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00:00Tibbs and Mike Brown are forever going to be linked, especially at the start of the Knicks season.
00:05So here's what we're going to do here.
00:06Have a little fun.
00:07We're going to compare coaches and their schemes a little bit with Dexter Henry, host of New York Got Game.
00:13And of course, we're going to break down and talk a little Knicks Celtics as well.
00:17Dex, thanks for hopping on, man.
00:19Not trying to add anything to the fire here or start or instigate anything.
00:24It's just, you know, people are going to talk or compare Mike Brown to Tom Thibodeau.
00:29So let's talk offense first, because nine times this year, the Knicks have scored 40 or more points in a quarter.
00:37Are the Knicks better off offensively with Mike Brown schemes or Tibbs?
00:42Yeah, I think it's OK, Brandon.
00:45I'm not going to call you messy here or trying to instigate or anything like that.
00:49Knicks fans have been talking about this.
00:51It's been a common talking point.
00:52This goes on with us in the media as well, too.
00:55How does this team look defensively and offensively under a new head coach, Mike Brown, as opposed to Tom Thibodeau?
01:02Now, you asked about offensively and you mentioned the nine times they've had 40 point quarters this season, which is really impressive.
01:09But here's the thing.
01:11I think they are better offensively under Mike Brown and it's reflective.
01:14This is not just the fact that they're a top five offense right now.
01:18They're three right now in terms of offensive rating.
01:21Knicks were top five offense last year, but this looks so much different.
01:24There's more versatility.
01:26There is not as much ball domination by Jalen Brunson.
01:29The wealth is being spread around a little bit more.
01:31We're seeing Josh Hart thrive in this.
01:32We saw O.J.
01:33Ananobi thrive in this offense as well before he got hurt.
01:37We're also seeing Mikel Bridges look way different than he did last year.
01:41He is actually finishing at the rim.
01:43He's having a very efficient season.
01:45And you could argue he's been the most consistent Knick through their first 19 games.
01:49And I think a lot of it just has to do with the shot diet, too, Brandon.
01:53And they're getting up more threes.
01:54But it's quality threes.
01:55It's how they're hunting those threes.
01:57They're getting into the paint.
01:58They're spraying the ball out.
02:00The shooters are hitting it.
02:01Josh Hart is shooting 45% from downtown, which a lot of people did not see coming.
02:05We'll see how sustainable that is.
02:07But this team just looks more modern, dare I say, offensively.
02:11And I think it's a good thing for the Knicks because they needed to maximize this offense.
02:15Now, the defense can get a little bit better, too.
02:17And I'm sure we'll get to that.
02:18But right now, I think this team is much better offensively under Mike Brown than they were under Tom Thibodeau.
02:24Well, let's get to the defense right now because I was doing my research on the Internet.
02:29I read that during this current four-game win streak, the Knicks have a defensive rating of 106.3.
02:34And that's without O.G.
02:36I know it's only four games, so two-part question here.
02:39Do you feel like they're starting to come into their own defensively?
02:42And are they starting to be better defensively under Brown than Thibs?
02:48Yeah, I mean, in a way, yes, because they were in the lower teens in terms of defensive rating just a couple of weeks ago.
02:56These last four games have done wonders for them.
02:59They're now, according to Cleaning the Glass, up to 14th in defensive rating.
03:03But I don't want to say this doesn't matter, but we have to look at the opponents, right?
03:07Over the last four games, they played the Nets, they played the Hornets, they played the Bucs and the Raptors.
03:12Now, I think what should be noted here is they have not given up above 109 points in any of those games.
03:19And so that is impressive, especially without their best defensive player in O.G. Ananobi.
03:24Now, the quality of competition in those first two games, not so great.
03:28But look, you have to take care of business against the teams that's on your schedule,
03:31and you have to put the clamps on them defensively, and they did that against the Nets and the Hornets.
03:35I think where you can really be impressed with this team without O.G. Ananobi is what they did against the Bucs,
03:40a Bucs team that had Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player that the Knicks struggled to defend in their first meeting
03:46when they actually had O.G. Ananobi.
03:48And then a Raptors team, yes, they had no R.J. Barrett, yes, no Jakob Pertl in that game,
03:53but this is a Raptors team that was top five, top six in the league in offensive rating,
03:58and they slowed that team down.
04:00They had a really good defensive performance in the first quarter,
04:03and then you saw it down the stretch midway through the third and the fourth quarter.
04:06So I think they're starting to understand, Brandon, the defensive principles of Mike Brown
04:11and how he wants to play.
04:13They're playing a little bit more in the passing lanes than they did under Tom Thibodeau,
04:17and that's boded very well for players like O.G., like Josh Hart, like Mikel Bridges.
04:23But I think the defense was always going to be in progress.
04:25Something I've talked about a lot in New York Got Game is,
04:27can this team get somewhere between, you know, a top eight to top 12 defense?
04:32Right now they're around 14. Can they get a little bit higher?
04:34If they can do that with what we just talked about, how good they are offensively,
04:39then that is the bones of a championship-level team.
04:42And I think they just have to get a little bit better defensively
04:44and show they can get stops against elite offenses and teams that have a bit of length,
04:49and then I'll start to feel good.
04:50But I do like the way they're trending, to answer your question.
04:52I do think they're trending in the right direction.
04:54And some of these performances, the defensive performances that you're kind of highlighting,
04:59they're without Mitchell Robinson as well.
05:02Yep.
05:02And they're on the first leg of a back-to-back tonight in Boston,
05:05then they come home to the city on Wednesday to play the Hornets.
05:09Mitch Robb is supposed to play tonight, but he hasn't played in a back-to-back all year.
05:13Two-part question, do we ever see Mitchell Robinson playing a back-to-back all season,
05:19and does he need to?
05:22I wouldn't bet on it.
05:24I'd lean to know, especially with the way the Knicks have managed his load management.
05:30I was going to say his injury management, but there's no defined injury.
05:34But we know he's had previous injuries.
05:36The way they've managed it this season, our Stefan Bondi has talked about it.
05:40Mike Brown talked about this to the media just a couple of weeks ago,
05:44and that his agent is a huge part of this.
05:47We know Mitchell Robinson is an expiring contract.
05:50We know he's looking and seeking a new long-term deal.
05:53He and the Knicks haven't had any talks about that.
05:55So his camp, they want to be very protective of him not getting injured.
05:59So I do not think that we will see Mitchell Robinson in back-to-backs this season.
06:04I think they're going to play it safe.
06:06I think his team wants to play it safe.
06:07He wants to play it safe.
06:09Now, I've talked about this, and Steph and I talked about this after the Nets game in a video,
06:14and I said, I was saying to Steph, I understand all that, but the best ability, as you know,
06:20Brandon, is availability.
06:21And if you don't show you're available, that's not good.
06:24Now, somebody might say, hey, Dex, I hear that.
06:27But when you get to the playoffs, there are no back-to-backs, which is absolutely true.
06:30But you do want to see, and his value is going to be, well, how much can you play in the season?
06:34And whether it's with the Knicks or his next team, for that next contract, part of his
06:38value is going to be, how much can you play through the season?
06:41So if he can't play, you know, I'll just throw out a number.
06:44If he can't play 70 games in the season, well, that then brings his value down.
06:48Although we know how great he is defensively, how good he is on the offensive glass.
06:52But the way this season's gone, Brandon, I just don't see Mitchell Robinson playing in
06:57any back-to-backs.
06:58I think the Knicks are doing the right thing, playing him in the front end of this back-to-back
07:01against Boston.
07:02They have Charlotte tomorrow.
07:03That's a game the Knicks should be able to win without him.
07:06So I think they're handling it right.
07:08But yeah, I'd be stunned if he plays any back-to-backs this season.
07:11All right, let's talk the Boston game.
07:13They're on the road, three and five on the road so far this season.
07:16I say this loosely, since they've struggled on the road, in terms of confidence, is this
07:23a must-win?
07:27Must-wins in December, it's too early for must-wins for me.
07:30I mean confidence, you know, confidence, getting the juice going, sparking some sort of momentum.
07:37The Garden is one thing, but playing in other arenas, you're going to have to win games on
07:42the road in the playoffs.
07:43So that's what I mean.
07:44Like, just putting together good basketball on the road, would this be a must-win?
07:48Yeah, I think so, because it's a quality opponent.
07:52Look, this Celtics team, they're top five in the league offensively.
07:56They're playing good.
07:58They've knocked off some good teams.
07:59They just stopped Detroit when they had their winning streak.
08:02They just knocked off the Cavs the other day.
08:04They're 11-9 in the season.
08:06They have probably exceeded some people's expectations.
08:09So this is a good win.
08:10This is a place you want to go up and win.
08:12I know the Knicks knocked the Celtics out the playoffs last year.
08:14This is not the same Celtics team.
08:16They've made a lot of changes, but this is a team that looks like it should be a playoff
08:19team.
08:20And Boston is always a tough place to go and play.
08:24The Knicks want to get some road wins against quality opponents.
08:26I think that's the thing for me, Brandon, right?
08:28To the point you're making, you want to see them get road wins against quality opponents
08:33going forward.
08:34Celtics are a quality opponent here.
08:36Do I think they're championship contenders?
08:38No, but I do think it's a quality opponent for the Knicks.
08:40And look, they started off not well on the road this season.
08:44They've picked it up a bit late on the last road trip where they won three out of five
08:48games.
08:49So they've been better lately on the road, but you'd like to see them do this against
08:53a quality opponent.
08:54And yeah, I won't call it a must win, but I think it's a good, I will say that you had
09:00a good win against Toronto at home.
09:01You're 10 and one at home as you were just alluding to and how well, but now can you
09:05continue this good week and the good vibes, make it five in a row with a quality win
09:10here following the quality win against Toronto here in Boston against the Celtics.
09:15So I would say it's a game you should be keeping your eye on.
09:19I'll put it like that.
09:19And it's a game you looking at the Knicks and saying, hey, you got to show me something.
09:23Look, if they lose, is it the end of the world?
09:25No, because it's a game against Boston in early December.
09:29But if they win, you know, I think it's not also the biggest thing ever.
09:35I do think it's a nice feather in a cap and you'll get to a game under 500 on the road and
09:39you can start feeling good about yourself and saying, okay, we can go win some games
09:43in a row.
09:43Cause like you said, Brandon, you're going to have to do that in the playoffs.
09:46Absolutely, man.
09:47You're in the playoffs.
09:48You're going to be having the watch parties as well.
09:50This seems like a playoff game in December.
09:53You're doing the watch party.
09:54Go ahead, promote that man to let the people know how they can tune in.
09:57Yeah, they can tune in tonight here on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel.
10:03Myself, Brian Fonseca, will be hosting the watch party.
10:05We have a guest friend of the show, friend of New York got game.
10:08My guy, Andrew Claudio of Knicks Film School.
10:11He's going to be in studio rocking with us, watching the game.
10:13Andrew, I'm positive will bring a lot of hate for Boston.
10:16And I'm sure that will be welcomed by all the Knicks fans.
10:19It's going to be a fun one.
10:21We know it's not the same Celtics team, but look, anytime you get New York against Boston,
10:24it's good.
10:25Brandon, last night you were just watching.
10:28Giants and Patriots.
10:29I'm sorry that that did not end the way the Giants fans would like.
10:33But hopefully the Knicks can take care of those guys up in New England tonight
10:37and bring some good vibes back to this.
10:39Yeah, I feel okay about last night.
10:41The Giants can't hurt me no more.
10:43Plus the Patriots.
10:44When I go back and forth with all the Patriots fans,
10:46I still got my Super Bowl ring from 2007.
10:48Oh, look at you with the flex out here.
10:52You got to be petty, man.
10:52I like it.
10:53You got to be petty.
10:54I've resulted in being petty, man.
10:56I have to.
10:57Hey, sometimes you got to bring that energy.
10:59You know, I'm sure the Knicks are going to be talking that talk
11:01about how they knocked off the Celtics in the playoffs last year.
11:05So, you know, Knicks fans are always going to have that
11:07because that was a special series.
11:08Just like you got your Super Bowl ring over the Patriots.
11:11Can't nobody take that away.
11:12Well, Dex, appreciate you, man,
11:14and you guys turn up at the watch party tonight.
11:17Appreciate you, man.
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