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00:00:15Welcome back to another edition of New York Got Game. Your boy Dexter Henry here alongside Brian
00:00:20Vaseca. We are now in the middle of the final week of the regular season for the New York
00:00:25Knicks. Three games left. We're almost at the playoffs. I'm excited about that. Knicks got
00:00:32themselves a fantastic road win on Monday night down in the ATL. I would say one of their best
00:00:38road wins of the year for sure. There's been a lot of good ones there, but it's one of their
00:00:42best
00:00:42road wins of the year. And I would think everybody should be happy with what they got in the game.
00:00:48If you wanted some cat going on in that game, you got it. You got a little bit of Jalen
00:00:51Brunson
00:00:52cooking in the fourth quarter. Contributions from everybody. Mikael Bridges showed up in the first
00:00:56half. OG Ananobi made some good plays. I thought it was a good win for the Knicks. It was very,
00:01:01very exciting. Brian, how are you doing this week in the final week of the regular season?
00:01:06Anxious. Always anxious in the final week of the regular season because...
00:01:10Anxious about what?
00:01:12These playoff matchups. I want to see who's playing who. I want to see... We still have a world where
00:01:17everyone who's between 5 and 10 can finish anywhere between 5 and 10.
00:01:24I don't know if that's ever been the case before in the play-in era.
00:01:28You're right. And in terms of the time we were recording this on Tuesday afternoon,
00:01:3519 of the 20 seeds, this is what playoffs and play-in have yet to be determined, which is insane.
00:01:42Absolutely insane. Am I anxious about it? No. Because things are going to fall.
00:01:48I want to start breaking out matchups. I want to start previewing matchups, looking at tape,
00:01:52looking at film, looking at numbers, and just sort of getting into... I think this is going to be
00:02:01more than maybe any playoffs we've seen just about styles make fights.
00:02:07I love that.
00:02:08It's just going to be matchup dependent all over the place and who's most adaptable.
00:02:16And there are some things in the Knicks' favor as it relates to that, and there are some things
00:02:19that could perhaps go against them. So we'll see. I know the fans have concerns, so let's get to it.
00:02:25Yeah, we're going to get to it because what we're going to do this week,
00:02:28fan mailbag episode, we got some comments, questions from a lot of different people
00:02:33across a variety of different ways with us this week to talk about it.
00:02:37So we're going to get into it. You guys sent us our questions.
00:02:39Our questions have been selected by our producers. I have not looked at the questions.
00:02:43Brian has not looked at the questions, so we don't know any of these.
00:02:45We're going to just be getting them to pop up as we go, and then we're going to see what
00:02:50it is.
00:02:50So here is the first question that we have.
00:02:53This one comes via YouTube from MoreHoops3490.
00:02:57And this was in a response to our last episode in which we talked about some of the things that
00:03:03were not going right with the Knicks at the time, and a lot of you had a lot to say
00:03:07about what we
00:03:08had to say in response to the folks who think that the offense should just run through Cat and
00:03:14should just dump the ball into the post, and we disagree with y'all strongly.
00:03:17This person says,
00:03:18I agree with the analysis, disagree with the conclusion.
00:03:22Cat has never been an offensive hub, and he's been struggling for most of the season.
00:03:26He has improved a lot recently, and the Knicks won't reach their ceiling without a dominant Cat.
00:03:30So there's a strong case to be made.
00:03:32He should be featured more offensively.
00:03:36Brian, what do you say to that?
00:03:39He's been better lately.
00:03:40The turnovers are still up, but he's been better lately.
00:03:43I think, again, you can feature him more.
00:03:48I don't think featuring him more means posting him up.
00:03:51I think it means if you want to get him better quality looks at the rim from three as a
00:03:56spacer,
00:03:58sure, you're never going to be against getting him better quality looks.
00:04:03Does it mean I have to force feed him so that he has 16, 18 shot attempts in the game?
00:04:07No.
00:04:08I think the process of that matters, which is something we talked about.
00:04:11So it's not about just getting him shots for the sake of it, because some people are just
00:04:16like, hey, just get Cat more shots.
00:04:18But it's like, how are you getting him these shots?
00:04:19Are you posting him up and having him fade away from 14 feet over and over and over again
00:04:25over guards, mind you, because teams are going to put guards on him at times?
00:04:29Or are you actually drawing up plays to get him clean looks from 25 feet out, from two feet
00:04:36out, basically at the rim and from three-point range?
00:04:40Some people would say, hey, why don't you do it in the mid-range?
00:04:42But we know where basketball is in 2026.
00:04:46You're not drawing up mid-range shots for Cat to take over and over and over again.
00:04:52Those shots often come off the dribble.
00:04:54I don't know to what degree teams are drawing up plays to get mid-range jumpers anyway.
00:04:58You just kind of have guys create, and that's a shot available with eight seconds left on
00:05:02the shot clock, six seconds left on the shot clock.
00:05:04And Jalen Brunson will take it, for example, but you're not typically drawing up plays
00:05:08to get mid-range jumpers often anymore.
00:05:12Yeah.
00:05:12I think the key part to answer this question that you said that was kind of the way I
00:05:16was going to answer it is this is more about process.
00:05:18I think way too many fans right now are focusing on number of shot attempts, right?
00:05:25And it's like, okay, you can get a high volume of shot attempts, but that doesn't matter.
00:05:29The process should matter.
00:05:31Now, could Cat have had a little bit more shots?
00:05:33I'm going back to the Atlanta game on Monday.
00:05:35He took 12 shots.
00:05:36He hit nine of them.
00:05:38He was highly efficient.
00:05:39He was fantastic in the third quarter of that game.
00:05:43Five of five.
00:05:44Now, I believe after the third quarter, he'd only had nine shot attempts.
00:05:48So, you know, he had four going into the half, five that he all hit all of them in the
00:05:52third quarter where he was amazingly fantastic.
00:05:54But here's the thing.
00:05:56Offense is not just scoring.
00:05:58Offense is, are you creating for others?
00:05:59I thought Cat had himself a fantastic passing game, particularly on the interior against
00:06:04the Hawks.
00:06:05Much better than the game against Memphis where he had a bunch of turnovers and he had the
00:06:08triple double and had 11 of assists and people were like, see?
00:06:12And it's like, no, the overrated, overrated stat.
00:06:14Right.
00:06:14I will say I've said this before.
00:06:16Triple double overrated stat.
00:06:17Right.
00:06:18Because oftentimes 35, eight and seven will be better than 22, 11 and 10.
00:06:23Right.
00:06:23This cat game was better than the Memphis game.
00:06:25It was, it was, it was better than the Memphis was better than the Memphis game.
00:06:29You want to get enamored in the triple double because he had more assists.
00:06:32He had an 11 to seven assist to turnover ratio.
00:06:35That's not good.
00:06:36And he was playing a team in Atlanta that needed this game.
00:06:39That's actually playing for something that's trying to get the five seed because they want
00:06:44to not fall deeper and deeper in.
00:06:46And then they'd probably rather face the Cavs than the Knicks, perhaps.
00:06:49Yeah.
00:06:50I like the process.
00:06:52I like the process.
00:06:53I like the shot diet in this game.
00:06:55Yeah.
00:06:55I think that stuff matters more.
00:06:57So when I looked at this game and the flow of the game and how he was able to, as
00:07:00people
00:07:00want to say, take some pressure off of Brunson in the third quarter, this is the kind of
00:07:06flow for the game.
00:07:06I thought if you look at the Hawks game and way everything went against a good team that
00:07:09Brian just mentioned that was playing for something and you're going to have everybody
00:07:13playing for something in the playoffs, the way the flow of this game went with how everybody
00:07:18had to contribute at some point, right?
00:07:21From Mikkel Bridges to OG Ananobi to Mitchell Robinson to Carl D. Towns.
00:07:26This is what Brian was saying last week.
00:07:28It's not just a feed cat more thing.
00:07:31It is a, everybody's got to do their part.
00:07:34And when that happens, when that happens, the Knicks are better.
00:07:37When that happens, it puts Brunson in a situation where against the Hawks, he did not have
00:07:43hit, this was not a good, great Brunson, Brunson game.
00:07:45It was a great Brunson close.
00:07:47It was not a great Brunson game, but I think he had the energy and ability to close because
00:07:53other guys stepped up, right?
00:07:57That's, that's what we were trying to talk about.
00:07:58This game to me is the microcosm of what we were saying last week that there was so much
00:08:03pushback on.
00:08:04This is how it can look and how you could win tight games against good opponents.
00:08:07This is how it can happen.
00:08:08So for me with cat, yes, Brian and I are saying the same thing.
00:08:11We want cat to be more involved there.
00:08:14You should have part of the process.
00:08:16It can look a lot like it did and even better than it did against the Hawks.
00:08:19The process of how it's happening, the quality of shots he's getting in his diet.
00:08:23That's what matters.
00:08:24I think more than the amount of attempts.
00:08:26What I like a little bit more, is there somewhere between cat shooting 14 to 15 shots a game?
00:08:31And I'm cool with that.
00:08:32Sure.
00:08:32Fine.
00:08:33But if you're going to tell me he's going to be nine of 12, give me the double double with
00:08:36the six assists and only the three turnovers that he had.
00:08:39And I'll sign for that.
00:08:41Right.
00:08:41Because I think the Memphis game is what a lot of people are clamoring for.
00:08:46And the Atlanta game is what you should want because the Memphis game, you're also playing
00:08:50against nobody.
00:08:52Omax Prosper is a starting center who was a small forward in college, who was a small
00:08:58forward prospect.
00:08:58He's a starting center for the Memphis Grizzlies in that game at six foot seven.
00:09:02And cat got his triple double.
00:09:04The Atlanta game is what you should want because that was a game where, again, they're trailing
00:09:08for a bunch of it.
00:09:09They end up fighting their way back.
00:09:10Mitchell Robinson gets a bunch of great rebounds.
00:09:12You have a decent showing for Mikael Bridges, you know, one that you'll take with OG Ananobi.
00:09:19He made some good shots down the stretch.
00:09:21Jalen Brunson had a terrific fourth quarter after not being really good and not making great
00:09:25decisions.
00:09:26I thought in the previous three quarters, Josh Hart had a couple of big rebounds on the
00:09:29stretch like that.
00:09:30That's the Knicks win.
00:09:30That's a typical Knicks win.
00:09:32The Knicks are going to have a lot of playoff games that feel like this one that we just saw
00:09:35against Atlanta and again, best fourth quarter team in the NBA, like by a wide margin, the
00:09:40net rating, the fourth quarter scoring margin on average is plus 1.1 points better than anybody
00:09:45else in the NBA.
00:09:47Second place is actually Cleveland, but they're plus 3.1 on average in fourth quarters when
00:09:51last year they were in the negative.
00:09:52They were not even in the top half of the league.
00:09:54The biggest thing about the Knicks team this year, this Knicks team this year, is that
00:09:58they're great in fourth quarters.
00:09:59And that's why they're going to be in any series that they play against.
00:10:03Doesn't mean they're going to win against everybody.
00:10:05It still means they could lose in the second round, but fourth quarters, they figured
00:10:09something out and that's been consistent all season from what we've seen.
00:10:12And that's because when they're firing in fourth quarters, everybody is doing their
00:10:18part.
00:10:19It's not just about cat getting more usage.
00:10:20It's not just about Jalen Brunson cooking.
00:10:22It's a combination of things that lead to you getting a victory.
00:10:25Absolutely.
00:10:26A hundred percent agree.
00:10:26All right, let's move on to the next question.
00:10:28We have this, uh, this was on YouTube from at Mr.
00:10:32I channel nine, seven 60 said, thank you in all caps guys for being truthful and observant.
00:10:38I was trying to tell CP and other platforms, shout out to my guy, CP, the franchise, next
00:10:43fan TV.
00:10:43The cat does not have a bag, meaning he cannot play out of the post.
00:10:47Can't create his own shot.
00:10:48He's clumsy trying to do both.
00:10:50That is a word, Brian.
00:10:51That's true.
00:10:52Brunson does not respect cat's game.
00:10:54He's ineffective.
00:10:55I don't know about that.
00:10:56Yeah.
00:10:57I'm not going to go.
00:10:57I don't, I don't agree with that compared to other fours and fives.
00:11:00That's exactly why I hated the trade.
00:11:02He's not a good fit for us.
00:11:03We need a playmaker who can also get his own bucket as a number two.
00:11:07And Randall was a better fit compared to cat.
00:11:09Ooh, there's a lot going on there.
00:11:12It's what, it's what I was that.
00:11:14So I think this is the type of comment that we can revisit after the playoffs because
00:11:19the latter could be true depending on what we see and how they lose.
00:11:25If they do lose, you know what I mean?
00:11:26Like there's, there's a lot of couching there, but that's, that's kind of what this is.
00:11:30And ultimately, look, we've been saying it all year, as much as we all get wrapped up
00:11:33in the regular season, Mike Brown and everybody on this roster and the front office, they're
00:11:38going to be judged by what happens in the next couple of months.
00:11:42So everything I just said about fourth quarter could be way out the window if they just blow
00:11:47it in the second round against the Celtics and they lose in five games, which many predicted
00:11:52would be the case last year.
00:11:54Like, I don't think that would be the case this year, by the way, but like, this is, this
00:11:57is why this is so meaningful, especially because now you're going into the playoffs where you
00:12:02have everybody healthy, which is insane.
00:12:05Like you've had all these things go on this year and you've barely had any injury issues,
00:12:09like long-term injury issues.
00:12:12They're, they're fully healthy.
00:12:13So you have absolutely zero, no excuses to, to, to get to the finals this year.
00:12:20Like none.
00:12:21Boston's healthy too.
00:12:22And Cade has the lung situation that he's recovering from.
00:12:25It looks like he's going to be back pretty soon.
00:12:27He was doubtful the other day, which is a, which is progress from being out.
00:12:31So maybe by the end of the week, he's playing, but yeah, I think a lot of this will be
00:12:35determined
00:12:35in the post season and how they lose.
00:12:38And if, if we come away, Dex being like, oh, see, this is where they lack that shot creation.
00:12:43Oh, what Jordan Clarkson was doing at the end of the year was a mirage.
00:12:46They need somebody else to get their own shot and other guys are struggling to do it.
00:12:50If the fourth quarter stuff is just regular season noise.
00:12:52And then in the playoffs, they can't quite figure it out in the fourth quarter because
00:12:55now they're just playing good teams over and over and over again, instead of beefing
00:12:59up the scoring margin against bad teams, although they've been good against good teams too,
00:13:02to be clear.
00:13:03But I think a lot of this we're going to see play out.
00:13:07So look, I, I, I listened, I part of the, what Brian and I talked about last week to
00:13:14go back to cat and saying, he doesn't have a bag.
00:13:17Yes.
00:13:17We know cat can be a bit clumsy with offensive fouls and all this other stuff.
00:13:21And I think that's why the words of just playing with him through the post is most people
00:13:27I've talked to that I respect and know basketball.
00:13:30Well, I've talked about this.
00:13:32I even talked to my guy, EJ Stewart about this.
00:13:34Who was on the last episode.
00:13:35Most people know basketball understand that playing out of playing with cat out the post
00:13:40is just not an answer.
00:13:42Even the great Zach Lowe said this on his recent podcast, right?
00:13:45Not that we needed that to be validated, but this is the thing.
00:13:49Brunson, I think does respect cat's game.
00:13:51I want to push back on that notion.
00:13:53I don't think that Brunson disrespects cat's game.
00:13:55Cat is very well liked in that locker room.
00:13:57I think there are guys that have wanted more out of him that have wanted him to cut down
00:14:01on the silly fouls at times, knowing that it's hurting the team.
00:14:05But I think all the guys in that locker room understand that cat is going to be an integral
00:14:09part of them going to where they want to go.
00:14:11Something that Brian I've said all season long.
00:14:14Now, I think cat where I disagree, I had some concerns about cat and Brian knows this when
00:14:20they traded for him with Julius Randall for him, which is what I just talked about.
00:14:27It's still happening.
00:14:28It was my concern at the time.
00:14:31And I said this on this show.
00:14:33I said it's on other platforms when the trade happened.
00:14:36Is Carl Anthony Towns going to be able to stay on the floor when the Knicks need him the most?
00:14:40That was the key for them.
00:14:41He was coming off of a Western Conference Finals run with the Timberwolves.
00:14:45He had played good in that second round against the Denver Nuggets.
00:14:47Probably some of the better defense I'd ever seen cat play in a playoff series where he
00:14:51actually held his own against Nicola Jokic and wasn't making stupid fouls.
00:14:55And I was impressed.
00:14:56Minnesota as a team, they built themselves to beat Denver.
00:14:59And they figured something out with the double big lineup with him and Rudy.
00:15:02And then the wings around just to just slap Nicola Jokic in the arm.
00:15:06It's like when you're fighting Canelo Alvarez and he just punches you on the arms
00:15:09that you get too tired to defend yourself, and then it opens you up to get shots to the head.
00:15:15Yeah.
00:15:17Listen, if Cat is playing within himself, cutting down the fouls, playing like we saw him play
00:15:22against the Atlanta Hawks the other night, which he's more than capable of, being an
00:15:26offensive hub, because everybody likes to use that word.
00:15:28And I think people think about it just in terms of getting buckets.
00:15:30So I'll say this again.
00:15:31Again, I think the passing for Cat, which he's an underrated passer, matters too.
00:15:35When he's finding other guys, cutting, he's looking for the open guys on the wings.
00:15:40I think he's dangerous too, because not only do you have to respect the shot, you also got
00:15:44to respect the pass as well too.
00:15:45And so that makes him an even better offensive player.
00:15:48I know sometimes we think it's just about getting buckets, but it's not just about that.
00:15:51And so I thought he was a pretty good playmaker against the Hawks the other night.
00:15:57I think there's ways he could be a good playmaker.
00:15:59I just think Cat's got to play within himself and under control.
00:16:02If he's doing that and doing the right things that this team needs, the Knicks have been
00:16:06very dangerous, very, very dangerous, because Brunson, I want to be clear.
00:16:11I want to make one other point to this.
00:16:14Brunson, people are saying, oh, he likes playing hero ball and all that stuff.
00:16:17He's the Knicks' best option to close.
00:16:19Let's just keep it a buck here.
00:16:20He's their best option to close, whether you like it or not.
00:16:23You got to keep him fresh so he can close, and he can be that great fourth quarter team that
00:16:27we've seen during the regular season.
00:16:28And I thought last night was just a key example against the Hawks.
00:16:32He did not have a good shooting night.
00:16:34But because other guys had enough around him, he was able to bring it home.
00:16:38And you count on that dude to bring it home more than a lot of people in this league, man.
00:16:42You will count on him to bring it home.
00:16:44Now, you may not need him to do a hole too much early, and I thought that was a good
00:16:46thing
00:16:47for Brunson.
00:16:47He didn't try to do as much early.
00:16:49There were some shots I didn't love, but he still was able to bring it home.
00:16:53So that's it.
00:16:54All right, let's see what we got for this next question.
00:16:58Macri is definitely not a Cat fan.
00:17:00This is from at J2D2024.
00:17:05New York fans, Knicks fans will find out what they're missing if they trade Cat away.
00:17:09The front office and Mike Brown have turned into a bewildering season.
00:17:13This team doesn't seem to enjoy playing together.
00:17:15I hope they get on the same page for the postseason.
00:17:20Look, let me say this.
00:17:24There's a lot with the body language police out here, okay?
00:17:29I think it's kind of weird that some people are always watching, oh, what's happening in
00:17:33the huddle here?
00:17:34What's happening in body language here?
00:17:35This team doesn't like each other.
00:17:36No, I do not think that's the case, guys.
00:17:39I do not.
00:17:40As somebody who's been around the team a bunch this year, has been in the locker room,
00:17:46do I think the team doesn't like each other?
00:17:48No.
00:17:48Do I think it's taken them long to figure things out that some of us might have liked
00:17:52to see them come together quickly, quicker?
00:17:56Yes.
00:17:56But sometimes with that, I'm like, who the hell am I or any of us to say what the process
00:18:01of something is?
00:18:02Like, none of us have played NBA basketball and say this should have happened by then
00:18:05or this should have happened by now in a new system with a new coach.
00:18:08Yes, it's the same guys.
00:18:11But I would ask, what's the proof that this team doesn't like each other?
00:18:16Like, what is the real tangible proof that this team doesn't like each other?
00:18:22Where's the reporting that this team doesn't like each other?
00:18:25Trust me, if dudes were beefing, out Stephan Bondi would have heard about it.
00:18:31Now, look, there's sometimes we hear things that we can't report.
00:18:33We can't put it out there.
00:18:34There's things we hear and know around the team that we can't necessarily put out there.
00:18:39Guys not liking each other, that's not something I've heard, and I do not believe to be true.
00:18:46That's all I have to say.
00:18:47Brian?
00:18:50I think it's one of those things where, if it's the case, we'll hear about it after the playoffs if
00:18:57they disappoint.
00:18:59Like, we'll get the Now They Tell a Story.
00:19:01Bondi will do one.
00:19:03We'll probably get one from, like, James Edwards.
00:19:05We'll probably get one from, you know, Ian Begley.
00:19:07We'll probably do a piece on it.
00:19:08Like, we'll probably get those types of stories.
00:19:11Like, if things have been bubbling underneath the surface and are probably known in very, very tight circles, then they
00:19:22start leaking out a little bit after, like, they lose in the second round or they lose in the third
00:19:26round again.
00:19:27Like, those kinds of things.
00:19:28Right now, we can't really prove it.
00:19:31But I'm probably a little more open to the idea than you that the chemistry has been maybe uneasy at
00:19:40times.
00:19:40I don't think that's, like, a personal vendetta type of thing in the locker room.
00:19:45I just â we've seen it on the floor.
00:19:47Like, we've seen guys not being the same page.
00:19:49We've seen a lack of trust defensively.
00:19:50Yeah, but that is very different from they don't like each other.
00:19:54Those are two very different things.
00:19:56No, no, but do I think they've been annoyed with one another over the course of an 82-game season?
00:20:02I'm sure because it's the NBA.
00:20:03Sure, that doesn't surprise me.
00:20:04And a lot of these things happen.
00:20:05I don't know if that spills into personal life stuff.
00:20:09Well, let me say this to that point.
00:20:11Yeah.
00:20:12Again, I try to do this all the time and bring this back to real work.
00:20:16It's a job still.
00:20:17Yeah.
00:20:18Some of y'all work with people and you do great work and you don't like them all the time.
00:20:22Sometimes there's some people you work with and you're like, what are you doing?
00:20:25You're not doing what you're supposed to be doing and you don't like them all the time.
00:20:28This happens.
00:20:29That doesn't mean you don't like the person.
00:20:31It just means you might not like it.
00:20:32Like, to your point, you don't like the chemistry or the process of the way it's going.
00:20:37I think that's very different than not liking people.
00:20:38Now, sometimes you work with people and you don't like them.
00:20:41You're not going to like everybody you work with.
00:20:43That happens.
00:20:44That happens sometimes.
00:20:46Putting people together is hard.
00:20:47I think it's more of what you're saying that guys may not have liked the way things are going in
00:20:53the process and how certain people are executing.
00:20:55That is very different from not liking a person and not wanting to work with somebody.
00:20:59That's very different than showing up to work and being like, yo, man, I don't even want to see this
00:21:02guy.
00:21:03That's those are two different things.
00:21:06So I think there's probably I do think there's what you're saying where guys have been frustrated with where other
00:21:11people have been in the process.
00:21:13I think you're right about that, because I think that happens with any team progressing to a goal that's going
00:21:18to happen.
00:21:19That is that's natural.
00:21:20If that didn't happen, it would be weird.
00:21:22That'd be nobody would be holding anybody accountable.
00:21:23Yeah, like, I don't know if I don't know if the issues with air quotes rise to the point of
00:21:31it being irregular NBA activity.
00:21:34Yeah, that's that's what I'm so now it can be the case and we find out down the line and
00:21:40this is something that like not a lot of people know now, but to this point, it doesn't appear to
00:21:48be the case as far as what we know.
00:21:51But I think their team has been trying to figure some things out.
00:21:54They've been frustrated with the process of trying to figure it out, but processes are not smooth and easy, especially
00:22:00when there's change.
00:22:02I don't expect that.
00:22:03Yeah, we can't prove it, basically.
00:22:04So wait, wait for the now they tell the stories after they do what they do in the playoffs.
00:22:09Yeah, or we never hear it.
00:22:11We'll see.
00:22:11All right.
00:22:11Or not.
00:22:12Yeah.
00:22:13Next one.
00:22:14This is God.
00:22:15There's a lot of this is a lot of cat.
00:22:17Please get my nephew cat out of New York.
00:22:20Y'all deserve to go struggling.
00:22:23Y'all deserve to go back to struggling to get the AC losing as part of the next legacy.
00:22:26Y'all are not better without cat GTFOH.
00:22:30This is from at Ishamond 10 0 6.
00:22:34I'm confused because cat was like the most hated Nick for a while and now he's become a sympathetic figure
00:22:41and it's like the cat roller coaster.
00:22:43The cat coaster continues.
00:22:45I don't know, man, like again, cat's good.
00:22:49He's flawed.
00:22:50Just like a lot of stars in the NBA, all-star level guys.
00:22:53They're good.
00:22:53They're flawed.
00:22:55His warts have been the same warts for a very long time.
00:22:57So he is who he is.
00:22:58He's extremely talented.
00:23:00He's dynamic offensively.
00:23:02He can shoot.
00:23:02He can pass when he's committed to passing evidently as we've seen.
00:23:08He's one of the best shooting bigs we've ever seen.
00:23:10He's also been a magnet for turnovers at times and his production has dropped off a little bit this year,
00:23:17even though he's had some really important performances.
00:23:19He's also has some duds as well, like it just kind of is what it is with cat.
00:23:22So I don't, I don't know what to do with this comment.
00:23:25Like it is what it is.
00:23:26If, if, if, and I think, and I think this, this lends to a larger point where it's like, I
00:23:31go through this a lot, especially with, with covering boxing, but this is the case in the NBA too.
00:23:36I think because we've done a successful job in dumbing shit down media wise in this country, which is, uh,
00:23:45I'm saying that with sarcasm because I don't like that this has happened, but I do think we have a
00:23:49lot of people who are just like, Hey, all you pundits, tell me what I want to hear or else
00:23:56you suck and you're unqualified to do what you do.
00:23:59And we don't like you, uh, tell me what I want to hear about my favorite player.
00:24:03Make me feel good about the players that I like.
00:24:05Otherwise I don't think you're qualified to do this.
00:24:08And I think we can't have rational disagreements to the way that we used to.
00:24:14Um, like I think cat's good.
00:24:15So I don't even know what the disagreement is, but to say like, Hey, you guys don't deserve cat cat.
00:24:21Don't play for my team.
00:24:24Like I'm not paying cat.
00:24:25I'm not the GM or the owner or anybody on his team.
00:24:28So it's like, it's, it is what it is.
00:24:30But I think there are a lot of people who have ironed the comments who just want you to talk
00:24:38up their favorite player.
00:24:39And it's like, okay, if we're going to be overly simplistic about this, then we can't really have an actual
00:24:44conversation.
00:24:46What I say to that, and I saw a lot of this in the discourse on YouTube and then on
00:24:51Twitter last week with my comments about how, which was again, specifically about people who think the offense should be
00:24:58run through cat and specifically dumping the ball to him in the post.
00:25:01I was addressing those people and I disagree with you guys.
00:25:03And I think you guys are simplifying basketball in a way that doesn't make any sense.
00:25:08Um, you're also wrong by the numbers, right?
00:25:11That's the thing.
00:25:12And then, you know, what I learned from this conversation to what Brian is saying to when you present people
00:25:17with facts and they just want to create their, you're entitled to your opinion.
00:25:22I said, everybody's entitled to opinion, opinion, and that's for better or worse.
00:25:25Cause sometimes everybody thinks they have a platform now and should then have an opinion to say whatever.
00:25:30And you have a right to your opinion and say whatever you want.
00:25:32You're not entitled to your own version of the facts.
00:25:34That's where I draw the line and that's where I'm like, no, you ain't going to do that.
00:25:37And if you're going to say when the facts are presented, yeah, the facts are presented, but I still want
00:25:42to feel how I want to feel.
00:25:43I'm like, okay, cool.
00:25:45That, that says to me a lot about you, but okay.
00:25:50Now I also want to be clear that when we do this, other people do this, it is not the
00:25:53job of Brian.
00:25:54It is not the job of myself.
00:25:55It is not the job of Stefan Bondi.
00:25:57It is not the job of any of the beat reporters to make you feel good.
00:26:00That is not our job, right?
00:26:02This is not our job.
00:26:03Our job is to, as for me, myself, and other people as journalists, our job is to look at the
00:26:10facts, look at the truth, dissect it, talk about it, analyze it, and then deliver it.
00:26:15Job is not to make you feel good.
00:26:17Sometimes facts make you feel uncomfortable.
00:26:19That's okay.
00:26:19Sometimes you might have believed a certain thing and then the facts show you that's literally not true.
00:26:24That might make you uncomfortable first, but you could then say, okay, this is how I feel.
00:26:28Talking the truth about Kat wasn't ragging on Kat.
00:26:31It was, we were actually not, if anything, we're ragging on the people that were saying that this is how
00:26:35Kat should be used in a particular way and the data shows it's not true.
00:26:38We're not ragging on Kat.
00:26:40We just, at the beginning of this episode, right now, we just applauded Kat for how he played against Atlanta.
00:26:44We were saying this is the way that we can be used and be highly effective for this next team.
00:26:50So, for me, I asked, the question pushed back in this comment, it's like, why are you so sensitive about
00:26:54this?
00:26:56That would be my thing about it.
00:26:58It's like, yo, if Kat's your favorite player, you want to see him succeed, that's dope, man.
00:27:01Like, you should want that.
00:27:03We want to see him succeed, too.
00:27:06Like, we're out here wishing bad on anybody not wanting him to not succeed.
00:27:09So, saying the Knicks don't deserve Kat and all this other stuff, I'll be like, well, who then does deserve
00:27:14Kat?
00:27:16And where has Kat gone?
00:27:17And this is not me shading Kat, but I'm just asking this, like, in his career, that's like, oh, he's
00:27:22got traded from the team that drafted him number one overall.
00:27:25Again, this is not shade to Kat.
00:27:27This is just the facts, right?
00:27:29Kat is in a good situation playing next to Jalen Brunson here.
00:27:32Will that work for the Knicks in terms of them trying to win a championship?
00:27:35I don't know.
00:27:35There's things that has to go well for that to happen.
00:27:38Again, we're going to see.
00:27:39We're going to find a lot of that's going to be answered in the next couple of weeks.
00:27:42We're going to find out.
00:27:43That's the beauty of sports, man.
00:27:44So, I'm kind of like you, Brian.
00:27:45I don't know a lot about what to do with this comment or question or whatever.
00:27:49Yeah.
00:27:49All right.
00:27:50Moving on to the next one.
00:27:52This one from at Dorcasaurus Rex, longtime viewer of the show.
00:27:57He said, the Knicks had a winning identity in December and chose to abandon it.
00:28:01I don't agree with that.
00:28:02Believing that Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado are sufficient bench depth
00:28:07to take this team to the NBA finals is one of the most delusional ideas I've ever heard in my
00:28:11life.
00:28:12Clarkson Alvarado has stumbled more than most in the Knicks media are comfortable admitting
00:28:16the youth on the bench is key to having the size, stability, athleticism, height,
00:28:20structural integrity, need to compete with other elite teams of the NBA, plain and simple.
00:28:24Now, this is a comment that came from Dorcasaurus Rex six days ago.
00:28:29So, here's what I find interesting in that, right?
00:28:35Jose Alvarado shooting the ball for most of the month of March until now has not been good.
00:28:42Jose Alvarado had a DNP against the Hawks on Monday night.
00:28:47Damn near had another one recently but ended up getting garbage minutes.
00:28:50Right, which I think Mike Brown's telling you a lot about how he's going to approach things in his playoff
00:28:54rotation.
00:28:55You're talking about against Chicago where he didn't play in the first half
00:28:59and only really played in the fourth quarter garbage time there too.
00:29:04Jordan Clarkson, though, this is where I don't get this comment within the last six days.
00:29:07Jordan Clarkson's actually been really good.
00:29:09He's been very good in terms of offense and shot creation off the bench.
00:29:14He has also been very good defensively, which is the problem I had with him early in the season
00:29:18when the Knicks actually had said winning identity.
00:29:21His defense was not good at all.
00:29:22He was hurting the Knicks on a lot of possessions.
00:29:25I think he's worked his way, at least the way I look at the rotation right now,
00:29:29to being the ninth man for the Knicks, the way he's worked back.
00:29:32And I think Mike Brown is telling you as much with how he handles his rotation against Atlanta.
00:29:38I think the Atlanta rotation, which was like a playoff game on the road,
00:29:41the way he handled rotation was very, very telling.
00:29:47Jose Alvarado is a guy that Brian and I both like.
00:29:49He's a small guard.
00:29:50He can be a pest on defense.
00:29:52I still think there will be a role situational for Jose Alvarado in the playoffs.
00:29:55I think Jose Alvarado will help the Knicks win a couple of playoff games.
00:29:58I think he will impact things.
00:30:01The Knicks are small in size.
00:30:02This is where I agree with Dorcasaurus Rex, if he has some concerns off the bench.
00:30:06They don't have a lot of size off the bench.
00:30:08There's a lot of small guards.
00:30:10However, you can see from what I'm talking about,
00:30:13the last couple of games against Chicago, against Atlanta,
00:30:16Mike Brown is valuing the higher upside on defense with his guards.
00:30:22So you're going to see more of Miles McBride.
00:30:24He's trying to come back and form and get healthy.
00:30:25Same for Landry Shammott.
00:30:27Those guys are definitely playing.
00:30:28So is Mitchell Robinson.
00:30:31Now, when I hear about size and youth off the bench,
00:30:34and I want to make sure I read the comment right again, right?
00:30:37He says, Clarkson and Alvarado have stumbled more than most of the Knicks media are comfortable admitting.
00:30:42I mean, I just admitted about Alvarado when he wasn't good.
00:30:45And we here have talked about Clarkson when he wasn't good.
00:30:47We also have to talk about Clarkson when he has been good recently.
00:30:51It's key to having size, stability, athleticism, height, structural integrity.
00:30:54You need to compete with the other elite teams of the NBA, plain and simple.
00:30:57Now, if you're talking about all those things,
00:30:58there's only one person you could be talking about that fits that criteria.
00:31:02And that is Mohamed D. Awara.
00:31:03Yep.
00:31:04Now, Mohamed D. Awara, I think, if it was me personally,
00:31:12because I do think the Knicks situationally are going to need some of that size,
00:31:16some of the athleticism.
00:31:18I think Atlanta could have been a spot in the team where you could play Mo D. Awara a little
00:31:22bit here.
00:31:22They have a lot of wings.
00:31:24They have a lot of wings.
00:31:25I think that's a team you could match them up against.
00:31:27Here's what I will say, and I'll let Brian take over here.
00:31:31I talked about this the other day with EJ Stewart.
00:31:34I think that Mike Brown is going to look at certain guys.
00:31:37D. Awara, Clarkson, there's going to be a situational ninth man.
00:31:41I think he's going to play nine guys, but it's going to be situational depending on the matchup.
00:31:45If he sees one of the guards doesn't have it, I think he could go there.
00:31:49And I'll add Alvarado to that, too.
00:31:51I think there's going to be a situational rotation of the ninth man.
00:31:53It could be Alvarado, it could be D. Awara, it could be Clarkson.
00:31:56I just think it's going to depend on the matchup and the situation and what the game calls for.
00:32:00Me, personally, that's how I like my coach to manage the situation in the playoffs.
00:32:05That's how it should be.
00:32:05You should have that flexibility.
00:32:07You want to go with your top nine guys, but there should be some flexibility.
00:32:09I think there could be some games you might see him play 10, but the 10th man plays three to
00:32:14five minutes, maybe in the first half, is what you might see.
00:32:18That's fine.
00:32:19Where else is the length and athleticism coming off of on the bench for the Knicks right now?
00:32:23This is who the team is.
00:32:24You're not changing the team.
00:32:26There's no buyout signing you can make now.
00:32:28It's a wrap.
00:32:29It's over.
00:32:29This is who the team is.
00:32:30Yeah, they don't have.
00:32:31I wish the Knicks had more size on the bench.
00:32:33I think it's been good that the Knicks have played Mohamed Diawara throughout the season in the event that they
00:32:38do need him more in the postseason.
00:32:40He's still a rookie.
00:32:41They've also had to because Pukom Dottie ain't giving you shit.
00:32:45So.
00:32:46Yeah, but you know what?
00:32:47But you know what?
00:32:47It's a situation where Pukom Dottie hasn't given you a damn thing, but you found something in Mo Diawara.
00:32:54It is what it is.
00:32:55Yeah, one of them is playable.
00:32:57You're right.
00:33:00Where else is it coming from is my question.
00:33:02Where else is the size, athleticism that's playable in the playoffs coming from?
00:33:05It's just Will Diawara, and there are going to be times where in the playoffs he probably looks like a
00:33:09deer in headlights where it's like, can you actually play him in the playoffs?
00:33:13I know some Knicks fans think that he'll be ready, but look, it's the playoffs now.
00:33:18It's going to be different.
00:33:19If he didn't even play in this game against the Hawks last night, that tells you something.
00:33:22So I think with Clarkson's played well, as you mentioned, as of late.
00:33:27And if there's one thing we know about Mike Brown that we've gotten accustomed to throughout the season is just
00:33:33because you get DMPs now doesn't mean it's going to stay that way.
00:33:37Like he circles back to guys.
00:33:39He did it with Jordan Clarkson.
00:33:41He's probably going to do it with Jose Alvarado because he's going to need him again.
00:33:44And he circles back to guys even when they get stymied on the bench.
00:33:49Like he benched Tyler Kolek for a while, went back to him.
00:33:53Tyler Kolek's on the bench again.
00:33:55He's one of the guys where I'm not sure how much he's going to play beyond garbage time in the
00:33:58playoffs.
00:33:58But maybe, maybe, maybe he puts in Jose Alvarado in like a game two spot.
00:34:02Jose Alvarado isn't very good.
00:34:04And then in game four, he tries Tyler Kolek in a similar situation.
00:34:07It's like, you know what?
00:34:07I need a little bit more offense here anyway.
00:34:10So let's go with Kolek.
00:34:11Like he's shown the willingness to mix and match guys to not do the same thing every game.
00:34:17And I think this is going back to the comment.
00:34:19Like this is why I don't really agree with they had a winning formula in December and then they abandoned
00:34:24it.
00:34:24I don't agree with that either.
00:34:25I think they've shown that they can win in different ways because of regardless of what they've done, they've been
00:34:32a very good fourth quarter team.
00:34:34And I give Mike Brown credit.
00:34:36I'm not telling you he's the best coach of all time.
00:34:37I'm not even telling you he's better than Tom Thibodeau.
00:34:40But irrefutably, he's been better at fourth quarters this year than Tom Thibodeau was.
00:34:44Basically, any year Tom Thibodeau was with the Knicks.
00:34:47The best year that they had with Tom Thibodeau, they were plus one point.
00:34:51I think it was three in fourth quarters, 1.1, something like that.
00:34:54And they were third in the NBA.
00:34:56And that was two seasons ago.
00:34:57So this is before they got Kat.
00:34:59And then last year.
00:35:00But Brian, do you think that part of the reason that is to that point that you're making, which I
00:35:03think is a good one,
00:35:05part of the reason that they're better in fourth quarters this year has to do with how Mike Brown has
00:35:08managed the roster.
00:35:09Yeah, it's totally adaptability.
00:35:13It's totally adaptability because he's trying more things than Tom Thibodeau did.
00:35:17And it's working in fourth quarter.
00:35:19It's not working all the time.
00:35:20But in terms of closing and late in games and, you know, dominating the Spurs and coming back against Houston
00:35:25and finishing off Atlanta,
00:35:28Boston in the fourth quarter, like the way that they, shit, they killed them before that.
00:35:32At Philadelphia when he went small with a small lineup there.
00:35:34At your home to Houston when they came back with the 18-point deficit.
00:35:38Right.
00:35:39I haven't given out the road stat in a while because they've been better on the road as of late,
00:35:43too, you know,
00:35:44against good teams, Atlanta being one of them.
00:35:46So, yeah, I think the mixing and matching has actually been to their benefit.
00:35:49And I think we have a pretty good idea of who's going to play in the postseason for the most
00:35:55part.
00:35:56It's just figuring out the end of the rotation, like the 9-10 spot, maybe the 8-9-10, depending
00:36:02on how you want to see it.
00:36:03And I think it's going to be situational depending on the game, which Mike Brown wants to adapt to.
00:36:08There will be times where he does something and it backfires.
00:36:10It's inevitable as the playoffs.
00:36:11But that first round series, I think all this is going to be matchup dependent.
00:36:17So, we'll see who they play in the first round because that's going to determine, I think, how much we
00:36:21see Jose Alvarado,
00:36:23how much we see Mo DiIwara, if we see them at all, if we see Jeremy Sohan get a few
00:36:28minutes because of defense,
00:36:29if we see, you know, you better not see probably anybody else coming off this bench.
00:36:35Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
00:36:37Like, who are we talking about here?
00:36:39Like, now you're getting too deep.
00:36:40I think, yeah, Sohan's situational guy, DiIwara's situational guy.
00:36:45And Alvarado's been in multiple playoff series before.
00:36:48So, he's the guy that I think we're going to see at some point.
00:36:52I agree, too.
00:36:53It's just a matter of, like, if you're playing Clarkson and Alvarado and Deuce and Landry Shaman off the bench,
00:37:00like, you can't play all of those dudes in the playoffs.
00:37:03Like, it's just too small of a team coming off the bench.
00:37:05I wish they had more size, but they don't.
00:37:07Like, what do you want to do?
00:37:09And then some of the guys they have size-wise or either lack experience in Mohamed DiIwara
00:37:12or very limited offensively, Jeremy Sohan.
00:37:15And when I talk about Ariel Huckporty and, like, come on, that's break glass in case of emergency.
00:37:19Yeah.
00:37:20Like, you don't want to have to play Ariel Huckporty.
00:37:23No disrespect.
00:37:24No disrespect to Ariel Huckporty.
00:37:25If you have to play Ariel Huckporty, something has gone wrong.
00:37:28That means Mitchell Robinson's hurt or Kat's in foul trouble.
00:37:31Yes.
00:37:31Basically.
00:37:32Something has gone wrong.
00:37:33You don't want that.
00:37:33All right, move on to the next question.
00:37:35At Smooth Guitar says, salute.
00:37:38Salute Smooth Guitar.
00:37:39I like the name.
00:37:40That's a great name.
00:37:41Knicks are most definitely built for the playoffs but not ready to win at all.
00:37:45If Mo DiIwara, who just talked about him, was a little further along, I'd be more confident.
00:37:48It would seem the Villanova boys aren't ready to trust Carl.
00:37:52I'm not certain Coach Brown is in charge of the offense, let alone defense.
00:37:55We need another good player here.
00:37:57And this was in the episode responding that Monica McNutt was on.
00:38:00It says, Monica is a jewel in the MSG crown.
00:38:02We finally got a good one.
00:38:03Yes, Monica is a jewel.
00:38:05Salute to the great Monica McNutt, the good friend there.
00:38:12Look, I don't know what people sometimes need to see out of coaching.
00:38:19Because I think so much of people.
00:38:22Wins.
00:38:22Well, here's the thing.
00:38:23Ultimately, it's wins.
00:38:25Okay.
00:38:26Let's say that.
00:38:27Wins is what you should need to see.
00:38:30I think some people, not you, Brian.
00:38:32I think sometimes people judge coaches off of their perception of their personality.
00:38:36Right?
00:38:37And I said this the other day in the show, and I'm bringing this up here again.
00:38:40You were sitting next to me when this person I'm about to bring up said this.
00:38:44Last year in the playoffs, we did a playoff game.
00:38:48I don't remember which round it was.
00:38:49Kavitha Davidson, good friend of the show, was on with us.
00:38:52And she used the word malleability about Tom Thibodeau.
00:38:55And I thought it's so interesting we're talking about Mike Brown.
00:38:58And I think Mike Brown's biggest skill, I think sometimes people, they like the rah-rah coach.
00:39:02They like the defensive-minded coach that Tom Thibodeau was.
00:39:04They like the energy that was around him.
00:39:07Mike Brown is maybe a little bit more my energy speed in terms of like, just, yo, you got to
00:39:13chill.
00:39:13You got to figure some things out.
00:39:15I think we've heard a lot of words through this mailbag already.
00:39:17Formula.
00:39:18I don't think there's, I think formula, having a formula makes people safe and comfortable.
00:39:24But I don't think it's necessarily conducive to winning in the way people think.
00:39:27What I think you want more is the word Kavitha used.
00:39:29You want more malleability.
00:39:30You want more adjustability, flexibility, that you're not rigid to this one thing.
00:39:36To Brian's point that he just mentioned here.
00:39:38What you should want to see at the end of the day is wins.
00:39:41Right?
00:39:42I don't know how we judge that Coach Brown is not in charge of the offense, let alone the defense.
00:39:48The Knicks offense is fine.
00:39:49It's the top five offense.
00:39:50It has cratered a little bit since January.
00:39:52There have been some things I've been concerned about with that.
00:39:55The defense you saw get improved.
00:39:57And he's made switches to the defense in January when they were terrible, which right now, by the way, defense.
00:40:04What did you say?
00:40:05Seventh right now.
00:40:06Seventh right now.
00:40:06Yeah.
00:40:07He took a defense that was terrible in the middle of the season, made switches to what was better and
00:40:13conducive for the team, which again, that's malleability.
00:40:16That's what you should want out of your coach.
00:40:18He could have said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:40:19We're going to do it my way.
00:40:20This is how it's been working for us.
00:40:21We need to do it.
00:40:22It's not working.
00:40:23No, he changed.
00:40:24I think that's a very underrated part of this Knicks season.
00:40:28Hugely underrated part of this Knicks season.
00:40:29Mike Brown talked to his players, his coaching staff.
00:40:31He listened.
00:40:32He adjusted.
00:40:32The defense got incredibly better.
00:40:34They are now a top 10 defense.
00:40:35What have I been saying since the beginning of the season, Brian?
00:40:38The Knicks won a real chance to compete in the title.
00:40:40They got to be somewhere between top eight to 10 defense.
00:40:42They are seven now.
00:40:43They're seven, and they've been in the top 10 for a while.
00:40:46And again, I'll remind people, every team in NBA history who's won a title basically has been a top 11
00:40:54defense, except for, and these are the two recent examples, the second of the Lakers three-peat, where they had
00:41:01Shaquille O'Neal, best player in the world, and the Denver Nuggets championship team, where they had Nicole Jokic, best
00:41:06player in the world.
00:41:07And also, asterisk on both of those rankings, just because Shaq missed a bunch of games, and also Nikola Jokic
00:41:17and the Denver Nuggets were a top 10 defense toward the end of the season.
00:41:20It was like the second half of the year.
00:41:22They figured it out.
00:41:23They got their, like Aaron Gordon was really, really good.
00:41:26They figured some things out down the stretch.
00:41:28But the Knicks this year, third in offense, fourth, not fourth, third in offense, fifth in net rating, seventh in
00:41:34defense.
00:41:35And they have a lot of big wins against fellow contenders, except for basically the Pistons and Thunder.
00:41:42So they have a resume.
00:41:44Now, the first part of that comment where he says, I think, what was it exactly?
00:41:50I think they're ready to win, but not ready to win the championship.
00:41:52He said, Nick's most definitely built for the playoffs, but not ready to win it all.
00:41:56That's what he said.
00:41:57So I probably agree with that part.
00:42:01I'd be surprised if they won the title.
00:42:04I think they can get to the finals.
00:42:05They're talented enough to get to the finals.
00:42:07I also think they're maddeningly inconsistent enough to lose in the second round, flawed enough to lose in the second
00:42:13round.
00:42:13And it's also a testament to how good I think the Pistons and Celtics are, because they would likely see
00:42:17one of those teams in the second round.
00:42:18That being said, they have the talent to get to the finals.
00:42:22I'd be surprised if they beat the Thunder in the championship series.
00:42:28Well, see, now you're going to the part where I agree with you.
00:42:32If the Knicks played the Thunder right now in the finals, granted, they've had two pretty competitive games against the
00:42:38Thunder this year, which you can't say again about Detroit.
00:42:41I would not pick the Knicks to win that.
00:42:44However, and I'm with you, I think they can get to the finals.
00:42:47And I do also think the Vamages, they could lose in the second round.
00:42:50I agree with you.
00:42:50However, I could see a world in which the Knicks got to the finals and they played Denver or they
00:42:56played San Antonio.
00:42:57If they lost, that would be disappointing.
00:42:59It's more interesting.
00:43:00I actually think the Spurs would surprise me just because I get it, like Webby's unprecedented, but like y'all
00:43:06are going to get into the playoffs this first time and just beat everybody, like win three rounds in a
00:43:10row.
00:43:10I don't see it either, but here's the thing, if the Knicks, if they got there and the Knicks faced
00:43:15them, I like the Knicks in that matchup.
00:43:17I like that matchup for the Knicks.
00:43:18I think the Spurs are a good matchup for the Knicks.
00:43:20I weirdly like that matchup more than the Denver one because I think Denver now, because Jokic was recently returned
00:43:29last night.
00:43:30We saw them, I feel like more shorthanded and they lost Jamal Murray in that game.
00:43:34Now there'll be a lot of points because Denver has problems guarding this Knicks team, but Denver that we saw,
00:43:40the Denver that we saw against the Spurs and that we've seen a little bit more recently.
00:43:44Like, yeah, I think, I think both those finals would be fun.
00:43:47I actually wouldn't probably feel good if you're a Knicks fans in both those matchups.
00:43:51Right.
00:43:52So to me, it's about San Antonio and Denver.
00:43:53Yeah.
00:43:54To me, it's about, if you get to the finals, I guess what we're really saying here, and this is
00:43:57where I kind of agree with smooth on this.
00:44:00It's like, yes, I think they're ready for the playoffs, built for the playoffs.
00:44:03I think their continuity matters.
00:44:04I think they're being battle tested matters, all this stuff.
00:44:07We're kind of really saying get to the finals and hope you don't play OKC.
00:44:11That's kind of what we're saying here, right?
00:44:13Because if that happens, I think you feel a lot better about that.
00:44:16And I think that's not saying that we don't believe in the Knicks.
00:44:18That's just how much respect we have for OKC.
00:44:20DJ Stewart made the same point in the last episode.
00:44:22We know how damn good OKC is and how good their roster is and just how many good two-way
00:44:27players they have.
00:44:28Now, the Knicks, I think there's something to be taken for the fact that they've been competitive in the games
00:44:32they've played OKC this season.
00:44:35OKC has out-executed them down the stretch in both of those.
00:44:38They're doing it for everybody.
00:44:39Like, championship teams do.
00:44:41This is what happens.
00:44:42So, for me, a lot of it is like, yeah, I do agree with smooth guitar on this.
00:44:48We'll see.
00:44:49I think winning it all matters on who they see in the finals.
00:44:51Yeah, and if you think that's what I'll say.
00:44:53And net rating is usually a barometer people use historically to measure, like, who the actual best teams in the
00:44:58NBA are during the season.
00:45:00OKC is plus 11.7.
00:45:02They're number one with the fucking bullet.
00:45:04Like, the Spurs are second at plus 8.3, which makes sense.
00:45:08And Boston at plus 8.1.
00:45:09Boston, who just got Jason Tatum.
00:45:13You know, so that series, I don't think it's going to be the same Celtics-Knicks series from last year.
00:45:19I think the Knicks could win it, but Boston is playing a little differently now, and I think it's better
00:45:23defensively, given that Drew and Portzingis and Al Horford were all cooked.
00:45:28Detroit, plus 7.8.
00:45:30Miss Kay for a little bit.
00:45:31They've dropped to fourth.
00:45:32The Knicks are fifth.
00:45:33They're plus 6.6.
00:45:35You know what I mean?
00:45:35And that feels like, if you tell me these are the best five teams in the league, best position to
00:45:40win the title, Denver, I think, should get up there a little bit more.
00:45:45But those are probably the top six teams in the league right now.
00:45:48Denver is plus 4.8, by the way, eighth, right behind Houston at seven, and Charlotte at six.
00:45:55Denver is eighth, but also that's because Jokic missed a bunch of time.
00:45:58And if Jokic did miss a bunch of time, they're probably where the Knicks are, if not higher than that,
00:46:04because Jokic means that much.
00:46:06I agree.
00:46:06I think the Knicks are one of the best six teams in the league.
00:46:09So if you're one of the best six teams, you typically have a shot.
00:46:12You got a shot to win the championship.
00:46:13I agree.
00:46:14All right.
00:46:15Moving on.
00:46:15Next question.
00:46:17All right.
00:46:17Here we go.
00:46:18Oh, this came from that very fun episode we did, our last episode in studio together, where we ranked the
00:46:26most favorable first.
00:46:28First round opponents or not.
00:46:30And this is from Noah Biniam, LL4BR.
00:46:34This is a Sixers fan?
00:46:37Says, no.
00:46:38Okay.
00:46:39Says, I haven't watched the video, but I'm going to give you my list.
00:46:42I like this.
00:46:42He was like, I don't watch the video.
00:46:45Damn.
00:46:45We try to.
00:46:46Yo, the economy's rough out here.
00:46:47You know what I mean?
00:46:48We're trying to.
00:46:50But hey, he engaged.
00:46:51We appreciate the engagement.
00:46:52We appreciate it.
00:46:53He said.
00:46:54Hopefully he went back and watched the video.
00:46:56I hope so.
00:46:57We hope you went back and watched Noah.
00:46:59He said one Raptors, two Hawks.
00:47:03Easiest to toughest.
00:47:05Now, I also want to be clear.
00:47:06This is 11 days ago and want to know.
00:47:10This is easiest to toughest playoff opponent, basically.
00:47:12Right.
00:47:12He says three 76ers, four Hornets, five Heat, and six Magic.
00:47:19Okay.
00:47:19And he said, and mind you, these are the six teams that are still able to get in the play
00:47:24and possibly the top six.
00:47:25But first thing, I don't want Orlando because their physicality could tire this team out.
00:47:29Secondly, I would want Toronto in a two versus seven matchup.
00:47:32We've owned them all season.
00:47:33And then Atlanta, I wouldn't mind, but they are a really good team.
00:47:36Philly.
00:47:37If Embiid is healthy alongside Maxie and George, I don't know.
00:47:40But Embiid has proven he can't stay healthy.
00:47:42I wouldn't mind them.
00:47:43And Miami would spell.
00:47:44He's kind of tricky.
00:47:45He's had lots of experience.
00:47:46This list, by the way, is from easiest to most difficult.
00:47:48Let me know if this list is valid.
00:47:51Honestly, great analysis.
00:47:53I support this.
00:47:54I don't know if I agree with the ranking, obviously, because I had a different ranking.
00:47:57But I like the thought that was put into it.
00:47:59The thoughtfulness that was put into how you came to that conclusion.
00:48:02Also, worth mentioning on the Magic, although they've been shaky lately.
00:48:07But Franz Wagner is back.
00:48:10Okay.
00:48:11He's still ramping up, but he is back.
00:48:14Like, that's important because Orlando also hasn't quite figured out the Paolo Franz thing together.
00:48:21But in the playoffs, like, they did push Cleveland to seven two years ago.
00:48:25And then last year, they were very injured and played against Boston.
00:48:28But, like, they actually played Boston pretty well during the season, at least from a defensive standpoint.
00:48:34So, I still like the ceiling of Orlando and what they could be.
00:48:38It just doesn't feel like this is going to be the year to reach it because of the inconsistencies and
00:48:43the injuries.
00:48:45And I think I wouldn't.
00:48:48Again, Orlando was high on my list because I would not be thrilled in playing that physicality.
00:48:54I think Orlando matches up pretty well with the Knicks from the standpoint of they can bother them and push
00:48:58this to six.
00:48:59And if you're not careful, seven.
00:49:02I just have questions about a lot of things, including what the hell they've been doing all season.
00:49:09And why are they struggling for the play-in when a lot of people thought, including myself, that they could
00:49:14be a top four seed with home court in the first round.
00:49:16Yeah, they're, they're, now, listen, the playing race is so crazy right now.
00:49:22It's so crazy.
00:49:23This is why Brian has anxiety.
00:49:25The Orlando Magic are ninth.
00:49:26They are, there's still two games.
00:49:28They're tied for seventh, to be clear, with Philly and Charlotte.
00:49:31They're tied for seventh, yeah.
00:49:32But they're two games out of fifth behind the Hawks, right?
00:49:35Like, they can still jump up.
00:49:36Half a game out of sixth behind the Raptors.
00:49:38It's ridiculous.
00:49:39It's crazy.
00:49:40The Heat are, you know, they're three and a half games out of fifth.
00:49:43I think fifth is a long shot for them.
00:49:45But they still could get out.
00:49:46They still get to the high end of the play-in or out.
00:49:49So it's still possible.
00:49:49The Heat play the Raptors.
00:49:52Raptors twice, back-to-back.
00:49:53Tonight and Thursday in Toronto.
00:49:55They've lost the first two in Miami against them.
00:49:57And I think Toronto might have been shorthanded for one or both of those games.
00:50:00So they got a baseball series this week.
00:50:01And they played them back-to-back.
00:50:03It's not a home at and home.
00:50:05It's two games in Toronto.
00:50:07So two games in the sixth.
00:50:09And the Heat are there.
00:50:10That might be the big swing in this whole thing.
00:50:13And really also even impact who the Knicks can play.
00:50:16If the Knicks are staying at three, there's a lot.
00:50:19At the end of Thursday night, and to let everybody know Thursday night, we are doing a post-game
00:50:23live show after the Celtics game.
00:50:25There's a lot that we're going to be talking about with the seeding implications after Thursday
00:50:28night.
00:50:29Thursday night is going to be a fun night.
00:50:30And there's a lot that Brian and I will be talking about on the post-game show.
00:50:34I will say, Brian, I agree with you.
00:50:35I think we got to give credit here to our guy, Noah.
00:50:39I do think my list was a little different than yours.
00:50:42I know you didn't have the Hornets as high as Brian did.
00:50:47But I do like your thought process through this.
00:50:51I think I might.
00:50:53Atlanta, I have a lot of respect for it.
00:50:55I like your list.
00:50:55I like your list.
00:50:56You know, I had the Heat higher.
00:50:58The Heat still scared me because it's Folstra.
00:51:00I hear you on the magic and the physicality.
00:51:03The 76ers, I think, are appropriately placed in the middle as a wild card because we don't
00:51:07know what you're going to get with health with them.
00:51:08No, I like your list, man.
00:51:09Yeah, I think I think your list I think your list is valid.
00:51:15I think it's a valid list, man.
00:51:16I agree 100 percent.
00:51:18Like I said, even in an episode, because somebody was getting on us about our disrespect to the
00:51:23Sixers.
00:51:24And I said, look, if you told me they were healthy and we're going to be healthy, they
00:51:28would be the toughest matchup like out of everybody there.
00:51:31But I just don't I just haven't quite seen that.
00:51:34And then Charlotte did lose back to back against Philly and Boston at home immediately after
00:51:41that.
00:51:41The Philly one was complete bullshit.
00:51:44Philly had an outlier shooting performance.
00:51:47Joel Embiid grifted his way to a couple fouls late in the game.
00:51:50Charlotte struggled in close games this year.
00:51:52As good as they've been, close games are still their Achilles heel.
00:51:54And they bounced back with recently a really big road win in Minnesota, like stomped them
00:52:01out.
00:52:02Granted, no Anthony Edwards, but still Charlotte also plays Boston tonight in Boston.
00:52:09Boston doesn't need the game.
00:52:10They're about locked in second.
00:52:12They're not completely yet, but they're they're about there.
00:52:15So there's nothing on the injury report.
00:52:18So it appears that Boston is going to take this one seriously.
00:52:20And there's a chance that these two teams play each other in round one.
00:52:23So if you're a Knicks fan, you got to have your eye on Heat Raptors, Hornets, Celtics.
00:52:28That's on Tuesday night.
00:52:30And then there's more throughout the week.
00:52:32Wednesday, the Hawks just played the Knicks.
00:52:34The Hawks are going to play the Cavs on Wednesday because all these teams are going to be basically
00:52:40playing each other.
00:52:40Obviously, Miami is going to play Toronto again on Thursday.
00:52:44So that's another game to look out for.
00:52:45Obviously, Knicks, Celtics.
00:52:47The Sixers play the Rockets, by the way, that same night that the Knicks.
00:52:50They play the Celtics on Thursday.
00:52:51So I guarantee we're going to be touching on that in some form or fashion in postgame
00:52:55because we're going to have to scoreboard watch, look around.
00:52:58Oh, yeah, it's going to be fun.
00:52:59Thursday night is going to be fun, man.
00:53:00It's going to be fun.
00:53:01All right, let's let's move on.
00:53:02Pistons, Hornets, by the way, is another one Friday to look out for.
00:53:05Yeah.
00:53:05And Pistons, we've wrapped up the one seed.
00:53:08Not much to play for.
00:53:09Oh, the Cavs and Hawks have a baseball series.
00:53:11I didn't realize that.
00:53:12I didn't realize that either.
00:53:13A couple baseball series near the end of season.
00:53:16They go.
00:53:16It's a home and home, though.
00:53:17Wednesday.
00:53:18Okay.
00:53:18So home and home series.
00:53:19Okay, so we'll see there.
00:53:20All right.
00:53:20Moving on to the next comment as we wrap up here.
00:53:24This is our last one.
00:53:25Yeah, go ahead.
00:53:26No, no, no.
00:53:26That was it.
00:53:27Oh, sorry.
00:53:27I thought you said something.
00:53:28Our last one comes from at John Hawthorne, 4249.
00:53:32This was six days ago.
00:53:34Jaden Ivey is a perfect compliment for the Knicks.
00:53:37No, no.
00:53:37Hope he sues the Bulls and the NBA are violating his civil rights.
00:53:42Yo, Tommy, man.
00:53:44Yo, shout out to my producer, Tommy.
00:53:45Wait, what was that comment?
00:53:47What did it say?
00:53:47The last part.
00:53:49Hope he sues the Bulls and the NBA for violating his civil rights.
00:53:53Did they?
00:53:56Like, here's the thing.
00:53:58You talk about the act of 1964 where you can't be fired from a job based on your religious beliefs.
00:54:03I'm here to tell you he was not fired from his job based on religious beliefs.
00:54:07A lot of NBA players believe in God, man.
00:54:09A lot of athletes believe in God.
00:54:11It wasn't that.
00:54:12He reportedly was disruptive in the locker room.
00:54:16Let me just say this.
00:54:18Yeah.
00:54:18Has anybody seen what Jaden Ivey has been posting in these social media streets lately?
00:54:24Have you seen what he's been posting?
00:54:26And I'm saying this with seriousness.
00:54:28I don't know exactly what's going on or anything that's going on.
00:54:31Jaden Ivey right now seems, and I say this with all the seriousness, seems like he needs help.
00:54:36I mean, I don't know exactly what's going on.
00:54:38I don't want to try to diagnose about mental health.
00:54:40I don't want to agree with that, supposedly, according to the results.
00:54:42But it doesn't look, he does not look well.
00:54:48And I think that the Bulls are around him now.
00:54:50I don't know if the Bulls tried to get him help, but if he was a disruption to the team,
00:54:55not for what he was saying, but how he's acting.
00:54:57And again, we have to take mental health seriously in this society.
00:55:02And again, I'm not diagnosing or saying anything here, but the actions that we've been seeing looks for somebody that
00:55:07is not well right now.
00:55:09And so first and foremost, I say all that to say, I hope Jaden Ivey can get the help that
00:55:15he needs and gets well.
00:55:16He's had videos where he's, you know, talking on camera.
00:55:20He's putting his wife on camera who clearly doesn't want to be there on Instagram Live and saying all this
00:55:24stuff.
00:55:24And, you know, I don't care about this.
00:55:26It's not about religion.
00:55:26It's the same thing about that.
00:55:27We should care about people, first of all.
00:55:29So Jaden Ivey can't help in the Knicks.
00:55:31Jaden Ivey right now has to help him help himself.
00:55:36Before we even talk about whether Jaden Ivey is, I think it's ridiculous for me to sit here and talk
00:55:41about Jaden Ivey and how he could be a fit for the Knicks when clearly he needs help personally.
00:55:46I'm not going to talk about whether I think Jaden Ivey needs to help the Knicks right now.
00:55:51I think, one, that would be a situation for next year if that was even to come about.
00:55:56And you can't add Jaden Ivey to a playoff roster.
00:55:59And, two, like, again, Jaden Ivey's got a lot more going on that I think is much more important than
00:56:03helping the Knicks right now.
00:56:05He's also not fixing your small guard or shooting problem.
00:56:09Look, I've mentioned last year Jaden Ivey was very good last season.
00:56:15About 18 points a game, 40% from three.
00:56:17Outlier shooting performance, but it was on a reasonable sample.
00:56:21It was about half a year.
00:56:22After he went down with a bad injury, knee injury, was out for the rest of the season, I think
00:56:27would have helped against the Knicks in that playoff series.
00:56:29I've been on record saying that.
00:56:30Him and Isaiah Stewart being healthy could have probably pushed that to the seventh game given the nature of how
00:56:35close that series was.
00:56:37And he comes into this season, I actually liked him as a sneaky most improved player candidate.
00:56:42Then he got hurt again.
00:56:44And then he was just never the same after that.
00:56:47Like, he lost the spot to Dennis Jenkins, essentially.
00:56:49Dennis Jenkins made him expendable.
00:56:52And from there, Jaden Ivey even was on record saying, like, he's not, he's not, like, the old J.I.
00:56:57is dead.
00:56:58His own words.
00:56:58He's not going to be that guy anymore.
00:57:00Like, he, it appears his leg is maybe damaged to the point of, like, him ever reaching that level as
00:57:07a player again.
00:57:08And it didn't help that all of this happens and he's on the last year of a deal.
00:57:14He's headed for restricted free agency.
00:57:16Yep.
00:57:16And the Bulls probably weren't going to keep him anyway, given that he can't seem to play consistently well anymore.
00:57:22So, he's going to be a free agent anyway.
00:57:25So, it's not like, like, if, from a business standpoint, if he was on the second year of a four
00:57:31-year rookie scale contract, maybe they don't waive him.
00:57:34Maybe just, they just declined a fourth-year option as you're, as you're able to do during the summer.
00:57:40And then you figure out a way to buy him out, get rid of him, trade him somewhere else.
00:57:44But because he was heading toward free agency, they got rid of him.
00:57:47So, I also think it's a combination of things.
00:57:50It's the Bulls, as the Bulls would say, him being a distraction, him not being a productive player anymore, him
00:57:55not being someone that they're going to retain before it's anything else.
00:57:59So, no, I don't think they've released him because he believes in God, because a lot of NBA players believe
00:58:04in God.
00:58:04And some other athletes, frankly, co-signed some of the things he said, which we're not going to unpack here,
00:58:10but we can.
00:58:12I'm not.
00:58:13Perhaps at a different time.
00:58:16But, yeah, Jaden Ivey and basketball don't seem like two things that are going to go together in the not
00:58:22-so-distant future.
00:58:23So, no.
00:58:24And, frankly, I don't think there's anybody that the Knicks are signing right now where it's like, yeah, you're going
00:58:28to insert them in the middle of a potential run to the NBA Finals or back to the Conference Finals.
00:58:34Or whatever it is.
00:58:35And Jaden Ivey would not be high on that list if we're talking about adding guys at this point anyway.
00:58:39No, I don't think so.
00:58:41I don't really have much more to add with that.
00:58:44But that brings us to the end of this mailbag.
00:58:47We thank everybody for their questions.
00:58:48The final mailbag of the regular season here on New York Got Game for the New York Knicks.
00:58:52I'm sure you guys are going to have plenty of questions.
00:58:54And we will take them probably between playoff series and before the playoffs.
00:58:58But who knows?
00:58:58We might do another mailbag before the playoffs.
00:59:00You might have some more questions.
00:59:01Maybe we'll do it.
00:59:02We'll have time to do a lot of that.
00:59:03It's about to get real busy for New York Got Game.
00:59:06A lot of content coming your way, getting better.
00:59:09Should be back in the studio soon.
00:59:11Watch parties coming up as well, too, for myself and Brian.
00:59:15So we appreciate everybody with the questions and comments.
00:59:17If you have more questions and comments, please put them here in the chat.
00:59:21Let us know what you think about the Knicks' seeding playoff run.
00:59:25Tapping with us on Thursday night after the Celtics game for a post-game live show.
00:59:29Myself and Brian will be hosting that.
00:59:31That should be a lot of fun, doing a lot of scoreboard watching.
00:59:34And we will see.
00:59:34We're going to check in on Brian's anxiety level at that time.
00:59:38Because what I'm hearing from Brian right now is it sounds like he's about at a 7.
00:59:42You know what I'm saying?
00:59:42So we don't know where he might be on Thursday.
00:59:45Maybe Thursday he's come down a little bit and it's at like a 5.
00:59:48Who knows?
00:59:49Brian's anxious about these playoff seedings.
00:59:51So we'll see how all that goes.
00:59:53He's Brian Fonseca.
00:59:55I'm Dexter Henry.
00:59:56We'll catch you next time on another edition of New York Got Game.
00:59:59Peace.
01:00:01And thanks for watching New York Got Game.
01:00:05Boobashakalaka.
01:00:07Boobashakalaka.
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