00:00Coach, how shocked are you that the Knicks, on the road, 2-0,
00:06it's one thing, Coach, to get two wins.
00:08It's another thing to go into San Antonio's barn and get a 2-0 lead.
00:13How did they get there?
00:15Well, it is amazing.
00:17I mean, they've won eight straight road playoff games.
00:20That's phenomenal, 13 playoff games in a row overall.
00:24I mean, it's even hard to wrap your head around that.
00:30I think, first of all, like, I think we've all seen it in series.
00:36You know, you get that first one on the road.
00:38The tendency a lot of times is you have a little bit of a let-up in game two
00:42because you feel like we've done our job.
00:45We went in, we got a game on the road, and now we've got home court advantage.
00:51And the Knicks, throughout this entire playoff run,
00:54I think the thing they have done best is stay in the moment.
00:58They've stayed in the moment from game to game, from series to series,
01:02and they've stayed in the moment during games from minute to minute.
01:06I don't think they let down when they get a lead.
01:11Teams may come back.
01:12I think they really have a great understanding and a great maturity,
01:17and that starts with Mike and his staff about it's truly, it's a cliche,
01:21but it's true.
01:22It's a 48-minute game.
01:23And the only thing that matters is we're ahead at the end of it.
01:28So, you know, giving up a lead like they did last night does not panic them.
01:36It's all part of the game.
01:37Being down big like they were the Cleveland game, the best example.
01:45Game one, they're down 22 points in the fourth quarter.
01:47They stay in the moment.
01:49They play the next possession.
01:51They're just trying to play as well as they can all the time.
01:56I think it's a remarkable trait.
01:58It's a hard one to get in a team, and they've done a tremendous job with that.
02:03Coach, I'll tell you, too.
02:04You know, when you can elevate a player from the regular season to the postseason,
02:10how great has Carl Anthony Towns played?
02:12I mean, Cat doesn't even look like the same player right now.
02:17No, he doesn't, Dan.
02:18Look, I think this is Carl Anthony Towns at his best.
02:25I think two things have maybe three, but I think what has happened is, number one,
02:32and I'm sure, Dan, you saw this in your football career, too.
02:37When guys come into the league when they're young, probably first five, six years, maybe
02:44even longer, like, you're focused on making it and on making your name.
02:50And it's, I'm not going to say that guys play selfishly, but their focus is on,
02:57I've got to prove who I am and how I belong.
03:00Well, Carl Anthony Towns now has been an all-star multiple years.
03:05He's maybe the best shooting big man of all time.
03:09He's put up huge numbers.
03:11And I think guys get to a point in their career with, like, okay, I've done all that.
03:15You know what I want to do now?
03:16I want to win.
03:17That's all that matters to me is I want to win.
03:22And I think he has accepted a lesser offensive role and done whatever it's taken for the team to win.
03:32But I think the other thing that has happened is Mike Brown over the course of the year,
03:38and it took a while, but he's really figured out the role that fits best for Carl Anthony Towns
03:45within the rest of the Knicks roster.
03:48And then he's gotten buy-in from Cat, who has really embraced the role.
03:53Like, I almost think Cat falls in love with the playmaking part of his role a little too much at
04:00times.
04:01Like, just go score the ball, my man.
04:03But he's really bought into it.
04:06He's bought into the defensive, into the floor.
04:10I think Mike's done a great job with him.
04:13And you've got to give Cat a lot of credit for the way he has matured and sacrificed this year
04:22for the good of the team.
04:23I mean, just tremendous.
04:25I have a lot of respect for what he's done.
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