00:00Jared Chorts, the New York Post, here with our Knicks beat writer, Stephan Bondy,
00:04after a rout of the Wizards here at Madison Square Garden.
00:07This is an easy stretch on the Knicks' schedule, but we haven't seen many blowouts like tonight.
00:12I remember after Friday's game, Mitchell Robinson was saying that the Knicks had to do a better job
00:17respecting their opponents, not looking at their records, and getting out to better starts.
00:21We saw that today. What did you make about how they came out of this game
00:24and appropriately dominated a lowly team?
00:28I mean, they did what they had to do.
00:30Listen, the Wizards are a joke.
00:32They acquired Trey Young.
00:35Now they shut him down.
00:36They acquired Anthony Davis.
00:38They shut him down.
00:39They acquired Deanzo Russell.
00:40He never even joined the team.
00:43I'm sure the front office there is thrilled that they lost 16 in a row.
00:47So the Knicks handled their business at home, and I think there are different circumstances.
00:52Obviously, Brooklyn, they took that matchup a little personally after what happened to them
00:56at Madison Square Garden a couple months ago.
00:58So this game was just a blowout from the beginning, and the Knicks are now 6-0,
01:03and it has been their easiest stretch of the season.
01:06They've played six tanking teams.
01:08I know you can say the Warriors aren't tanking, but in that particular instance,
01:12they sat everybody at the Garden.
01:14So the Knicks, you know, some of them look better than others.
01:17Tonight was one that did look better, and the Knicks are winners of six games straight.
01:21Now the Knicks have one more game sort of in this stretch of lowly opposition,
01:25the Pelicans on Tuesday.
01:26After that, it gets tough.
01:29I disagree.
01:31Okay.
01:31Well, you think the Pelicans are...
01:33I think the Pelicans are playing well.
01:34They're playing a lot better.
01:36Zion Williamson has been playing great.
01:38He's available.
01:38They have no reason to tank because they traded their first-round pick
01:42in one of the dumbest trades we've seen that Joe Dumars did
01:46where they gave up their first-round pick for Derrick Queen,
01:49and now that pick's going to be a tremendous one.
01:51So, listen, I think the Pelicans are certainly a step up in competition
01:55than what we saw tonight.
01:57So if you want to count the Pelicans, we start a much harder stretch.
02:01Pelicans on Tuesday and then on the road for three tough games.
02:05You know, the Hornets are a surging team in the East,
02:07the Thunder obviously a defending champion,
02:08and the Rockets are a tough team in the West.
02:11How important is that stretch for the Knicks?
02:13Well, they're only a half game behind the Boston Celtics right now.
02:16The Celtics lost tonight, so it's a real...
02:19Listen, I know Detroit, they lost Kay Cunningham.
02:23It's going to be real tough for Detroit to lose that top seed still.
02:27But the Knicks are very much in it for the number two seed.
02:29And this little stretch that you're talking about
02:31that could determine whether they're hosting Game 7
02:34of the conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
02:37And by the way, they've played a lot better at Madison Square Garden
02:40than on the road this season.
02:42One thing that stood out to me, Josh Hart made all his threes.
02:45I believe in the last three games, he's made his last nine three-pointers.
02:49Obviously, his shooting is so important for this offense
02:51with how other teams can defend him.
02:52You know, what have you made of that development?
02:54And, you know, is it sustainable?
02:55You know, obviously, he started the year great.
02:57He struggled a little bit coming out of the break.
02:58I mean, what do you make of his three-point shot?
03:00And you nailed it.
03:01It's important.
03:03Now, whether it's going to continue, I don't know.
03:05But the way that defense has played it, you said it, they sag off him.
03:10They put their center on Josh Hart,
03:13which allows them to put a smaller defender on Karl-Anthony Towns
03:17and try to thwart Karl-Anthony Towns' three-point shooting
03:19and keep him on the perimeter.
03:22So, it is important because if Josh Hart is nailing those three-pointers,
03:25certainly at the clip that he's hitting them now this season,
03:28he's at 40% for the entire season, which is a great number.
03:31If he's hitting those three-pointers, the offense looks completely different.
03:35And when Josh Hart hadn't played and he didn't play in the Brooklyn game,
03:38the offense looked terrible.
03:39So, he is such an important piece to this team.
03:42And if he's hitting his shot, he's a very positive, important piece.
03:47That's Steph Bondy.
03:48I'm Jared Schwartz.
03:49We are continuing to get closer and closer to the playoffs.
03:51Wrapping up here.
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