need depth right now in the NBA. I know people love big names and I know people

00:58:21are going to listen to me and be like, Dex, you're crazy. I'm not sure it makes them better.

00:58:24I don't think that you're wrong though. If the Knicks lose Eastern conference finals

00:58:29and finals, I think Macri's spot on here. It's going to be all about, they got to go get

00:58:32Giannis. They better do whatever it takes to get Giannis. I'm not sure they even have enough

00:58:35to get Giannis. I don't really think that they do, but everybody's, now next year it's a little

00:58:41different. It'll change, but do they need Giannis? Even if they lose, do they need Giannis? It's

00:58:50kind of what I'm going to. To me, they'll answer that question. To go back to how CP started the

00:58:54show, that question will be answered this year because the fundamental question that faces this

00:59:00team today is the same one that faced them the day they made the town's trade, which is,

00:59:03and we alluded to it, can you win a championship with the two best offensive players both being

00:59:08minus defenders? Like, from that perspective, if you are in some combination of move, or players

00:59:18going out, players coming in, you are swapping out Carl Anthony Towns, who's a brilliant offensive

00:59:22player, but a minus defender, for a guy in Giannis who, you know, is not the defender he once was,

00:59:29but is still a very positive force on that end of the court. In a way, I do think that that solves

00:59:35your fundamental problem. Now, to get back to your point, who else needs to go out, whether to a third

00:59:42team or a fourth team where you're bringing picks in and this and that, that gets into where it's a

00:59:46dicier proposition, but on a fundamental level, yeah, I absolutely think there is a world where we end this

00:59:53season and we're saying Giannis is the, maybe not the perfect answer, given what the trade would

00:59:59realistically have to be, but the best answer that they have. Yeah, we got a long way to go for it.

01:00:05We do. We got a long way to go before we get there, but listen, here's what's going to happen

01:00:09too. Three-game losing streak, people are going to be like, go get Giannis. They're going to be like,

01:00:14go get Giannis, go get him. They're going to be saying, bring back Tibbs through the game losing streak.

01:00:18Well, that's going to happen too. The one thing I will say to what both you guys said,

01:00:21because you guys are both saying finals or bust, and I think the organization made that abundantly

01:00:25clear, and I don't have a problem with it once they decide to move on from Tom Thibodeau. I

01:00:30thought once you decide to move on from Tom Thibodeau and the way that statement came out

01:00:33from Leon Rose and all that, that was like, we are trying to win a championship. And that's

01:00:36what it should be. That's what the fans want to hear. You should want the expectations.

01:00:40Now, it makes the content we do a little more exciting. It makes a lot of people tune in.

01:00:44It makes a lot of people come to the watch parties and all that other stuff.

01:00:48But it also will make it fun when they do have a two-game skid, when they do have a three-game

01:00:51losing streak, when Jordan Clarkson shoots 27 shots. This is what's going to make it all

01:00:55crazy. This is what makes me excited for the season, man. I'm excited. We'll see how it

01:00:59goes. We'll see if our predictions are right. Wait, are we putting anything on the bingo card

01:01:03for the finals or bust? Or are we doing it? Is that on the bingo card? The Knicks?

01:01:07All right. Title drought ends. Knicks win the championship.

01:01:11You're both going with that. Okay. Title drought ends. Knicks win the championship.

01:01:15Over. Oh, you're going to go specific with yours. Go.

01:01:19Yeah. Let me hear this. The Denver Nuggets. That's cool.

01:01:22Title drought ends. Knicks win the championship. Denver Nuggets. Over the Denver Nuggets.

01:01:26The Denver Nuggets. We're going to put something bonus on the bingo card. I'm going to rock

01:01:30with you. I'm going to go with this, too. Title drought ends. It's going to be crazy here

01:01:34in New York. It's going to be insane. Insane. Jalen Brunson wins MVP. Finals MVP. Finals

01:01:42MVP. And in the clinching game, delivers a 50-piece. A masterpiece for the ages for the

01:01:50Knicks fans. It has to be like that. I don't know why my producer Nikolai is shaking his

01:01:55head. It's got to be like that. We got to give the people hope. What do we do? What do we

01:01:58do? We got to give the people hope. We got to give them hope. Anyway, we've done another

01:02:02Knicks season preview. I appreciate y'all so much for coming through and rock with

01:02:06me. That is Jonathan Macri. Please check him out on Knicks Film School. Please also check

01:02:10out my guy, CP the franchise, Knicks Fan TV. Both of these guys do fantastic work with

01:02:14their channels. They're two of the best content creators. And they're always going to be rocking

01:02:18with me through the season here on New York Out Game. Appreciate y'all both. We'll see

01:02:21how all this pans out. When you guys are back on with me, I'm going to be referring back

01:02:26to this bingo card that we're going to have made up. And we'll see what's right and what's

01:02:28wrong. Because if somebody gets a 5x, if OG gets a 5x5 game, I'm going

01:02:32to be cutting that. I'm just hoping to get one dot on my card. If all of us get a dot

01:02:39on the bingo card, consider that successful. Appreciate you guys. Thank you. Pleasure, man.

01:02:44Thank you. Okay, we're going to continue this season preview where we look at things that

01:02:49you could put on your bingo card this season for the Knicks. And we had to bring in Knicks

01:02:54beat writer for the New York Post, Stephan Bondi. He joins me now. Steph, what's going on, man?

01:02:57How you doing? What's up, man? How you doing? I'm good. I'm good. I figure we'll have

01:03:01a little bit of fun here. We always keep things really serious. The Knicks season is long.

01:03:04It's about to start. So I wanted to ask you, because we're trying to fill out this bingo

01:03:09card here. I had Jonathan Macri at CP be part of it as well, too. CP the franchise of Knicks

01:03:13Fan TV. Now we have you. You have four spots to fill on this bingo card, Steph. So I would

01:03:20like you to give me four things that you think people wouldn't have on their bingo card regarding

01:03:25the Knicks this year. I have faith in you that you could do this. So what you got?

01:03:28All right. So you put me a little bit on the spot just a little while ago to come up with

01:03:34them. But here's two that are related. Okay. One is good and one is bad. Okay. First one

01:03:41is Jalen Brunson will lead the Eastern Conference in scoring. I'm talking about points per game.

01:03:48Wow. And I know that he's supposed to play off the ball and they're trying to play this community

01:03:54offense. But the reason why he's going to score that much, and this is the bad one,

01:03:59Carl Anthony Towns is going to get injured. Those are my two predictions. And he only plays about

01:04:03half the season.

01:04:04Wow. Half the season for Carl D. Towns playing for Brunson will lead the team in scoring. Let me ask

01:04:12you. No, no, no, no. Lead the Eastern Conference. Lead the Eastern Conference to score. Sorry. Lead

01:04:16the Eastern Conference to score. Let me go. Let me just go back to the Brunson one real quick.

01:04:21You had told me, you know, you told me at the beginning, I think it was a media day. Okay. We need

01:04:25to still see how this works. Are you more confident in Brunson scoring ability with playing off the ball

01:04:30from what you've seen so far in this Mike Brown offense? I mean, we really haven't seen enough

01:04:35of it to feel one way or another. I mean, they've, you know, the starters have only played like

01:04:40really maybe for three, three, four quarter, five quarter, something like that, like together. So

01:04:47I don't feel a certain way one way or another, just based on preseason. I'm on the record though.

01:04:53I have to see it work before I say this is something I believe in. I do know Jalen Brunson

01:05:02obviously is a dynamic scorer, but he's had, he's done that with the ball in his hand. So

01:05:07I'm skeptical that he's going to be like Steph Curry. I think when it comes down to it and the

01:05:13Knicks need buckets, give Jalen Brunson a ball and pick and roll and let them cook. And that's

01:05:18basically what I, how I feel it's going to end up happening. Um, I understand Mikael Bridges and

01:05:23OG and Anobi are, are kind of better, um, in this free flowing offense, but I think to be most

01:05:29efficient, the Knicks are going to have, uh, going to need Jalen Brunson with the rock in his hands.

01:05:33Now when it counts, you're going to need him. Now I want to be clear for the people.

01:05:37Steph is not wishing injury upon anybody. He just made a prediction here. He's not wishing that

01:05:42on cat. If your prediction comes true, if your prediction comes true, that'd be messed up. I'm not,

01:05:46I'm not wishing that you told me to make predictions. I'm making predictions. You're

01:05:51making me like, like a jerk. I don't want, I don't want to do that. That happened in that

01:05:55live show. We did where you said the giants were going to win two games. People had their

01:05:58feelings about that. They have two wins, but that's all. I mean, how many wins they got?

01:06:01I mean, what does they got? They've got two, sir. They have two. All right. They do have two.

01:06:05If, if call me, what, call me when they get three, I will, I will call you or I'll see you or some

01:06:10other people will bother you. Now let me ask you this with the cat stuff. If he misses the amount of time you

01:06:16said, uh, that would be a detrimental blow to this team and what they could do. Do you think

01:06:20they have enough depth to recover from that through the regular season? Well, uh, obviously

01:06:26they need Mitchell Robinson to be healthy. So, um, that's another question mark. That would be the

01:06:31big question. And to be honest, you know, seeing you have a Selly play center yesterday was not,

01:06:36it's just preseason. So you don't want to put too much into it, but it was not encouraging seeing him

01:06:41to play center. So, you know, you want to, you hope Ariel hook 40 pops and gets a lot better and

01:06:47Mitchell Robinson stays healthy. Theoretically, they do have enough depth, but there are a lot

01:06:52of question marks there. All right. So I like the two things that you have in the bingo card

01:06:55Brunson to lead the Eastern conference scoring cat will miss a significant portion of the season.

01:06:59I believe you said half the season. What do you, what do you have as your last two? What do you

01:07:02have as your final two here? Oh, G and an OB for the first time will make first team all defense.

01:07:08Oh, okay. I, I, I, I like that. It's not that it's not that going out on a limb. Obviously he's

01:07:14been, um, talking about it and, um, you know, I don't think he's going to get defensive player

01:07:19of the year. Unfortunately for him, that usually goes to a big man because they produce the stats

01:07:25that are more tangible, like blocks. And, uh, the voters tend to go for people that protect the rim,

01:07:30but, uh, he will be all first team, all defense because his defense is a lot better

01:07:34than, um, than people are giving it credit for. I think the defense will be spurring this

01:07:39team on more than the offense. Wow. Do you think the Knicks could be a top 12 defense

01:07:43in the league? Yes. You do. Okay. Yes. Yes. I mean, especially Mitchell Rob. I mean,

01:07:48listen, you put Mitchell Robinson in the center, you're going with a defensive lineup and then

01:07:52you're asking OG and a nobody to do a lot. And I think he's capable of doing it as long

01:07:56as he stays healthy. All right. I like that one. Okay. So we got three, one more stuff.

01:07:59What's your last one? Fewer wins in last season. How many few in the regular season?

01:08:07How many 40? I'll go with 49. You make me 49 wins for it. It's not dramatic. It's not dramatic,

01:08:13but I think, you know, there's going to be certainly with tips. He went for every victory.

01:08:18We've already heard Mike Brown say, you know, we're going to wave the white flag a lot of times

01:08:24sooner than maybe you expected or anticipated. So it's not going to be treating every regular season

01:08:30game like the Super Bowl. And as a result, though, the record will take a little bit of a hit.

01:08:35All right. OG and an OB defensive player of the year, 49, excuse me, not defensive player,

01:08:40your first team on defense. We didn't go that far. First team, all defense, 49 wins for the Knicks.

01:08:45Then the fans are not going to like that prediction. They're going to say you're being too low on the

01:08:48New York teams. Steph, you had two wins for the Knicks, 49 wins for the Knicks. They're not going to like it.

01:08:53But does it matter? No, it doesn't. It only matters what this team does in the playoffs.

01:08:56That is true. I agree 100%. Steph, that is Stephan Bondi, our great beat writer covering the Knicks

01:09:04for the New York Post. Kind enough to give us enough time on this season preview. Steph,

01:09:09thank you so much. Appreciate you, man. All right, man. All right. That's going to do it for this

01:09:13edition of New York Got Game. Did a fantastic season preview. Season is right around the corner.

01:09:18We have a lot of good things still coming up. Some more content coming your way next week.

01:09:22We'll have a betting preview coming for you where we look at the best bets for the Knicks.

01:09:26We'll also preview their Knicks' first game of the season where they play the Cavs before

01:09:30they do it. And then we will also have a watch party for Knicks-Cavs where myself and Brian

01:09:35Fonseca, along with the guests yet to be announced, will be watching the first game of the season

01:09:39right here in the studio with the rest of you guys live on our New York Post Sports YouTube

01:09:44channel. Special thanks to everybody that made this show look good. Technical director,

01:09:49Nikolai Jackson, producer, Tommy Hogan, production assistant, Tommy Cohen, and editor, Wesley

01:09:54Splane. I'm Dexter Henry. We'll catch you next time on another edition of New York Got Game.

01:09:59And thanks for watching New York Got Game. Boom shakalaka.

Knicks MOST ANTICIPATED SEASON EVER w/ CP "The Fanchise," Jonathan Macri & Stef Bondy | NY Got Game

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