Speaker 1: That our files sucks spreading the news.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, he just turned this Celtics.
Speaker 3: Could be leaving today, depending on when you're listening to
Speaker 3: this to you you, Yes, the.
Speaker 2: Knicks are up three in one against the defending champions.
Speaker 4: Terrible entry for Jason Tatum, though Indiana continues what has
Speaker 4: been an impressive six week stretch. Nuggets thunder back and forth,
Speaker 4: back and forth, back and forth. Real tough series, and
Speaker 4: we'll get into all of that him or with Leuch
Speaker 4: reportstamp value on today's episode.
Speaker 5: I am mild Thread and I'm Jack O'Brien, and this
Speaker 5: is Mile Miles got mad.
Speaker 2: Okay, don't you be driving Spinny, that's our number.
Speaker 6: Just secure you.
Speaker 2: Sorry, that was my alarm going off telling me to
Speaker 2: sing Miles and Jack on mad Boostie's into my microphone.
Speaker 2: Turn down your thing.
Speaker 4: Also, make sure your alarm is off when you activate
Speaker 4: your rice. Just don't don't activate it. To out of
Speaker 4: Nowhere on us NBA writer for leads You Report, host
Speaker 4: of the Hardwood Knocks NBA podcast, dam of a Valley.
Speaker 2: Great to have you on. Yeah, Nick span much was
Speaker 2: it too hot onto their own team going into this one?
Speaker 2: I mean, none of us are right. I needed it.
Speaker 2: I needed it, I demanded it.
Speaker 4: When I go out, the Celtics have to go out
Speaker 4: at all costs. So I was all in on the Knicks,
Speaker 4: but not that I believed. I just desperately needed the
Speaker 4: Knicks to win. But Dan, how where are you at?
Speaker 4: Where'd you start and where are you now? Because I
Speaker 4: heard you were not you weren't really too hot on
Speaker 4: on them right now.
Speaker 7: Yeah, you know. Producer Bari reached out and asked if.
Speaker 8: We could talk about this series when I was coming on,
Speaker 8: and my response to him was, I don't think the
Speaker 8: Knicks are still going to be playing by the time.
Speaker 7: That I make this appearance.
Speaker 8: So you thought it was gonna be a sweep. I
Speaker 8: thought it was gonna be like a five game set
Speaker 8: or a sweep. Yeah, that's what That's what I thought
Speaker 8: coming in, And I mean consecutive twenty point comes backs
Speaker 8: fall by Game three in which they fall back down
Speaker 8: by twenty plus again and actually lose. Game four was
Speaker 8: kind of like the eye opener where it feels like, oh,
Speaker 8: there might be something here because the Jason Tatum injury
Speaker 8: is catastrophic, but the Knicks We're gonna win that game.
Speaker 2: Anyway, like we're gonna win. So that's that was the
Speaker 2: one that surprised me. The Knicks went up two to
Speaker 2: oh to won the first two games in Boston coming home,
Speaker 2: and we're still underdogs, and I agreed with that. I
Speaker 2: was like, yeah, there's are just gonna win the next four.
Speaker 2: And I was wrong. The Knicks are much tougher than
Speaker 2: I thought, and the Celtics I think more flawed. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that game three felt like kind of what we thought
Speaker 2: it would be.
Speaker 4: Were like, well, if they start making their threes, then
Speaker 4: it's kind of a different story. And then when that happens, like, okay,
Speaker 4: so maybe maybe here, but yeah, I mean it's Jason Tatum.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it was his achilles uh ruptured there.
Speaker 2: That's awful in the midst of like the game that
Speaker 2: where he was finally doing the thing that everybody was like,
Speaker 2: this is who he needs to be, right what his
Speaker 2: box score was? Wild? Yeah yeah yeah forty two eight
Speaker 2: four steals, two blocks. Yeah, yeah, I'm so by Jack
Speaker 2: your theory. Now you're my theory. Everybody's burying them, which
Speaker 2: is exactly the only way that you could get everybody
Speaker 2: to agree the Celtics are cooked. Was this right, And
Speaker 2: I just feel like they are still extremely talented. They're
Speaker 2: still as talented, I think as most of most of
Speaker 2: the teams. I don't know. I just I could see
Speaker 2: them like putting together a run here. I don't know
Speaker 2: if they win it, but I could definitely see it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: a last gasp convulsion if you will. Yeah, yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't know. But Dan, do you think I'm crazy here now?
Speaker 2: It seems like you've got some confidence.
Speaker 7: Oh no, absolutely not.
Speaker 8: I think as a Knicks fan, you're always just waiting
Speaker 8: for the other shoot to drop. I really do think though,
Speaker 8: when you look at the Celtics without Jason Tatum, they're
Speaker 8: still super talented. Their shallower gets harder to initiate their offense.
Speaker 8: But if you told me that, if you told me
Speaker 8: they won the series, I'd be pretty surprised. Just being
Speaker 8: down three to one and then watching your best player
Speaker 8: go down the way he did has to be deflating.
Speaker 8: But if you told me there was a game seven,
Speaker 8: I'm not saying I would predict it, but it just
Speaker 8: wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 7: Like, they're still superpersonal.
Speaker 8: I can do a lot of things defensively, and I
Speaker 8: think we had questions about their offense with Jason Tatum.
Speaker 8: So now the question about their offense I think become
Speaker 8: more pronounced without him on the floor being able to
Speaker 8: hit those really difficult jumpers when their offense bogs down.
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, I will say like there was always like
Speaker 2: one of the only things that I had as a
Speaker 2: Celtic's you know, hater, was that I felt like they
Speaker 2: never fully it. Never they never felt like they were
Speaker 2: just like and Tatum's our guy and now here He's
Speaker 2: gonna like get us a bucket when we need it,
Speaker 2: and like we just all rally behind him, like even
Speaker 2: last year he wasn't the best player in the finals
Speaker 2: on their team, and it just like never felt like
Speaker 2: it fully came together. So like this, maybe this like
Speaker 2: clears some space in whatever the weird kind of electricity
Speaker 2: is of like team dynamics that govern these sorts of things.
Speaker 2: I could just see something weird happening here. I'm not
Speaker 2: necessarily predicting it, but it wouldn't shock me. And it
Speaker 2: does feel like everyone's just like well they if they
Speaker 2: weren't cooked before, they certainly are now. Like I mean,
Speaker 2: I would even say if they had won that game
Speaker 2: and Tatum doesn't get injured the Knicks just win? Like,
Speaker 2: why that still put the Knicks up seven with a
Speaker 2: couple of minutes to go. Do you think the Celtics
Speaker 2: would still be favored? Because they were favored after going
Speaker 2: down two in the first two games in in Boston,
Speaker 2: like coming to Madison Square Garden, they were still favored,
Speaker 2: Like do you think down three to one going home? Like,
Speaker 2: wouldn't they still be favored.
Speaker 7: In Game five? Yes?
Speaker 8: I think for this series, no, but it probably would
Speaker 8: have been something super slight where it's like they're a
Speaker 8: plus one oh.
Speaker 2: Five, right, or something that's so wild it's unbelievable. Just enough,
Speaker 2: just enough? Yeah, man, the Jalen Brunstd of it all too,
Speaker 2: he's unbelievable. Man, tough, so good man.
Speaker 7: Imagine losing him for nothing, at least, not.
Speaker 2: For nothing, not for nothing, not for No, you didn't
Speaker 2: think this was all part of the plan. Come on,
Speaker 2: you didn't know, you knew exactly? Do we want to
Speaker 2: talk about the draft real quick? Because you want to
Speaker 2: get into this gets into my h A question that
Speaker 2: I have for you, Dan, because I'm a Sixers fan,
Speaker 2: the Sixers, and goodness I was, I was Daryl Morey
Speaker 2: yesterday like, I got my head on in my hands,
Speaker 2: just like I couldn't look when they said the Sixers
Speaker 2: lost their pick. That felt bad. Uh. The ESPN commentator
Speaker 2: accidentally said, the Sixers lost their pick, so the MAVs
Speaker 2: obviously get Cooper Flag. Incredible, now that now the trade
Speaker 2: makes sense? Uh somehow, you know if you just just
Speaker 2: scales have been balanced. Yeah, exactly, if you assume like
Speaker 2: just that this because they you know, if they kept Luca,
Speaker 2: they weren't going to be in the lottery, So in
Speaker 2: a roundabout way, they did this was part of the trade,
Speaker 2: and they did just get Cooper Flag, and suddenly it
Speaker 2: now makes sense for the first time since it happened.
Speaker 2: I will say the Sixers are now in the third
Speaker 2: the third spot and the projected pick for two and
Speaker 2: three are teammates and their teammates who played on a
Speaker 2: team that did not make the NC Double A tournament
Speaker 2: and were bad. And I have as a Sixers fan,
Speaker 2: I have some questions here. I have some experience with this.
Speaker 2: I was so we picked markel Foltz number one ahead
Speaker 2: of Jason Tatum. His team had won ten games the year,
Speaker 2: but they were like ten and twenty the year before.
Speaker 2: He was drafted by the Sixers. We picked Ben Simmons.
Speaker 2: His team was like five hundred, did not make the
Speaker 2: NC Double a tournament, And both times the Sixers just
Speaker 2: convinced themselves that doesn't really mean any thing. These guys
Speaker 2: were like super talented. I went, I was like, does
Speaker 2: it not mean anything? So I went to Reddit to
Speaker 2: be like, whoa, who are the players who have played
Speaker 2: on teams that were bad and who were like on
Speaker 2: bad college teams who went on to be like great
Speaker 2: NBA players and the like most relevant thread was one
Speaker 2: from eight years ago when Mark el Foltz was drafted
Speaker 2: and people were like, oh, I'll tell you who was
Speaker 2: Ben Simmons. He's he's a superstar and he was on
Speaker 2: a bed So that didn't quite work out. But like
Speaker 2: even when a star comes from a bad team, like
Speaker 2: they usually elevate them, like you know, Steph On Davidson,
Speaker 2: CJ McCullough, Like even one of the answers in the
Speaker 2: thread was Dame but like we were State was twenty
Speaker 2: one and ten and fifteen and one like in conference
Speaker 2: play like his last year, like one of his last years,
Speaker 2: and so I don't I don't know who is the
Speaker 2: cump where it's like this person couldn't get their college
Speaker 2: team to win games and then they went on to
Speaker 2: be an amazing NBA player. Like it just that that
Speaker 2: bothers me too much and that and plus it's two
Speaker 2: of them, number two and three, Like I just feel
Speaker 2: like we're leaving something out and that that's like even
Speaker 2: the Jalen Brunson thing like rings in my head too,
Speaker 2: because he was a player coming out who was you know,
Speaker 2: not the right size, like didn't have all those like
Speaker 2: intangibles and like the things that people look for at
Speaker 2: the combine, and he was vastly, vastly underrated, who was like,
Speaker 2: you know, a leader on a team that won championships
Speaker 2: like that. It's just like, I don't love the idea
Speaker 2: of picking one of the Rutgers guys personally, But Dan,
Speaker 2: what do you think.
Speaker 7: That's I never thought about it in that context.
Speaker 8: I think it's probably a fair concern to have, especially
Speaker 8: when you're drafting that high. And if it's two guys
Speaker 8: were considered these cornerstone type pieces, you kind of wonder
Speaker 8: where like Joelle Ebiid and Andrew Wiggins played together and
Speaker 8: like they weren't the most intuitive fit and that team
Speaker 8: found ways to win games anyway. Yeah, that's an interesting
Speaker 8: theory that I hadn't given.
Speaker 2: Like Embiid also was like just learning to play basketball,
Speaker 2: like like he was like, wait, do I so I
Speaker 2: have to dribble it?
Speaker 9: Right?
Speaker 2: I can't just like spite that's volleyball. Sorry. I yeah,
Speaker 2: sometimes I forget like he was new to the game
Speaker 2: when he was like playing at Kansas and still like, yeah,
Speaker 2: they they could win games, you know, like it's just
Speaker 2: to not to have the two second and third best
Speaker 2: players and not make the NCAA tournament is wild to me.
Speaker 7: I mean, Lebron's college team didn't make the double nc
Speaker 7: DOUBLEA tournament.
Speaker 2: Yeah that's true, that's true. But those are really good
Speaker 2: points guys. I was going to say. I was like,
Speaker 2: what if they they never did? I mean, both of
Speaker 2: those guys would have gone to don is there? I mean.
Speaker 4: But then on the other side of that coin, like
Speaker 4: you know, you'll also have those players who did it,
Speaker 4: play on great teams and really just came of age
Speaker 4: once they got into the league.
Speaker 2: Yeah you know what I mean, you got like your
Speaker 2: Pippin Singer Rodmans and stuff like that.
Speaker 4: But but I do get what you mean, it's like
Speaker 4: because then because there is an emphasis to be like
Speaker 4: we're gonna you're gonna go that high in the draft,
Speaker 4: but then you're kind of can't get it done on
Speaker 4: ther you know, in your your last college season. I
Speaker 4: get how that kind of looks a little bit. It's like,
Speaker 4: was this the most elite if there is? Like because
Speaker 4: I didn't, I mean I didn't watch many Rutgers games.
Speaker 4: Was it just that like could they say it's like, well,
Speaker 4: you know, we didn't have any guys around us, so
Speaker 4: you know it makes sense that you know, we played
Speaker 4: the way we did or or do they contribute to
Speaker 4: their low performances on that team.
Speaker 2: I just didn't. I'm not familiar with Rutgers seasons. I
Speaker 2: watched every Rutgers game, Miles, these guys stink. No, I
Speaker 2: didn't watch a single Rockers game. I'm just this is
Speaker 2: just a thing that I'm noticing now that we're And
Speaker 2: I did not look into the draft because I was
Speaker 2: ready to have my heartbroken. Have the Sixers give their
Speaker 2: pick away to the like soon possibly soon to be
Speaker 2: national champion. Okay, see under, But now that they have,
Speaker 2: I'm all in and I'm like the first thing I'm
Speaker 2: noticing is that the Sixers are supposed to once again
Speaker 2: pick a player like top three from a losing college team.
Speaker 2: And I'm just like, ah, guys, we do this every
Speaker 2: time we get a top pick. We do this, and
Speaker 2: it's not a might be different.
Speaker 8: And what's kind of different about this though, is assuming
Speaker 8: they're even a semblance of healthy is maybe it's different
Speaker 8: if you're putting these guys onto one of these guys
Speaker 8: onto a roster that has a bunch of help for them,
Speaker 8: and they're going to be able to be brought along
Speaker 8: more gradually rather than you have to come in and
Speaker 8: be or expected to be the guy.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, And I mean maybe, like as long as
Speaker 2: the person just doesn't decide to relearn how to shoot
Speaker 2: and change their shot, maybe maybe they'll end up being okay.
Speaker 2: But uh, like Mark Calfel.
Speaker 8: Did make an All NBA team, right, So it's like,
Speaker 8: if it follows the Ben Simmons course, if they just
Speaker 8: aren't as I don't know what the word is, they
Speaker 8: don't play as hesitantly might be the kindest way to
Speaker 8: put it, Like maybe then that you know, that's.
Speaker 7: Not the worst arc to follow.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but they were both like like in you know,
Speaker 2: Mark el Foltz seems like a great guy. I'm rooting
Speaker 2: for him all the time in retrospect, complete like disasters
Speaker 2: in terms of their ability to like capitalize on their promise.
Speaker 2: You know, Ben Simmons was supposed to be generational and
Speaker 2: kind of fell apart, and Mark hel Foltz like just yeah,
Speaker 2: like really in both cases like seemed like kind of
Speaker 2: worst case scenarios coming out of it. So I don't know,
Speaker 2: I would say Ben Simmons is the worst case scenario
Speaker 2: given like what we saw even as rookie year. But
Speaker 2: I guess the fact that we got that rookie year
Speaker 2: and some all defensive type performances maybe maybe not, but
Speaker 2: that that would just be one of the things that
Speaker 2: I'd be taking a hard look at when it seems
Speaker 2: like people who just are good enough to play in
Speaker 2: the NBA and are like proven winners like to tend
Speaker 2: to be where worth a hard look. I say, stay optimistic. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, you find it like Ace Bailey just showed
Speaker 2: up to camp way overweight.
Speaker 9: What's and You're like, no, no, it's gonna happen. Shooting
Speaker 9: for him too, He's shooting with his other hand. Yeah,
Speaker 9: he got his old coach helping him out.
Speaker 2: It's cool stuff. He got Mark l Full, his uncle
Speaker 2: to change his shot training.
Speaker 10: In Australia in the off season. Let's take a quick bak,
Speaker 10: let's take a great We'll be right back, and we're back.
Speaker 10: We're back, Wolves, Warriors.
Speaker 2: What I mean another like just bummer injury, you know,
Speaker 2: Steph being out of the hamstring injury. I feel like
Speaker 2: this would be an incredible series. As of right now,
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't know, Like it definitely doesn't seem
Speaker 2: like Steph should rush back, especially given like what we
Speaker 2: what we saw with Tatum. But uh Ant and like
Speaker 2: Ant seems to be doing what what he did in
Speaker 2: the playoffs last year, Like he's just stepping up, becoming
Speaker 2: that dude.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 2: And then Julius Randall is.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 2: You know, all the doubters can can go do one
Speaker 2: as they say. Uh. But I mean, how do you
Speaker 2: feel as a Knicks fan seeing seeing this version of
Speaker 2: Julius Randall in the playoffs playoff Randall?
Speaker 8: I like it better that he's taking clear shots at
Speaker 8: Tibbs where he was basically like, it's just good to
Speaker 8: be in a spot where I'm not standing around and
Speaker 8: so like they have him doing more away from the ball,
Speaker 8: they have him doing some like kind of a similar
Speaker 8: little bit New York had, but they seem to appreciate
Speaker 8: it more given how much Anthony Edwards can struggle against
Speaker 8: double teams.
Speaker 7: So it's cool to see him sort of.
Speaker 8: We very rarely get to look back on trades as like, oh,
Speaker 8: maybe that made sense for both teams. And I think
Speaker 8: there's still a lot to play out for Minnesota and
Speaker 8: New York, but it's cool to see, like kind of everybody,
Speaker 8: I mean, Dontha Evincenzo's not hitting shots right now, but
Speaker 8: it's cool to maybe see this potentially working out for
Speaker 8: both sides and the Wolves offense. I still don't trust it,
Speaker 8: but with Randall playing like this, they're definitely more dynamic
Speaker 8: than they were with Kat just because Randal brings that
Speaker 8: live dribble play making element that as someone who's watched
Speaker 8: a lot of Karnafy towns in both Minnesota and New York,
Speaker 8: I can confirm he still does not have.
Speaker 2: He does have. He makes some of the wildest shots,
Speaker 2: like that fadeaway that he hit against Detroit, like over
Speaker 2: the backboard was one, Like who was that big moment too,
Speaker 2: was one of the wildest that I've seen somebody, and
Speaker 2: it was like dead center of the red, like complete nothing.
Speaker 8: But net I have a theory that he would be
Speaker 8: like thirty to fifty percent more valuable on the offensive
Speaker 8: end if he just ran like ten miles before each
Speaker 8: game and was tired. Because that's the only time he
Speaker 8: seems to take enough threes is when he's kind of
Speaker 8: lolly gagging back in transition and they hit him with
Speaker 8: like a trailer pass and he drills it. That dude
Speaker 8: is such a good shooter, and he's out here and
Speaker 8: like some of these games taking two to three pointers.
Speaker 8: One three pointer against a Celtics team that just gets
Speaker 8: them up. And so you're sitting there, you're like, oh,
Speaker 8: the Knicks are down by fourteen, they're losing the three
Speaker 8: point battle by twenty seven points. Can they do anything?
Speaker 8: And it's you play him Tims a little bit. But
Speaker 8: dating back to his time in Minnesota, towns just doesn't
Speaker 8: have to be all threes. But I just don't know
Speaker 8: why he doesn't take more of those things.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just got to hit him with a like a
Speaker 2: dart that's just like take them down and not like
Speaker 2: the old school dart r.
Speaker 4: How is what's Jimmy Butler's situas he's still nursing that
Speaker 4: injured I mean it felt like this last that game
Speaker 4: for I was like, oof, buddy, you're you're not You're
Speaker 4: not looking the same at all.
Speaker 8: He was sick and he still got that glute injury apparently,
Speaker 8: but he's he's not wired.
Speaker 7: I guess to shoot first.
Speaker 8: He kind of played that way in Miami, but since
Speaker 8: he's been in Golden State, I don't know if it's
Speaker 8: because it's new and like you said, he's been banged up.
Speaker 7: I've just never seen him be so passive. It's just
Speaker 7: like a score.
Speaker 8: I think a lot of it has to do Their
Speaker 8: spacing is really bad, especially without Steph. Like you have,
Speaker 8: Buddy healed, and that's like it when it comes to
Speaker 8: shooters that other teams respect. But nine shots. I know,
Speaker 8: I know you're injured, I know you're sick, but nine
Speaker 8: shots without Steph is insane.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's done. He was what his game was rating
Speaker 2: was minus thirty. That last one. That's honest aggressive. It
Speaker 2: like it really is an argument for how incredible Steph is.
Speaker 2: Like you hear people talk about, well, you know offensively,
Speaker 2: it's not just like the things that you see with
Speaker 2: the naked eye. It's also like gravitationally, like he just
Speaker 2: like moves defenders all over the court. But when you
Speaker 2: actually see from one game to the next, like with
Speaker 2: him versus without him, it's pretty staggering, Like the guy's
Speaker 2: totally incredible.
Speaker 8: Yeah, there's been that movement where people have made fun of,
Speaker 8: mostly Warriors fan saying they think Steph is the first
Speaker 8: player to ever have gravity, which.
Speaker 7: Is kind of funny.
Speaker 8: But it's different when kind of like you just alluded
Speaker 8: to it, no one else is pulling like three or
Speaker 8: four defenders in his direction when he doesn't have the ball.
Speaker 8: There's just no one who does that, And you're right,
Speaker 8: it's just the contrast is so stark when you watch
Speaker 8: the Warriors with Steph versus without them, like they're dating
Speaker 8: back to the Kevin Durant years, like they've struggled so
Speaker 8: much to put together efficient offense when he's not on
Speaker 8: the court. Because it's a cliche, but he's just he's
Speaker 8: one of one and to still be that important to
Speaker 8: a team that's in the second round of the playoffs
Speaker 8: at what was he thirty six thirty seven.
Speaker 7: That's also bonkers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and even like what the expectations and like what
Speaker 2: it looked like after his rookie year, like the fact
Speaker 2: that he's still this good. You know that he was
Speaker 2: able to put it together strengthen his ankles, a thing
Speaker 2: I didn't know was possible, Like, ah, I just need
Speaker 2: to do ankle strengthening exercise. That's like the type of
Speaker 2: exercise you would hear people talk about in the forties. Right,
Speaker 2: it's like focusing on one part. It's like it's all
Speaker 2: in the ankles. But I mean, we do have to
Speaker 2: just take another moment. Brunson just that ineffable skill of
Speaker 2: just like when it's important, I make impossible shots and
Speaker 2: I'm gonna do it every single time. What Like, it's
Speaker 2: got to feel so great to be rooting for a
Speaker 2: team that where the ball is in his hands and
Speaker 2: in the clutch moments. Yeah, it feels inevitable.
Speaker 8: It should be frustrating, and it is at points, But
Speaker 8: like him winning Clutch Player of the Year, I'm trying
Speaker 8: to think back. It's like, when is the last time
Speaker 8: the Knicks had a player that you actively wanted to
Speaker 8: have the ball in their hands with the game on
Speaker 8: the line. It wasn't even with Mellow that wasn't really
Speaker 8: like Patrick Ewing style like this is. We're talking decades
Speaker 8: of just the Knicks Mount having that guy and to
Speaker 8: be confident with him late in games and to see
Speaker 8: him prove it like again in postseason, it's it's pretty surreal,
Speaker 8: especially when you consider what he was thought to be
Speaker 8: in Dallas even at his peak, and then was he
Speaker 8: He's listed at six two, but he's got to be
Speaker 8: like five, Like if he's six feet, like, I'll be shocked.
Speaker 8: And to see him do this against like double and
Speaker 8: triple teams and Blitzer from the Celtics is I don't know,
Speaker 8: just kind of wild.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the super producer Jabari saying Allen Houston was that dude,
Speaker 2: but he also wasn't like was he even the best
Speaker 2: player on that team.
Speaker 8: For like he was like he was that dude for
Speaker 8: maybe like two seasons. And Brunson's like Mount Rushmore franchise
Speaker 8: level already after this his third guy's he probably deserves
Speaker 8: to be there already, so and it's like just doesn't
Speaker 8: turn the ball over for such a high volume guy
Speaker 8: normally too. It's it's really cool to see and just
Speaker 8: as a fan. I don't think since I started rooting
Speaker 8: for the Knicks in like the nineties, I don't remember
Speaker 8: there ever being a player that I trusted to have
Speaker 8: the like the ball, like thought, oh, this SHOT's going in,
Speaker 8: and I think is a Knicks on your condition to
Speaker 8: assume that it's going to miss? And Brunson has kind
Speaker 8: of flipped that script.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm like, who's the because I totally get that.
Speaker 4: It always felt like, man, they just they're missing, like
Speaker 4: that guy, you know, and it's before that, who would
Speaker 4: you have trusted with the ball and the final seconds
Speaker 4: of the game.
Speaker 7: Maybe probably Walt Frasier, Like I.
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, yeah, right, Yeah, he was pretty clutch that
Speaker 2: that one game that he had, the Willis Reid game
Speaker 2: that is actually the Clyde Frasier game. Like his stats
Speaker 2: are in that game where so bunkers. Yeah, Like is
Speaker 2: he as popular a player an athlete as has been
Speaker 2: in New York since like what was the last time
Speaker 2: there was somebody this level? Is it Jeter?
Speaker 8: They're not gonna say, he's probably not there, but it
Speaker 8: has to be just where it feels like they could
Speaker 8: do their infallible Yeah, it's even when they're frustrated with
Speaker 8: Jalen Brunson. It's the Knicks fans reaction just like, well,
Speaker 8: he'll adjust and he'll get it next game.
Speaker 7: Like this is just an off night.
Speaker 8: He's like beyond impeaching at this point.
Speaker 7: So I think Jeter might be the right.
Speaker 8: I'm trying to think of just like Knicks fans of
Speaker 8: maybe there's been more fanfare for certain players coming here,
Speaker 8: like the red carpet was rolled out more for a
Speaker 8: Maristdomi A twenty ten than it ever was for Jalen Brunson.
Speaker 8: But he's he's a god in New York City, and
Speaker 8: I think Jeter's the right.
Speaker 2: He commits a crime and the first call is to
Speaker 2: Eric Adams, like it's not even like they don't even
Speaker 2: call the police, just like get mayor Adams on the phone.
Speaker 2: It is just like as an NBA fan, I'm being
Speaker 2: taken back to like that that ninety nine season where
Speaker 2: ewing went down and the Knicks were the Knickson eight seed,
Speaker 2: yeah and seed and went to the finals, like that
Speaker 2: was It's so fun when the Knicks are good, Like
Speaker 2: it's so wild for all the Yeah, I don't know
Speaker 2: like it the Nick it's just the NBA is so
Speaker 2: fun when the Knicks are good. Like everybody just I
Speaker 2: feel like can get behind the Knicks because it's so rare. Also,
Speaker 2: I think it you know, if they were as successful
Speaker 2: as the Celtics, it probably wouldn't be as fun, but
Speaker 2: like having the Knicks be in the conversation now where
Speaker 2: it's like, oh yeah, I mean, I personally think Indiana
Speaker 2: is it looks as good as anybody in the league
Speaker 2: right now. But you know, if they get to the finals,
Speaker 2: that's super fun. That's like I kind of am starting
Speaker 2: to love this team, Like even though I feel like
Speaker 2: they're flawed, they really like they're they're they're doing something.
Speaker 8: Well that that increases the likability factor though when you're flawed,
Speaker 8: because yet they were three seeds, so it's not like there's.
Speaker 7: Some like Giles underdog but right, no one.
Speaker 8: I mean we were just talking about I thought they
Speaker 8: were gonna lose in four or five games in this series,
Speaker 8: and so to see a flawed team kind of defy
Speaker 8: the odds and go through the potentially the reigning champs
Speaker 8: and then if they're able to win, I mean, especially
Speaker 8: if it's like Indie New York in the next round,
Speaker 8: you talk about a flashback to the ninth Oh my god,
Speaker 8: the Conference finals got Reggie out there, like yo, yeah,
Speaker 8: Reggie Miller will be off the calls by then at
Speaker 8: that point though, so that'll be he won't be conflicted anymore.
Speaker 8: But yeah, there's a likability to them that they're not
Speaker 8: supposed to have, because like they built this team and
Speaker 8: went all in with the image of we're going to
Speaker 8: be a contender, but because they failed in large like
Speaker 8: and they're like they went oh to eight against Boston
Speaker 8: and Cleveland. So that failure and then going to this
Speaker 8: I think that kind of lay the groundwork to make
Speaker 8: them even more likable because they're even just more unexpected.
Speaker 2: Was Rick Brunson on that team that got to the finals?
Speaker 7: Oh, I've no wow, I have no idea, just.
Speaker 4: Thinking because wasn't he on the Knicks around then, like
Speaker 4: the turn of the century. I feel like that's just
Speaker 4: an man, it's all poetry.
Speaker 2: I'm just seeing all my the Knicks frames.
Speaker 4: I remember, I think it was maybe a season or two ago,
Speaker 4: and I was like, Bro, these Knicks fans, I know
Speaker 4: they're like j go bro, Like.
Speaker 2: The first season, the first.
Speaker 4: Season he was there, and I don't know like now
Speaker 4: they're like it just it felt different.
Speaker 2: It felt different. It feels different, and I was like, well,
Speaker 2: you're seeing you You justified now, Myles.
Speaker 7: You're right. Rick Brunson was on the Knicks during that
Speaker 7: finals run.
Speaker 2: Wow, Jesus good for Look, Oh the energy is there.
Speaker 8: You mentioned the Knicks fans like, you know, kind of
Speaker 8: trumpeting up Jalen Brunson. I bet you there's going to
Speaker 8: be something after this season, especially the Nicks make the
Speaker 8: conference finals where it's like who would you rather have
Speaker 8: Jalen Brunson or Luca or Yonna?
Speaker 7: Like that is going to start if it hasn't already.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, oh yeah, you know what, Maybe I'm not
Speaker 2: even Maybe I'm it's not that the Knicks are like
Speaker 2: like the the NBA is more fun when the Knicks
Speaker 2: are making a finals run. Maybe it's just more fun
Speaker 2: when a Rick Brunson team is making a finals run.
Speaker 2: You know, I feel like that could be it. I
Speaker 2: just I just get excited for Rick Brunson. Wow.
Speaker 4: Well I did forget that that draft in ninety nine
Speaker 4: they've drafted Frederick Weiss, the guy that Vince Carter absolutely destroyed.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think you retired like after that game or
Speaker 8: something crazy, there was like an offbed, done on it.
Speaker 4: I'm done.
Speaker 7: I don't need it anymore.
Speaker 2: Man, What a time? What a time? How are we
Speaker 2: feeling about the Pacers? Dan?
Speaker 8: So as of right now, if they met the Knicks
Speaker 8: in the conference finals, I might pick the Pacers in seven.
Speaker 8: I probably like New York's top five more. But the
Speaker 8: stuff the Pacers can throw at you, man, Like, they
Speaker 8: can play fast, they could play slow, they can be
Speaker 8: a finesse team, they could be physical, they can beat
Speaker 8: you from beyond the arc. There's just so many different
Speaker 8: things that they can do, and I don't think we
Speaker 8: fully appreciate it that it doesn't feel like depth is
Speaker 8: making a little bit of a comeback in the playoffs,
Speaker 8: where it's like the Pacers are using their depth and
Speaker 8: it's working, and the Rockets push the Warriors to the
Speaker 8: brink while like, you know, using their depth as well,
Speaker 8: and like even the Calves, Yeah, they're banged up and
Speaker 8: they're they're down in that series and potentially out. But
Speaker 8: there's teams that are like turning to more players than
Speaker 8: I feel like in years past, stretching their rotations deeper,
Speaker 8: and Indy is probably doing that more than anyone.
Speaker 7: And I don't think maybe.
Speaker 8: Even I picked them to lose against the Cavs in five,
Speaker 8: so I don't even appreciate them yet. But that's a
Speaker 8: team that they're dynamic and they can beat you from
Speaker 8: a bunch of different angles. And we've seen that for
Speaker 8: sure against Cleveland.
Speaker 2: And I would say I've only seen I can't maybe
Speaker 2: this isn't right, but I've only seen a team definitely
Speaker 2: win the title from coaching from a coaching advantage maybe
Speaker 2: once in my lifetime. And I think it's with Carlisle
Speaker 2: beating the Heat that year. You know, like he's such
Speaker 2: a good coach who's able to like just figure things
Speaker 2: out that I might not be the only case, but
Speaker 2: like I do feel like he's good at figuring some
Speaker 2: angles out and like getting a team to a higher
Speaker 2: level of performance than I would have otherwise expected. So
Speaker 2: I feel like that's that's a big advantage that they
Speaker 2: have over i'd say the Knicks and a lot of
Speaker 2: the rest of the league right now.
Speaker 4: Is Tyree's playing with a little chip on his shoulder
Speaker 4: after everyone's called him overrated.
Speaker 2: Thing there's just like, I mean, he's been he's like
Speaker 2: I don't know, if he is, that's great for him,
Speaker 2: well done. You know he you use that, however, but
Speaker 2: like he has to be aware that, like he disappears
Speaker 2: for months at a time, you know, like only when
Speaker 2: it counts. But yeah, I mean he's playing. I loved
Speaker 2: his dance as they called it after he hit that
Speaker 2: game winning shot. They're like, he's been given a warning
Speaker 2: for doing that dance. Yeah much, not much. It's my
Speaker 2: favorite dance move when I get out on the dance floor.
Speaker 4: You know the thing that all the kids are doing
Speaker 4: Thunders and Nuggets that one thunders and Nuggets.
Speaker 7: Thunder sounds like thunders.
Speaker 2: Thunders versus nugget. Who we got here?
Speaker 8: I still think I lean Thunder. But this series has
Speaker 8: confused the heck out of me. Kich is playing, as
Speaker 8: we're recording, like he had wrapped up one of the
Speaker 8: worst three game stretches of his career just over these
Speaker 8: past three games. So you can either look at it as, Oh,
Speaker 8: the Nuggets are in trouble, or it's oh, you're like
Speaker 8: they've played okay and jok still hasn't had like a
Speaker 8: only he's only had one trademark Yokic game left.
Speaker 7: I guess I'll frame it this way.
Speaker 8: I've emerged from this series being more concerned about me too,
Speaker 8: rather than.
Speaker 2: I'll say I was concerned about the Nuggets, like heading
Speaker 2: in and heading into the playoffs. I didn't think they were.
Speaker 7: Gonna, Oh you don't think firing your coach.
Speaker 2: For some reason. I thought that was a weird. Yeah,
Speaker 2: like I I've probably my my opinion of the Nuggets
Speaker 2: has gone up in this series, but definitely okay, see
Speaker 2: is like, I don't know, there's just some fourth quarters
Speaker 2: where it looks like they're playing through cement. Like it's
Speaker 2: just like, uh, what is I thought you guys were
Speaker 2: supposed to like be able to like move the ball,
Speaker 2: and their offense just looks limited in a way that
Speaker 2: I was hoping, you know someone, I just root for
Speaker 2: anybody except the Celtics. So I just want everybody to
Speaker 2: be as good as they possibly can. They can and
Speaker 2: for that much, they have disappointed me in this series,
Speaker 2: but maybe they'll put it together. I mean it's hard
Speaker 2: playing at altitude, I guess, yeah. I mean, yeah, it's
Speaker 2: real hard. I can tell you that from experience.
Speaker 4: You know, some I don't know if they got a
Speaker 4: cheat code or something up there, it's just whatever happens
Speaker 4: to you at altitude.
Speaker 2: I just know that. I think that's why the Lakers
Speaker 2: kept losing.
Speaker 4: You think, so I'll keep saying altitude that was our
Speaker 4: favorite excuse at the time.
Speaker 7: I feel like they lost because they didn't put enough.
Speaker 7: I thought that, like.
Speaker 4: Right, no exactly, that was it too. You know, we'll
Speaker 4: get another bite of the apple.
Speaker 2: I think I think we'll be all right.
Speaker 4: But yeah, I'm also really amazed, though, how well they've
Speaker 4: played despite the coaching change up at the last minute.
Speaker 4: And I don't know if that's also because like Aaron
Speaker 4: Gordon has also just been playing like out of have
Speaker 4: you seen all the conspiracy theories about like his number
Speaker 4: and like what the time like at which he was
Speaker 4: scoring buzzer beaters. There's some al there's some wild numerology
Speaker 4: going on with Aaron Gordon's playing, and like why he's
Speaker 4: just you know, kind of being that guy when the
Speaker 4: when the situation calls for it. But you know, I
Speaker 4: love I love a bit of numerology mixed with us.
Speaker 7: I need to go. Was that on Reddit? I have
Speaker 7: not seen anything?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it was like on the it was like
Speaker 2: on the Nuggets thing. It was so funny.
Speaker 4: I was like, this is such a level of thought
Speaker 4: going into this. But also blessed if you if you
Speaker 4: got to figure out that, like you've got a whole
Speaker 4: other engine powering this thing, then yeah, like.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's just like manifest destiny or something that he's
Speaker 8: doing this.
Speaker 7: But but with math.
Speaker 2: I I gotta find this.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'll share it with you when I find it,
Speaker 4: because it is it's like impressive of like only a fan.
Speaker 2: Could come up with something like this. All right, let's
Speaker 2: take a quick break. We'll come back and oh Dan,
Speaker 2: Dan Dan, Dan, Dan, you have stepped in. You're going
Speaker 2: dan dan uh.
Speaker 11: We we got the rap fire around a question will
Speaker 11: be and we're back and we're back.
Speaker 2: Dan laughing, laugh and look at him.
Speaker 4: That I got that Gotham glow about me right now,
Speaker 4: straight out of Arkham.
Speaker 2: Let's do this, Dampa Valley.
Speaker 12: It is time for the fourth Core wrap Fire around
Speaker 12: a question. The first question answer segment is that history.
Speaker 12: We're gonna ask you a question. You react, You go
Speaker 12: instantly within your soul. You let your soul speak. You
Speaker 12: do not get cerebral, you just respond. If you don't
Speaker 12: keep the.
Speaker 2: Pace up of the segment, we will be New York routine. Okay,
Speaker 2: I hope you're ready for that.
Speaker 7: Do you accept the check?
Speaker 2: Wow? Okay? Well, I love I like the honesty, Dan,
Speaker 2: I love the honesty. Brian Stark the clock, Brian wasn't sounds.
Speaker 5: Well, you've made them mad geez, I'm saying we're gonna
Speaker 5: be I'm compensating.
Speaker 2: No further questions, my honor, Jack, you want to a first, Miles,
Speaker 2: I'd love it if you went first.
Speaker 4: Actually, okay, great, Here I go, here, I go, here,
Speaker 4: I go again.
Speaker 2: Girls, what's my weakness questions? Okay?
Speaker 4: Then, Dan, you have the ability to waive your magic
Speaker 4: wand and create your preferred finals matchup for the end
Speaker 4: of this postseason tournament. Okay, this end of the season.
Speaker 4: What's your matchup? And what do you actually think the
Speaker 4: eventual matchup will be?
Speaker 8: I would go with Nuggets Nicks for obvious reasons, and
Speaker 8: I think the eventual matchup is actually going to be
Speaker 8: Thunder versus the Pacers Thunder Pacers.
Speaker 4: I mean Thunders Pacer Thunder Okay, Thunders versus Pacer.
Speaker 2: Okay, Okay, do you really think that? Are you just
Speaker 2: doing a reverse cursinger? You don't want to put your jar.
Speaker 7: I'm trying to get you guys clicks Oklahoma City, Indiana?
Speaker 7: Are those the big traffic driving market?
Speaker 4: We've all been waiting for it that Okay, see bomp
Speaker 4: here it comes, Yeah, all right. Jalen Brunson in the
Speaker 4: late eighties on those Ewing teams or Ewing on Brunson's
Speaker 4: team right now.
Speaker 7: Brunson on Ewing's team, How would anyone in that era
Speaker 7: defend him? Like what would that look like? I guess
Speaker 7: they could like close line him or something, and maybe
Speaker 7: it didn't get called.
Speaker 2: But I also think that's an interesting answer because those
Speaker 2: were the first teams to shoot three pointers. That was
Speaker 2: the Patino They called him Patinos Bombinos because they were
Speaker 2: bad at nicknames back then, and they had like Trent Tucker.
Speaker 2: My dad was an assistant for them, and they shot
Speaker 2: threes and it was like, what the heck was going
Speaker 2: on with these guys. So you get Brunson there and
Speaker 2: he shoots as many threes as he does now, maybe
Speaker 2: the NBA is ahead of where it is right now.
Speaker 2: Maybe maybe we went through our three point era in
Speaker 2: the nineties instead of you know, is.
Speaker 8: It the inverse or we all clamoring for more mid
Speaker 8: range and post ups while that, like the Boomers are
Speaker 8: clamoring for, we need more threes.
Speaker 2: You used to shoot threes, maybe Jordan is. I guess
Speaker 2: he would have just been to become really good at
Speaker 2: shooting threes. All right, I think that's the right answer.
Speaker 2: Although you ing on on this team would be interesting.
Speaker 2: I mean.
Speaker 7: With ice alone.
Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely smells like menthal atum everywhere. Dan, just a
Speaker 4: little forecasting next season? What kind of uniform is Yiannis
Speaker 4: Antople wearing?
Speaker 7: He will be wearing a Spurs Jersey Spurs?
Speaker 2: That is interesting. So you think they'll trade the second
Speaker 2: pick the whatever the later first round pick they have
Speaker 2: is So, here's my thing. I want more than that,
Speaker 2: like I need future.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think they'll get way more than that. Like
Speaker 8: I think the Spurs will be They have two, they
Speaker 8: have fourteen. They have those Hawks picks they have Okay.
Speaker 2: The Hawks picks is what I needed to hear. But
Speaker 2: when do they have the Hawks picks?
Speaker 8: Like next year twenty six? They have twenty six and
Speaker 8: twenty seven they have control over so two more ooh.
Speaker 2: That could be nice. That's juicy, spicy meat.
Speaker 7: They have that Timberwolves pick.
Speaker 8: I think two in twenty thirty one sill or maybe
Speaker 8: they traded that.
Speaker 2: I can't remember now, Like, I don't want Spurs picks
Speaker 2: in the future. If I'm giving them Yannis and they
Speaker 2: have Wenby, they will be interesting. It'll be like the
Speaker 2: where the three point shooting is going to come from
Speaker 2: on that roster? I guess you can. That's always the
Speaker 2: thing that people are like, Yeah, you throw some shooters
Speaker 2: out there with them, but you're gonna need some real
Speaker 2: shooters because Yannis and like I don't know, Fox isn't
Speaker 2: a great three point shooter.
Speaker 8: No, And if you keep Castle, but I would I
Speaker 8: would trade I'm not a Castle guy, so I would
Speaker 8: trade him too if it meant getting y honest. So, yeah,
Speaker 8: you're right, they would need it. Helps that Wenby's a
Speaker 8: pretty good shoe, I suppose, but you would want more
Speaker 8: shooters around them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, all right. And finally, finally, would you take
Speaker 2: being this is the Lakers branded question, because it only
Speaker 2: makes sense for Lakers fans? Would you take being in
Speaker 2: the lottery for the next eight seasons for a single
Speaker 2: title for the I can't even say it for a
Speaker 2: single title for the Knicks this year?
Speaker 8: Yeah, first of all, the Knicks and the lottery would
Speaker 8: be like, I would love the Knicks to have lottery picks,
Speaker 8: but I guess they don't own their own picks. Is
Speaker 8: that the but I would take? The Knicks haven't won
Speaker 8: a title since what's seventy three? I've watched a bunch
Speaker 8: of bad basketball since I've been alive, and I was
Speaker 8: nowhere near alive back then.
Speaker 7: I would absolutely take eight consecutive.
Speaker 8: I would take I don't know what the number is,
Speaker 8: but you could talk me into like a decade and
Speaker 8: a half lottery appearances if it meant when it.
Speaker 2: Got titled the follow up, how many until you say no?
Speaker 7: I think I.
Speaker 8: Start thinking once you get to twenty, that might be
Speaker 8: my absolute max.
Speaker 2: Those are generations just passing over.
Speaker 4: Yeah, evolving. That makes sense.
Speaker 2: Well, that's right, Dan fa Vallee.
Speaker 4: You have actually answered every single question one hundred percent correctly.
Speaker 2: I don't know how you do.
Speaker 4: It, but you're honest. Right now, man, there it is
Speaker 4: the numbers. It's on the numbers.
Speaker 2: And now you'll see that the numbers Jerseys seven, eight,
Speaker 2: and one are behind Dan, and that is of course,
Speaker 2: actually there's no explanation for that. There's no way to
Speaker 2: explain why those numbers are behind him.
Speaker 8: I think that tyres Aalburn is going to go off
Speaker 8: for fifty points and override a bunch of the talk
Speaker 8: that was on this podcast.
Speaker 4: I hate to freak you out, but seven eight to
Speaker 4: one is a Boston area code.
Speaker 2: Wow. Oh, I thought that's why you did it. I
Speaker 2: thought that that was a New York area code for
Speaker 2: some reason. Oh my god, I'm just seeing I'm telling you.
Speaker 7: What the Celtics confirmed is what I'm trying to pourtend.
Speaker 7: That's number three. Pick.
Speaker 1: There we go.
Speaker 4: I didn't think the writing was literally on the wall,
Speaker 4: but it might be. Dan Favalley, thanks again for joining us.
Speaker 4: Where do the people find you? Read you, support you,
Speaker 4: hear you all that.
Speaker 8: They can find me on Bleacher Report and they can
Speaker 8: also check out the hardwind Knocks NBA podcast. Felt exactly
Speaker 8: as it sounds.
Speaker 7: We have a lot of fun over there.
Speaker 2: Where are you at on social.
Speaker 8: Just at Dana Valley my name across any single platform
Speaker 8: that you care to search it on amazing.
Speaker 4: You can find me on Twitter and Blue Sky at
Speaker 4: Miles of Gray.
Speaker 2: I'm at Jack Underscore O Brian on Twitter and Jack
Speaker 2: ob the number one on Blue Sky.
Speaker 4: And make sure you follow the hashtag Matt Boosti's basdies
Speaker 4: for show links and updates, and be sure to.
Speaker 2: Join the combo on the Discorde server. That's gonna do
Speaker 2: it for us.
Speaker 4: This week we'll be back as man. We'll see if
Speaker 4: the writing was on the wall, or maybe it wasn't.
Speaker 4: Who knows, who knows, but Osaka will continue bull tank,
Speaker 4: bull tang.
Speaker 2: See you next week.
Speaker 6: Bye bye.
Speaker 2: Your slis your should us, your should only.