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00:00Chris Mannix joins us right now on the Wiseheart Right.
00:03We Make It Right call Kyle Right hotline.
00:05Chris, thanks for joining us this morning.
00:07What's going on, guys?
00:08Nothing much other than this Eastern Conference Finals.
00:11I know that we're underdogs here, but, you know,
00:13there's been underdogs that have upset each other in the other series
00:17leading up to the Eastern Conference Finals
00:19and the Western Conference Finals for that matter.
00:21Chris, how do the Cavs win this series against New York?
00:26I mean, really, if you just bottle most of what they did in Game 7,
00:31that's probably going to be pretty effective.
00:34You know, the individual matchups are obvious.
00:36You've got to – to me, Donovan Mitchell has to be the best player on the floor
00:40every game of this series, and you've got to get the kind of ceiling-raising game
00:47that they've been getting from Evan Mobley in some of these wins in these playoffs.
00:51I mean, whenever I talk to Kenny Atkinson, that phrase comes up a lot, ceiling-raiser.
00:57He just sees, you know, whenever Mobley has double-double,
01:00high-efficiency types of games, they tend to play pretty well.
01:04And he's going to have a tough matchup.
01:07Jared Allen's going to have a tough matchup with Carl Towns,
01:09who's having an outstanding postseason, efficiency-wise, scoring, rebounding.
01:14He's been a catalyst to what they've been doing in New York.
01:18So, I mean, like a lot of what we saw in Game 7, how they clamped down defensively,
01:22the stars showed up, the frontcourt dominated another big, strong frontcourt in Detroit.
01:27If they can just bottle that performance, that experience,
01:32I think they've got a great shot to have success.
01:34You know, obviously, Chris, so many of these matchups and rounds
01:37can change drastically based on the personnel.
01:40And there's some things I'm concerned about as a Cavs fan with the cutting
01:44and the moving without the ball that a lot of these Knicks players do.
01:48A little nervous about Harden defensively that I wasn't so nervous about in the prior series.
01:53With that said, I think Donovan and Harden can try to attack guys like Carl Anthony Towns,
01:59guys like Jalen Brunson, and put themselves into maybe more advantageous positions
02:03than they had the last two rounds.
02:04Do you see that?
02:05Yeah, I would agree.
02:06Yeah, I would agree.
02:06I think the Knicks, look, the Knicks have played great.
02:09I also think they've had an advantageous schedule in the first couple of rounds.
02:15But Philadelphia, their entire season was beating Boston.
02:19Like, they spent everything trying to get through that series.
02:22Really had nothing left going into the second round.
02:25And to the Knicks' credit, like, their guys, you know,
02:27one thing I heard from people in New York during the season,
02:30even during the tough times, is that they believed that their stars could elevate
02:35to a different level in the playoffs.
02:36They saw them do that last year in the postseason.
02:40And despite the fact that Towns was having an uneven season
02:43and Mikael Bridges couldn't shoot and Brunson even had his ups and downs
02:46when he was battling an ankle injury,
02:48they just believed that their guys could elevate, and they have.
02:51But they also haven't really beaten anybody to get to this point.
02:54I think the Cavs are going to be their toughest test to date in the playoffs.
02:58And they're, in some ways, a match-up nightmare for New York as well.
03:03Like, I mean, again, if Allen and Bobley can match the physicality of Towns
03:08and Robinson, you know, they're just as talented.
03:11I mean, they're able to have success against those guys.
03:15And you're right about putting pressure on, you know, Brunson and Josh Hart
03:19and whoever is, you know, Deuce McBride when he's out there,
03:22whoever's playing in that Knicks backcourt.
03:24I mean, you've got to.
03:24You've got to make Brunson defend.
03:26They're going to make Harden defend.
03:27They're going to make Mitchell defend.
03:28You've got to make Brunson defend every possession.
03:31Try to get him to foul trouble.
03:32Try to wear him down because, look, ultimately, you know, Towns is great.
03:36Yeah.
03:37And Obie's been a tremendous two-way player.
03:39Brunson's the head of the snake.
03:40Like, if you can erode him and make him a lesser version of himself,
03:44then you've got a great shot to win.
03:47Chris Mannix joining us, Sports Illustrated.
03:49So I said at the beginning of the show,
03:50I thought that Evan Mobley ends up being the most important Cavalier.
03:54I'm an overzealous person.
03:56Did you agree with that?
03:58Do you think he doesn't?
03:58Yeah, I do.
04:00It goes back to what I said.
04:06Granted, Harden is not the most consistent guy in some of these playoff games.
04:09We know that.
04:10Mitchell, I think you can count on.
04:12I do believe that, especially in New York.
04:13I think Mitchell's going to shine playing back in New York City.
04:16I think he's kind of salivating for this type of moment.
04:19But what Mobley's going to have to do on both ends of the floor is not a luxury.
04:24Like, he has to be highly effective, highly efficient, defensively strong when he's got
04:31those matchups with Towns, offensively, you know, shooting a high percentage, giving you
04:3615 and 10-10.
04:38Like, when he does that, I put money on the Cavs winning most of those games, maybe all
04:42of those games.
04:43But if he has some of the clunkers that we've seen him have, where he's not putting up a
04:47lot of points, where he's not, you know, collecting a ton of rebounds, where his defense isn't
04:51all the way there, where he looks a little bit kind of checked out on one or both ends
04:56of the floor, the Cavs are going to be in trouble.
04:58There's no margin for error in a series like this.
05:00You can't afford to have Mobley struggle.
05:03I think in the games they win in this series, he's going to be outstanding.
05:06In the games they lose, I would argue that he's not playing well at all.
05:11Chris, the fact that the Cavs were able to win two Game 7s, we wondered if that would
05:18go a long way towards getting fans here in Cleveland bought in on what they've been able
05:23to do.
05:24Did people take notice of that around the league, or is it still, hey, it was the Raptors
05:28and it were the Pistons who hadn't been there before?
05:31I think the Pistons, there was more of a hat tip, too, because regardless of what you thought
05:37of Detroit, they were the No. 1 seed in Game 6, they kind of boat raced the Cavs in the
05:43second half.
05:44So I think that was impressive.
05:45Less impressed with Toronto.
05:47I mean, Toronto came into the playoffs with kind of the reputation as the worst of the
05:52top six.
05:53And I think there was an expectation that Cleveland would have done better, would have needed
05:57seven games to knock off Toronto.
06:00But against Detroit, that's a physical team, a No. 1 seed with a top five MVP in Cade Cunningham.
06:06There was a lot of respect for how that team performed, winning those two road games at
06:11the end of that series.
06:12So there's a belief that the Cavs are growing, and there's certainly a belief they can win
06:17this series.
06:17Nobody's looking at this as being a coronation for New York.
06:22There's no doubt that Cleveland has the talent to match up with them at key positions and to
06:28win overall.
06:29So I think, you know, as long as there's something left in the tank here, which is something we
06:33can talk about, like the fact that the Knicks have been off for nine days and have just been
06:36hanging out, waiting for this, I mean, that's a big variable, I think, you know, going into
06:40this.
06:40But as long as there's something left in the tank for these guys, I think they've got a
06:43great shot.
06:45Well, Chris, is there any chance that the rest becomes rust, or is that just wishful thinking?
06:50I mean, game one, sure.
06:52Even the Knicks, and I was watching some of their press conferences the last couple of days,
06:55like, they don't like this.
06:56They don't like being off for nine days.
06:57It's basically like a double all-star break for a lot of these guys.
07:01I mean, they'd rather have only a few days off and stay sharp and get back out there
07:07and do their thing.
07:07So I think game one is the kind of game you got to jump on them.
07:10And that sort of goes without saying, but they've, you know, they're the ones coming
07:14off the hard-fought series.
07:17They're the ones that are sharp right now.
07:18You've got to take advantage of that.
07:20Like, the Knicks are going to be more prepared.
07:21They've been studying both these teams for a while.
07:23But, you know, if you can find a way to take advantage of some of the rusts, you know,
07:27some of the legs of New York, just getting back into the flow, you've got an opportunity
07:33to win.
07:34Chris Mannix joining us here on the Wise Heart Right, We Make It Right, Call Call Right Hotline.
07:38So I know for a fact, talking to some people, that J.B.
07:42Bickerstaff was pretty worked up about playing the Cavaliers.
07:44Smelled blood in the water on Sunday.
07:46Really wanted to win that game badly.
07:49It's been a while since Mike Brown's been the head coach of the Cavaliers, and I know
07:52he did it twice.
07:53Is there any sort of that feeling with the Cavs when it comes to Mike Brown, or is it just,
07:57hey, you're the head coach of the New York Knicks.
07:59There's plenty of pressure as it is.
08:02Yeah, I think maybe.
08:04I haven't really talked to Mike about that, but I agree with you.
08:08Like, I think with J.B., it was a lot more personal because of how it ended in Cleveland,
08:13you know, where he got that team and to the point he got that team, then to be kind of
08:18unceremoniously let go after losing to Boston in the second round.
08:21There was definitely a lot more, a lot more feelings, I think, involved with J.B.
08:26Bickerstaff.
08:27Mike Brown, he's been the coach in Cleveland fired, coach in Cleveland again fired.
08:31Like, he's just been, he's been around the block a couple of times with the Cavs.
08:34And I think being, you know, going through what Mike Brown's gone through this year, which
08:38has been, you know, the ringer there.
08:39Like, you know, he's been compared every step of the way to what Tom Thibodeau did last
08:46year.
08:46And the expectations from January on when James Dolan said championship or bust, they've been
08:52sky high.
08:53And New York is a tough place to coach, especially when you're coaching the basketball team out
08:57there.
08:57So I would, I would guess that Mike is much more focused on just beating whoever's in
09:04front of him rather than, than beating the Cavaliers.
09:06You know, the Knicks, we're talking to Chris Maddox from Sports Illustrated.
09:09Knicks have been a dynamo at home this year, but I've heard over the years, plenty of people
09:14associated with New York explaining why MSG also has been a friendly place for opposing
09:21superstars.
09:22You know, over the years, I saw get in price, uh, really it hovers around 600 for the cheap
09:28seats in the Mecca and it's only going to get crazier.
09:32So do you buy that?
09:34Hey, if you can knock them in the mouth a little bit early, punch them in the mouth, uh, get
09:38those fans that paid all that money a little bit uneasy to start out, maybe they could turn
09:43that home court advantage into an advantage for the Cavs.
09:47I don't know.
09:48I mean, I, I, I say this objectively as someone that grew up in Boston and has no love for
09:53New
09:53York.
09:54Like they're, they're the, they're the best fans of the NBA.
09:57Like they just are like they're, I mean, they took over Philadelphia.
10:02That was, that was insane.
10:03What we saw over the last couple of days.
10:06And this is a organized city that has been waiting.
10:09What is it now?
10:1060 years for a championship.
10:13Like they are as hardcore as you possibly get.
10:17And sure.
10:18They, they, they have high expectations.
10:20They'll boo you if you're not playing well, but the second that tide turns with a couple
10:24of shots, like they are right back into it.
10:27And that place is electric.
10:28I mean, it works the other way to your point, like opposing players love going there.
10:33Like it's, you know, not every player wants to play there as a Nick, but every player wants
10:37to play there and win on that floor.
10:40It is just a, it's an experience being at Madison Square Garden and playing in that arena.
10:45That's why I'm looking at Mitchell.
10:45And I think Mitchell has a chance to have, you know, he already had his kind of statement
10:49game in game seven, you know, the biggest game of his playoff career.
10:53I would bet he's eager for this opportunity to play at MSG back in New York and to kind of
11:00put the dagger in the hearts of some of these fans that he grew up probably like in some
11:04ways, you know, living and growing up in that, that part of the world.
11:08So I think it's a great opportunity for a visiting team, but I don't, I would not count on any
11:13of these fans to slow down.
11:15They are, they are maniacal in ways that I don't think any other fan base is maniacal in
11:19the NBA.
11:20And I would encourage be ready because they're coming to Cleveland.
11:23Like no matter what, I have several, probably five or six friends that are Knicks fans and
11:28they're just as maniacal as, as I'm describing, and they have already booked hotel rooms for
11:32games three and four in Cleveland.
11:34So one way or the other, they're all going to be coming out to, uh, to Ohio.
11:38Yeah.
11:38A bunch of them are going to try to stay at Jerry Ferrara's house.
11:40Apparently, according to the texts, uh, earlier today, one final note, Wemby, what can you say
11:43about him last night?
11:45I, I mean, I've covered Wemby since the beginning.
11:48I've written about him for the cover of SI once and other features a couple of times I've seen
11:52that that was the greatest thing I've seen him do.
11:54And, you know, one thing I love about him is the fact that when some guys are asked the
12:00question, but, oh, did she, you know, shake it in the MVP bother you?
12:02They would punt on that question.
12:04He leans all the way into it.
12:05He's like, yep, exactly what you said that I felt that I wanted to perform because I believe
12:10I'm the best player in the world.
12:12I believe I'm the MVP.
12:13This guy is unequivocally the best player in basketball is 22 years old and he is the most
12:19dominant player in the game.
12:20What he did, but 28 footer last night in overtime to set up the double overtime, but he had
12:26three blocks.
12:27That's the thunder to stop contesting or going to the rim, trying to score on him.
12:31He is something.
12:32And we say this a lot, Steph Curry came along, LeBron came along, guys come along that are
12:36unique.
12:37There's, there's never been anything like when Banyan before.
12:40And I'd venture to say, we're never going to see anything like him again.
12:43He is set up to be the dominant player, uh, over the next 10 to 15 years in the NBA.
12:50Chris Mannix, follow him on social media, read him on sport in Sports Illustrated.
12:54Chris, thank you very much for the time.
12:56You got it guys.
12:57Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated.
12:58Wiseheart, right?
12:59We make it right.
13:00Call Kyle, right?
13:01Hotline coming up in five minutes.
13:03Match up nightmare.
13:05Match up nightmare.
13:06Match up nightmare.
13:08Match up nightmare.
13:09Match up nightmare.
13:09Match up nightmare.
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