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00:00That's Andy Baskin. I'm Jeff Phelps, and this is Danny Green.
00:03Hi, Danny.
00:03Hey, Danny.
00:04How you guys doing, man?
00:06We're all right.
00:07We're okay.
00:07There are so many things to talk about with this game, too.
00:10Let me start with this one.
00:12How concerning is it to anybody who knows the NBA that in game one,
00:18the Cavaliers coughed up a 22-point lead with a 44-11 run by the Knicks,
00:24and then last night, Knicks had an 18-0 run,
00:27and the Cavs really didn't stop either one, Danny.
00:31I mean, with all that being said, I mean, it's tough.
00:34That's tough to digest as a fan, for sure.
00:37But granted, I mean, as much as it seemed bad,
00:41there's a lot of good to take from game two last night.
00:44I thought they played well enough to win.
00:48They just didn't make shots.
00:50It was one of those games.
00:51If you made shots, like they out-rebounded them.
00:54They didn't turn the ball over a lot.
00:56You probably need another monster of night from another star, maybe,
01:00whether it's Jared Allen outside of Donovan's,
01:01probably Jared Allen or Evan Mobley, if not James.
01:06And you just got to need some of those other guys to hit some shots.
01:08They didn't shoot well, but that was pretty much the game.
01:10They lost by, what, 16?
01:12They got outscored from three by 12.
01:15They shot the same amount of threes,
01:18and then they missed about 10 free throws.
01:20So that could change the game.
01:21They make half their free throws and maybe make a couple more threes.
01:25Let me talk about a different competitive game.
01:28Danny, what's the most important thing a team needs to know
01:30when they're down 0-2 and they're coming back home?
01:32I'm just looking through.
01:33I'm trying to figure out, did that happen to you?
01:36Yeah, I think it happened to you against Milwaukee once.
01:38It happened to me before?
01:38Yeah.
01:39I've been on both sides of it.
01:39Yeah.
01:40I've been on both sides.
01:41I've been up 2-0 and lost the series,
01:43and I've been down 0-2 and won a series.
01:45So, I mean, the most important thing is winning that game three.
01:48It's a pivotal moment, right?
01:49Especially when you're at home, you've got to protect home court.
01:51So you have a chance to still get back into the series.
01:54You win game three, take it one game at a time.
01:56Then if you win game four, you protect home court.
01:58Now it's an even series.
01:59Now it's just the best out of the three games.
02:02Who's going to, I guess, the next three games?
02:06And you have to win one on the road if you don't have home court advantage.
02:08But the biggest thing is taking it one game at a time, one step at a time.
02:12And you have your home floor.
02:13You have your fans behind you.
02:15Your role players will play better.
02:16They'll shoot better.
02:18So, yeah, and, you know, the Knicks won't play great every game, too, either.
02:21So you hope that they, you know, maybe have an off night one of those games.
02:25But either way, you've got to make them have an off night.
02:28And that's, again, step-by-step, win game three.
02:30And then maybe game four might be easier if they have an off night
02:34and you play really a lot better with confidence.
02:37So, yeah, that's what I would tell them.
02:38It didn't happen to you very often.
02:40I was just looking at it.
02:40It happened to you four times.
02:41But one time, does that sound right?
02:43One time you came back from down 0-2?
02:45Yeah, one time down 0-2 and lost once being up 0-2, I think, if I'm not mistaken.
02:52Danny Green joining us.
02:53He's our Odyssey Sports NBA insider and, of course, former member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
02:58Have you ever had a defense, and I'm guessing the way you shot the ball, the answer is no,
03:03leave you as wide open as the Cavs left Josh Hart almost all game long last night?
03:09No, I mean, some of them were contested.
03:12But, again, he's not known to be a shooter.
03:14But that's, I mean, I think that was disrespectful of the Josh Hart because he's known to knock down shots,
03:19especially in the playoffs.
03:20Like, if you look at his numbers in the playoffs, I think maybe he's damn near close to 40,
03:24if not 40, from three in the playoffs.
03:27So, and he's an NBA player.
03:29Like, you can't just leave it unless there's a guy that's really not a threat that doesn't care to look
03:32at the rim and shoot.
03:33You can't leave any NBA player that wide open.
03:36But, I mean, it worked for him in game one.
03:38Like, Josh didn't have a great game.
03:39You got to give him a lot of, you know, flowers and, you know, pat on the back
03:43because he came back with a mental fortitude to actually bounce back
03:47because there was a lot of stats and analytics showing that he was not great for their group
03:52when he was on the floor.
03:54And, you know, they're better with Shamit.
03:55They might be better with Deuce.
03:56And people were talking about him, you know, like maybe he shouldn't start.
04:00And he came out, you know, with a vengeance and, you know, a chip on his shoulder.
04:03And he actually said, you know, I'm the guy for the job and this is why.
04:08And he had a hell of a game.
04:09He had a career night.
04:10And sometimes that happens in the playoffs.
04:13Danny, if you're the Cavs in that situation, don't you change it up just a little bit
04:18and try and get him off his game a little bit?
04:20It just didn't seem like it happened.
04:23Change up what exactly?
04:24Like on him?
04:25Yeah.
04:26You know, I mean, because, you know, they were doubling off of him a lot
04:28and they left him open even after he started getting hot, which I thought was kind of odd.
04:34Yeah.
04:35I don't think that was by design.
04:36I think that was just by their ball movement.
04:37And they have so many weapons you have to respect.
04:40It's hard to cover everybody the same.
04:43So you have to live with something.
04:44That's even with teams that aren't that great.
04:45Like you have to live with something.
04:47You have to pick your poisons.
04:48Like, all right, they're not great at shooting.
04:49We're going to let them shoot.
04:50Same with OKC.
04:51The SGA is their scorer.
04:52We've got to take them away.
04:53Those other guys are scoring.
04:54Do we say, oh, we just go single coverage on SGA?
04:56It's like, no, we've got to play the odds.
04:57This guy is known to be more consistently of a killer than their other guys
05:00when they're in the basketball games.
05:02And if they beat you in the series that way, cool.
05:04So you have OG when they double Brunson a lot.
05:07And, you know, Mikkel Bridges will kill you at the foul line.
05:09Like, they still have Cat out there who can knock down threes and kill you inside.
05:13So, you know, you've got to give up something.
05:16And if you're going to give up something, and their mind was, you know,
05:18we'll give up Josh Hart three and the numbers are in our favor.
05:21But, again, once he goes hot, you might want to change it up some.
05:23But it's just hard to do that when they have so many guys that are capable
05:27of also hurting you.
05:29Danny, what are you doing with the big men
05:31and trying to get them involved a little bit more for the Cavaliers?
05:34Because, to me, I think if they get to those guys
05:37and can utilize them a little bit more, I think it changes the series
05:40and takes some of the pressure off the guards.
05:41How can you get them more involved all the time?
05:45Absolutely.
05:45It's imperative that they get involved.
05:47Like, they can change the series, especially Evan Mobley.
05:49But if you get Jared Allen and Evan Mobley going, it'll change a lot of things.
05:53Mind you, the fact that, you know, you're able to kind of neutralize
05:56Mitchell Robinson some because, you know, he's not making his free throws right now.
06:00So you can do the, you know, hack a Mitchell thing if he's in the game.
06:03But it is imperative that they get those guys involved.
06:05And a lot of it, it's on those guys, mostly Evan.
06:08Like, Evan, you're not the number three here.
06:10You're the number two.
06:11Like, you're the guy.
06:12You go out there and get it or say, hey, look, I got a mismatch
06:15or I'm going to set a screen.
06:16Look, James, I'm coming to you or Don, I'm coming to the screen.
06:18We're going to get the switch.
06:20Give me the ball.
06:20I got the smaller guy on me.
06:22You know, but that's just him being young because he's the pecking order
06:25of respecting the vets, respecting James because he's got it.
06:27And Don, you know, this is your time now.
06:30You got it upon you to, you know, be more demonstrative in your approach
06:34and your mindset and then demanding the ball.
06:36So, but yeah, Don could do that.
06:38Kenny Askins can do that as well.
06:40But it's on Evan Mobley, too, to just be more active and more demanding
06:44of, you know, getting the ball in the spots that he wants him at.
06:46Former Cavalier Danny Green is our Odyssey Sports NBA insider
06:50and insider calls brought to us by Hyundai and the all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid.
06:54Learn how it makes every day epic at HyundaiUSA.com.
06:59How good was Jalen Brunson last night doing something very different
07:02than he did in game one?
07:05Well, say that again.
07:06What was it you said?
07:07How was he different in game one?
07:08No.
07:08How impressive was he doing playing a different game?
07:11You know, the Cavs are really paying more attention to him,
07:14so he decides he's going to be a point guard and gets 14 assists.
07:17Yeah, I mean, it is impressive.
07:19Mind you, this is something I don't say he's been doing all year,
07:22but their offense has shifted.
07:24I didn't expect him to go right to Jalen Brunson ISO because he went, you know,
07:27crazy in the fourth quarter of game one.
07:30That's not who they are, who they've been the last, you know,
07:3310 games in the playoffs.
07:34They've been going through cat, right?
07:37So, like, they have something they can go to if other things aren't working.
07:41Like, all right, we can go to Jalen Brunson.
07:42But I want to start with that.
07:44And knowing that they're going to, you know, cover him differently
07:46because of how great he was in game one, he's like, all right,
07:49I know they're coming for me.
07:50I've got to trust my teammates.
07:51And, you know, superstars can do that.
07:53Shea has done that.
07:53But then when he sees, like, you know, I can't just do it.
07:55I have to also score.
07:56You get a good mix.
07:57But his teammates are good enough to hold it down the fort and trust in them.
08:01And he played a great floor game.
08:02And he also can score in the same sense.
08:04But he knows that if he does that, it opens the floor for him as well
08:08when those other guys start scoring.
08:09And if not, you know, they'll continue to kill the team,
08:12the other team with those other guys knocking down shots if they're hot
08:15like a Josh Hart was doing.
08:16So, impressive floor game from him.
08:19He's a vet now.
08:20And he's a superstar.
08:21He's special.
08:22So, he knows exactly what's going on.
08:23And he has a great team around him.
08:25So, yeah, he played an impressive game.
08:28Danny, should you expect a head coach to steer a team down the stretch
08:34when you look at some of the – I mean, Kenny's taking a lot of heat here.
08:37Depending on the personnel.
08:38Yeah.
08:39Depending on the personnel.
08:40You expect them to help you for sure.
08:42But if you have vets and guys that are superstars that have been there,
08:44for the young team, yes.
08:46For the team that has some vets and, you know,
08:49some guys that are known to be superstars and can score,
08:51it should be a 50-50 type of thing, you know.
08:54Or, like, even a 60-40.
08:56Like, those guys, when they feel something or know something,
08:59they should be able to go, you know,
09:00and do what they feel is right in the game.
09:02And do you feel like they don't know what's going on,
09:04then they can take over.
09:05But it's a collaboration.
09:07So, yes, the coaches should be helping,
09:08and so should the guys that are the vets on the team.
09:11And then, like, an assistant coach's role in that position.
09:14I think this is probably – the only time we ever talk about this stuff
09:16is when you get down to minutia in the playoffs
09:18and you see things going wrong.
09:20And, like, we had Mike Fertello on.
09:21We had a great conversation with him about, you know,
09:23hey, maybe if Kenny's missing something,
09:25an assistant coach needs to get in his ear and say,
09:27hey, you need to look for this.
09:28How about the role of an assistant coach in that kind of a situation?
09:31Yeah, this is why I don't blame just one –
09:33like, I'm not blaming anybody, but if I point at the coaching –
09:36I say coaching staff.
09:37It's not just Kenny to see this.
09:38You know, it's like he has a lot of guys around him
09:41that can see some things and point some things out.
09:42Ultimately, he makes the main – the last decision,
09:46like, he makes the decision that's the end-all, be-all,
09:48but those guys can see something and help out.
09:50So I wouldn't just say, oh, just Kenny.
09:52No, it's the coaching staff.
09:53Like, the coaching staff is supposed to be a collective
09:55and do it together.
09:56So, yeah.
09:58Danny, do the Cavaliers even the series in two games at home?
10:02Do they go back to New York down 3-1,
10:05or does this thing end in Cleveland coming up on Monday?
10:09I don't know if they even the series.
10:11I think they definitely can get one.
10:13They've got to get game three to make it competitive
10:15and then hopefully get a game four.
10:17They don't get game three, it's over.
10:19But I ultimately think they can make competitive games.
10:24I think they get at least one,
10:25but I don't know if they even up the series.
10:27I think they end up coming back down – coming back to New York
10:30because New York just – there's no knock to Cleveland.
10:32They were great and they have a good team,
10:34but New York is just a really good basketball team.
10:36It's playing at a high level, and, you know,
10:39you've got to respect it at this point.
10:42Do you think the Cavs are gassed?
10:44Yes, they're fatigued.
10:45And I think you can see it in some of the role players too.
10:47Like, Don doesn't look like he's moving well.
10:50He looks like he's hobbled a little bit.
10:53So, yeah, I don't know.
10:55And the rest of the guys don't look as, you know, fresh either.
10:58Yeah, I see all these shots falling short in the fourth quarter,
11:01and I'm like, that's the first thing you notice when the team is fatigued.
11:05So if the Cavs, they roll out on tomorrow night, if you're the Knicks,
11:09are you going to push tempo all game?
11:12Yeah, I mean, I would do the things that's working for me right now.
11:16I'm not the team that needs to make the adjustments.
11:17If I'm the Knicks, I just continue to attack.
11:20So Cleveland makes some adjustments.
11:23They made some good adjustments.
11:24I thought they played well enough to win.
11:25They just didn't make shots.
11:26So, I mean, the game is about makes or misses, right?
11:29So, as you've seen, the Knicks were cold in game one to start,
11:33and Cleveland was playing well.
11:34They just had a collapse in the fourth quarter.
11:37But they're capable on any given night.
11:39Anybody could lose anybody.
11:40So we'll see what happens.
11:42Your San Antonio Spurs are 1-1.
11:47How much fun has that series been so far?
11:50Oh, it's been a delight, man.
11:51If you love basketball, if you love basketball, this is what it's all about.
11:55And everybody's been wanting this matchup since, you know, the Cup games, right?
12:00We've seen San Antonio and OKC go at it earlier in the season from, you know,
12:05December to January.
12:06And, you know, they're like, you know, this could be the team that could dethrone them
12:09because OKC came out with 24-1 to start the season.
12:12Thought they were kind of invincible.
12:14And then they came back down to earth a little bit.
12:17And, you know, San Antonio's been one of the teams that couldn't, like,
12:21make them or take them down.
12:22So everybody's been looking at it.
12:23And, obviously, Wemby's been playing like a modern-day Wilt Chamberlain.
12:27And so it's really fun to see that.
12:30And also those other guys grow, like Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle.
12:35And then, you know, hopefully Fox comes back.
12:37And, well, I don't want to see J-Dub not healthy either.
12:40I want to see everybody healthy.
12:41But with all these stars and all star power and all his depth of basketball,
12:45like, this is what you want to see if you're a basketball fan.
12:47Danny, when Wemby came down the floor and pulled up from about 30 and drained that three?
12:53Yeah, that was a terrible shot.
12:55I was like, remember what Paul George said about Damian Lillard in the game?
12:58I think it was a game seven when he hit that 40-foot dagger?
13:02Yeah, yeah.
13:03He said, it's a bad shot.
13:04I don't care what anybody says.
13:06And when he first took it, I was like, no, no, no, no.
13:08Then he made it.
13:08I was like, I can't believe he took that shot.
13:09And I can't believe he made it.
13:12In that situation, it was a weird shot to take it.
13:14It kind of reminded me of Gilbert Arenas against the Cavs back in the day.
13:18It seemed like a desperation shot.
13:19I'm like, you're not down that much.
13:21I'm like, why are you taking this?
13:22This is a bad shot.
13:23Yeah, then he made it.
13:25I was like, all right, well, that's what he does.
13:27He just willed him to a win.
13:28He's special.
13:29We know he's special.
13:30We know he's freaky.
13:32He's also a foreign guy in a league where foreign guys are winning the MVP like crazy now,
13:37and foreign big guys look a lot more skilled.
13:41What's going on there?
13:42And the training they're receiving at young ages must be phenomenal, Danny.
13:49Yeah, I don't know.
13:50I mean, they're starting at a young age doing the fundamentals.
13:52And, you know, we can take a page out of their book.
13:55So we'll see how it goes.
13:57For us, we need some more guys stepping up.
13:59But we have some good Americans, too.
14:01But they've been really taking it up a notch, man.
14:03Again, they're starting at a young age doing the fundamentals.
14:06And, you know, they're saying certain guys ruin the game.
14:08I don't believe that.
14:09But we will have some Americans get there for sure.
14:13Hey, is there anything special about playing home games in San Antonio?
14:16Is that crowd different than any other crowd when they get loud?
14:19Absolutely.
14:20Yeah.
14:20Absolutely.
14:21It's not easy.
14:21I mean, OKC are the same.
14:22Yeah.
14:23You know, they're a plus 10 at home.
14:25Both those teams, they have a really good crowd where that support makes a difference.
14:29Who wins that series?
14:33It depends on the injuries, honestly.
14:36If there's no J-Dub, I don't see OKC getting out of the series without Jalen Williams.
14:40That's a hard task.
14:44That's a hard task.
14:46Without him, I don't know if they survive.
14:50Danny, always a pleasure to have you with us.
14:52Thank you very much.
14:53Don't you mind, fellas?
14:54Yeah, I'll be out in Cleveland for game four.
14:56So maybe I'll run into you guys.
14:58Stop by the studio.
14:58Let's do this in studio.
14:59We'll look.
15:00For sure.
15:02Dan will buy you a steak.
15:04Right, Dan?
15:04All right.
15:05I'm taking it.
15:09Benning is on the hook.
15:09Danny, thanks, buddy.
15:11Thanks, Danny.
15:11Thank you, guys.
15:12Appreciate it, man.
15:12Danny Green, he is our Odyssey NBA insider, and he's brought to us by the all-new Hyundai
15:18Palisade Hybrid.
15:19You can learn how it makes every day epic.
15:22Absolutely epic.
15:23Epic.
15:24At HyundaiUSA.com.
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