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00:00New York Post Sports here. My name is Eric Richter. I'm here with Jeremy Lin. Jeremy, you got a lot
00:03of stuff going on right now. ESPN gig. I know you're doing some stuff with the NBA. Recently retired from
00:09professional basketball. So first of all, congratulations. And how's everything going with you so far? Obviously, this has been a
00:14really fun Knicks run.
00:15Yeah, it's been an amazing, amazing playoff run. The Knicks have revitalized so many people who just have been rooting
00:27so hard for the Knicks for a long time. And it's been amazing to see. It almost feels like a
00:31movement. And I've just been having a lot of fun. And being able to touch and kind of enter into
00:38the broadcasting space has also been great. So no better team to talk about to broadcast and analyze than the
00:44Knicks.
00:45Yeah, congratulations on the foray into basketball broadcasting and analysts and stuff like that. You're doing a lot of Knicks
00:53stuff for the finals. I believe that you're doing the NBA Today show with Malika Andrews in the area. Just
00:58tell me a little bit about that before we really get into the nuts and bolts of the Knicks series.
01:02A couple months ago, I was able to go to LA, be on NBA Today for three days and was
01:09able to establish rapport with Malika, with Hillary Guy, and even with some of the other analysts.
01:16And so a big shout out to Perk McMahon and Windhorse who really welcomed me and they were just super
01:25nice. And Malika was and still is an amazing host and just the ultimate point guard on TV, essentially.
01:34And so I'm just excited to reunite with them and to be able to talk mix and to be able
01:38to talk the finals.
01:39You like being on TV and you'll be an analyst and kind of breaking down the game like that.
01:44I do enjoy it after I wasn't sure. And after those three days, I felt like there was a passion
01:50there. It's a great way to stay around the game.
01:52It's a great way to pass on what other people have taught me and what I've learned through my career
01:56to the fans and to the spectators.
02:00And so I was surprised. I never would have seen myself going into this as a player.
02:05But now that I'm done playing, it is definitely something that I have passion.
02:11I have passion about and passion towards. So I'm excited to go in this direction.
02:17You've seen the garden light up, right? Like very like, oh, it's been slim pickings, honestly, for the last 15
02:23years.
02:25Slim pickings where the gardens really lit a blaze, you know, the Brunson burner, as Mike Breen calls it.
02:31You know, just tell me about what the experiences that you're seeing with the Knicks right now and maybe compare
02:36it to what you saw during your Knicks tenure back in 2012,
02:40which was another time where, you know, the garden was set ablaze with the with New York Knick fever.
02:47I can't personally talk about what it's like in the garden yet.
02:51I will be going back as a spectator for the first time ever.
02:55Wow. After leaving the Knicks, I did play against the Knicks multiple times, but I have never been back to
03:02the garden as a spectator.
03:03And so this will be my first first time in 14 years where I'll be back in the garden, not
03:08as an opposing player.
03:10And I can't wait. I really genuinely can't wait for games three and four.
03:16And I just know that during the Linsanity run and I and I remember vividly in the game against Kobe
03:23and the Lakers.
03:25The garden was so loud that I genuinely legitimately I looked down at my feet to see if I was
03:32hovering because it felt like I was hovering a half inch off the ground because it was so loud.
03:38And the energy was so hyped. And so it felt like I was actually off the ground a little bit.
03:45And I'll never forget that because it almost felt like an out of body experience.
03:48I can imagine that that is happening. And then some right now with the run that is happening.
03:53So I just can't wait to be in that to be in that arena again.
03:57Yeah. How did that all come together with you coming back?
04:00Are you going back with as a part of like your job and responsibility with ESPN?
04:04And were you invited back by the Dolans and like sitting in like Legends Row type of thing?
04:09A big shout out to the Knicks. The Knicks have been really adamant and have been consistent about trying to
04:15get me to go back to a game.
04:16And I've always had the desire. It's not that I didn't want to.
04:20It's just that I was still playing and I was still an active player.
04:23And my seasons that I was playing were always ending after the Knicks season.
04:29And so now this is my first season being retired. I have this time and and the ability to actually
04:36show up.
04:36So I can't wait. And the Knicks have been great. Now, will I be doing other stuff?
04:40Yeah, I'll be doing some ESPN stuff, some NBA stuff and also some stuff for the Knicks as well.
04:45So it'll be a mixed bag. But a big shout out to the Knicks for for just always trying to
04:51get me back to the garden.
04:52And and I'm excited. And I will be sitting there in the in the arena.
04:59I won't be courtside, but I'll be kind of in the first two rows.
05:05Oh, wow. That's I mean, that's fantastic. I can't wait.
05:08I mean, obviously, you know, we'll New York Post will be there and we'll probably have, you know, videos waiting
05:13just to see you go on to the Jumbotron.
05:15I would expect, you know, a big time crowd pop. You know, the fans really, really loved you in New
05:21York for a long time.
05:23You know, are you looking forward to feeling that kind of like a crowd reaction, you know, back from, you
05:28know, when you when you were getting it on a regular basis?
05:32Yeah, for sure. And, you know, I'm not going in. I mean, there's no ego here. There's no expectation.
05:37I'm not like, you know, I have to be in these seats or I have to be shown on the
05:41Jumbotron.
05:42I don't know what's going to happen. I don't I don't know the details of it.
05:46I just know that the Knicks have consistently extended an invite and I'm excited to be there.
05:51So whatever happens after that will happen.
05:54And of course, I will be extremely grateful and almost feel full circle to just be back in the arena,
06:01back with the Knicks fans again.
06:02Yeah, it's crazy because like I think when you first burst onto the scene, that Knicks team was pretty talented.
06:06Like Carmelo Anthony, you, Mark Stilemeyer, I believe Tyson Chandler was there at that point at the first year of
06:12Tyson Chandler.
06:13Yep. Yeah. So, you know, that was a talented team.
06:15I think everybody thought that a playoff run was was booming together.
06:19And unfortunately, that didn't end up coming to fruition, a large part due to injury.
06:24Now, you know, you you leave the Knicks, but for that season, you know, what ended up happening there?
06:32You know, it was a lot of it was injuries.
06:34And then, you know, the everything that happens after that, like kind of just walk me through that that end
06:39of the season for you guys there in 2011, 2012.
06:42Yeah, the end of the season, you know, I had the torn meniscus, we get into the first round and,
06:49you know, I am doing everything I can to come back.
06:52And I just didn't have enough time.
06:56The injury was something that genuinely was still affecting me by the start of the next season with the Rockets
07:03and something that I was kind of working through.
07:05But I did try to do everything I could to get back.
07:08Obviously, for me, I am hyper competitive.
07:11I've waited my whole life for this opportunity.
07:14Insanity happens.
07:15And how gut wrenching it was to not be on the floor and to not be able to compete.
07:22I don't think very many people can truly understand that unless you have been in that position before or something
07:29close to that.
07:30And so that was just really disappointing to me.
07:32But, you know, injuries are a part of basketball.
07:35And so that's just something that, you know, it will always be a huge what if in my mind.
07:42Like, what if I was healthy?
07:44Yeah, no, totally.
07:46You know, two weeks ago, Carmelo Anthony invited you onto his podcast.
07:51He had said that he wanted to talk to you, you know, speak the truth, maybe clear the air with
07:57you.
07:58I don't know exactly what he means by clear the air.
08:00Is there something that you can kind of point to, like clear the air about what or X, Y, Z
08:05thing with Carmelo Anthony?
08:07And are you going to end up going on to his podcast?
08:09Are you going to accept that invite?
08:11Yeah, I mean, I think for me right now, and I know our teams are in contact.
08:19And I think for me, I've just been, my desire is still kind of the same.
08:24Just I would love to have a private conversation before having a public, you know, recorded conversation.
08:30And so that's my goal right now is to be able to have that private conversation.
08:35And, you know, would love to, of course, you know, go on the podcast and talk about those things and
08:43talk about certain things publicly afterwards.
08:46No, totally.
08:47You know, Carmelo, after you left, and, you know, I guess, is the clear the air thing kind of about,
08:54like, I mean, not everyone plays, like, not everybody's Steve Nash, Amari Stoudemire together or Stockton and Malone.
09:01That doesn't happen for everybody.
09:03Do you think that the clear the air thing is kind of just like about, like, you know, we didn't
09:06play that great together for, you know, our short amount of time together?
09:09Do you think that's what the clear the air thing is, is really stemming apart?
09:14Honestly, I'm not sure in terms of I can't speak on his behalf.
09:19You know, I can guess, but I don't think it would do mellow justice for me to kind of guess
09:25what I think he might be saying.
09:27And I think, you know, that's so I don't want to guess on that in that regard.
09:32But I do think a private conversation will go a long way in terms of being able to work through,
09:38talk through, you know, go back and, you know, just hash things out and talk about what happened and how
09:45things ended.
09:45I think that would be, you know, super healthy.
09:47So I think that would be amazing.
09:49And, you know, I think you can sense and tell from both parties, like, there isn't that hostility or that
09:57ill will or, you know, you're not rooting for the other person.
10:02I think it's it's just something that we can go back and have healthy discussions about.
10:07No, 100 percent.
10:08I mean, everything happens for a reason.
10:09I think that, you know, I think everyone kind of came out in pretty good spot.
10:12You know, I mean, we move on here and the Knicks are, you know, in the NBA finals and they're
10:18led by a point guard just as, you know, for a short amount of time.
10:21The Knicks were led by, you know, point guard such as yourself, score first point guard.
10:25Kind of talk to me about like a score first point guard leading a team to success.
10:28You don't see that a whole lot.
10:30Like you see that every now and then.
10:31Steph Curry, obviously, there's a lot of other examples.
10:34But, you know, those teams are particularly loaded.
10:36You know, talk to me about like just like a score first point guard like Jalen Brunson kind of leading
10:41the team to the NBA finals as he's doing right now.
10:44Yeah, as the game has evolved, I think that's more and more where things are trending.
10:50You know, whether it is a Steph or a Kyrie, you know, these types of score first point guards.
10:59And I think it's all about who is next to them, who they're being paired with.
11:07Steph worked great because of Klay and Draymond and even KD for two of the championships.
11:15And Steph is, you know, a Hall of Famer and one of the best point guards ever to play the
11:20game.
11:20And same with Kyrie.
11:23And so with Brunson, they let Brunson do what Brunson is elite at, which is scoring, which is taking over
11:30games and putting the ball in a hoop.
11:33And how they have positioned the other players around him, you have rebounding specialists, you have playmakers and facilitators, you
11:40have amazing defenders, you have kind of all these things working together.
11:45And that is why the Knicks are so dominant.
11:47And so in my mind, score first point guards can win championships and have proven to do that and have
11:56won many championships, especially in recent years.
11:59Small guards.
12:00I know there's a discussion around small guards.
12:05Brunson is a small guard.
12:07Brunson is special.
12:09Brunson is special and his ability to take over games and to be, you know, and at the end of
12:16the day, it doesn't matter what your height is, how big or small you are.
12:21If you are always taking over the game and if you are always leading your team when it matters the
12:26most.
12:27So to me, it's not about the height.
12:29It's about your ability to get your team over the top, which clearly, you know, Mr.
12:35Captain Clutch clearly has that ability to do.
12:37And he's a matchup hunter, right?
12:39Like, so like he, you know, matchup hunting James Harden, you know, matchup hunting in the 76ers series a little
12:45bit as well.
12:46What matchup for the Spurs?
12:48So we saw him isolate Champagny quite a bit down the stretch there.
12:52Do you see that as the matchup that he's going to target in game two and going forward?
12:57Or do you think that he's going to be looking for mismatches elsewhere on the Spurs lineup?
13:01Obviously, their defensive lineup is quite good, especially with one by Amma.
13:03But what matchup do you think that he's looking for to try to isolate?
13:08Yeah, that's a great question.
13:09I mean, I think, you know, generally speaking, he probably won't want Castle and Wemby.
13:17Not to say that he can't score on them, but he can.
13:19And I'm sure he will at times.
13:22But is that the most favorable matchup for him?
13:25Probably not.
13:25I do think Fox and Champagny will maybe be two of the people that he goes after.
13:33Vassell might be in there.
13:35And even Harper.
13:36But to me, it's not, you know, he may not only isolate one specific person, as it is maybe more
13:44of,
13:44I'm going to stay away from those two specific players.
13:48Castle and Wemby, unless there really is no more time left on the clock and he just has to go.
13:53Yeah, and, you know, when you're dealing with a center like Victor Wemby, Amma, who, like,
13:57I think they list him at 7'3 or 7'4.
13:59Dude, he looks taller than that on the court.
14:02He looks like he could be eight feet tall.
14:04Like, he looks, he's just so much bigger than, like, in towns, like seven feet tall.
14:07He towers over him.
14:09You know, talk to me about, like, just dealing with a center like that.
14:11He's got such long arms.
14:12He's all over the court.
14:13He wants to play, you know, kind of like his own little zone around the baseline.
14:18You know, what's something that maybe Brunson can do?
14:21Because you see them do the U-turn, right?
14:23They drive the paint.
14:25They beat their, they win their matchup.
14:26And then they do the U-turn when they see Wemby, Amma coming.
14:29You know, how would you approach that as a point guard who was in the league for nine years
14:34with some serious success driving to the hoop?
14:37Yeah, I think it's all about who is Wemby guarding.
14:39And I think that's what makes the Knicks situation so difficult is Carl Anthony Towns is going
14:47to shoot that three, and he's going to be aggressive shooting that three.
14:50You can also put him on a Josh Hart, which Jerry Allen and the Cavs tried to do.
14:54Josh Hart goes off for, you know, five plus three-pointers and 26 points.
14:59And so is that something that they try to go to?
15:02But at the end of the day, if the Knicks are making three-point shots, there isn't much
15:09that Wemby can't do to track and lurk and be that safety net for the Spurs defense.
15:16And so when I, you know, as Brunson is evaluating the game, it's really who is Wemby guarding
15:21and can I pull him away from the space that I want to go attack?
15:26And again, the Knicks three-point shooting, the fact that they have five players on the
15:30floor that you have to respect from three, that is much different than, you know, when
15:35Hartenstein was in the game against the Thunder.
15:39Yeah, absolutely.
15:40Has anything surprised you about this Knicks team?
15:41I mean, more or less, this is the same team of last year.
15:45You know, obviously there's different rotations and stuff, but the team just seems to have
15:49gotten better.
15:50Is there, what has surprised you about this Knicks team, if anything?
15:53The consistency.
15:54It's easily the consistency and consistency comes down to character and mentality.
16:00To me, they have shown high character and high elite mentality.
16:07They are not a team that refuses to show up on certain nights.
16:12They are not a team that gives up when things are going wrong or when things are difficult.
16:17They have won 12 in a row because they treat each game and have respect for each game as
16:25if it's a new challenge.
16:26And, I mean, if you look at them after game one, they look pissed.
16:31Like, Brunson looks pissed.
16:32He's like, we play horrible.
16:35Like, we're better than this.
16:37They literally leave game one, winning game one on the road for the NBA Finals.
16:42And they're like, we should have done better.
16:44And that's what scares me.
16:45It's like, oh, man, I wonder what tonight is going to be like.
16:48I wonder what game two is going to be like.
16:49Because I really think they're going to make a lot of adjustments and be an even better team.
16:53So, San Antonio, in order to stay with them for a win, the game has to be even that much
16:57better.
16:58It's how big of a jump do both teams make.
17:01Yeah.
17:01What do you attribute, like, is it chemistry?
17:04Because, like, obviously, like, look, Michael Bridges, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, they're buddies.
17:08You know, they're the Villanova gang, right?
17:09They're two national titles.
17:11Do you think it's just, like, a lot of this is just chemistry?
17:14They got a new coach.
17:15Like, is it all Mike Brown and Tom Thibodeau just sent to the side?
17:19Like, what is it exactly that makes them, that made them kind of shockingly really good?
17:25Like, this good?
17:27It's hardly ever that simple that you can distill it just to one thing or one person.
17:32When it comes to culture and when it comes to things like this, it's usually a combination of many, many
17:38things.
17:38But if you want to talk about the things at the top, the things at the top, I would say,
17:42there is a pre-existing relationship amongst a lot of their core.
17:46So there's that internal trust.
17:48And you add in other pieces and they are building trust.
17:50I think that's very important.
17:52There's another part where these players are walking the walk when it comes to sacrifice.
17:57Brunson giving up $113 million, that is walking the walk.
18:01And that carries into everybody.
18:04Everybody has to show up a certain way when your best player is walking the walk.
18:08Cat, their second best player, giving up a lot of shot attempts, a lot of scoring, a lot of stats
18:14to be a playmaker, to play great defense, to do certain things, to allow other people to open up.
18:19Their role players, OG, McHale, Josh Hart, these guys are getting rebounds, playing defense.
18:26They're running the floor, running the lane hard every single time so they can open it up for other people.
18:31That is sacrifice.
18:32And then, you know, Mike Brown, he comes in and, you know, the one thing they do, and they talked
18:37about, you know, before the season started, they had to sign accountability contracts, right?
18:41And so he's bringing a level of accountability.
18:43He's bringing that type of culture where everybody has to show up a certain way and nobody is bigger than
18:52the team.
18:52I mean, and there's more, right?
18:54And on the outside, I don't know all the ways that these things continue to grow and build culture, but
19:01I'm sure there are many more examples of things like this.
19:03And all these things are moving in the right direction, moving in the same direction.
19:07Just a few more, and I'll let you go.
19:09But this has been awesome, and I really appreciate you giving me some of your time.
19:14On the defensive side, I think the first half was a little surprising in the way that their defensive rotations
19:21were kind of not getting to their three-point shooters, specifically Champagny.
19:24But there was, you know, a lot of three-point shots were being made.
19:27I believe Devin Vassell has even had a pretty big game, I believe, on the offensive glass.
19:33Defensively, they made some changes, obviously.
19:35And maybe if you could walk me through, like, kind of what they did defensively in the first half versus
19:40the second half, maybe what you could see them doing in the rest of the series.
19:43So the first half and the second half, to me, wasn't that different in terms of game plan.
19:48I just don't think they were expecting Fox, Castle, Harper to get rid of the ball that quickly.
19:54And one of the things that struck me from the first half was San Antonio's, the timing of when they
20:01passed that ball out was so perfect and so fast.
20:06And then Champagny is quick release.
20:09And so it's not that guys were in the wrong position.
20:11I just think they needed a little bit of time to adjust to how quick that ball was going to
20:15be fired out.
20:16Obviously, they're taught to come in because Wemby's rolling.
20:18So they do need to be low man.
20:19They do need to chuck and be there as protection as Wemby is rolling.
20:23But for them in the second half, I feel like they were just a little bit less in because they
20:27were ready for that quick pass out.
20:29What ended up happening was they started to take some of that away.
20:32And San Antonio's offense got increasingly more stagnant.
20:36And so they started the game really diming the ball up, just it was popping, it was moving.
20:40And towards the end of the game and into the fourth quarter, it was very stuck, it was very stagnant.
20:45And the offense wasn't nearly as creative or hard to guard.
20:48So we're recording this before game two, Friday at 4.20.
20:54Jeremy, what's your feel for the series right now?
20:57They just stole game one.
20:59They're six point underdogs for game two.
21:02What do you think for the rest of the series here as we move into game two?
21:08I can't go back on my prediction.
21:11Obviously, my prediction does not look good right now.
21:13Now, my initial prediction that I had, and keep in mind, this is not who, you know, my prediction was
21:20the Spurs were going to win.
21:21This is, you know, in six or seven.
21:22This is not what I want.
21:25Obviously, I want the Knicks to win.
21:27But before the series, I thought the Knicks would come out rusty.
21:31I thought they would be a little bit slow.
21:33I thought that the Spurs had a lot of momentum beating the Thunder.
21:37And so I thought the Spurs were going to win it.
21:40Obviously, that doesn't look good now.
21:42But I can't be somebody who goes back on his prediction or changes it midway through the series.
21:45That wouldn't be fair.
21:47Fair enough.
21:47What would you say the Spurs need to change going into the rest of the series then in order to
21:53make that prediction come to fruition?
21:54Obviously, hey, man, predictions are predictions, you know, emotionless, right?
21:58This is how it goes.
21:59Emotionless predictions.
22:00What do you think they have to change, though?
22:01I think they definitely have to involve Wemby in much more creative actions, too much isolation.
22:08And I don't think Wemby isolating on Cat is going to â it may work for a game or two,
22:14but it's not going to work for the whole series.
22:15It's not going to win a championship off of that matchup.
22:17I think that's a little bit too tough.
22:19So they're going to have to find ways to get Wemby in closeout situations where he is able to attack
22:26whoever is guarding him,
22:27not just one-on-one with all the help defense set and staring at him.
22:32I think that's going to be huge.
22:34That's going to be really important.
22:36They need to clean up their offensive â you know, the Knicks got 23 points off of second-chance points.
22:42So, you know, defensive rebounding for the Spurs is going to be really important.
22:46I personally think down the stretch they need to double-team Jalen Brunson.
22:52I think that they've tried to, you know, not put too much on him.
22:56You saw the â you know, you saw certain teams just full-out double-team him.
23:03And they've given â you know, they've trusted Castle and anybody else who guards him.
23:09Like, we're going to see what you can do.
23:10But I do think down the stretch they should mix in some double-teaming on Brunson.
23:14But, again, if they don't do any of that in the Knicks win â
23:18Go Knicks. See you at the parade.
23:19I'll also be happy.
23:21But no matter what, I think it's going to be a great series, great basketball being played.
23:25So much respect for both teams.
23:26No, 100%.
23:27Spurs would blitz Shea Gilgis when he passed the free throw â not the half-court line.
23:33They would blitz him regularly.
23:35I'm interested to see if they bring that back into the fold here.
23:38Do you think that exhaustion played a factor at all for Wemba Yama?
23:42I think it played a factor.
23:44Is that an ample or adequate excuse?
23:46No.
23:46But is that a reality?
23:47Yes.
23:48The truth is he looked tired.
23:50He looked tired in the first quarter.
23:51Yeah.
23:51He looked tired in the first two, three minutes.
23:54Is he going to be more fresh for other games?
23:57Probably.
23:58So, is that an ample excuse?
24:00Can you just â you know, no, I don't think that's an ample excuse.
24:04But I think that is genuinely a reality for him.
24:07So, I don't expect him to shoot six for 21.
24:10And even if he got all 21 of the same shots over again on another night when he has a
24:15little bit more in his legs, he'll probably make more than six of them.
24:19Jeremy, I appreciate you.
24:20Congrats on the ESPN gig.
24:21And, you know, have fun at the guard, man.
24:23Embrace that.
24:24Games three and four should be really fun back at the Mecca.
24:27So, I appreciate you giving me your time.
24:29Thank you very much.
24:30Appreciate it.
24:31Have a good one.
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