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00:16Welcome back to another episode of New York Got Game where the New York Knicks, they are two wins
00:21away. Yes, two wins away. And you know from what? For the first time since 1973, the Larry O'Brien
00:28trophy is within reach of the New York Knicks. But here's the crazy part. They haven't even played
00:34their best basketball yet. Jalen Brunson, he's shooting just 34% from the field in the series.
00:39Josh Hart, he scored just three points through two games. Victor Weminiyama, he hasn't looked like
00:43himself at all one bit. And yet the Knicks, they are back at Madison Square Garden on Monday night
00:48with a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. This all coming after a thrilling 105-104 Game 2 victory
00:55over the
00:55Spurs. So what's allowed this team to take control of the series? How have they successfully defended
00:59Wemby? Should Knicks fans start getting the brooms out of the closet? And also, what's the biggest
01:04threat to this team finishing the job? Well, we're going to answer that and so much more. We're going
01:08to do with my guy. He is the dean of Knicks Film School. The one and only Jonathan Macri joins
01:13me
01:13now. Jay Mac, what's going on, my friend? How you doing? I'm doing good, man. I've been lucky enough
01:19to talk to you quite a few times over the course of this playoff run. I think if you had
01:24told either
01:24of us a month and a half ago that we'd be sitting here and still no losses since the middle
01:31of that
01:31Atlanta series, I think we would have called you some names. Maybe some drugs. Possibly.
01:39Yeah. No. It really is crazy when you think about it. I mean, 80 years of NBA history, this is
01:46the
01:46second longest postseason winning streak. You say the words, logically you understand what they mean,
01:52and yet at the same time, I still quite haven't comprehended it, and yet here we are with a
02:00chance to do something that'll give them a place in NBA history that no one will be able to say
02:06anything about. Yeah. It's this close. It's this close. Everybody can taste it right now. The city
02:13can taste it right now. But let's get into it. We got a lot to talk about because the Knicks,
02:16they've won both games. Both were highly competitive, J-Mac. How do you think fans
02:22should balance the excitement that we're just talking about of being two wins away from a
02:26championship with the reality that the margins in these games have been razor thin? I mean,
02:31this thin that I'm showing people to the camera has been that thin. How do you balance all that
02:35that they're this close, but the margins have been so close as well?
02:39I wouldn't get too worked up about the margins in terms of feeling negative about them, only because
02:47for any fan who came into the series thinking like, oh, the Knicks took two out of three during
02:52the regular season, could have very easily been three out of three, and the Spurs are young,
02:57and this and that. The Spurs team is phenomenal. They are young, and I think that youth has showed
03:04itself, you know, definitely down the closing stretch of these last two wins. But they have
03:11put together a real special combination of young players, obviously Wemby, but, you know, Dylan
03:16Harper, Steph Castle, who hasn't even had that great of a series. You know, Julian Champagny was a
03:22perfect addition to their starting lineup. Speaking of the starting lineup, you know, they were 21-3 in
03:27the regular season with the starting five. I mean, you say that record, and it starts to sink in.
03:31Like, this is a very good team, a great team that the Knicks are dealing with. So the fact that
03:36these
03:36have been close games, I'm not surprised by that at all. I think you balance the fact that they're
03:43close with where they are by just being thankful to get both games on the road. You know, it doesn't
03:50necessarily mean anything moving forward. I don't think the fact that the Spurs are down 2-0 is going
03:57to mean that they're going to come out, you know, tomorrow night or Wednesday night. I mean, we'll see
04:01what happens tomorrow. But I don't think it means they're going to come out Monday night and not give
04:05their best effort. I think they've shown enough metal and maturity that you're going to get their
04:11best, which means you just got to play, you know. Well, I was gonna say play like you've been playing,
04:18but I think a few of the Knicks even said it. I think they have to be better.
04:20Yeah. Yeah. Which is more than fair. You've heard Mikkel Bridges say that after game two,
04:26he wasn't even happy with his performance down the stretch. I know the Knicks won and it's rare
04:29because Knicks fans have seen that game go a different way many times, but it went the Knicks
04:35way in game two and they're up 2-0 right now. So J-Mac, let me ask you this. If
04:39you had to point to one
04:40factor above all others, what do you think deserves the most credit as the single biggest reason that the
04:47Knicks have a 2-0 lead right now? Defense, for sure. So a couple numbers for you. So the Spurs
04:53are scoring 105 or 100.5 points per 100 possessions in the finals. Coming into the finals in the
05:04playoffs, they were at 115.4, which is a very good number, especially considering it's the postseason.
05:11But even in the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City, which is they were obviously the
05:16best defense in the regular season, defending champs, the whole thing. The Spurs put up 112.4
05:21points per 100 possessions. So the fact that the Knicks defense is holding them to 12 points per
05:27100 possessions lower, you know, than they were against the Oklahoma City defense, that should
05:33tell you a lot. Now, I think a little bit of this is the stage, you know, that the Spurs
05:38are on being
05:38first time the whole thing. But just going back and rewatching these games, like, I don't know that
05:45there's any individual Knick defender that could really be doing more than they're doing. I don't
05:50think they could defend better as a team. So that would, for me, easily be the thing that stands out
05:56the most. It's funny. It feels like it's also the thing that stood out the most of the playoffs. I
05:59know
05:59people have talked a lot about the offensive efficiency of this team and how good they've been
06:04and the, you know, point differential. But defense has really carried everything for the Knicks and
06:08is carrying them now here in these first two games of the playoffs. Here's a stat for you, Jay Mack.
06:13Jalen Brunson, your boy. He's made just 19 of his 56 field goal attempts in this series.
06:19And the Knicks are still up two to nothing. Crazy. Are you concerned about the captain's play? Or are you
06:25more encouraged that this team is up to nothing despite his poor shooting performances?
06:30Uh, more encouraged for sure. Uh, because I think he's gotten good shots and, uh, they have just
06:37not gone in. You know, I went back and looked over Jalen Brunson's entire playoff game log with,
06:42uh, the Knicks and he does not have three consecutive games, you know, shooting like this. Like I,
06:50if you want to put a number on it, he's never gone three straight shooting, you know, below a 47
06:55effective field goal percentage. And he's been well below that in, in both of these games.
07:00He's at a 35 effective field goal percentage for the series. Um, and then if you also look at his
07:05home versus road splits in the playoffs, has she been shooting 50% of home 37% from three, uh,
07:11at MSG
07:11and then 43% overall on the road, 31% from three on the road. So the numbers say that
07:18he is going to
07:19come home and have a, a certainly more efficient shooting performance. I just can't imagine,
07:25you know, Brunson doing this. I understand when he's awesome and the Spurs are keying in on him.
07:29I think he's going to find a way. I think some looks have been there that just haven't gone down.
07:33Yep. We've seen this man to that point. We've seen him figure it out before. We've seen a couple of
07:37rough shooting games to start a postseason series, and then he's figured it out. So you could have very
07:42good reason to believe the numbers back that up, that he could figure this out here in game three.
07:46Now you just mentioned Wemby. He has not been in his best two games and you just talked a lot
07:52about the defense. How have the Knicks successfully defended big Vic through the first two games of
07:58the finals? How do you like what the Knicks have been doing defensively on him in particular?
08:03I think they're just sure. Well, first of all, let me not put the cart before the horse.
08:07Carl Anthony Towns has been outstanding. Um, as an individual defender of, of Victor Romanyama,
08:13I understand he got dinged for those, uh, two fouls in the second half, uh, on, um, you know,
08:20a couple of nights ago. I, I, one of them was questionable. The other one, frankly, was egregious,
08:25you know, in terms of it was not a foul, but I think he's done an outstanding job on Wemby
08:30and because he has been able to hold up, they, they, first of all, they had not had to switch
08:37cat off of Wemby, which is the biggest thing they haven't had to use the OG and an OB card,
08:41so to speak. But like, even, you know, they haven't had to like ever send a double it, which
08:47is, which sounds crazy to say, but they haven't what they are doing though, as, and it's before
08:52when he gets the ball, they're, they're just showing him bodies. They're helping off of these
08:56questionable Spurs shooters. And that strategy has paid off because if you look at the Spurs
09:02shooting percentages, only Champagny is having a good series from behind the arc, which is the guy
09:06that you would expect. You want to tell me if Devin Vassell has shot a little undershot his,
09:11his percentages, that's fine. Um, but he's not a, the sort of knockdown shooter that Champagny is,
09:16who's really the only sort of player they have like that. So I think the strategy that the Knicks are
09:20employing is a sound strategy. They're executing it brilliantly. And when he has gotten them,
09:26you know, a couple of times, he's going to do that. He's a, he's a, he's a great player, but
09:30they are doing a great job, not biting on threes, not, you know, over, um, extending themselves and
09:36worried about long twos. If he hits a long two or a three, you know what, he's going to do
09:40that.
09:41And you tip your cap. So, um, I think the strategy has been good. The execution has been good.
09:45And now they just got to keep it up. Yeah. It's been fantastic. I love the fact that you mentioned
09:49Carl D Townsend. I have to note something here because if people were watching or you were
09:53listening, maybe you heard a little bit of exasperation in the voice of Jonathan Mackie
09:58here. Uh, Jay Mack, I, I, this is when you were talking about the fouls on him in the second
10:03half.
10:04I take it that you are not a fan of, uh, Mr. Tony brothers. You're not looking to see Tony
10:07brothers again, officiate another game. I just, I'm just assuming that. Yeah. That's a safe
10:13assumption. Look, it thankfully the Knicks won that game. Um, because if they did an interesting
10:20conversation, yeah, because, you know, it's one thing to watch a game and you say, ah,
10:25the officials aren't really calling it even, you know, talk about like the, what the Spurs
10:31have been allowed to do physicality wise with Jalen Brunson. But even that, that's a, you know,
10:35that's a beauty is in the eye of the beholder thing, right? There were half a dozen, just egregious,
10:42blatant, bad calls, missed calls, you know, and that's the sort of stuff that, you know,
10:47if that, that, that's, that's not supposed to swing a finals, you know, and, and it potentially
10:52could have. Thankfully it didn't. Thankfully it didn't. We're here now going back to game
10:56two. We saw Mikkel Bridges. We saw him bounce back in a major way in game two after a pretty
11:03quiet game one offensively. That is what did his performance in game two tell you about his
11:08evolution as a Nick that we've pretty much witnessed throughout a little bit of the last
11:12postseason, but also this postseason as well too. What did the performance, the way he
11:16was able to bounce back in game two tell you about his evolution as a Nick?
11:20Um, he's ready for this moment, you know, look, and you could have said that after last
11:27postseason, but, and he had some big fourth quarters in the, in the 2025 playoffs to be very
11:33clear, but you know, if you look by and large at his shooting over the course of the 2025
11:40playoffs, it was nowhere near what it has been over the course of these playoffs. And that's
11:44even with what was a pretty slow start for him over the course of the first five games
11:49against Atlanta. I mean, to me, you know, put aside the last six minutes, the defining
11:54stretch of game two was when, uh, Mike Brown opted to take Jalen Brunson off the court and,
12:00and Carl Anthony towns was in foul trouble. I think Brunson was gassed, uh, which maybe speaks
12:05to his ineffectiveness. Um, and Mikael Bridges just took over the offense and ran it like he,
12:10like he was an all-star, you know, and, and I, I don't remember, I mean, we've seen that over
12:15the,
12:16over the years. We saw that, you know, last season during the month that, um, Jalen Brunson was,
12:21was out, uh, the, the Portland game obviously stands out. There were a couple others, but
12:25for him to do that on this stage, um, with these stakes, you know, there's just, there's no fear
12:33in him. Is he always effective? Is he always assertive? No, but I don't think you're, he's
12:39ever going to be afraid of the moment. And the best thing about Mikael Bridges is he does not
12:44let a, a, a, um, a downswing impact what he's going to do in the next game. Like he, he
12:50finished
12:51the Cleveland series, didn't shoot well in game four. As you said, he didn't have a very loud game
12:55one. And then he comes out on Friday night, like those things didn't happen. So I have a ton of
13:00confidence in Mikael Bridges and, but you also nailed it defensively since game one of the
13:05playoffs, there has been zero let up and he's been just him and OG have been the two, you know,
13:11and, and cat and cat has been the two constants or three constants in this defense. Yeah. He's been
13:15fantastic defensively, even in this series, right? Offensively. That's why I made sure I put that word
13:20in there. Offensively, not so great in game one, but the defense has never let up for
13:24Mikael Bridges at all. Now we got to talk about another one of your boys, Josh Hart. One of
13:30nine from the field in this series has only scored three points through two games. While
13:36got to know, we got to be fair to the whole experience. He's also been in foul trouble quite
13:40often. Are you concerned at all about Hart's play? Or do you just look at this as this is
13:46a temporary slump for Josh Hart? What do you say? Um, I, I'm not concerned in the sense that I
13:53don't
13:53think, you know, the, what we've seen is indicative of what he's going to be for the rest of the
13:58series,
13:59however long it goes. We know Josh Hart goes through shooting slumps and when he's in a shooting
14:03slump, um, you could see it, you could feel it in how confident he is, uh, when he releases a
14:10shot.
14:11That said it could turn within a game, just like we saw it turn within, you know, game two against
14:17the Cleveland Cavaliers and arguably, you know, what won that game for them by, by making threes.
14:22Uh, I think where I'm concerned though, is if he doesn't bust out of the slump, you know, this is
14:29a really, really, really difficult defense to navigate. If you have a perimeter player who
14:36you're just the, the, the, they don't have to guard, uh, whether it's when be not guarding
14:41him or somebody else not guarding him and the Knicks are having enough issues trying to score
14:45in this series. So, and the other thing is, and the, the defensive metrics through two games,
14:50back me up on this. The Knicks defense has not been nearly as good when Hart has been on the
14:55bench
14:55so far in the series. He is just having that extra big physical body on the floor, both on the
15:01boards
15:01and to stay in front of, you know, your, your Harper's and your, your castles of the world.
15:06Um, it, it really, cause you know, deuce is good. Sham, it's good. Those guys fight, but they're not
15:11Josh Hart defensively. Um, I think especially against this group of guards, which I think Hart
15:16is well-suited to cover. So they need him to play better on offense just for no other reason than
15:23so
15:23that he could stay on the floor on the other end. Um, so, you know, from that perspective, yes,
15:27I'm a little concerned. All right. A little bit concerned. We'll see if Josh Hart is able to get
15:30things together as we move on through this series. Now, one thing that you and I have
15:35talked about a lot with this Knicks squad over the last couple of years is, or ask the question,
15:40I'll say, we were trying to figure it out. What is the identity of this team? And then during this
15:44run, J Mac, this team has shown, I mean, it's been, the composure has been incredible. We just have to
15:50say that's what it's a composure. We saw this just the other night. Do you look at it as having
15:55that
15:55composure, that incredible composure that we've seen from the Knicks? Is that their most
16:00championship level trait? Is this the way we will remember this team if they are able to get two
16:05more wins and get the NBA championship? Is that their most championship level trait? Just the fact
16:10that they have had incredible composure? Yeah. Um, so look, it's interesting because we're,
16:18you're asked this question and we're coming off of a game in which they almost blew a 14 point lead
16:23in the last six minutes, which you would not normally say that that is a trade of a composed
16:28team. And it's also, look, let's be, let's be honest. It's not the first time they've done that. Um,
16:33you know, we'll never, we'll never forget, you know, game one of the Eastern conference finals last
16:37year. So it's not that they are infallible, but they, they, I don't think they ever let the score or
16:48the
16:48situation get to them. And I think there's no better evidence of that than the fact that they have been
16:54down. They've been trailing in the final two minutes of each of these games and they have won each of
16:59these games. You know, there was the stack going around after game one of the finals that showed, um,
17:04I think it was the rest of the NBA and playoff games over the last two years or three years
17:09is 10 and a hundred when they're trailing by at least 14 points. And for the Knicks, they're,
17:13they're six and six, you know, so you can't count them out and you, you won't rattle them.
17:20And I think in particular, you won't rattle Jalen Brunson and, and, and Jalen Brunson just won't get
17:25rattled by his own play either. Like he, he was having, I mean, for him by his standards in atrocious
17:31game.
17:32Um, and then sure enough in the last, you know, a couple of minutes, he hits two massive shots and
17:38I understand he missed one free throw, but he made one and that ended up being enough of a margin.
17:42So,
17:43um, yeah, it, it, I think it is their defining characteristic and, uh, hopefully, you know,
17:49they can, uh, display it, uh, fully for however many games are left in this series.
17:55Right. That, that is the hope. And in some ways we should have, maybe it wasn't this good during
18:00the regular season. I think you and I both know the differences between regular season basketball
18:04and post-season basketball, they're almost two different games, two different sports,
18:07but we did see this team have the best fourth quarter net rating throughout the season. We have
18:12seen them have some major comebacks, um, throughout the season. So it's in some ways, um, it shouldn't be
18:20that shocking. Now looking at the Spurs because they have shown fight in this series, despite
18:27losing the first two games. What do you think is the most obvious counter that this, if there is
18:31one that the Spurs have available as the series shifts back here to New York city, what do you
18:37think is maybe the counter that the Spurs can play here in game three that you would expect to see?
18:43I don't know that there's a great one other than keep trying to attack Jalen Brunson on the defensive
18:48end. I think defensively the Spurs were doing everything that they could do. I don't know,
18:55you know, the, you know, the Knicks have scored 105 points in each of the, in each of the games,
18:59that's Spurs are doing what they need to do on the defensive end. Um, I think it is, it's on
19:05them to
19:05score more. And I think, you know, maybe it's attacking Jalen Brunson more, um, maybe playing,
19:12De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper more, maybe trying all three of their, you know, kind of,
19:20you know, quasi point guards together more. We haven't really seen Fox castle and, and Harper
19:26together as much, um, you know, because, you know, and in part, because it's, it is kind of smaller,
19:33but at the same time, like those guys, they're physical, they're big, they're tough. Um, I
19:37understand they haven't gotten anything from their bench or haven't gotten much from their bench.
19:41I would just, to me, you know, Harper, especially, I mean, if I was them, if I was a fan
19:48of their
19:48team, I, I, now's the time I want to empty the tank, like give me, you know, you want,
19:53you don't want to change your starting lineup. That's fine. But put them in after, you know,
19:59four or five minutes and just let them play the rest of the half, each half, uh, and, and at
20:03least
20:03go down swinging in that way, because he, to me is the guy, not that the Knicks don't have an
20:09answer
20:09for him, but when you put him out there with those other threatening players, I just think it puts so
20:13much pressure on the Knicks to, to, you know, stay sturdy. And that's, you know, that's really hard,
20:19but they've done a great job so far. I don't know that there is some major adjustment though,
20:24that they could make.
20:25It may not be, it'll be interesting to see if Harper does play more. It'll be very
20:28interesting to see, um, what happens there. So we know this game three, the series can be a swing
20:34game, right? You know, on this series, look, the Knicks can go up three, Oh, and be in complete
20:39control, or this could be two one. But the mantra for this Knicks team has been that the job isn't
20:44done yet. Even when they are leading a series during this whole run, we've seen this. So what do you
20:49think is the biggest threat to the Knicks finishing this series off? If, if the Knicks
20:54let the Spurs back into the finals, what would likely be the reason that they let them back in?
21:01Um, I, I mean, I'll answer that, I guess by saying, okay, between the two sides of the ball,
21:07between the Knicks on defense and the Knicks, I mean, obviously they could, the Spurs could just
21:11have a very hot shooting game from deep, but at the same time, I just noticed this stat earlier
21:17today when I was on with, with Jeremy, um, the, the Spurs shot above 40% on their above the
21:24break
21:24threes in game two, like that's a really good number. And, you know, the Knicks obviously had
21:31the big lead late and you saw the cell hit, you know, a very quick, you know, above the break
21:36three,
21:37you saw, you know, Darren Fox hit a step back. Like they, they made some tough shots. Um, and
21:46so I, I don't know that like, we're going to be sitting here saying, Oh, well, you know,
21:50the Spurs offense has just been kind of lying in wait and they, they, they had this great
21:53shooting game left in them. I, I just, I, I don't see it. Um, I think if anything, if
22:02the Spurs get back in this series in a significant way, it's the conversation is going to be about
22:07the Knicks offense and the fact that they have not been able to kind of sort out what is a,
22:16a just
22:17consistent sound approach against this defense. And I, but even as I say that, like, I don't know
22:26that there is a consistent sound approach against this defense when women Yama is on the court, like
22:30it is never going to look pretty because they have the personnel to just make you look like you are
22:36struggling on every possession. And the fact that the Knicks have gotten that the amount of really
22:40good looks and really good offensive possessions that they've gotten is just a testament to how
22:44well they've been playing. But I think if we're looking at, you know, what, if they, let's say
22:47if they lose game three, if I had to guess what, what we're talking about afterwards, I would guess
22:51we're talking about the offense, talking about the offense. All right, we'll see. Hopefully the
22:53offense can be even better than we saw from them in the first two games. A couple more things for
22:58you, Jay Mack. Um, I know you've seen this. You definitely have seen how excited this Knicks fan base
23:03is with the Knicks two wins away from their first title in 53 years. And last week when
23:07I was on your show, we were talking about, Oh man, if they go up to all, should you start
23:15thinking about sweet and shout out to our guy, Sean? And he said, look, I'm thinking about
23:21the broom already. And I said, all right, you can open the door after two games. Do you think
23:25it's fair for Knicks fans to start thinking about a potential sweep and tying the longest postseason
23:31winning streak in NBA history? If they finish off the finals in that way, is it too early
23:35to think about it? Or are you going there? I just want to know, is it fine for people
23:39to think about it? And are you even going there to thinking about a potential sweep in this
23:43series? Well, the only time I ever really get in trouble in my position at Knicks film
23:49school is when I tell fans what to think. So I look, I'm not even within our faculty.
23:55I mean, you heard what Sean said, like he, you know, people are going to think what they're
23:58going to think. For me, I can only think about this one game at a time because I, as will
24:06surprise nobody who has ever heard me talk about, you know, games before. I just have
24:11so much respect for the Spurs team and what they're capable of. And, you know, we could,
24:17I could sit here and I could give you a great soundbite about the possibility of a sweep and
24:22then the Knicks lose game three. And then it's like, oh my God, now game four is a must
24:29win game. Otherwise you give up home court advantage. So I think that, look, here's what
24:34we know. We know the Knicks are taking it one game at a time. We know the Knicks are not
24:38thinking about sweep. We know the Knicks are not thinking about the potential for history.
24:44Um, and I don't think the Knicks and I, for me, I'm not thinking about that yet. I, and, and
24:50you
24:51know what, I'll add this. That's probably in part because for me as a fan, I just want to see
24:59a
24:59title, you know, at some point. Um, and I look, would it be great if they win this series of
25:07four
25:07games? Of course. But the bigger, the benefit to me in that sense is I just won't have to deal
25:12with
25:13the pain of a loss because I know if they lose a game in this finals, it will absolutely crush
25:17me.
25:18Um, even if they, you know, wind up winning it. And I just don't want to deal with that.
25:22The history stuff. Look, that's, that's great off season conversation and, and, and stuff to
25:28look back on years from now. But for me right now, just get two more wins. However they come.
25:33That's, that's all I'm thinking about. Hey, listen, some people are going to hear you say that.
25:37And they're going to say, J Mac gave the coach speak answer. He gave the Brunson answers one game
25:42at a time. That's all you could do. Now you did answer a question I had. Would it mean more
25:46to
25:46you if they swept? That's what I was asking. Yeah, of course it would be dope. You, none of us
25:51have
25:51seen what losing has been like with the Knicks since the NFL draft, since they were in the NFL
25:55draft. It's been that long since we've seen them lose. So it would be nice if they finished the job
26:00off. But yeah, I think most Knicks fans, as dope as that would be, I think most Knicks fans are
26:06with
26:06you. And that's like, just get two more wins. However the hell you get them. Get that title. You've been,
26:12waiting 53 years, not all of us, but it's been 53 years. Like just, just get two more wins. I
26:18think
26:18that's the thing. Last thing for me, J Mac, before I let you go here, let's do some prediction time
26:23here. What do you think is your, what's your biggest X factor for game three? And then how do
26:29you see game three playing out? Do you see it as a Knicks win? Do you see it as a
26:32Knicks loss? Give me
26:33your biggest X factor and prediction for game three. Um, my biggest X factor is, is honestly
26:41how both teams, but obviously, especially the Spurs deal with an atmosphere that I, I don't think any
27:01of them are prepared for what they're about to see and hear and feel in Madison Square Garden
27:07on Monday night. And so I'm just curious how that goes. And I guess, I don't know if this is
27:16an X factor,
27:16but like, can the Spurs somehow not quiet the crowd? Cause listen, you're not going to quiet this
27:23crowd, but like, can they take a little bit of the air out of the balloon early enough, which is
27:29why
27:29look, the first five, 10 minutes of the game are always massive. I think the first five, 10 minutes
27:34of this game are going to be so, so, so vital because you know, the Knicks want to reward this
27:44home crowd and, and not as even less for them is for themselves. Cause if they could keep that
27:50frenzy, you know, the, the, the, the closest thing I have, as far as a comparison is the,
27:55the game three against the calves, um, three years ago in 2023, when they came home one, one
28:03and I'll never forget, like the, the cat, there was no chance that the Cavaliers were winning that
28:08game. Like they just, you could tell from the opening tip they had, they, they, their composure was not
28:12there. I don't think the Spurs that's going to happen to the Spurs. I think the Spurs are going
28:15to be more composed, but can we, can we get enough, uh, of a, of a lack of composure as
28:21far as how I
28:22see the game playing out? Like, obviously I'm looking at Brunson, I'm looking at heart, see if
28:27those guys can, can make some more shots. Um, I'm confident in how all the other guys are playing.
28:32I think Shamit or, or McBride or both are going to have a nice game at home. They seem to
28:37feed off the
28:37home crowd and like, look, the team has won 13 games in a row. I'm not going to sit here
28:41and pick a
28:42loss in like the, the first finals game at MSG in, uh, you know, in, in 27 years. So yeah,
28:48I think they're going to win. Absolutely. I agree with you too. I think they're going to win. I do
28:53think that I'm with you. I'm not going to say that I think the start of this game, which I
28:58totally
28:58agree is going to be major. I don't think it's going to be too much for the Spurs, but I
29:02think
29:02can it be enough that it knocks the Spurs off and gives the Knicks some bit of a separation cushion
29:08to play the rest of the game with. I think that could happen because it, look, I'll be in the
29:12building. I, it's going to be nuts. I just know this. I, I'm pretty convinced in my sports journalism
29:18career, there'll be nothing I've experienced like that. It's going to be, it's going to be crazy.
29:24I'm, I, I just expect the roof to blow off and not literally, but you know, I, I think that'll
29:30happen. And I think Knicks are going to feed well off of that. I think the Knicks players, you question
29:35if they would be prepared for it too. I think the Knicks players, it might take them some adjusting
29:39to as well, but yeah, but I do think they can adjust quicker is what I would say.
29:46I agree with that. It's just, it's interesting because you know, we're, we're sitting here
29:51recording this 27 hours or whatever it is before game three. If you were to talk to me around the
29:58same time before game one, I was, I was like composed, not feeling any nerves, same deal. Game two,
30:05even the day of game two, like I was fine until about an hour or hour or two before game
30:10time.
30:10It's just when I started to get a little nervous sitting here tonight, Sunday, you know, follow
30:16after 5 PM. I am already feeling it because of, as you just said it, I won't be in the
30:24building,
30:24but you know, we're doing the, the watch along on the Knicks film school YouTube channel, but
30:28I, I'm already feeling it. I'm already feeling because of how big of a, an event it is. I, so
30:35I get
30:35that, that that's not crazy to me. And you know, as long as I've known you, that's not crazy to
30:40me to
30:40hear that either. I think, I don't even think, I think I'm thinking about it now after hearing you say
30:46that, and I don't think I'm going to feel it, the whole energy of it until I'm on my way
30:51to the garden
30:52tomorrow. I think when I get around it, it's when I'm going to feel it, that this is the biggest
30:58basketball game in men's basketball game in New York city history in quite some time.
31:03Yeah. And the other thing real, real quick, you know, it's like going into game one, you know,
31:11let's say, you know, game one played out in the Spurs, you know, win by 30 and it's like, oh,
31:16okay. Uh, the, the Knicks, they just can't match up with this team. It's like, all right. Like,
31:21but, and then same thing after, let's say they won game one and then they lost game two. It's like,
31:25all right, you came, you did what you had to do. We now know the Knicks are good enough to
31:31win the
31:31championship. There's no question that the Knicks are good enough to win the championship. There's
31:35no question. They are in a position to win the championship. So if it's possible for the pressure
31:41to have ratcheted up significantly from even before game one, I think it has. And I understand that
31:49may not make sense to some people listening, but that's genuinely how I feel. Yeah. I get it. Do you
31:54think one last thing for you? Do you think if they win, let's say they win game three and they
32:03win in somewhat comfortable fashion? I'll say, let's, I'll give a 15 point victory. I think
32:08you'll take that. I think you'll sign for that. Let's say that I'll take a victory by a half a
32:13point. I'm sure you would. I'm sure you would. Let's say that happens. Jay Mack. Okay. Do you think
32:19you have the same anxiety for game four because then it will be so close to them to the championship?
32:25I know, I know you want to take it one game at a time, but I think hearing you talk
32:28about
32:29what you're feeling now made me think about how there can still even be anxiety despite
32:33them winning game three, even if it's comfortable because you're so close to something that you've
32:38wanted to happen for so long. Do you think that ratchets up for you a little bit? I'll check
32:43in with you after game three, but I'm just curious. What'd you think?
32:47I'll be, I'll still be feeling anxious, but you know, as Zach Lowe always says, someone's
32:54going to do it. Someone's going to come back from three Oh down. And obviously nobody wants
32:57to be, be that team. Um, so I'll, I'll still be anxious, but I would guess that the anxiety
33:05would be less than it is right now. Okay. I can see them. Well, I think there's a lot
33:11of the Knicks fans that feel exactly like you, um, and are anxious about tomorrow because
33:16they're halfway there, halfway there. The Knicks are to winning the NBA title here in
33:222026. What a journey it's been. Uh, J Mac, I appreciate you, man, for coming along with
33:27me here and talking about it on New York out game while you're still very anxious as we
33:32are a little bit over 24 hours from the tip off of the biggest game in New York City in
33:37men's basketball history in quite some time. Uh, J Mac, good luck. Stay sane. Don't, don't
33:44go crazy. Enjoy game three. It should be dope vibes, man. I, I appreciate you coming on with
33:49me as always.
33:51It's a pleasure's all mine. Uh, have a great time, bring good vibes to the arena. I'm sure
33:55that won't be a problem for you. And, uh, yeah, we'll, we'll talk afterwards for sure.
33:59Yeah, I'll try it. That is Jonathan Macri. Check them out with Knicks Film School. Check
34:02them out. They do their great live watch along as well, too, during the game. J Mac
34:07will have you all covered with the KFS crew. I'm Dexter Ami. That's going to do it for this
34:11edition of New York out game. We'll catch you more coverage this week throughout the rest
34:15of the NBA finals. We'll see if the Knicks can get the job done. You can see that.
34:21And thanks for watching New York got game. Boom shakalaka.
34:33Nnnigation of the Kay Indian iight defeated Chia presents
34:33I've been waiting for a fewé liquid mounts to pull the
34:33to leave for 10 minutes. We'll be right in the game for a month, and I'm
34:33determined to knock you in a bright future to return.
34:33I vuelta this. I'm so excited for you for general reason.
34:33And how about the steps of opening cab�
34:34We're also excited about how cool together.
34:34And we're surprised at the beginning of Blue's X Tem graduates.
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