00:00Are you guys approaching this the same way that you did when you had that longer layoff last series or
00:07are you doing something different now and how is that working so far?
00:11I mean we understand what happened last time we had a layoff like this so we're just trying to be
00:16better than we were last time and approaching it better and preparing better than last time.
00:20You know we obviously were making tweaks to not have the kind of the same rust that we had in
00:25game one last time.
00:25You had mentioned after game four about scrimmaging or not scrimmaging and you guys didn't scrimmage the last time I
00:35just wanted to make sure I was...
00:35No no we did but I think it was yeah I just think that there's tweaks like you know obviously
00:40we could have we made now to make ourselves better prepared.
00:45Carl you talked a little bit after the game about just the magnitude of growing up as a Knicks fan
00:49and kind of achievements but now that it's been a few days hasn't sunk in a little bit more at
00:53all.
00:53I know you said the celebration was subdued but just the fact that...
00:55No it was that night and that night only yeah yeah the flight home and everything get home wake up
01:01it was a brand new day it was back to work so we all got back to work and uh
01:05you know we uh we're just preparing.
01:09Yeah what about the magnitude of what this means for you personally you know you've been to the conference finals
01:13a few years in a row spent over a decade in this league.
01:15I mean it means a lot you know to finally you know like I said after the game get over
01:19that hump you know being in the conference finals is a huge accomplishment um but really we all know what
01:25we're all looking for is the opportunity to play in the NBA finals so um as a competitor as an
01:32athlete you ask just to give yourself a chance every single year the last two years three years I have
01:36but finally this year I was able to in the third year to uh get over that hump and give
01:40myself a chance to see what I could do.
01:44I'm sure you know being from the west those years people look at San Antonio Oklahoma City as you know
01:49this great organization well run because they're small markets but they win anyway people sort of look at New York
01:54like they're rich they should just win anyway.
01:56What have you seen about how hard it is to build up a team to get to this level no
02:00matter where you know where you're playing?
02:02I mean you know obviously in anywhere anytime you're playing NBA basketball it's difficult to win at any game against
02:09anybody um with any team at any stage you know just for us it's been um it's been a process
02:17it's been something that obviously you know when the trade happened obviously things happened quick and success came pretty quick
02:23but it was you know not the success that we envisioned and I'm glad that this year you know we're
02:28seeing ourselves start to mature and um round out.
02:32What you know what you know the vision was from day one.
02:34Christian?
02:35How in tune are you with I guess kind of like the collective misery that the Knicks fans have experienced
02:39over I don't know probably maybe six or seven years before Jalen you guys got here or how many years
02:45ago when it called?
02:46How in tune?
02:47How in tune?
02:47Them uh misery that they about to endure?
02:49Just to be sure.
02:51Obviously the celebration obviously you guys have more wins to go but they're obviously on fire.
02:55No I mean yeah I mean like I said I grew up cheering for the Knicks um my mom when
03:00she immigrated here was uh you know understood the magnitude of Madison Square Garden you know Madison Square Garden the
03:06Knicks is not just a American you know top end sports team this is it's a worldwide brand.
03:11Yeah.
03:11And to be part of Knicks history is it's truly such an honor and um I wouldn't say for me
03:19it was misery I was young and I wasn't I was so happy to be able to see my favorite
03:24team play.
03:25Yeah.
03:25You know I grew up obviously in Jersey and obviously it was it was so much easier for me to
03:30get a New Jersey Nets ticket to see you know Kenyon Martin, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd but you know my
03:36family has always had such respect and love for the Knicks and with my father having ties to the Knicks
03:40it was it was just you know kind of guaranteed I was going to fall into this role of being
03:45a Knicks fan growing up.
03:46Um but um Melo Patrick Ewing amazing I truly though I want to give a shout out to Jeremy Lin
03:53cause he really made me a Knicks fan and had me at Models going crazy trying to find his jersey.
03:59So um I mean I have so much love Jeremy Lin he's one of my favorite Knicks of all time
04:03one of my favorite players of all time he made me so uh passionate about the Knicks and uh it's
04:09crazy now that um I'm in this position I'm in this chair talking to y'all as a Knicks player
04:13and um Derek showed me the other day of Jeremy Lin
04:16on the social and for him to even mention me was was kind of crazy cause I I the I
04:22the love I have for him and what he's done for me and my Knicks fandom is second to none.
04:28Is it the help and just the uncertainty around him?
04:33I mean you know we we we have to prepare we have to prepare and we're preparing every single day
04:38for whatever the situation may be and we're just ready so we're just you know we have a lot of
04:43days we've been fortunate it's a fortunate
04:46thing that happens when we have a lot of time when we have a lot of time when we can
04:48figure out a lot of the puzzle and um but you know we we don't know what the picture is
04:53yet until you know we get to Wednesday next week.
04:56You guys have become a great momentum team which are some of the game on terrain runs you've gone on
05:01throughout the playoffs.
05:02I guess is there a common thread in some of those and what do you think goes into becoming a
05:06good momentum team who can rip off those runs?
05:09I mean it's it's great when you could kind of have those moments in the game where everything's clicking and
05:14and I think what's great about us and what this run has shown is that when we get on those
05:18runs we continue to extend those runs for a long period of time.
05:22So um our ability to stay focused and stay in that zone has helped us tremendously in this playoff run
05:28and it's a lot of the reason why we're sitting here in this chair today talking about the NBA Finals.
05:32Thank you. Just to follow Ian's question, you guys have shown a lot of toughness and resilience obviously to get
05:38to this point.
05:39That's a great polo.
05:40Oh, it's a dream, dream membership.
05:45I've got a 24 so.
05:47Ooh, love that one.
05:49But anyway, however Mitch's injury manifests itself, your toughness and resilience as a team, how much will that help you
05:56manage that situation however it looks?
05:59I mean, I think you know, like you said, whatever whatever the picture ends up being.
06:05Us having those trials and tribulations for the last two years where things weren't looking good just like at the
06:10end of December.
06:11Um with the 2-9-11 game stretch, you know, it shows that we have resiliency and that we will
06:17go out there and we trust everyone in this locker room.
06:19And this playoff run has shown anything I feel to the fans and the media, you know, 1-15 could
06:24go out there, put a Knicks jersey on and get the job done.
06:27And we truly believe in that.
06:28So this is a situation that we've garnered enough experience and enough trust in each other that whatever the picture
06:36ends up being when we step on that court Wednesday, we feel confident.
06:40Like.
06:41Ken's playing the league.
06:42So I'm assuming you watch the games in the other conference differently than laymen do.
06:48I mean, you look at these different things, you look at these differently than we are.
06:50What are some of those things?
06:51How do you watch those games?
06:53Just, you know, when you're in order to watch those games?
06:55What's that like when you see those in your eyes?
06:59You know, playing in the West, you just understand how difficult, you know, it is to get to the conference
07:04finals.
07:05But, you know, obviously I've only been in the Eastern Conference two years and it's been tremendously just as difficult
07:10to get to the Eastern Conference Finals.
07:11So, you know, the NBA is just full of talent.
07:15It just shows, you know, both conferences have a tremendous amount of talent and both conferences always have the chance
07:23to be ones hosting the Larry O'Brien trophy.
07:27Probably not.
07:28You
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