00:00And now you have Knicks versus Cavaliers for a chance to go back to the NBA Finals.
00:05And you're talking about a team of the Cavs that have not been there since 2018 with LeBron.
00:10And as far as that, and then you also have the Knicks haven't been there in quite a while as
00:15well.
00:16Big, big series. And here's where I'm in a tough spot.
00:19Now, I've been on the record to say that the Knicks are not that good.
00:22And I truly believe that. OK, yes, they've looked great, but they got a lot of rust.
00:27I feel at this point, maybe there's even a chance for them to be maybe sleepwalking through game one tomorrow.
00:33We'll talk about the West and they play later on tonight, a little later on in the show.
00:37But I'm in a tough spot because Cleveland has something that I believe can't win.
00:42OK, certain things, certain elements happen with teams.
00:45And you go, you know what? You can't win with that. You saw it last night.
00:49Tobias Harris, I'll say it out loud. I'll say it forever.
00:51However, no team, if he actually plays now, if he's on the bench like Robert Parrish style late with the
00:57with the with the Bulls,
00:58the Jordan Bulls, where he was just like the 12th man, just there for experience as a practice guy, being
01:03a professional.
01:04You can win with Tobias Harris like that. But Tobias Harris will never win.
01:08OK, because he's Tobias Harris. Well, the Cavs have James Harden.
01:13And I know you say, what are you talking about? James Harden is a Hall of Famer.
01:15If it wasn't for James Harden, I fully feel like I would be picking the Cavs maybe in six games
01:22to beat the Knicks.
01:23But they have James Harden and the Knicks don't. And that is a gigantic advantage for the New York Knicks.
01:29So I do not want the Knicks to win. I am a Knicks hater from way back.
01:34OK, from way back. OK, like two weeks ago when they beat the Sixers.
01:39I'm a Knicks hater. OK, I don't like the Knicks, but I'm in a tough spot.
01:43Now, I'm rooting for the Cavs, but I'm in a really tough spot.
01:47I just have to be honest, since I never lied to the audience, if I just have to be.
01:52Oh, God, I hate it. OK, if the Knicks, if the Knicks, if you're a Knicks fan, I should say,
01:58you should feel pretty good going into this series.
02:01You should feel pretty good going into this series because of the James Harden thing.
02:05Ethan is a Knicks fan. He feels really good about it.
02:09I'm sitting there looking at it in game one tomorrow.
02:11They're six and a half point favorites. They likely should be six and a half point favorites.
02:15Now, there is one thing, though, the Knicks should be concerned about when I look into the series,
02:20because a lot of times basketball is simple. You have all these analytics and you have all these shows
02:25that talk about basketball for hours on end. And I'm not saying that those shows don't have tremendous merit.
02:30As long as one guy's not on them, they have tremendous merit.
02:34But sometimes it's about is my best player better than your best player?
02:39And we'll get to that as well when we talk about the West. Right now, the Knicks' best player,
02:45because he plays the whole game, is Jalen Brunson. OK, he's their best player.
02:49I'm not exactly speaking anything that anybody doesn't already know.
02:53The Cavs' best player is Donovan Mitchell. So supporting cast will have their say.
02:58But at the end of the day, it's going to be who's a better player night to night in this
03:03series.
03:03Do you believe in Donovan Mitchell or do you believe in Jalen Brunson?
03:09And I don't want to oversimplify, but I think a lot of times you're going to see with Jared and
03:14Cat.
03:15And the thing about Cat is, while Cat might play great, if you're a Knicks fan right now,
03:19there's no way in hell you don't think he's going to have foul trouble.
03:22If this goes seven games, he's going to have foul trouble, at least three of them.
03:26You just know that.
03:27So while you might think you can rely on Cat, you can rely on Cat when he's out there.
03:32But tell me you can't see him having three fouls in the first half again,
03:36having to sit out for another 10 minutes in the second quarter, come back, maybe have eight, nine assists.
03:42But you look at the box score, he only played 28 minutes.
03:45That helps neutralize a big advantage that the Knicks could possibly have because he's an idiot on defense.
03:51This series is going to be simple.
03:53Who's a better basketball player in this series, in this city, home obviously for the Knicks, but also home for
04:01the Cavaliers?
04:03Donovan Mitchell is, in my opinion, a better basketball player than Jalen Brunson
04:08and a better, more consistent basketball player than Jalen Brunson.
04:13And if the Cavs are going to win this series, that is the only path they really have.
04:18It's for Donovan Mitchell to night after night, or at least four times in this series, to outplay Jalen Brunson.
04:25If that happens, the Cavs can win.
04:27If it doesn't, I see no path for the Cavs because you can't trust James Harden in the back half
04:33of the series.
04:34He can have a good game one, he can have a good game two, but he will not have a
04:38good game six or seven
04:40because it's not in his DNA.
04:41He can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game
04:41two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good
04:41game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a
04:41good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have
04:41a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can
04:41have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he
04:41can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two,
04:41he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game
04:41two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good
04:41game two, he can have a good game two, he can have a good
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