00:00You guys read the front page, route of this world, Nick Storm into second round in historic
00:05140-89 win over Atlanta, but flip it to the back page, Nick's look unstoppable in historic
00:12romp.
00:13Is NBA finals or bust, ladies and gentlemen, let's talk all things Nick's with Jeff Johnson
00:19of Nick's Film School.
00:20Jeff, I see you smiling, man, like I ain't seen that type of magic in Atlanta since the
00:25last time I went to Magic City, but we ain't gonna talk about that.
00:29Let's talk about that impressive playoff win last night.
00:32You're a New York fan, you're diehard New York of nowhere.
00:36Is that the most impressive Nick's postseason win that you have seen since birth?
00:43Yeah, I think anybody else, unless you saw something, you're of an advanced age and you
00:49were around for the 70s and the 60s and the 50s and there was something more impressive
00:53than that, you could call it.
00:54But I don't think any Nick fan in the modern era could disagree that this was the most
01:00dominant, perfect playoff game I've ever seen the Knicks play.
01:05And I thought the closeout game against the Celtics was impressive in game six when they
01:10completely annihilated them by 38.
01:12But this was the masterclass of all masterclasses.
01:16You want to talk about a historic belt, Gucci, Louis, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, you name
01:25it, no one did it like the Knicks last night, Brandon.
01:28And we literally witnessed history.
01:31Like there's so many records that were set that we could be here for five hours.
01:37But what I tell you, one of the most impressive things that I saw, play-by-play era, regular
01:42season or playoffs, we've played about 38,000 games since 96, 97.
01:48This is the first time that a road team has scored 100 before the home team scored 50.
01:56And what's even worse, Brandon, is when they hit that mark, the Hawks had 40.
02:02At one point, this game was 101 to 40.
02:04A 60-point decimation in the third quarter.
02:10Like the adjustment at halftime was for Quinn Snyder to look down, don't have Dyson Daniels
02:17because he gets ejected.
02:19Look down, look Zachary Sashay in the eye and say, all right there, Gordon, you in.
02:24The number one pick who was glued to the bench.
02:27This is what he was relegated to.
02:30This was a complete annihilation and they made it look so effortless.
02:35That was probably the word of the day for me, effortless.
02:39OG Ananobi, I looked at behind him on that eight on his back.
02:44I was expecting to see Bryant, not Ananobi, on his back, the way he was cooking.
02:48And Cat, Brandon, he scored one field goal.
02:52He took four more shots than me or you last night in the game.
02:57It had a triple-double.
02:59It had a triple-double.
03:01This was the final form of the Knicks that I think the front office, Leon Rose, Worldwide West,
03:08that the coaching staff, this is like the ceiling that you thought they could reach.
03:11And they completely broke the Hawks' spirit.
03:14It was as perfect a basketball game as you could play.
03:17You talked about Leon Rose, Worldwide West.
03:20You mentioned Cat.
03:21You had a lot of names right there, but there's one name you left out, and that's Mike Brown.
03:28And I got to ask you, do you think that Mike Brown deserves flowers for the adjustments he made after
03:34the Game 2 and Game 3 losses?
03:36And just to throw a little something in there because we are content creators, we got to move the needle
03:42a little bit.
03:43You think Tibbs would have rallied that team down 2-1?
03:47So, I'll answer your second question first.
03:51Maybe unpopular opinion, I don't think Tibbs is down 2-1 in this series.
03:56Okay.
03:57Because that Game 2 tricked-off game was so inexplicable.
04:02First of all, Tibbs would not have had a lineup without one of Brunson or Cat on the floor ever,
04:09ever in life, right?
04:11Unless it was a major blowout.
04:14And the fact that those lineups were able to play, they, Kamingo was guarding Cat,
04:21and they decided that he was Wembe Yama and didn't want to even feed Cat the ball down the stretch.
04:26There were deliberate decisions that were made that contributed to that collapse.
04:33So, I don't think Tibbs would have been down.
04:35Now, on the flip side, Mike Brown, I do think he deserves flowers for collaborating with his team,
04:42going back to the drawing board and saying, hey, are there actions or strategies that I'm trying to save?
04:47Am I trying to brute force my way through this series?
04:50Hey, you know what, maybe it's time that I take advantage of the biggest mismatch on the court,
04:58literally and figuratively, in Karl-Anthony Towns, and we start running offense through him.
05:03It takes a lot.
05:04You can be stubborn in your ways, and a lot of coaches are like that,
05:07where my way or the highway, I know the right way.
05:10Mike Brown has shown a level of humility where he'll keep it real and say,
05:14yo, this coach is kicking my ass right now.
05:16I'm not really meeting the moment.
05:18But he'll also make the adjustment.
05:20And that was one of the major points that was highlighted when he was hired,
05:25that they wanted coaches that weren't going to wait until the back was against the wall
05:30and the rent was due to make a major move.
05:33You got to make the move early, ahead of time.
05:37You got to make those moves.
05:38And he did it.
05:38And what we saw was a three-game stretch of pure dominance where they held the Hawks under 90 points,
05:48under 100 points in game four through six, under 90 in game six, plus 105 point differential,
05:56which is the largest in the play-by-play era.
05:58And Brandon, this was a six-game series, a six-game series where the two wins were by one,
06:06and the average margin of victory was like 25.
06:09So I do think you got to give Mike Brown a measure of credit for reading the room,
06:14understanding, hey, there is a talent discrepancy here that makes this current one-two deficit unacceptable,
06:23and we need to get back to basics.
06:25And he was able to do it, and kudos to the players as well for meeting the moment
06:30and raising their level and saying, we are going to take care of business.
06:34We're not messing around with these Hawks.
06:36We're going to break their spirit.
06:38We're going to ensure that they know there are levels to this,
06:41and we're getting out of this first round.
06:43I'm glad you brought up the adjustments Mike Brown made
06:46because after that game five win at the Garden,
06:49I had asked him in the post-game media availability,
06:52what's the balance between listening to a core group of veterans,
06:57listening to their opinions, and making adjustments versus you being the head coach,
07:03and it's like a my way versus the highway type thing.
07:06And he basically said, I got an open-door policy.
07:08I'm going to listen to those guys.
07:09I want the opinions.
07:11He says, at the end of the day, I have to make the final decision as head coach,
07:15but he has a group of veterans, a core group of veterans that he trusts
07:19and that he knows is going to make the right decisions,
07:23and they're going to voice his opinion.
07:25So, yeah, I'm with that, bro, because I like coaches like that.
07:29You don't just come in there and just be like, it's my way or the highway.
07:32We're going to keep trying to force this circle down a square opening.
07:37Mike Brown showed that, like you said, that humility, man,
07:40and humility wins championships.
07:43Now it's time to look ahead because I've heard everything from we want Boston
07:48to bleep Philly chants.
07:50That series is going to go to a game seven.
07:53Who do you think Knicks fans want the most in the second round?
07:58Celtics, the Sixers, and why?
08:00Break down a better matchup for us.
08:03Yeah, so I think if you're talking from a fan perspective,
08:06you probably want Boston.
08:07Because after last year, you heard a variety of excuses.
08:13Hey, they lost Tatum in game four as if they weren't on their way to losing that one
08:17and blowing multiple double-digit leads throughout the entire series.
08:22There's been tons of caveats made.
08:24The Celtics have plot armor unlike few teams in the league
08:29where once Jason Tatum came back, that was the narrative.
08:32Hey, Tatum looks like Tatum.
08:33They've got to be the team to beat.
08:35Meanwhile, we watch this game of three-point variance theater
08:39and the hubris of this team to continue to take threes and play their game
08:43and say, hey, if we win, we win, we lose, we lose.
08:46They lost like that last year.
08:47And I think fans would love the opportunity to knock the Celtics out.
08:52One, because it's Boston.
08:53And two, to further the point of, hey, last year wasn't a fluke.
08:57This year, our team is even better and your team arguably is worse.
09:02So let's match up again.
09:04You got your squad, we got our squad, and let's see what's up,
09:07and we like our chances.
09:08And I think if you ask the Knicks, you give them some truth serum,
09:10they don't fear those guys at all.
09:12This team was constructed with the directive to beat the Celtics.
09:17And like no other team, they are uniquely equipped with the wings,
09:21with Cat as a stretch five and a major mismatch,
09:25with Brunson as the closer, and with the deep bench.
09:28They are uniquely constructed to beat the Celtics.
09:30On the other end, with the Sixers, for travel purposes,
09:34I think Knicks fans would love it.
09:3590 minutes away, you could go to, I was about to call it Market Square.
09:39You can go to Xfinity.
09:41I think that's the new sponsor.
09:42To their arena, and you can get probably a cheaper ticket than the Garden.
09:47You can travel with the squad.
09:49New York versus Philly is always fun.
09:51I do think those guys are playing with a higher level of confidence,
09:55and Embiid is also back and looking good.
09:57I think it would be a fun series.
09:58I didn't fear the Sixers at full strength before,
10:01and I don't fear them now.
10:03If I'm the Celtics and the Sixers,
10:04I'm probably looking at each other like,
10:06damn, maybe we should have got out of here in five or six,
10:08because this other team looks dominant.
10:11And I think either way,
10:13it's not so much what's the better matchup for the Knicks,
10:16it's which other team is going to bring their A game against them.
10:21Who do you think they match up with?
10:22Because I think between the Sixers and the Celtics,
10:25they have counters for whatever those teams run.
10:29And they should be the favorite in the second round.
10:32You talk about the way this roster is constructed.
10:35Do you,
10:36when you add the fact that the way they adjusted,
10:40regroup,
10:40and just completely reloaded to win that Hawks series,
10:44are the Knicks the best team in the East?
10:47I think if you look at the results right now,
10:49you'd have to say they're the favorite.
10:52We don't know what's going to happen with Detroit and Orlando.
10:55The Cavs and the Raptors looks like a series that's going to be going towards seven games.
11:00Celtics and Sixers,
11:01they're already gearing up for seven.
11:02And I think when you look at the way in which these teams have been going about their business,
11:08the Knicks made a statement,
11:10three straight wins,
11:11first time since Jalen Brunson's been a Knick,
11:13that the Knicks have won a series where they trailed.
11:16So they are achieving things that they haven't achieved before in this current era of Knicks basketball.
11:22And they are meeting the moment in terms of meeting expectations.
11:27This shouldn't be shocking.
11:30This shouldn't be unexpected.
11:32They were supposed to be here.
11:33They were supposed to be the team in the East.
11:36They were supposed to be a team focused on getting to the finals.
11:40So I don't think it's out of the ordinary to say,
11:45yeah,
11:46this team is the best team currently right now.
11:49And they have the best shot to get to the finals.
11:53I think these other teams are going to have to step their game up because where their flaws are loud,
11:58the Knicks look like they're shoring up whatever fissures they have on their side and they're peaking at the right
12:04time.
12:04We're pleased.
12:06We're not satisfied.
12:07They can't do any more of this boneheaded blowing games and losing games at home.
12:12Don't make it harder on yourself.
12:14But even when they do,
12:15because this team versus prosperity is probably one of the greatest rivalries in the 2020s when it comes to playoff
12:22series,
12:23they've shown that they know how to course correct.
12:26And play up,
12:28Brandon,
12:28playoff series are long.
12:29Yeah.
12:29You're going to get this.
12:30And it matters as professionals,
12:33how you handle the adversity,
12:35make the adjustments and tackle the next game.
12:37And they've shown over at least after the coast over the course of this series that they are able to
12:43accomplish that.
12:44So,
12:44yeah,
12:45I think if you're looking at the East right now,
12:47I don't know how you can look at the Knicks and say that they're not the favorite.
12:50There we go.
12:51New York or nowhere.
12:52We get ready to either go north on 95 or go south down the turnpike to head down to Philly.
12:57Like everybody get gas up.
12:59The Pacers cold,
13:00like they say to Martin,
13:01we traveling.
13:03Hey,
13:03Jeff,
13:03appreciate you.
13:04Appreciate you hopping on with this,
13:05man.
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