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00:13the New York Knicks they're playing like one of the best teams in the NBA right now at least
00:18record rise they've won 19 of their last 26 games including the 21-point comeback against the Golden
00:23State Warriors on Sunday night and the numbers during this run they're pretty staggering the
00:27Knicks they lead the entire NBA in defensive rating and net rating and they've outscored their
00:31opponents by more than 300 points over a 26 game span so to put that into historical context the
00:38last time the Knicks did that that was during the championship era of the early 70s but even during
00:43this run there was still a lot of questions surrounding this team the offense has cooled
00:47off the starting lineup has been a talking point among the fan base and one of their key players
00:52Mikel Bridges well he's going through a pretty tough stretch so are the Knicks truly a contender
00:58in the east or are there still some cracks to fix before the playoffs to help us answer that
01:03I'm joined this week on New York Got Game by my guy New York Post Knicks beat writer Stefan Bondi
01:08you see him there he joins me now Steph what's going on man not much man I'm uh you know
01:15I went
01:16to that game last night and you kind of encapsulated everything there they're they're winning games but
01:22they felt uneasy certainly about last night and uh the last three games because they were against bad
01:27teams um and you know I'm sure we're going to get into it but the start of the games um
01:32is something
01:33that Mike Brown was harping on after afterwards after they beat the Golden State Warriors last
01:37night yeah it was and I saw your tweets about that from the presser last night we're going to get
01:41into that but let's start with this because you just mentioned it the Knicks they've won three
01:45straight all against opponents who are not really good right now saw that comeback went over Golden
01:50State on Sunday night they're 19-7 over their last 26 games as I've mentioned but the thing for me
01:56Steph is during this run they lead the NBA in both defensive rating and net rating which is really
02:00good and before the game against the Warriors the Knicks outscored their opponents by 299 points over
02:0625 game span something we hadn't seen since the 70s so when you step back and look at the stretch
02:11as a
02:11whole what has stood out to you the most about how they've played during this 26 game stretch
02:18well I mean welcome to expectations um this is they came into this season we know it's finals or bust
02:27and they want it it's no longer just about the results it's about the process because they're
02:32gearing up for the playoffs so there there's nitpicking going on about stuff that they need
02:37to clean up and you know when you're playing against bad teams the Knicks are doing what you're supposed to
02:42do um in a lot of areas because I've covered a lot of bad teams and what tends to happen
02:47is you know
02:48they the bad teams stick with the good teams and for three quarters and then in the fourth quarter the
02:53better team just takes over and says all right it's time what the Knicks have wanted to clean up and
02:58what
02:58stood out to them and to me is that they're not playing for the full 48 minutes um and you
03:04need to do
03:05that come playoff time so that's really what this stretch uh kind of it has left the impression on
03:12the team is we need to clean up a lot of stuff uh because if we're gonna beat the Boston
03:18Celtics of
03:19the world and the Detroit Pistons of the world in a seven game series we can't be having these lapses
03:24so I think I think that's what stood out for me to me uh during this stretch yeah no that
03:29that's key
03:30and they're having these lapses especially early in the game we'll get to that in a second I think
03:34another thing that you can say is good and I brought up the defensive rating number one in
03:38the league over that 26 game stretch the defense seems to have been the foundation of this run
03:42is this defense playing at a level that can hold up against some of the teams you just mentioned the
03:47elite offenses that the Knicks will see in the playoffs do you think their defense can hold up
03:51right now yeah I think I think what we've seen since that really that Dallas loss which was kind of
03:56the
03:56turning point um the the loss to debt to the Mavericks at home is they first of all we talked
04:02about
04:02before but they changed up some schematic things and then we just saw more more effort guarding the
04:07pick and rolls they acquired Jose Alvarado who certainly helps with the defense in the second unit
04:12um and I I do think that come playoff time we saw before we saw it last season OG and
04:20Anobi
04:21and Mikael Bridges have another level defensively and you know a lot of about defense is about effort
04:27and um I do think that what we're seeing now will will translate and transfer over to the playoffs
04:35and I think they have another level and they're going to need another level because the intensity
04:39ratchets up in the postseason I think Cat has actually been playing really good defense lately um
04:44he's kind of embraced his lesser role offensively finally um and he's been putting more effort on
04:52on defense he's become a double double machine he's not scoring as much he's not taking as many points
04:57he's not playing as many minutes but I think he has been effective and I think that is a big
05:01positive
05:02for the Knicks right now yeah that's been huge he's been staying on the court not fouling as much
05:06that's been big time yeah for the Knicks here but on the offensive side Steph the Knicks are now third
05:11in offensive rating but the offense is recently regressed and we talked about this 26 game stretch
05:17in that stretch the Knicks defense been top of the league the offense they've been the 10th ranked
05:22offense in that period so why hasn't the Knicks offense been as efficient lately as we saw earlier
05:28in the season you know it's a make or miss league and a lot of guys are missing shots over
05:33a long long
05:34stretch Mikael Bridges still isn't making shots he's been in a slump for a long time now uh Jalen Brunson
05:40went
05:40through a pretty brutal slump um recently I think he started shooting a little bit better but I think
05:46they they just were missing shots that they were making earlier in the season from from three point
05:51range um so you know hopefully it you know from a Knicks fans perspective uh they they begin to make
05:58those open three pointers I thought they were generating good looks I think the Clippers game
06:02though uh show and I just saw the graphic up and it reminded me Kawhi Leonard was giving them fits
06:09and the the style that the Clippers play defense I think could be a blueprint for the team moving
06:15forward and we saw it against Detroit where you have these big you know big athletic players up and
06:20down the lineup that are trying to generate steals that are um you know allowing Jalen Brunson to kind
06:28of do his thing but also you know clogging the passing lanes creating turnovers turnovers were a big
06:34problem during that west coast western conference swing um that's something that they need to clean
06:39up so there were various reasons why the offense has regressed Italy but if I were to if I were
06:46to
06:46pinpoint one is that they've just the three point shot has not been there as consistently as it was
06:51earlier in the season yeah that's not been there and like you said Baker misleague sometimes it's not
06:55that deep it's just about making shots now after the Warriors game you alluded to this earlier Mike
07:00Brown said that he wasn't happy with how his team started the game said he's not thinking about
07:05changing the starting lineup but he did add that it's not too late to do so which I found interesting
07:10and you know this stuff there's been a lot of discussion among the fan base about the starting
07:14unit and perceived slow starts so do you think it's time for a change to the starting lineup or
07:21does the starting lineup just need to start games better which one is it yeah I I mean
07:27what would you do what would you change I mean to me you know unless you're gonna take Mikel's
07:33obviously in a slump I know people want Josh Hart starting lineup at this point maybe the only thing
07:40I would try is Mikel is uh sorry is Mitchell Robinson and the double big lineup I know he uh
07:46Mike Brown
07:47started that way and I understand why he went away from it uh first of all Josh Hart became effective
07:52second of all it's hard to start Mitchell Robinson when he's not playing back-to-backs and he's only
07:58can play 20 minutes a game now we're getting closer to the playoffs um Mitchell Robinson's minutes
08:06have have gone up he you know he now has a bigger window in which he can play you know
08:11that was part
08:12of the load management plan so maybe if I were to go anyway it would be just see what we
08:17can do with
08:17the double big lineup at the same time the defense that that helps the defense defense hasn't been
08:22an issue it's been the offense and it being sloppy and the turnovers and this and you know just
08:30overall sloppy play from the starting lineup to start games I think the personnel is correct out there
08:36um you don't want to take Mikel Bridges out of lineup because I think it would mess with his head
08:41even further I think he is having some confidence issues even though he's saying he's not
08:46taking him out of lineup I think would only exact exasperate that so I think that the the starting
08:52five is what it should be um but they have to clean up a lot of stuff yeah sometimes it's
08:58just about
08:58got playing better right just got to get off to better starts and starting lineup has not
09:02gotten off to good starts in these games now going to the bench we've seen some big moments lately from
09:08Jordan Clarkson off the bench he's averaging 16.3 points over his last three games and he's been
09:13playing real minutes what does Clarkson's recent play say about one his professionalism and two
09:19do you still think that he can contribute for this next team in the postseason
09:25yes I do I listen I think he's a guy that I'm actually very impressed you know you cover you
09:32cover a guy for the first time you don't really know what they're like
09:36he's he's an impressive personality um people everybody in the locker room likes him and I
09:42understand why he's the he's the kind of guy that unites the locker room because he can relate to
09:47different people um he stayed professional like you mentioned I thought there was there was an
09:52opportunity for him to get start getting upset if you remember after the game in Boston he started
09:57tweeting back and forth with fans he was clearly clearly frustrated by some of the criticism that was
10:03coming his way um but that was short-lived frustration and he really did buckle down and
10:09kept his head down and said you know what whatever opportunity I get I'm going to make the most of
10:14it
10:15I'm going to prepare for that and that you know as a veteran 33 years old or you know wherever
10:21he
10:21how old 32 33 however old he is that's not that easy uh after you've seen what he's seen in
10:27the NBA and
10:28you've accomplished what he's accomplished so I've been very impressed by him I think he can
10:34certainly get hot we've seen that throughout his career and he's composed um you know I I'm very
10:42impressed by what I've seen from Jordan Clarkson lately and I do think he uh he can contribute to a
10:47playoff run yeah sometimes you look you you don't gotta uh what's all saying you you don't have to
10:52get ready if you stay ready and clearly he's he stayed ready do let me ask you this as a
10:58follow-up
10:58Steph do you think he can still contribute to the Knicks in the postseason if and when Deuce McBride
11:05comes back do you think that throws a wrench in any playing time that he could get here I I
11:10know
11:10it's very early for that we don't know if Deuce is coming back and when he's coming back but do
11:14you
11:14think that'll still be a factor in his playing time yeah for sure I mean listen we we know that
11:20the rotations tighten up in the playoffs and if Deuce McBride is going to be a part of that now
11:26you're
11:26talking about certainly him and Mitchell Robinson and Landry Schammett and so you usually don't go
11:33past eight in the playoffs and that's your eight now injuries happen and that's what I'm accounting for
11:38when I say that Jordan Clarkson can be a part of it you know I don't know how Mo Diawara
11:44is going to
11:45react to the pressure pack situation he he really struggled last night against the Warriors and I
11:50thought I think he hasn't been playing as well as he started so you know I could certainly see a
11:55situation where he's not ready to you know you know be part of a playoff rotation but if we're just
12:01looking at eight then yes Jordan Clarkson would be on the outside looking in based on it being Landry
12:07Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson but you know there's a lot to be determined before we get to
12:12that point yeah a lot to be determined over these final 13 games or so for the Knicks now you
12:17mentioned
12:17Mikel Bridges Steph the Knicks have been winning even though he's been inconsistent right and he's not
12:23played well since the all-star break you and I have talked quite often this season about him
12:27disappearing at times but right now he's not even appearing to disappear right he's averaged 10 and a
12:34half points since the all-star break he's shooting 32 percent from three over the last 14 games in his
12:39last six games he's averaging six and a half points per game and shooting 32 percent from the field 21
12:43percent from three we've also seen Mike Brown take him out of closing lineups what do you see in terms
12:49of his offensive struggle Steph and how big of a problem is this if he doesn't turn it around by
12:54the time
12:55the playoffs start I mean it is a big problem this is somebody you're relying on heavily you I don't
13:01we
13:02don't need to go over it again but I will five first round picks 150 million dollars um that is
13:07not
13:08somebody that is not something you give up somebody for somebody you don't you're not relying on they
13:14need him um and we saw it in Brooklyn he where he kind of just gets frustrated and he's not
13:22the same
13:22player when things aren't going well um I think a lot of this is in his head I think he
13:28certainly
13:28wants to play well um but you know it's it's hard when you're not making shots and you're not being
13:36aggressive and it just seems like that's that's where Mikel Bridges is in his headspace right now
13:42um he needs to get out of the funk and I think it's important for the Knicks um now listen
13:47Landry
13:47Shamit can certainly do some things but he's a he's on a veteran minimum contract for a reason
13:53Mikel Bridges is supposed to be a borderline all-star that's what he he was projected as when
13:59they acquired him that's what he projected as when you know Mike Brown took over and everybody said
14:05you know now that Tibbs is gone Mikel Bridges is going to be unlocked and you know reaches all-star
14:10potential that obviously hasn't happened he's actually regressed so listen it's important
14:15whatever it takes um Mikel Bridges needs to get out get out of his own head and um get out
14:22of the
14:22slump yeah he's in a slump in a big way right now needs to get out of it let me
14:27ask you this
14:27because despite his offensive struggles what have you made of what he's brought on defense
14:32particularly as an off-ball defender this season what are you seeing with him on defense is it still
14:37up to the level you think that it should be for this Knicks team and does that maybe if you
14:42do look
14:42at it as being good does that maybe take away a little bit from what he's not giving you on
14:47offense
14:48yeah I mean that was always his greatest strength as an off-ball defender um you know he's able to
14:55plug lanes and and get a bunch of steals he's up there among the league leaders and steals right I
15:01know OG's a little bit ahead of him but listen he he was always good at that that was never
15:04the
15:04problem I think the question was whether he can be a great on-ball defender whether you can stick
15:08him on the Cade Cunninghams or the Jason Tatums of the world and have him fight through screens I think
15:13that's where he struggled since he's got here so that's a bigger question um I don't think it makes
15:19up for what what he's missing on offense I think you still need more from him offensively because
15:25you know you can get all great off-ball defenders for much cheaper than what the Knicks are paying
15:31McHale Bridges yeah and that is the problem I know you don't want to keep bringing up the five
15:35first-round picks and 150 million dollars but when the production is not there it's kind of hard to
15:41well it's a big deal in the apron era it's a huge deal in the apron era because you you
15:45know you
15:46have limited resources and so you can't just spend say you know eat 150 million dollars and say that's
15:52not a big deal it it really impacts the way you build the team and you know they they kind
15:58of
15:58hoarded the Leon Rose hoarded these draft picks for years and waited you know to strike on the right
16:04player and that player became McHale Bridges so he needs to be the right player I mean it's just it's
16:09it's he really became he's supposed to be that final championship piece and why they were saving
16:16all these draft picks so he needs to be that player Steph if he does not turn this around by
16:21the
16:22playoffs and dare I say puts performances up like we've seen recently in the playoffs this noise is
16:29only going to get louder about the five picks and 150 million dollars in the second apron era as you
16:34mentioned and it you would almost start to think the Knicks would maybe have to think about trying to
16:38move on from him but I'm not sure what the market would be I don't want to get too ahead
16:42to the
16:42offseason but this noise could get even louder if he doesn't play well that's the point I'm bringing
16:46up here for sure but I but here's the saving grace is we were having similar not as extreme but
16:54similar
16:54conversations at this point a year ago and then he just took it up three levels in the playoffs he
17:02was a
17:02totally effective and great defender and great offensive efficient player so he's shown that he
17:09can rise to the occasion he's also the only player I think on the Knicks roster other than Jordan Clarkson
17:15who's played in an NBA finals he has the experience he's shown us that he can take it up you
17:22know when
17:23the when the pressure is up so that's what you got to hope for if you're a Knicks fan that
17:27he'll do that
17:28again yeah got to hope for that and he will be judged just like the rest of his team what
17:32happens
17:32in the playoffs speaking of the playoffs as a playoff picture when the east starts to take shape
17:36how do you think the Knicks stack up against the other contenders in the conference and is there a
17:40team that you think would be a particularly good or bad draw for the Knicks if they face them whatever
17:46round first second round conference finals who are you keeping an eye on the Knicks could play
17:50here in the playoffs yeah uh well let's go let's just jump to the second round uh well first of
17:56all
17:56obviously let's start in the first round I guess I if I were the Knicks I'd love to play the
18:01Philadelphia 76ers I don't think Joel Embiid is gonna last three games let alone the seven game
18:08series um so you know I think that would be an ideal matchup obviously they played really well
18:15against the Toronto Raptors that would be a good matchup for them the Charlotte Hornets are a little
18:19bit of a wild card because we don't the unknown in terms of never don't having playoff experience
18:24um although they do have talent they're very young and usually it's takes incremental steps
18:29uh before you start having playoff success and the Atlanta Hawks are in that same boat Orlando Magic I
18:36think would be a tough mat tough physical matchup for the Knicks um but having success in the playoffs
18:42will be tough for them if they because they don't have enough outside shooting certainly if Franz Wagner is
18:49not healthy enough we'll see about him um in the second round I wouldn't want to touch the Boston
18:55Celtics I think if if you know the Knicks were very lucky to win that series last season I think
19:02if you
19:02played that series over 10 times the Knicks would win twice maybe um the way games one and two kind
19:08of
19:09unfolded was very um fortuitous for the Knicks I guess that's one way to put it um I think the
19:17Knicks
19:17will would beat the Cleveland Cavaliers I think the Knicks would beat the Detroit Pistons in a series
19:23the one team I wouldn't want to match up with is the Boston Celtics this is very interesting because
19:29I think that's a very different vibe not saying I actually agree with you I think the Celtics are the
19:34toughest matchup for them the despite people are going to hear you say that and they say well Steph
19:40they've been 0-3 against the Pistons this year so what I want to ask you there is maybe we're
19:43on the
19:43same page with this why do the Pistons not scare you as much is it inexperience is it is it
19:48something
19:48else why do you think the Knicks would still take care of the Pistons in a playoff series
19:52this is actually talking to people around the league the way that Jalen for I'm the way that
19:57Jalen Duren plays defense I think there's an opportunity for Carl Anthony Towns and not to say
20:05Jalen Duren is going to guard Carl Anthony Towns because they didn't do it last season right
20:09it was Tobias Harris but the way that Jalen Duren is in the paint is an allows cat an opportunity
20:17to
20:18go off I think the Knicks are confident that they'd be able to unlock Carl Anthony Towns in that series
20:24and that would be an important factor also the this the Pistons yeah Kate Cunningham is better
20:31they have Isaiah Stewart they didn't have Isaiah Stewart last season a sword Thompson's probably better
20:36than last season but they lost Malik Beasley they lost Tim Hardaway Jr that's their shooting
20:42shooting is a huge part of the playoffs as we were as I was mentioning with the Orlando Magic and
20:48I
20:48don't think the Detroit Pistons have enough shooting to win a playoff series against the Knicks that's
20:54fair so with the Celtics Steph you and I both think they're the toughest matchup for the Knicks here
20:59why do you see the Celtics as such is it just Tatum coming back is it more than that Joe
21:04Mazzula the
21:05coaching and all of that and with that being said do the Knicks need to get up to the second
21:10seed so
21:10if they play the Celtics they will have home court advantage this time unlike last year how important
21:14is that yeah it's ideal as we saw last year anything can happen in a seven game series but
21:21this is the Celtics are the total package in terms of experience shooting star power
21:31coaching there they have they check all the boxes and I get it they they lost last season and Jason
21:38Tatum's you know what he's going to be able to produce in the playoffs after such a long layoff is
21:43obviously a huge question mark but I mean they have all the pieces there to me they're still the best
21:49team in the Eastern Conference they're the scariest team in the Eastern Conference they can kill you with
21:54the three-point shot Jalen Brown is probably the best player in the Eastern Conference right now even
22:02you know depending on what you want to talk about Giannis and so yeah I mean they're just they're just
22:08the best team that's a top to bottom they've shown they've done it they've won a championship they
22:13destroyed the entire NBA during that playoff run so yeah I mean they're just they check all the boxes
22:21so last thing for me on the playoffs here and I'm I'm gonna assume something here Steph because
22:28known you for a while you do not have a loser mentality but some people may say okay if you
22:33think the Celtics are the toughest team then the Knicks need to get out of that two or three they
22:37should probably want to drop to the four I don't subscribe to that thinking I think you'd play
22:42for the highest seed you can get and if you believe you're good enough you try to win how do
22:45you think
22:46the Knicks should play this the rest of the season are you in them dropping to the four to maybe
22:50avoid
22:50the Celtics you know do you run up the chimney are you ducking the smoke that that's basically
22:55what I'm asking what yeah I mean you can't start losing you can't start playing that game you can't
23:02and I remember you know it was two years ago when we were questioning whether the Knicks should start
23:09losing games to avoid playing the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round and Tom Thibodeau decided to
23:14just play it out and win it out and then they they ended up beating the Sixers in that first
23:19round
23:19you know in six games anyway I you can't just start losing games on purpose to avoid matchups I think
23:27it you're setting a bad precedent um with the players you're putting the the wrong strategy in
23:33their minds uh and eventually gonna have to play the Celtics anyway probably because the Celtics are
23:38gonna beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round in that scenario and then you're you're gonna
23:43have a really tough matchup against the Detroit Pistons I think they will beat the Pistons but it will
23:48be a tough physical battle and then you're gonna have to play the Celtics arguably under worse
23:54circumstances after a series like that so you don't want to start playing that game
23:58the fate game um yeah you just you just try to win as much as you can all right I
24:04agree with you
24:04try to win as much again last thing for me Steph so let's try to wrap this up here with
24:09this recent
24:09stretch 26 game we're talking about with the Knicks they currently have the third best offense six best
24:14defense in the league has your opinion changed in terms of how far you believe this team can go in
24:19the playoffs or is it the same that it was at the start of the season where are you now
24:24on the
24:25Knickerbockers yeah it's the same with the with the caveat that I did not know I kind of dismissed
24:32the Celtics early and that was my bad because uh I underestimated Jalen Brown I underestimated kind of
24:42the the the the pieces around Jalen Brown and I underestimated Jason Tatum's desire to get back
24:48and play I mean the Celtics could have easily gone the route of the Indiana Pacers and said screw it
24:54this season's a wash wrap it up um we'll we'll see you next season they're they're back to where
25:01they were last year and I think even at a higher level so um I still think the Knicks are
25:07kind of in
25:07the in the area that I thought they were going to be um there was a world where they would
25:12run away
25:12with the east and um be in a situation that Detroit is in in terms of wins and losses
25:20that obviously didn't happen they've been a little bit more inconsistent than I would have hoped and
25:25and and thought but um just in terms of their their standing in the east and whether they can win
25:31it
25:32the only things that's changed for me is that the Boston Celtics that have risen to a level I
25:36didn't think they were going to yeah Celtics could be in the way of the Knicks we'll see how things
25:42go for them there but it'd be interesting Knicks still playing somewhat good basketball they've been
25:47playing good 19 and 7 over the last 26 is pretty good but still feels like there's a lot of
25:51questions
25:52about this team that is my guy Stefan Bondi check him out there's great job for us covering the Knicks
25:57here with the New York Post and Steph has fantastic taste in arcade games found us out via Twitter
26:03recently Steph you had tweeted about the old school WWE game sorry you had a pretty good top
26:09five for your uh arcade games I rocked you on that I think there was one we disagreed on I
26:14don't
26:14remember which which game it was but yeah you had a pretty good top five there I was like Steph
26:17Steph was uh Steph sounded like you were pretty uh formidable on the sticks back in the day
26:22lost lost a lot of quarters lost a lot of quarters though me too me too way too many way
26:28too many
26:28quarters all right but the Knicks hopefully they don't lose too many games check Steph and
26:32Bondi out I'm Jackson Henry we'll catch you next time in another edition of
26:35New York Got Game
26:38and thanks for watching New York Got Game
26:41Boop Shakalaka
26:42you
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