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00:00Knicks basketball basketball
00:02Knicks get a huge win they
00:05close out kind of first half
00:07if you want to call it they
00:08post the pre all-star break
00:11part of their season 138 to
00:1389 dominant victory yes
00:14that's a 49 point victory
00:16people over the Philadelphia
00:1876ers we got my guy Doug
00:21Burns aka Doug Lust my guy
00:23Rob Lefkowitz aka Papa Left
00:26both guys to my left as it
00:28should be this was a fun game
00:31to watch because both y'all
00:32were up in the building so it
00:34was good but the Knicks
00:36dominated this was a complete
00:38opposite of what we saw
00:39against the Pacers on Thursday
00:41night they dominated here is
00:43really is really strong let's
00:45see one two three four five
00:46players in double figures led
00:49by Jose Alvarado's 26 points
00:51I'll let you look at the boss
00:53score here too I'm gonna start
00:54with Alvarado because I think
00:56it's important we start we got
00:57to start with him this guy you
01:00and I talked about it some
01:02people were giving you hell for
01:03it saying that he got cooked by
01:05TJ McConnell and company last he
01:07did he absolutely got cooked we
01:09can say that it's okay but two
01:11of the three games we've seen
01:12from he's played really well he's
01:13impacted winning I know
01:15everybody will look at the eight
01:16for 13 tonight and that's gonna
01:18jump out all the shots are from
01:19three eight threes is dope we like
01:22that but what really stands out to
01:24you Papa left about how he's
01:26impacting winning I know it's been
01:27three games very small sample
01:28size but what stands out to you
01:29about how he's impacted winning
01:31and how you think he can help the
01:32Knicks impact winning going past
01:34into after they get come back
01:36from the all-star break I just
01:37think he's a confident player that
01:38knows his role in any in any
01:40environment with any team I think
01:42he knows what he brings to each
01:44team it's very self-aware of his
01:45basketball skills he knows what his
01:48responsibilities are at the point
01:50of attack on defense how it lifts
01:52up the energy of his teammates I
01:54think he knows how to handle the
01:55ball against ball pressure and
01:58knows how to get down into the
02:00paint circle it out he's very
02:01self-aware he's not going to take
02:03any bad shots but also with the
02:05same thing I think a lot of
02:06pressure from guys who step into
02:08this New York market is the jersey
02:10gets heavy and that is not
02:12something that I'm concerned with
02:13with a guy like Jose Alvarado
02:14maybe last night and against
02:16Indiana maybe he was maybe a
02:19little distracted maybe there was
02:20other things that he felt he could
02:22have got back in that performance
02:23against Indiana maybe he got lost in
02:25certain coverages maybe he was
02:27overthinking certain things but I can
02:29tell you something the fact that
02:31this guy shook it off and then the
02:33following night helped contribute and
02:36and showcase himself and prove most
02:38importantly I think prove Mike Brown
02:40right you know giving giving the
02:42it's it's one thing for a coach to
02:44have confident and confidence in a
02:46player but when the coach has
02:48confidence in you and you come back
02:50and tell him hey thanks coach this
02:53is exactly what what you put me in
02:54the game for I think that was a good
02:57pick-me-up and again when you have a
03:00narrative that builds on you in this
03:02market he shook that small guard thing
03:06out of the system because it was gonna
03:09get there if he got dominated tonight
03:11like he did against Indiana so the fact
03:14that he was able to shake that off he
03:16had a great game in the first half he
03:18really helped the Knicks kind of put
03:20some style points on in the second
03:21half and now these guys can go into
03:23the post into the into the into the
03:26all-star break and really feel
03:28confident about the move that they
03:29made at the trade deadline yeah I think
03:32they can feel confident 35 wins on the
03:34season ahead into all-star break
03:36Alvarado what'd you like the most about
03:38what you saw from him tonight for it's
03:40just in the incessant tenacity the
03:43incessant confidence the incessant motor
03:45it's what the Knicks have needed
03:47desperately in the first part of the
03:48season and in in Pablo have used the
03:52expression shake it off to describe how
03:55he came out tonight after his
03:56performance last night against Indiana
03:58but I would I would reframe that it's
04:00almost like he used that poor
04:03performance as fuel for his fire he
04:06really came out out of shot himself out
04:08of a can as soon as he entered the game
04:09five steals impact like and and one of
04:13the greatest threats to the Knicks
04:15success is the inability to guard a
04:18player like Maxie and to contain him and
04:21Alvarado really took it personally that
04:23he wanted to show the fans show the
04:25coach and show himself that he was up
04:27to the task of slowing down one of the
04:29great Knicks nemesis and in Tyrese
04:31Maxine he really did a great job yeah we
04:33saw the Knicks or you know early in the
04:35season or the first couple times they
04:36played Philly they struggled with their
04:38speed edge comb and Maxie in the back
04:40court I think for me the biggest thing
04:42I like it's it's not it's what you said
04:44it's the energy it's the him being a
04:46pest it was a five steals that's what
04:48stood out to me we were trying to have
04:50for we all had fun in the third
04:51quarter because he was going crazy with
04:53the GTA stuff you know coming behind
04:54getting those steals getting in the
04:56passing lane to see it you can see it
04:58you can see it to Doug's point that's
05:00why I love the word energy there that
05:01energy I think is what they needed I
05:03said it before the trade deadline they
05:05needed some I forgot who said this to me
05:07that came it was like they need some
05:08oomph some physicality they needed that
05:10within this team and he brings that I
05:12know he's hard to say it's like he got
05:13into a little scrum with the Sixers
05:16that's right even the um Oubre or was
05:19it no it was Ray Barlow it was Watford
05:21Watford Watford your boy your boy and he
05:24did even that some seems like something
05:26small but having Mitchell Robinson's back
05:29yeah you like seeing that right you want
05:32to see more of a culture of that
05:33within this group yeah because fans have
05:35complained that it hasn't been there and
05:36frankly at times it looks like it's not
05:38there but when you have a guy like Alvarado
05:40to the floor demonstrative vocal it makes
05:43a lot of a difference for a team and one
05:45of the things I heard from his high
05:47school coach was he said look this is a
05:49guy who's loyal to his teammates not you
05:52mess with a teammate he's gonna be there
05:54none of the teammates can do wrong we saw
05:56that tonight he's fiercely loyal and I just
05:59think you're right you made a good point
06:01pop left the way to play in New York I
06:04don't think bothers him the way to the
06:05jersey doesn't bother him similar similarly
06:07to Jalen I think Jalen understands the
06:10assignment when it comes to the criticism of
06:13the city he understands the the pressure that
06:17comes with wearing the jersey but he he plays he
06:20plays it well and I think having two point
06:23guards that understand how to have poise but
06:27like you said tenacity as well aggression
06:30confidence and leadership I think it feeds
06:35off on everybody around you and when you are
06:38the point of attack defender it it creates no
06:42excuses for your guys behind you so I you
06:44know I think that the Knicks have acquired and
06:47again this is a guy's a fourth year player in the
06:49league fifth year player or so drafted out of
06:53Georgia Tech but he's also 27 years old and
06:55he's a he's a he's a he's a parent he's got kids he's
06:59in that similar lane with with Josh Hart and
07:01Jalen Brunson I think like there's a there's a
07:05level of leadership the inherent kind of leadership
07:08that trickles over from who they are as people as
07:11well and I think that it adds a little bit more
07:13maturity to the locker room that they they
07:17definitely could use a little bit more warrior
07:19mentality fighting for everything that he can
07:22get this is an undrafted kid out of Georgia
07:24Tech who told everybody everybody that tries this
07:27a dream come true and he's very real about he
07:29said no so this is a guy that's very self-aware
07:32and he knows that he has to fight for everything
07:36that he's got yeah he's a he's been fighting this
07:38whole time he's been underrated his whole career
07:41another guy we got to talk about here and he had a
07:43great start to this game Kel Bridges now you heard
07:48Doug you heard a guy Papa left say here earlier he
07:51said look I've come to peace with who Mikel Bridges is
07:55when I see it I don't like getting caught it's not so
07:59much about the stats and he had 22 points tonight he was
08:019-15 from the field but it's how he played that I like
08:05tonight and it's so I'm part of me is like why can't we
08:08see this every time from you not every time but hell we'll
08:12take 80 percent of the time it's how he played what
08:15jumped off to you on the screen about how Bridges
08:17played tonight well a couple of things he's sort of a
08:20bellwether player for this team if he's going well if he's
08:23efficient it it ripples throughout the the rest of the
08:26lineup now I'm going to bring up another statistic that I
08:29think is very interesting about this game is that Jalen
08:32Brunson scored eight points oh you you you're about to you're
08:35about to feed some things we'll get to that and and I was
08:38surprised to find that out yeah and and Jalen Brunson scored
08:4240 points last night in a loss Jalen Brunson scored a calm
08:46quiet eight points tonight in a win on six shots on six
08:50shots which takes us back to Mikael Bridges who was finding
08:53shots in rhythm finding space to cut within to be open
08:57hitting open shots hitting open threes and getting to the
09:00basket getting ahead of the defense and all that begins to
09:04create ease of offense Jalen Brunson took six shots because
09:09he only needed to take six shots dang I just want I want to
09:11pause you right there ding ding ding ding ding what you want
09:16a great player to do listen what Doug said he took six shots
09:20going to take six shots he played within the flow of the
09:23game right that's you want to see some games are going to
09:25dictate for Mikael Bridges to have more shots some games maybe
09:28like Friday when other guys excuse me Friday I'm getting
09:30ahead of myself it's been that long of a week like against the
09:33Pacers on Tuesday when he didn't have it required him to
09:35take more shots it's okay go ahead just wanted to say that so
09:38I just think that when Mikael is finding rhythm finding open
09:42space on the floor making the offense flow easily making
09:45great passes finding players on the role which is very
09:48capable passer all of a sudden the ease of offense ripples
09:53throughout this team nobody's pressing nobody's forcing nobody
09:57has to go and make the fans go online and complain about hero
10:00ball this hero ball that ease of offense we have a balanced
10:03attack a lot of guys different specialties in different areas so
10:07when Mikael is playing like this it unlocks all of that for the
10:10rest of the roster I I agree I I think that's good uh pop left
10:15are you uh I I know you said you wish you you know you've come to
10:19peace with who Mikael is yeah I mean is there any part of you
10:22that believes that what we saw tonight is what we could get
10:25from him a little bit more consistently um no I don't I
10:28don't think so but I would say I would say that the way to
10:33get Mikael going and the way to get this team going is on the
10:35defensive side getting stops and moving out in transition and
10:38everybody naturally getting the ball in rhythm I think if you break
10:42down the game into its half court sets I think you saw pretty much
10:46the same situations that we usually see with this team which is
10:49they do struggle going side to side they do struggle getting secondary
10:53actions out of their looks and sometimes they settle for bad looks
10:56the good thing is is that didn't see a lot of those possessions tonight
11:00because they leaned on their defense and and the thing is is like when that game
11:05slows down and when they're in a half court that it will be the real test of
11:10what we're going to get out of Mikael Bridges and how much trust that they put
11:13on him a night like tonight is is is lunch money he he had a field day
11:18tonight and and I give him a whole lot of credit because
11:21he started last game like that against Indiana and he started tonight with with
11:26energy like that like this against Philly the difference is is that
11:29they did not allow Philly to get into this game once the game got broken open
11:35and they took it personal they should have done it last night they failed
11:39and they took it personal tonight to say you know what 16-4 into a timeout
11:44let's put the foot on the gas and take care of this team before they start to
11:48believe in themselves Mikael was a huge part of that um but
11:52going forward the the the level of competition is going to rise
11:56and the execution is going to be on another level
12:00and it's not going to replicate the environment that we saw tonight
12:03so I want to hold him accountable to a situation
12:06that where I can say you know what he is taking the next step
12:09I appreciate what he's doing on both sides of the ball
12:13um and I think that you'll get the best version of Mikael Bridges
12:17if the entire team is leaning into the defense
12:19yeah and we've seen them lean into the defense
12:22through this 12-game stretch 10-2 we posted a question for you a poll in the chat
12:26Jalen Brunson a 49-point Knicks blowout
12:28eight points from three of six shooting from the field in 29 minutes
12:32is that something or nothing I'm really intrigued to see how people react to this
12:36they probably won't react accordingly
12:38um I think there's I think there's a lot more nuance to it than just Jalen Brunson
12:43I think people who say that he's a ball hog and stuff I think it's ridiculous but
12:47you know I think there's things they can get better at in the flow of the offense
12:51but these are guys all still learning a new offense
12:53and I think we have to remember that sometimes
12:55now you also said Papa left
12:57you wanted to see Cat have a really good feel-good offensive game
13:03right
13:04I thought we've seen Cat play most for the most part through this 12-game stretch
13:07we're talking about now he's played pretty much under control
13:0921 points today
13:109-13 so one of his more efficient shooting games we've seen from recently
13:14he also had 11 boards he also had five dimes
13:16you've talked to him you talked during this game a lot about how he's been used as a decoy
13:21sometimes particularly out of the high post or you know at the three-point line
13:25and then been used really well
13:26do you like how he's playing it now and playing now do you think this game
13:30while you want to see him hit like 25 he only got 21 today
13:33is this a game you look at going into the break that
13:36has you a feeling good about Carlton Towns
13:40and b that you think Carlton Towns can build on coming out of the break
13:43well I think I think Cat has to be a special talent for us if we want to win a championship
13:51what does that was a special talent a special talent is somebody that like we said in that
13:56Denver Nuggets game went mano-a-mano you know there's going to be times when guys score on you
14:02and you played as good as defense as you as you did the the Knicks have Jalen Brunson which is a
14:08premier scorer in this league he knows how to get to his spots he knows how to execute he's put the
14:13work in and he's deservedly so the number one option on this team the New York Knicks are going
14:18to have to lean on Carl Anthony Towns as a staggered number one option in that second quarter
14:24and at the beginning of the fourth quarters to to elevate their offense and to keep it
14:29consistently moving as an engine of our offense he has no excuse to get lost at the beginning of
14:34the second and fourth quarters and he has to be a punch when when he is featured in in the
14:40secondary reads of our offense and also being a creator for us you know we don't have guys that
14:46can put the ball on the floor that can get from the three-point line to the paint with a quick step
14:50but what they can do is they can move off ball and they can cut and Carl Anthony Towns can move that ball
14:56and get it to them on feeds down low so you know I am encouraged by the team that team play when we see
15:03it um it's when the team gets disjointed and and relies on old habits and again I do think a lot
15:11of it does always come back to the defensive side of the basketball I agree that is that is where that
15:16is where this team has taken an extra bit of pride in in this I guess 10 out of 10 out of 12 or so
15:239 out of 11 10 out of 12 stretch um which has been hey let's simplify things let's shorten this
15:30rotation let's only play guys that are going to commit to getting 50 50 balls and play two ways
15:35of the basketball and if we can lean on our defense that means we can play fast we can push the ball
15:41guys can get into their spots more naturally and we can secure you know better possessions on offense
15:47I think it's a great point and I you know whether you talk about cat or anybody on this team
15:52because Doug I think Papa left is 100% right when you look at this stretch it's 10 and 2 stretch
15:56so much of the focus has been on the defense being better the defense was abysmal it was terrible
16:00bottom of the league when it came to that 2 and 9 stretch that we saw in January I think sometimes
16:07a lot of times I you know doing this content a lot of fans are always talking about offense
16:11oh the next team want next offense is fine are there things that I want to see get better in it
16:16can they be more diverse yeah sure they're learning a new system like the defense is what's really
16:21going to take them to that next level along with some stuff you said like cats got to be better
16:26got to step up bridges got to be a little bit more consistent where are you on this defense and
16:31I'll ask you this because I've been saying all year I think this team could be a top 8 to 10 in
16:36defensive rating if they want to they have the talent to do it do you think they can get to that
16:41it's going to take work it's going to take that kind of the the the this play that stands out to me
16:47from Carl Anthony Towns tonight is that weak side block where he came over and made it excellent
16:51excellent block timely focused aware not even close to a foul this is the kind of engagement that
16:59the Knicks are going to need to have especially without the mistake erasing defense of deuce and
17:05an OG and an OB I keep going back to those two names because those are the guys that clean up messes
17:11those are the guys that take care of the point of attack and and and can can help when Jalen Brunson
17:17gets beat or or when Carl Anthony Towns is out of position which are you know those are issues for
17:22for those two defenders so if we can create a trust a communication defensively then we find a new page
17:30a new mode to get to Alvarado had a huge impact on that tonight the way that Alvarado engaged Carl Anthony
17:38Townsley offensive end allowed the defense to be more engaged so if we if we if we can keep it
17:44defense for defense's sake right in this next stretch of games right the Knicks will be able to crack that
17:52top 10. I I want it yet there's still enough level feels like they could go to I we got it we got to
17:57see it where are you on the defense how good do you think this defense could be well I think Mike Brown
18:01made an adjustment after the game against Dallas he did and he basically told Tyler Kolick and Jordan
18:08Clarkson um thank you for your service in the rotation um because and I'll tell you why the
18:14the reason is is that these guys as good as they are on offense they are not winning 50 50 balls like
18:21Landry Shaman and Deuce McBride are um they are they are not uh getting into the point of attack like
18:26Deuce McBride and Landry Shaman were and they were the ones that um shortened the rotation to eight
18:32along with Mitchell Robinson those are the three guys Deuce Landry and Mitch and basically what
18:37what's happened is outside of that starting unit that plays for the first quarter in the third quarter at
18:42the beginning of the halves um Mike Brown has said if you are not a two-way player that prides
18:48themselves on defense you're not going to get minutes so the guys that have jumped up in minutes are
18:54guys like Muhammad Diawara especially after this I'm a silly trade that's created more less less
19:00political kind of like implications in terms of who gets minutes and things like that um but again
19:06it's going to be a challenge for Mike Brown because he has a center that really lifts the top off the
19:15defense in Mitchell Robinson correct and he has a center that really lifts the top off the offense in
19:21Carl Anthony Towns yep and he's tried his best you saw that I think the Knicks front office
19:26had messages down to Tom Thibodeau at the at the end of that Celtics series and definitely at the
19:33beginning of that Pacers series that basically said okay this starting lineup isn't working let's go
19:38Twin Towers and they thought that that was going to be an answer and it hasn't really much I mean
19:44Mike Brown started the season with with a lot of that at the preseason and I think he he can go to it
19:50in spurts but the reality is is that Mitch and Kat offer two different things for this team and they
19:57become two different teams with with Mitchell Robinson on the floor versus Carl Anthony Towns the one thing
20:03that you've seen in the in in the last uh chunk of games whether it be the the big run they went up
20:08against the Toronto Raptors when they went on that 27-4 run yep or the run in the third quarter that
20:13they went on against Philadelphia or the run they went on tonight against Philadelphia when they start
20:19getting stops and they start running out you will see the strength of this team like you've never
20:26seen before which is a team that can get stops get steals push out hit shots at an efficient rate
20:33with scorers all over the floor and guys just have to take a step back you may not be the guy that
20:40scores uh you saw tonight with Brunson with only six tonight but when you lean on the defense that ball's
20:46going to find the open man and uh it's going to be on Mike Brown who has a difficult job because he
20:51has to start the starting five it just is what it is at this point I don't know if there's going to be
20:57an adjustment you you know when when you're down one in a series then it starts to creep in okay
21:03you saw it with Alfred Payton against the Hawks they started Alfred Payton the whole season and then
21:09you get down 2-0 and then you know you know stuff hits the fan and then you gotta make a move
21:15because your pride cannot come you know pride comes before the fall I feel like it's always
21:20easier to make that move to all the stuff that you just said when you have been playing with
21:25different lineups adjusting with them setting and defining roles like you said for all the fans out
21:29there that were like oh you should play Jordan Clarkson I think Jordan Clarkson or Tyler Kolek
21:34I think you made a good point Mike Brown had to draw his line in the sand and say hey if you're not
21:39going to defend you're not going to win 50 50 balls you're not going to play defense matters so much
21:45and I think sometimes he's got very much ignored he's Mike Brown has developed options that's
21:50huge I think that's huge guys like Shamit guys like Alvarado guys like Mitch guys like Jose guys
21:57like Miles these guys are are pressing up so um you know it just happens in sports where guys are in
22:05the role and they kind of seniority get comfortable in the role but I'm telling you right now if the Knicks
22:10ever get to a point in the playoffs where they fall down in a series don't be shocked if Mike
22:15Brown because this is a team that said that they are singularly focused on winning a championship
22:20if there's a team that's hacking a Mitch and and and you want to maximize Mitchell Robinson's minutes
22:27at the beginning of quarters instead of having them at the end of the quarters where they're going
22:31to get them a foul you need to be obsessively strategic about this if you want to get an upper
22:35end in a series and you cannot be prideful enough to say hey man we're just going to throw the same
22:41five out there so I think he's found a good defensive mentality and leaned into the personnel
22:46that is defensive minded but if there if it should come a time where somebody deserves a starting
22:53dart starting gig or more minutes I think that Mike Brown has opened up his rotation enough
22:58to see whom can really uh give him answers I agree and I've always liked that flexibility I've
23:04always liked that malleability from him I think that's that's always dope and so hopefully he's
23:09able to keep that going in a couple more players I want to talk to you guys about look people look
23:13at Josh Hart's numbers tonight only six points played a great game but he played a great you said
23:17he played a great game yeah yeah I agree he had seven boards nine assists the last two games I'll
23:23even say this too yesterday uh against the Pacers he's really been pushing the pace looking for guys
23:28that's something I like because we know the Knicks don't have that secondary ball handler and shot
23:33a great player in the way we would like but bench I criticized the bench was terrible last night
23:37only 18 points off the bench Mohamed Diawara we talked about I'm skipping Josh Hart because we
23:44always could talk about Josh Hart Mohamed Diawara 14 points five of ten four of eight from three
23:50this kid just looks more and more comfortable he you just heard Papa left talk about Mike Brown mixing
23:58and matching rotations right now is this a guy you trust if he had to play get playoff minutes even
24:04if it was five six minutes in the playoffs you trust him I absolutely do I think the confidence with
24:09which he shoots open threes there's no hesitation that tells you everything you need to know that
24:14tells you that the you call the book on him was that he was raw as Papa left said earlier during a
24:20coverage of the game it's it's a it's a that's misnomer for where he's at he doesn't have
24:25NBA experience but he does have extreme confidence in his ability and he does have a command over his
24:34length that is really impressive to me I think back to the Celtics game on Super Bowl Sunday where
24:39the the adjustment that put that game away was putting him on Jalen Brown and and that still has
24:47stuck with me the a 20 year old kid taking taking down the star player of the surging Boston Celtics
24:54speaks volumes to this fan base it speaks highly about the man who's on the screen right now Mike
25:00Brown the fact that he's becoming more and more willing as the season progresses to lean into DOR's
25:06strengths DOR's versatility he is one DOR is one of the few players on this roster that can switch on
25:13defense can hit the three can put the ball on the floor he has a variety within his toolkit that is
25:21very unique to the Knicks and it's a 51st pick in the draft so found money for the New York Knicks I
25:28love it and I think the way he's played you know two of the last three games has been really impressive
25:33and so you said I loved it against Jalen Brown he's you've seen him use against good teams I I think
25:40that's huge for the Knicks if they're getting anything from off the bench he never looks I keep saying this he
25:44never looks lost on defense and the fact that Mike Brown trusted him against Jalen Brown says a lot
25:49right and never is a strong word but he often does not look lost on defense uh Mitchell Robinson
25:55Papa left just talked about him 11 points in this game six rebounds that's that's low Mitchell Robinson
26:03rebound numbers right he only had three offensive rebounds only had three offensive rebounds in 15
26:10minutes which is like that's good rebounding for 15 minutes to play but here's the number for me
26:16five made free throws yeah stop those people down in Philly from getting some chicken yeah right
26:21I want some chicken right now I can rock with you on that Mitchell Robinson you know he has such an
26:30impact I like the way he's trending Papa left towards the end of the season where he looks better
26:36defensively looks better guarding space do you like where he is right now for this team and
26:43if the Knicks are gonna I'm gonna put part do you like where Mitchell Robinson is and we talked about
26:49the biomarket during the show but would you want the Knicks to get more insurance in the biomarket with
26:55a backup another backup big is that something you'd like to see them address so two-part question there
26:59do you like where Mr. Robinson's trending and should they go for backup big man insurance I like where
27:04Mitchell Robinson has been I'm just I like where he's been this whole time you know a lot of talk we had
27:11that conversation about whether the trade talks affected players Mitchell Robinson's been in trade
27:15talks is pretty much the last five years right that's and he's been the longest tenure Nick and
27:20it's his last year of his contract yeah and we don't know what his future is and he's had every
27:26excuse in the book to you know pout and maybe not give effort he gives effort it's very underrated
27:31about him he puts his body on the line every single night and he actually has a gripe with what the front
27:38office I guess you could say like hey man where's my money man you guys gave Nerland's Noel money you
27:44guys gave you guys gave 48 money where's my bread at you know what I mean so I think I think with
27:51Mitch it's like I I I think like put yourself in the in the room of an opposing coach with his players
27:58and what the point of emphasis is when you're preparing to play the New York Knicks it's putting
28:04a body on number 23 off the glass and I watched an interesting clip of Cade Cunningham talking to
28:10his team and they hand out their their post game belt you know what I mean and and they gave it to
28:15Paul Reed and and and they were like saying like shout out to Paul for for getting a body on Mitch
28:20and I think like the amount of thought and the amount of attention that that's going to bring on
28:25to other teams when they have to scout us out and film sessions it just takes a little bit of
28:31attention to detail off Shannon it takes an attention to detail off of McBride it takes an
28:36attention to detail off of Jose even Jose going and stealing like you got to think about all this
28:42he he's going to be in the corner and he's going to comment you know what I mean it's just another
28:46thing to think about so I think with Mitch it's like he's our secret weapon he's our he's our variable
28:52for winning he's won us the uh the Cavalier series in the past he's he's been the missing piece
28:59when we haven't won series in the past some people think that the Knicks would have beat the Hawks
29:03way back when if we would have had Mitchell Robinson so uh Mitch you know the Mozilla pretty much
29:08tipped his hand he said Mitchell Robinson pretty much most important player in the series in the
29:13Boston series by by going hack a Mitch right away so um I love where he's been I love where he's going
29:19the free throws can only help help his case and stay on the floor um as far as the backup center
29:24situation even if it's even if he doesn't get injured cat is an injury prone uh not injury prone
29:30a foul trouble prone player and if he gets in foul trouble um or an instance like that
29:38even if it's one game we're talking about the margins we got to get somebody in here that we
29:44feel confident in playing and I I wonder if Boucher tips tips the scale over Huck Porte he's a guy that
29:51I'm sure will get picked up um I'm interested to see what didn't work in Boston that will work here
29:58could it be a fit situation could it be a situation where you know what I mean he was underperforming
30:04and he has something to prove here he's a guy who's won a championship I think he's won two championships
30:09so um I would like to see uh a Boucher here um to be a third center and I think Huck Porte is fine
30:17as well just getting the amount of bodies amount of bodies possible to to to fill in that center position
30:23yeah with with Mitch's health situation I'm always kind of like yeah you can always use an extra man
30:27my my guy Brian Fonseca has been saying that all season he's like hey the Knicks could use another big
30:32body on this team we'll see but Mitch is so valuable to this team and you just love what he brings
30:37you just hope he can stay healthy and then his contract situation it's gonna be really that's for the offseason
30:41but that's gonna be very interesting I'll tell you this yeah no Mitchell Robinson you ain't winning
30:46the chip I there's been multiple people who've said that and I think he's that value he's that
30:50well he's the best offensive rebound in the league hands hands down and now he's I think slowly as he's
30:57gotten more into basketball shape and maybe some of it is the load management and you know with his
31:02agent and I'm not having him play on back-to-backs I think he's been good look who he can neutralize on
31:08on this planet when Banyama in the NBA cup he got the best of him in the first half but then
31:13Mitch pretty much shut him out in that second half yeah uh Joel Embiid the other the other week
31:19Mitchell Robinson was was pulled down in the second half he he killed the Knicks in the first half
31:23Jokic Jokic played good for now Jokic took some tough some tough threes took there was one to 13 from
31:28three even in overtime it's just yeah and and and one of the things we've worried about with Mitch in
31:33in recent memory is his uh fatigue and his lateral movement it seems like he's gotten some of that
31:39and that's the big thing about where I see where he is now I see he's moving better he looks more active
31:44the lateral movement looks good some of that could just be getting into shape across the season now you
31:49just hoping he stays healthy yeah absolutely everybody that's the hope that he stays healthy
31:54I say this all the time sometimes it's about when you get your injuries yeah and you just hope that
32:03they can stay healthy and trend playing their best basketball before the playoffs so we started
32:09this whole live stream and I asked you guys I said hey five game stretch for the Knicks they had this
32:16game tonight they come back from the break they got the Pistons at home Rockets at home then they're at
32:21Chicago and Cleveland five game stretch important five game stretch this man said 4-0 you said you
32:29don't want to put a number on it most people in the chat said they had to win all five games
32:33most people on the poll were like they have to win all five games during this game I believe it was
32:39you Papa left who said well they got to get this one no once they got up 13 or so he's like they
32:45have to have this one just go get it you said they have to have this one so they got this one
32:49now put I'll throw the question is are you confident they can get fives you think they
32:54can go I think this is one of the more difficult ones to be honest on the back-to-back off of a
32:58terrible low energy loss I know Embiid the the news might have uplifted their their prospects of
33:03winning for sure um but you have a Pistons team that you're owing them a victory uh you need to get
33:10the win just for morale send them a message going into the playoffs that this is going to be a tough
33:16environment don't let them get comfortable remember Detroit was comfortable coming into
33:20Madison Square Garden last year because they got a couple wins at Madison Square Garden I remember I
33:25was there in Madison Square Garden with my wife and they lost to Jalen Duren I was like that's my guy
33:31Jalen Duren but but you know the Knicks the Knicks are going to have to send Detroit a message that you
33:37may have been able to come in here comfortable in game one game two in game five and make a game and
33:42win two of those three this is a new year this is our house you defend you defended your house
33:47we're going to defend ours they're not going to have Jalen Duren they're not going to have Isaiah
33:51Stewart those are two of their biggest factors in terms of how they bring the physicality especially
33:56with the paint protection the Knicks are going to have to go in and get a win and set the tone off
34:02their second uh half um uh uh campaign and then with Houston coming in it's a very similar team to
34:10Detroit you know a lot of bigs they throw a lot of big bodies on you um the Knicks have a
34:15responsibility to defend home court and and then after that you got Chicago on the road that's a
34:21team that's that has their stock and lottery and ping pong balls yes they do and then Cleveland it's
34:27another statement game and Cleveland why they think they got a new dress you know what I mean a new suit
34:32they're ready they're ready to be a new man over there so so so so we got to let them know that
34:38you're still that stinky bum we ain't worried about you you can put your your Ferragamos on you can put
34:45your Gucci belts on don't matter you're still that kid in middle school I picked on you'll always be
34:50picking on kids in middle school I think the Knicks did well Josh Hart stole Donna Mitchell's
34:55change I was making sure it wasn't you that's I was making I was making sure no I made my way
34:58through middle school they tried to test me man you survived yeah I made my way I was like I didn't
35:02you didn't seem like a bully to me I didn't see you as the bully type I just didn't get that vibe
35:06I went to I went to a private school seventh and eighth grade but when I was in eighth grade I
35:10told my teacher I was gonna go to public school and all the kids in the private school was like
35:14you're gonna get thrown in lockers I was like absolutely not I made my fruit my first day of
35:18school a mission to uh to not get thrown in the locker so I had a it was a rainy day I'll never
35:23forget I had an umbrella and my uh one turned out to be one of my friends Shaquan Lewis he was with
35:28his girlfriend I said yo you got your lady with you I got an umbrella why don't you take why don't you
35:34take the umbrella you need it more than me it was my first act of kindness and I was like making
35:40friends ain't that hard I was able to do it from there smart man yeah smart man blended an umbrella
35:44very very so okay powerful umbrella I agree with you that that I don't know I'll ask Doug here do you
35:50think that first game coming out at the break against the Pistons is that the most important
35:55one I saw it was in the smoothest transition speaking of umbrellas Detroit
36:00well speaking of making it rain I actually think the Knicks have a tendency to when they've been
36:09embarrassed by a team when that team comes back to their building they uncork they rain down and I'm
36:17expecting that from them you you you you dog walked us twice you made us look foolish on national
36:24television twice twice come back to my building I got Jose Alvarado in the building to switch the
36:30energy up now he wasn't there last time we're gonna come at you with everything we got we're
36:35gonna rain down I'm expecting the Knicks to make a statement in that game the game in that stretch
36:40that we've been talking about that concerns me is actually Houston really and the reason I say that
36:45is because there's been a narrative around the Knicks that's uh they don't match up well against
36:51teams that are long and athletic and push and if you are a championship contending team
37:00there can be not a single team that you can play against that critics will just dismiss as oh that's
37:08a bad match up there they weren't going to win that match up anyway so if you want to win if you want
37:11to win the NBA finals or if you want to even make it there that cannot be part of the conversation
37:16so figure out what how are you going to solve a man Thompson guarding Jalen Brunson how are you going
37:22to figure out how to guard Kevin Durant when OG and an OB is not available for you back to back
37:28twins if if if if you that's a really good point if Houston comes in and plays to their potential
37:35which is has been the question mark about the Houston Rockets this entire year they have the talent
37:41they just don't seem to have the focus and they turn they struggle to score in crunch time situations
37:45but yes so so my challenge to the Knicks is don't let them write the book on you as the team that can't
37:53match up with the athletes that can't match up with the team that can get up and down the floor
37:57yeah so show me something against the Houston Rockets and I'm because I'm already taking it for
38:02granted that you're going to take it to Detroit after what they did oh so you're you're like they so so
38:06you you want more you understand the importance of the Detroit game but you really got that Houston
38:11one circled on you show me give me that one extra game that shuts everybody up yeah and also you saw
38:17tonight like Knicks win the game it's very awesome but Boston won Cleveland won so these teams are
38:24keeping the pace with us and they're they're ahead of I mean Boston's ahead of us right now now you know
38:28we got to be able to keep the pace with them because you get into a series of four or five series is
38:34infinitely more difficult than a two seven series so I want that two seven series a seven series is
38:40going to come from a team that had to play an extra game you get an extra look at them before the series
38:45starts it's closer to a to a four two or a four one or a four oh than it is to a projected you know
38:52four three and uh in terms of how many games it's going to go and and you're also putting yourself in
38:57harm's way of getting injured attrition and fatigue which is something that has uh bit us whether it
39:04OG and Anobi and Josh Hart getting hurt in the Eastern Conference semifinals or it was last year
39:09where it looked like we just were running on on e so um not only are these games important from a
39:15statement perspective from a from a logistical standings perspective the Knicks are not guaranteed
39:20anything right now in terms of home court um teams are right there to take it four and five to push them
39:26back down whether it be Cleveland or uh you know we did a good job of distancing ourselves from Philly
39:33uh we also tonight by winning the game we we cleared ourselves of any tiebreakers so it'll it'll go to a
39:40different tiebreaker I'm not exactly sure how that works out but two two so um yeah man we got 27 games
39:47left uh the Knicks are 35 and uh 20 20 so we have 27 games I would like to go 18 and 9 as a baseline uh get
39:57ourselves to 53 and 53 and 20 29 23 and 29 you're um yeah I'm okay with my math yeah my math is all right
40:08yeah yeah well 53 plus 30 is 83 minus the one 82 you did well yeah arithmetic does come in handy
40:15talking to 54 wins because if they win because they won the NBA cup not shout out to Adam Silverman
40:19but yeah 18 and 9 that's kind of like a two to one ratio so winning two out of three games I know
40:24that Mike Brown has a system where it kind of fell apart during the last month or so he has a system of
40:30best of five and he wants to always win and again this is a five game stretch I guess you could say
40:35uh I would like four out of five for sure four to five the people want five out of five though the
40:40people want five out of five greed is good as Gordon Gekko once said he did say that four out of five
40:46I'll take three out of five if OG's toe grows yeah I mean can you do toe grows back I'll take three
40:52out of five somebody can do that I guess the last thing before we wrap here that I'll ask you guys is
40:57you know we're looking back at this first part of the season before the all-star break
41:01what grade do you give the Knicks at 35 35 and 20 you're you're the educator um here as well too
41:08so at 35 notes to the parent on Leon Rose I'm sure you do have 35 and 20 third in the east so six games
41:16behind Detroit uh two all-stars what grade are you guys giving the Knicks for the first uh 55 games
41:25of the season why don't you start with the uh parent teacher conference man parent teacher
41:30conferences uh I feel like they're terrible for the educators because you don't know what kind of
41:35parents are going to show up it's all this yes yeah it's all kinds of bad um man I I think I think
41:43right now I would give the Knicks a B plus B plus okay a B a B plus teetering on a B minus
41:52is a B plus teetering on a B minus the great I'm a little nervous right now so you're just skipping
41:58the B I'm well you know I don't play with regular B's I think I think I think I think I think you
42:05got to go B plus or B minus I think right now the team has found itself a new identity with the
42:12defensive stuff but uh right now this is a team that stepped into the season with a path to be the
42:18team to be in the eastern conference and they've joined the pack of other teams that are kind of
42:23just happy to be uh in the top seedings and and you know I think you know one of the things about
42:29this regular season it's twofold I think you know you wanted to tinker around with the rotations I like
42:34that I like the overall health of the team I think we've managed the load management has been
42:39something that I've welcomed I know a lot of Knicks fans are not used to it but I've liked it
42:44I like the rotations being tinkered around with I think during some points of the seasons I felt
42:49like there were opportunities to play the kids a little bit more uh than we probably should have
42:54especially with that NBA cup stuff I think we kind of tightened the rotations and situations there
42:59times where OG Ananobi was out I felt like Diawara could have gotten an extended look and I felt like
43:05he was pinned to the bench a little bit um but overall I think getting that NBA cup experience
43:11winning that high intensity game against the San Antonio Spurs was good um I did not like I'll tell
43:18you what uh I did not I think I'm going to have them in a after school program uh to do community
43:25service after they fell apart for that 9 out of 11 stretch because I think it's a disrespect to their
43:30goal to the fact that they instead of a goal they went they devolved back into roles and that was an
43:37issue that they had that they went to the top and they went to Dolan and they went to Leon and whoever
43:43the conversations were in that exit meeting and reported exit meeting and they pretty much threw
43:48Tibbs under the bus and I'm not I've never been really a big big fan of Tibbs I understand why they
43:54moved on into a different direction but you cannot do that and then come back and devolve into the same
44:00finger pointing nonsense that I saw uh during that 9 out of 11 stretch this team has to understand
44:07that they made a statement to the fans which was they are singularly focused on winning a championship
44:12nothing outside of that goal should matter if your role has been decreased tough noogies you got to be
44:19able to come back and be able to to understand that this is my role part-time if it should change
44:26injuries can happen things foul trouble happens you never know what what can happen within a context
44:33of a game within a context of a season and you may have to have your number called on you know
44:38Kolic and Clarkson were the heroes of the NBA cup we do not campaign was the hero of game one
44:43Thomas Bryant sent us home in game six next man up is very true is a real philosophy so I didn't like
44:50how the locker room kind of came apart but with with that said I do think that they found something
44:55in the last 10 10 games or so which they can say you know what maybe we did hit adversity now and
45:01maybe we can become the a plus team that that that we know we're capable of being all right maybe they
45:07can become the a plus team you give them a b plus Doug what's your grade for the Knicks in the first 55
45:13games of the season well when I was in school I was the kind of student that when I saw a b minus on
45:18my paper it lit a fire under my ass so I'm going to give them a b minus so you can light a fire
45:25under their ass because and here's why I say that they've scored they've gotten 98s on some of
45:30the exams and they've gotten 74s on some of the exams and the consistency has not been there but I
45:37do see the ceiling of the team as higher than last year I do see the next level being right within
45:46reach so the long and short of it is I'm giving you a b minus because I believe that you're an a
45:52student so I want these Knicks to turn a page finish the school year strong and give me a reason
45:58give me at least an a minus by the time we get to the playoffs so Papa left said 18 and 9 he would
46:03like to see over the last 19 games excuse me 27 games he's not now I don't look like I know my math
46:08is there what do you need to see them do to get to that a level the consistency of focus
46:16stop with the early early in games kicking the ball around falling behind they seem to have really
46:24cleaned that up as of late can you come out with that consistency of effort can you come out with
46:29that consistency of desire it's hard to quantify what it takes to be able to do that night in a night
46:34night out so if they can start games the way they did tonight they will be able to raise their grade
46:40from that b minus all right there you go hey listen b minus b plus I think I do think I do think though
46:46like to to to get it into a concrete like goal of what this team really needs to do I really think
46:53that they need to secure one of those two or three seats three seat is not going to kill them I'm not
46:58concerned about this team stealing a game on the road but I need the second or third seat I do not
47:03want to fall back to four because that's going to put us in a in a in a tight series with a team that
47:08feels like they're right there with us I want a little seniority in the first round and I want
47:13to push the Pistons out to to late May I want to push the Piston make the Pistons go through two
47:19other teams let's get some film on them and let's play some some teams where usually we've seen before
47:25and we can you know deal with have you both give are you have you given up hope of the one seat
47:29yes I think I and I'll tell you why the the reason why is that logistically right now the Knicks are
47:36six games back in the lost column of the Pistons and they are technically really seven games back
47:42of the Pistons because they lost the tiebreaker so unless you know there's something that happens
47:47that's outside of the Pistons control uh which which I'm not going to to wish on them or anything
47:53like that I you know I'm going to give credit and they're a team that they're going to they're
47:58going to get their their day they're going to get their day where the where they they feel down
48:02on themselves and they're going to face adversity it happens to every team um but right now the
48:09Knicks they paid a penalty you you lost nine out of 11 games the Detroit hasn't lost two out of three
48:15games pretty much all season so they paid a penalty they're going to have to face that when they face
48:21that later on in the season in the playoffs game one in Detroit but I'm confident in this team that
48:28understands that whatever failing that they have in the regular season should not impact
48:33who they are and what they're trying to chase which is the NBA championship no completely agree
48:39all right we'll see it's been a fun 55 games for the Knicks uh till this break you guys have a song
48:46to go and create for the people that people are anxiously awaiting we'll use that espresso machine
48:51one more time yeah please I would I would I would suggest doing that yeah uh late night work for both of
48:56these guys talented musicians uh joining me here Doug man first person to go 2-0 on a new york guy
49:02game next live watch party uh papa left you are not the first person to go 1-0 but not everybody
49:07comes here first time plus minus he does I think in the first game I am oh that's for sure you do
49:13yeah the stat can be misleading you know what we're gonna have to use that that is your claim to fame
49:17yeah highest plus minus of a guess in the first game plus 49 sir plus 49 49 49 yes
49:24next one by 49 are you sure about that yes you've already tested him I was arithmetic like four
49:33now you got me double checking my text I don't think we won by 49 brother the Knicks won by I'm
49:39sorry 39 what was the final score again I thought it was 49 why did I have maybe there's really it's
49:4449 points oh okay you're actually it's true what they say you are a hater yeah it's gonna be hard
49:51for somebody to top you plus minus it'll be really hard there Nick's gotta win a championship man I'm
49:55tired of this of the DVDs and the in the and the glory and the inviting people back I I want to win a
50:03championship this year I a lot of Knicks fans feel that way they've been waiting a long time but
50:07this is the year Dexter you sound like Brian who sits here he says this is you this is the year
50:12the window is small is very small the window is very small and I think if they don't do it this
50:16year because they've said that's the mandate there could be some changes that's all I'm saying but
50:22we have a long way to go before we get there we have a long way to go we'll have a lot of time to
50:27talk about that a long way to go you guys have a song to go and create we did know we're not saying
50:32what it is but we know that it is going to be Philly inspired right Doug Philly inspired Philly
50:37inspired we're gonna have some some good music we'll have some vocals when we get some bars we
50:41got some bars Papa left coming up we got some bars coming up from you you're gonna deliver some bars
50:46right for the show not for the show but I was gonna do that to you I appreciate that next time next time
50:55you're gonna come with some bars but you're going to have some for when you guys collaborate together
50:59absolutely there we go everybody uh please check out my guy Doug Burns aka Doug Lust check him out
51:06Knicks Metal Recaps does a fantastic job with the songs after every game this man delivers a song
51:11it is dope like if you don't know you need to know and if Papa left who collaborates with him
51:17he brings the bars if you love hip-hop like we do he's got great hip-hop taste check him out and
51:21also can we also plug your show yeah absolutely I got a daily podcast after every game it's called
51:27your Knicks you can find us on YouTube uh just search your Knicks I'll be right there and also
51:33on Spotify if you're just in the car uh you got to put it on when you're doing some laundry or
51:38something like that definitely put me on just search up your Knicks every game I give a uh recap
51:43of the game and then any type of updates trades rumors um playoff previews interviews I'd like to have
51:50you on the show as well come on man you already you already know and I gotta get you on uh one of the
51:54weekly episodes of God Game we gotta have a a long breakdown discussion it's gonna be fun
51:58yeah I gotta I gotta I gotta get some time with my wife yeah I gotta do some podcast time with my
52:04wife this is crazy I got this show I got this show I got the kids you got a lot I got Valentine's
52:11Day this weekend Dexter I need some help hey man I would just say you you're probably happy that
52:17Valentine's Day came the same weekend as all-star weekend see you don't got no Knicks to conflict with you
52:22there how do you have all this time don't worry about it yeah yeah don't worry about it I got
52:27you baby that's what you say see that's skipping the episode that's good that's good work I
52:31appreciate you guys both for coming through together I hit you guys up last minute so I
52:35appreciate y'all coming through um joining so everybody please uh support my guys here shout
52:40out to everybody in the chat shout out to the entire crew behind the scenes making it work putting
52:44up the good polls that's gonna do we got a little bit more content coming your way this week on
52:49New York got game as we're gonna look at the first half if you want to say first 55 games of
52:54the season a little bit deeper and then more coming next week got some big games coming next
52:57week we'll have a watch party against Detroit so that should be fun again my guy Doug Burns my
53:03guy Rob Lefkowitz check them out I'm Dexter Henry we'll catch you next time on another edition of New
53:09New York got game peace and thanks for watching New York got game boob shakalaka
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