WEBVTT - Sixers-Knicks Playoff Preview with Pat O’Keefe 0:00:49.259 --> 0:00:51.539 I'm Tari's mex Si and you're listening to the seventy 0:00:51.579 --> 0:00:53.419 six Ers Insider's podcast. 0:00:53.699 --> 0:00:56.619 This podcast is part of the seventy six Ers podcast network, 0:00:56.659 --> 0:00:58.459 presented by Stern and Cohen Law. 0:00:58.299 --> 0:01:01.299 Search seventy six Ers Insiders wherever you get your podcasts. 0:01:01.659 --> 0:01:04.419 Suffering an injury at work can cause physical pain, but 0:01:04.499 --> 0:01:07.659 also great uncertainty about your rights. You need to retain 0:01:07.699 --> 0:01:10.419 a worker's compensation law firm that is a winner like 0:01:10.499 --> 0:01:13.379 our sixers, a firm that gets some of the best settlements, 0:01:13.459 --> 0:01:15.539 but is also willing to go toe to toe with 0:01:15.659 --> 0:01:19.379 the insurance company. No settling on the cheap. This is Philly. 0:01:19.539 --> 0:01:21.939 We have grit and fight in us. Call the workers 0:01:22.019 --> 0:01:25.259 Compensation Law Firm of Stern and Cohen or visit their 0:01:25.299 --> 0:01:29.779 site Sterncohenlaw dot com. The consultation is free. Stern and 0:01:29.819 --> 0:01:32.539 Cohen are the official partners of the seventy six Ers. 0:01:32.819 --> 0:01:45.739 They'll go ring the insurance company's bell. Welcome back into 0:01:45.779 --> 0:01:50.339 the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast. Matt mur and Lauren Rosen, 0:01:50.779 --> 0:01:55.259 relatively fresh off the Sixers play in tournament victory over 0:01:55.299 --> 0:01:58.179 the Miami Heat to secure the seventh seed in the playoffs. 0:01:58.659 --> 0:02:02.259 They will take on the second seed, the New York Knicks, 0:02:02.539 --> 0:02:07.499 beginning on Saturday and Monday, games one and two of 0:02:07.539 --> 0:02:11.459 that series, which we'll definitely get into more specifically with 0:02:11.979 --> 0:02:16.979 Pat O'Keeffe from Nicks Radio. But that game against Miami 0:02:17.099 --> 0:02:20.179 one oh five, one oh four, what did you call 0:02:20.219 --> 0:02:23.379 it on social media? The Brickenford, the brick. 0:02:23.539 --> 0:02:26.819 Chicken, Nick Batum Bowl? I don't know. I got a 0:02:26.819 --> 0:02:29.659 shout out our friends at the Right Striky Sanchez podcast 0:02:29.739 --> 0:02:32.499 who called it lepoule. That's what they called the game. 0:02:32.539 --> 0:02:34.059 I thought that was hilarious. There was a way better 0:02:34.059 --> 0:02:36.459 way to say what I said. Well, this team has 0:02:36.499 --> 0:02:40.659 now won nine straight games, and Nick Batum Niko Batoum, 0:02:40.979 --> 0:02:45.819 as most of his teammates and coaches call him, played 0:02:45.819 --> 0:02:50.619 a huge role seventeen of his twenty points we're in 0:02:50.699 --> 0:02:55.819 the second half, six three pointers, key defensive plays as well, 0:02:56.219 --> 0:02:59.339 the way that he plays defense, always plus the block 0:03:00.019 --> 0:03:03.139 on Tyler Hero. It was cool to hear that the 0:03:03.219 --> 0:03:06.459 Sixers coaches informed him in the huddle of the play 0:03:06.539 --> 0:03:09.259 that the heat ended up running and that's a heat 0:03:09.259 --> 0:03:11.579 team that you don't always know what they're going to do. 0:03:11.699 --> 0:03:13.659 Well, let me just cut you off and shout out 0:03:13.699 --> 0:03:16.259 the coaching staff again, because there is so much prep 0:03:16.419 --> 0:03:19.099 that goes into these moments, right and you look at 0:03:19.099 --> 0:03:21.219 the play in that's a game you're not sure you're 0:03:21.219 --> 0:03:24.019 going to have to play, and then once you realize 0:03:24.059 --> 0:03:26.259 you have to play it, you're still not sure who 0:03:26.299 --> 0:03:28.659 your opponent might be. You finally figure out your opponent. 0:03:28.659 --> 0:03:30.179 You don't have a ton of time right to learn 0:03:30.299 --> 0:03:33.619 every single tendency that this team might have and might 0:03:33.659 --> 0:03:36.539 rely on in every single situation in the game. So 0:03:37.139 --> 0:03:39.739 I'm sure that they showed other plays, other plays to 0:03:39.899 --> 0:03:42.099 other players in that final timeout. And again we're talking 0:03:42.139 --> 0:03:46.659 about Nico Bittoom's block on Tyler Hero as the clock 0:03:46.939 --> 0:03:49.219 was expiring for at least one of the time that 0:03:49.259 --> 0:03:51.619 the clock was expiring down the stretch in this game. 0:03:51.659 --> 0:03:53.619 But the fact that, for those that don't know, the 0:03:53.619 --> 0:03:56.979 coaching staff showed Nico this exact play and said, this 0:03:57.019 --> 0:03:58.539 is what we think Tyler Hero is going to do, 0:03:58.579 --> 0:04:00.139 This is where we think he's going to come from, 0:04:00.339 --> 0:04:02.139 this is which direction we think he's going to be going, 0:04:02.139 --> 0:04:03.859 and this is how quickly he's going to shoot it. 0:04:04.339 --> 0:04:05.899 For Nico to go to the podium after the game 0:04:05.939 --> 0:04:07.499 and say, well, I knew he was going to do that. 0:04:07.579 --> 0:04:10.139 The coaches showed me that a minute before, and then 0:04:10.179 --> 0:04:13.499 he did it. That is such good game prep, Like, 0:04:13.859 --> 0:04:16.259 so much goes into this, and this is the video coordinators, 0:04:16.259 --> 0:04:18.619 this is the player development coaches, this is the assistant coaches, 0:04:18.779 --> 0:04:21.659 this is head coach Nick Nurse putting together a system 0:04:21.979 --> 0:04:24.459 that works. And it was so cool to see that 0:04:24.539 --> 0:04:27.419 moment get executed the way that these coaches. And again, 0:04:27.619 --> 0:04:30.779 they're preparing for countless situations, right, So they're preparing for 0:04:31.019 --> 0:04:33.379 different teams in this game, right, it could have been 0:04:33.419 --> 0:04:35.419 different teams, it could have been different players, it could 0:04:35.459 --> 0:04:36.859 have been different lineups with the ball, it could have 0:04:36.859 --> 0:04:38.259 been a different amount of time on the clock. And 0:04:38.299 --> 0:04:40.539 they have a plan for every single one of those scenarios. 0:04:40.619 --> 0:04:43.419 So to see them get to carry out their preparation 0:04:43.579 --> 0:04:46.219 in this way, I just love that Nico then gave 0:04:46.259 --> 0:04:49.419 them the immediate flowers on the podium after the game. 0:04:49.459 --> 0:04:51.179 It was just cool. It was really cool to see 0:04:51.619 --> 0:04:54.659 Joelle Embiid had a double digit fourth quarter max. He 0:04:54.779 --> 0:04:58.779 had his moments with some crafty finishes, but Buttom was 0:04:58.819 --> 0:05:03.019 obviously huge in this game. And to the point about 0:05:03.019 --> 0:05:04.979 game planning, this is a one game at a time 0:05:05.379 --> 0:05:07.579 type coaching staff, the game in front of you, the 0:05:07.659 --> 0:05:10.259 series in front of you. But I will say that 0:05:10.939 --> 0:05:14.539 in a recent media availability, head coach Nick Nurse was 0:05:14.619 --> 0:05:17.059 asked about like a March Madness style approach where you 0:05:17.099 --> 0:05:20.339 have members of your staff kind of working on potential 0:05:20.379 --> 0:05:23.339 future opponents, and he did reveal that they do that 0:05:23.379 --> 0:05:26.179 in the Eastern Conference while maintaining that one game at 0:05:26.179 --> 0:05:28.379 a time approach, but even to the point where they 0:05:28.499 --> 0:05:32.619 have people working on potential Western Conference teams as well. 0:05:32.619 --> 0:05:34.339 He said that heading into the playoffs, it just something 0:05:34.339 --> 0:05:36.179 to store in the back of your mind that the 0:05:36.219 --> 0:05:39.299 opponents will never sneak up on this Sixers group as 0:05:39.299 --> 0:05:42.459 they embark on what is hopefully a two month journey. 0:05:42.499 --> 0:05:45.699 Something else that Nick Nurse has said and is familiar 0:05:45.779 --> 0:05:48.259 with from his time in Toronto. Before we get into 0:05:48.419 --> 0:05:52.299 our conversation with Pat O'Keeffe and talk Nix, how about 0:05:52.819 --> 0:05:57.819 how everyone was able to pinpoint the momentum change that 0:05:58.219 --> 0:06:00.779 the Chick fil a brick and for Chicken provided literally 0:06:00.859 --> 0:06:01.739 in the moment. 0:06:01.819 --> 0:06:02.899 Literally not just me. 0:06:02.979 --> 0:06:05.059 I will take credit. I said, I leaned to you 0:06:05.099 --> 0:06:07.499 and said that, But then the tweets started flying from 0:06:07.499 --> 0:06:09.779 everyone who covers this team objectively. 0:06:10.259 --> 0:06:11.099 Everyone could feel it. 0:06:11.139 --> 0:06:14.299 Well, it's interesting, Matt, because one of the playoff cliches 0:06:14.339 --> 0:06:17.499 that we're used to hearing is how much every possession matters, 0:06:17.699 --> 0:06:23.059 single possession games, single possession opportunity, including when someone goes 0:06:23.099 --> 0:06:27.339 to the line missus two free throws boom. The Sixers 0:06:27.379 --> 0:06:30.099 didn't have to do anything except get a loud crowd 0:06:30.179 --> 0:06:33.939 behind them, right, and hopefully that impacted the miss free throws. 0:06:33.939 --> 0:06:37.059 But the way the two miss free throws can completely 0:06:37.099 --> 0:06:39.259 change the momentum, and then of course to then follow 0:06:39.299 --> 0:06:41.819 it up, I'll remind you that the Sixers then, of 0:06:41.819 --> 0:06:43.899 course were able to tack on a quick five points 0:06:44.019 --> 0:06:47.019 right after the brick and for chicken moment. But each 0:06:47.019 --> 0:06:51.299 of those possessions putting them together, shifting the entire game, now, 0:06:51.339 --> 0:06:54.299 shifting the entire path that the Sixers would have to 0:06:54.619 --> 0:06:58.939 a potential two month playoff run. Right, Every single possession 0:06:59.139 --> 0:07:01.819 really does matter in these situations. And as we look 0:07:01.859 --> 0:07:03.979 ahead to a New York Knicks team that has played 0:07:03.979 --> 0:07:07.539 the Sixers so tough all season long, games that have 0:07:07.579 --> 0:07:11.219 already felt like single possession games throughout against this Knicks team, 0:07:11.219 --> 0:07:13.499 And of course it's a similar situation to what we 0:07:13.699 --> 0:07:17.459 dealt with when we talked about Sixers Heat. Neither team 0:07:17.539 --> 0:07:21.299 fully healthy in any of their meetings against one another, 0:07:21.499 --> 0:07:23.939 and guys coming in and out of lineups, guys coming 0:07:23.979 --> 0:07:27.259 back from injuries, guys getting traded. This is almost a 0:07:27.299 --> 0:07:30.699 fresh series the same way that the Heat Sixers play 0:07:30.739 --> 0:07:33.819 in game was a fresh opportunity between two really interestingly 0:07:33.859 --> 0:07:34.459 matched teams. 0:07:34.779 --> 0:07:38.299 And now more on the Sixers and the Knicks with 0:07:38.579 --> 0:07:42.699 Pat O'Keefe pleas to be joined by Pat O'Keeffe from 0:07:42.859 --> 0:07:47.739 Knicks Radio and jumping into this Sixers Knicks series with 0:07:47.859 --> 0:07:51.059 the latest trend Pat. The end of the regular season 0:07:51.099 --> 0:07:54.619 was obviously interesting with the overtime game for the Knicks 0:07:54.659 --> 0:07:57.379 to get up to the two seed. What is the 0:07:57.499 --> 0:08:00.659 latest with this team as they awaited their first round 0:08:00.659 --> 0:08:02.059 opponent that is now the Sixers. 0:08:02.859 --> 0:08:05.499 Yeah, well, it's certainly an interesting first round opponent, but 0:08:05.819 --> 0:08:08.819 I think once the Knicks secured that two seed with 0:08:08.859 --> 0:08:10.539 that overtime went over the Bulls, that was going to 0:08:10.539 --> 0:08:13.259 be the case either way, because you set yourself up 0:08:13.299 --> 0:08:15.739 knowingly for either the seventy six Ers or the Heat, 0:08:15.779 --> 0:08:19.179 two teams that, when fully healthy, present a significant amount 0:08:19.219 --> 0:08:22.139 of challenges, and that's certainly the case with Philadelphia. But then, 0:08:22.139 --> 0:08:25.179 of course, the key phrase there is you know when 0:08:25.219 --> 0:08:28.219 fully healthy. You know, the numbers are pretty well documented. 0:08:28.259 --> 0:08:31.019 The Sixers record when the big guy plays thirty two 0:08:31.099 --> 0:08:33.859 to eight overall, So if you play that out over 0:08:33.859 --> 0:08:37.019 the course of an eighty two game season, Philadelphia might 0:08:37.139 --> 0:08:39.979 very well be the number two seed. But look, as 0:08:40.019 --> 0:08:43.579 it's unfolding, we were well aware of all of the scenarios. 0:08:43.619 --> 0:08:45.619 Obviously the final day of the regular season, and by 0:08:45.659 --> 0:08:48.339 the way, the NBA with the games on Friday and 0:08:48.379 --> 0:08:51.899 then the games on Sunday, I thought it was fantastic 0:08:52.059 --> 0:08:55.379 just in terms of scoreboard watching and so many unknown variables. 0:08:55.619 --> 0:08:57.699 And you know, the last game of the one o'clock 0:08:57.739 --> 0:08:59.779 batch to finish was the Knicks and the Bulls, So 0:09:00.179 --> 0:09:02.659 you know, we knew if they lost that game, it 0:09:02.699 --> 0:09:04.499 was the three seed and it was going to be 0:09:04.539 --> 0:09:06.819 the Pacers, and if they won that game, it was 0:09:06.819 --> 0:09:09.019 the two seed against either the Heat or the seventy 0:09:09.099 --> 0:09:11.219 six Ers. It's just not in the nature of this 0:09:11.299 --> 0:09:15.099 Knicks team, and more specifically, it's not in the nature 0:09:15.219 --> 0:09:18.739 of the Knicks head coach to do anything but go 0:09:18.779 --> 0:09:22.139 one hundred percent to win the game that is in 0:09:22.179 --> 0:09:25.019 front of you every single time. So the way it 0:09:25.059 --> 0:09:27.739 played out didn't surprise me at all. And here we 0:09:27.819 --> 0:09:30.859 are setting up a really fascinating first round series. 0:09:31.099 --> 0:09:32.699 And pat to pull back the curtain a little bit. 0:09:32.739 --> 0:09:35.259 It was actually really cool because, for whatever reason, the 0:09:35.299 --> 0:09:38.499 Sixers game that started at the same time as the 0:09:38.579 --> 0:09:42.819 knixt game finished at a much earlier like there was 0:09:42.859 --> 0:09:45.059 a there was like a five minute buffer even before 0:09:45.099 --> 0:09:48.019 the overtime period started. So the Sixers go back into 0:09:48.059 --> 0:09:50.819 the locker room and mediately the game is on, which 0:09:50.819 --> 0:09:53.379 I think was really cool to sort of watch our 0:09:53.459 --> 0:09:57.179 guys await their opponent and like you said, playing that hard, 0:09:57.339 --> 0:10:00.339 understanding what the implications could possibly be. The way other 0:10:00.379 --> 0:10:04.659 teams might handle a specific situation plays into the reputation 0:10:05.019 --> 0:10:07.859 that this Knicks team has developed, this tough team, this 0:10:08.019 --> 0:10:10.979 gritty team. So from sort of if you had to 0:10:11.019 --> 0:10:13.699 go bird's eye view of this next team, maybe for 0:10:13.939 --> 0:10:16.259 Sixers fans that haven't seen a ton of Knicks basketball 0:10:16.259 --> 0:10:20.019 outside of their regular season series, what are the biggest 0:10:20.019 --> 0:10:23.579 points to watch for what makes this Knicks team exciting? 0:10:23.859 --> 0:10:26.939 To watch. Well, you know the description I just gave 0:10:26.979 --> 0:10:29.779 about Tom Fhibodeaux in terms of how he approaches each 0:10:29.779 --> 0:10:32.339 and every game. The team has certainly taken on his 0:10:32.499 --> 0:10:35.259 personality regarding that, and it starts with the point guard, 0:10:35.259 --> 0:10:37.699 it starts with Jalen Brunson, and he's known Tom Fibodau 0:10:37.779 --> 0:10:39.739 for his entire life, so in many ways, he's kind 0:10:39.739 --> 0:10:43.339 of been brought up under him. And you know, right now, 0:10:43.419 --> 0:10:45.379 at this point in time, over the last ten to 0:10:45.459 --> 0:10:48.499 fifteen games of the regular season, after the news that 0:10:48.619 --> 0:10:51.899 you know, Julius Randall, your second offensive option is out 0:10:51.939 --> 0:10:55.059 for the rest of the season, Jalen Brunson has become 0:10:55.499 --> 0:10:58.739 singularly over this ten to fifteen game stretch, I think, 0:10:58.739 --> 0:11:01.939 the most important player to his team among any players 0:11:01.939 --> 0:11:04.059 in the NBA, especially for the load that he has 0:11:04.099 --> 0:11:09.619 to carry offensively and in the playoffs that is not 0:11:09.739 --> 0:11:11.779 as easily implemented. So that's going to be one of 0:11:11.819 --> 0:11:16.379 the really intriguing storylines of this series. Can he continue 0:11:16.379 --> 0:11:20.539 to play at that level? I mean, historically players tend 0:11:20.579 --> 0:11:23.179 to not be able to continue that level of playing 0:11:23.179 --> 0:11:26.179 the postseason, when there's more time to focus on a 0:11:26.219 --> 0:11:28.739 specific matchup or a specific team, and plus the fact 0:11:28.739 --> 0:11:31.259 that you're playing against the teams that are among the 0:11:31.259 --> 0:11:34.339 best in the NBA, which the seventy six ers certainly 0:11:34.379 --> 0:11:36.499 fall into that category when fully healthy. So the Knicks 0:11:36.499 --> 0:11:39.579 are going to need the secondary scoring, and it's been 0:11:39.659 --> 0:11:44.179 Dante DiVincenzo has been that secondary scorer ogn Andobi has 0:11:44.259 --> 0:11:48.859 brought such versatility and skillfulness to the defensive end. But 0:11:49.339 --> 0:11:51.939 I think there's an area where you are going to 0:11:52.019 --> 0:11:55.899 look for secondary scoring as well. And then I think 0:11:55.899 --> 0:11:57.819 a next factor off the bench for this Knicks team 0:11:57.859 --> 0:12:00.779 is going to be boy On Bogdanovic, and his role 0:12:01.019 --> 0:12:03.259 hasn't been what it has been for him historically. He 0:12:03.259 --> 0:12:04.859 has had a really good career. He's won a twenty 0:12:04.899 --> 0:12:08.179 two active NBA players to fifteen hundred career three pointers. 0:12:08.219 --> 0:12:10.099 But on this next team, where Tom Fiboda likes to 0:12:10.099 --> 0:12:12.339 play a really tight rotation, there's not a lot of 0:12:12.499 --> 0:12:15.419 minutes available to guys off of the bench. But Bogdanovich 0:12:16.139 --> 0:12:18.339 is I think the guy in the Knicks roster who 0:12:18.379 --> 0:12:23.019 can most closely give you what Julius Randall gave you 0:12:23.179 --> 0:12:27.059 just in terms of offensive production and offensive creativity. So 0:12:27.099 --> 0:12:28.819 the minutes that he is going to be out there, 0:12:28.859 --> 0:12:30.859 and they used to. They like to stagger those minutes. 0:12:30.899 --> 0:12:34.419 So when Runson's on the bench, Bogdanovic is generally on 0:12:34.459 --> 0:12:36.779 the court because a lot of times he's the focal 0:12:36.819 --> 0:12:39.259 point of the offense in those few minutes when he's 0:12:39.299 --> 0:12:41.059 out there, he can be a big X factor in 0:12:41.099 --> 0:12:42.819 this series as well. And one of his best games 0:12:42.819 --> 0:12:46.059 as a Nick was that first game after the All 0:12:46.099 --> 0:12:48.739 Star break down in Philadelphia when the Knicks went down 0:12:48.779 --> 0:12:51.099 there and beat the Sixers and Bogdanovic had I think 0:12:51.139 --> 0:12:53.099 twenty two points off the bench in that game. That 0:12:53.139 --> 0:12:55.139 was one of his best games since coming over in 0:12:55.179 --> 0:12:57.979 the draft, the trade deadline trade. 0:12:57.939 --> 0:12:59.939 And then they also had the two games set in 0:13:00.059 --> 0:13:03.619 mid March. What was your reaction to the seventy nine 0:13:03.619 --> 0:13:05.139 to seventy three game. 0:13:05.659 --> 0:13:07.339 I was waiting for the fourth quarter to start when 0:13:07.379 --> 0:13:10.259 I saw the score and I'm like, oh wait, that 0:13:10.379 --> 0:13:12.139 was something. How that was lowest scoring game in the 0:13:12.219 --> 0:13:15.259 NBA at that point. I imagine nothing surpassed that this season. 0:13:15.699 --> 0:13:18.579 It was just an ugly game, you know, and look 0:13:18.619 --> 0:13:20.979 the Knicks and the seventy six ers, I think to 0:13:21.019 --> 0:13:23.539 a lesser extent, but teams like the Knicks, and you know, 0:13:23.619 --> 0:13:26.099 last year their second round playoff series against the Heat, 0:13:26.299 --> 0:13:28.299 we saw a lot of those you know, rock fight 0:13:28.419 --> 0:13:31.899 type games like drag it out, long possessions, but nothing 0:13:31.939 --> 0:13:33.859 to the extent of seventy nine to seventy three. I 0:13:33.939 --> 0:13:35.859 think a big part of that was just a matter 0:13:36.059 --> 0:13:38.979 of nobody was hitting shots that night. It was an 0:13:39.059 --> 0:13:40.739 ugly game, and then then of course they had the 0:13:40.779 --> 0:13:44.499 game two days later. That game was significant because that 0:13:44.619 --> 0:13:49.379 was the game that ogan Andobi returned after or his 0:13:49.499 --> 0:13:52.299 first lengthy absence. And you know I mentioned and you 0:13:52.299 --> 0:13:54.019 guys are well aware of the record with him be 0:13:54.179 --> 0:13:57.179 playing thirty two and eight when Ogannobi plays for the Knicks. 0:13:57.179 --> 0:13:59.219 The Knicks are twenty and three this season, and one 0:13:59.259 --> 0:14:01.379 of those three losses was a rare game that Jalen 0:14:01.419 --> 0:14:03.819 Bronson didn't play. So when I think of the second 0:14:03.819 --> 0:14:05.579 of that two game series at the Garden between the 0:14:05.659 --> 0:14:07.779 Knicks and the seventies six ers, the return of og 0:14:07.899 --> 0:14:11.299 an Andobi, that and Josh Hart's nineteen rebound performance sticks 0:14:11.299 --> 0:14:11.659 out to me. 0:14:12.379 --> 0:14:15.139 And that was the game Maxie came back from the concussion, 0:14:15.219 --> 0:14:17.179 so he didn't play in the first one. 0:14:17.379 --> 0:14:18.499 That's right, New York. 0:14:18.899 --> 0:14:22.899 And Embi didn't play in either of those, but with 0:14:22.979 --> 0:14:26.219 the the Maxie Brunts and Brunson bounced back from game 0:14:26.299 --> 0:14:29.259 one to game two in that in the games at 0:14:29.259 --> 0:14:34.539 the Garden. But with Brunson, Philadelphia fans are familiar with 0:14:34.619 --> 0:14:38.499 him obviously, but his second year with the Knicks. How 0:14:38.499 --> 0:14:41.339 has it been to see him from last year to 0:14:41.419 --> 0:14:42.579 this year? Every day? 0:14:43.299 --> 0:14:45.819 It's incredible. I can't believe how good of a player 0:14:45.819 --> 0:14:48.979 he is. You know, Knicks fans rightfully so were excited 0:14:49.859 --> 0:14:51.979 when they got when the Knicks got him, just you know, 0:14:52.259 --> 0:14:54.379 for what he had done in Dallas, especially in the 0:14:54.379 --> 0:14:57.059 playoffs the year before, the fact that he was bringing 0:14:57.099 --> 0:14:59.339 stability to a position in New York that had not 0:14:59.419 --> 0:15:03.059 been there in nearly two decades. It took him, and 0:15:03.099 --> 0:15:05.219 I've referred to this a lot, it took him probably 0:15:05.259 --> 0:15:07.579 fifteen or twenty games his first season in New York 0:15:07.579 --> 0:15:10.139 to find his footing. You know, was Randall's team. Randall 0:15:10.219 --> 0:15:12.299 was the All NBA player, and Randall was the All Star. 0:15:12.499 --> 0:15:13.979 Runson't the kind of guy who's not going to walk 0:15:14.019 --> 0:15:15.899 into a situation and say, Okay, it's my team now. 0:15:15.979 --> 0:15:17.979 By the way, he still doesn't do that. It's even 0:15:17.979 --> 0:15:19.779 though it's clear to everybody that it is his team 0:15:19.859 --> 0:15:21.859 right now. So it took him a little while to 0:15:21.899 --> 0:15:24.299 fine his footing in New York. It probably cost him 0:15:24.299 --> 0:15:25.979 an All Star appearance his first year, even though he 0:15:26.019 --> 0:15:29.179 was under consideration, just missed out on being All NBA. 0:15:29.259 --> 0:15:31.019 But by the end of year one for Brunson, when 0:15:31.019 --> 0:15:33.659 the Knicks lost in the second round to the Heat 0:15:33.699 --> 0:15:35.859 in six games, I mean, Brunson had a couple of 0:15:35.899 --> 0:15:38.339 forty point performances at the end of that series, and 0:15:38.539 --> 0:15:41.019 it was clear that he had elevated to a different 0:15:41.099 --> 0:15:45.179 stratosphere in the NBA and where he ended last season, 0:15:45.539 --> 0:15:48.779 he is so far and away above that this year. 0:15:49.059 --> 0:15:53.259 It's simply incredible. And you don't even hear the conversations 0:15:53.259 --> 0:15:56.659 anymore where where the Knicks need a superstar, or you know, 0:15:56.659 --> 0:15:58.899 it used to be the Knicks need a star. Clearly 0:15:58.939 --> 0:16:00.579 they have one, and they have two All Stars on 0:16:00.619 --> 0:16:02.299 their roster, even though one of them is not able 0:16:02.339 --> 0:16:04.979 to play in this series. But this is a guy 0:16:05.539 --> 0:16:07.179 who I think is going to be top five and 0:16:07.299 --> 0:16:10.579 MVP voting. Maybe he won't be First team All NBA, 0:16:10.699 --> 0:16:13.019 but if he's not, he's certainly going to be second 0:16:13.019 --> 0:16:16.499 team All NBA in an extremely deep year for that 0:16:16.619 --> 0:16:18.899 type of voting. When you consider your guys like Shay Gilders, 0:16:18.939 --> 0:16:22.459 Alexander and Luka Doncic that he's competing with for those spots. 0:16:22.699 --> 0:16:26.579 I mean, he's among this season one of the top 0:16:26.619 --> 0:16:29.379 five to eight players in the NBA, so he's reached 0:16:29.419 --> 0:16:33.619 I mean, that superstar status in this era. This is 0:16:33.659 --> 0:16:36.899 such a fun team to cover to call because they're 0:16:36.939 --> 0:16:38.819 good guys and I know it's kind of cliche to 0:16:38.859 --> 0:16:40.659 say when you're around them all the time, but they're 0:16:40.779 --> 0:16:43.379 very easy to root for. You know, they obviously have 0:16:43.459 --> 0:16:47.459 the strong Villanova connection, Jalen and Josh Hard and Dante 0:16:47.539 --> 0:16:51.499 Divinceanzo especially, you know Hart and Brunson with the Roommates 0:16:51.499 --> 0:16:53.819 podcast and all that. They're kind of goofballs in a 0:16:53.899 --> 0:16:57.459 very endearing way. They don't take themselves too seriously at all. 0:16:57.659 --> 0:17:02.299 It's very challenging to in a postgame interview ask Josh 0:17:02.299 --> 0:17:04.659 Hard a question. Let's if Brunson has sixty points and 0:17:04.699 --> 0:17:07.419 you asked Josh Hard a question about Brunson's performance, He's 0:17:07.459 --> 0:17:10.619 gonna go negative because that's just the relationship that they 0:17:10.659 --> 0:17:13.419 have it's completely tongue in cheek, but you know it's 0:17:13.459 --> 0:17:15.739 coming that he's gonna be like, yeah, he had sixty one, 0:17:15.739 --> 0:17:18.059 but if he hit those you know, three shots in 0:17:18.099 --> 0:17:20.019 the second quarter, he could have had sixty seven points. 0:17:20.059 --> 0:17:23.819 That's just the nature of their relationship. And that's the 0:17:23.819 --> 0:17:25.819 tone that they've set on this team. So and that 0:17:25.859 --> 0:17:28.099 comes from Brunson. I mean, he's the tone center on 0:17:28.139 --> 0:17:28.539 this team. 0:17:28.859 --> 0:17:31.419 It's funny that you share that story, Pat, because that's 0:17:31.619 --> 0:17:34.619 very much the relationship that Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey 0:17:34.699 --> 0:17:37.859 have developed. If one of them has fifty or sixty, 0:17:37.899 --> 0:17:40.579 it's well, why didn't you have sixty or seventy? And 0:17:40.659 --> 0:17:44.059 if one of them has fifty but two turnovers, it's 0:17:44.139 --> 0:17:48.139 all about the turnovers. And so that like likability factor 0:17:48.299 --> 0:17:50.299 that is sort of on both sides of this series, 0:17:50.419 --> 0:17:52.139 especially when you talk about the way that the series 0:17:52.179 --> 0:17:54.579 is being positioned nationally, it is going to be this tough, 0:17:54.699 --> 0:17:57.659 like knock him down, drag them out type series. You 0:17:57.659 --> 0:18:00.579 pull back the curtain and these guys are pretty deeply delightful, 0:18:00.619 --> 0:18:03.339 which I think is going to be exciting to chart through. 0:18:03.979 --> 0:18:05.659 My last one for you that I like to ask 0:18:05.859 --> 0:18:09.819 anyone that's covering the opposition. You mentioned it a little 0:18:09.819 --> 0:18:12.859 bit with X factors. Could be a Bogdanovich, could be 0:18:12.939 --> 0:18:15.899 an Ananobi. But when you look at this team for 0:18:15.939 --> 0:18:19.339 the past eighty two games, are there any storylines that 0:18:19.379 --> 0:18:24.859 you don't feel got enough shine, any like fun anecdote 0:18:25.059 --> 0:18:29.619 or just something that people who obviously we're talking mostly 0:18:29.659 --> 0:18:32.579 to Sixers fans, but anything that would make the Knicks 0:18:32.619 --> 0:18:35.139 a little bit more sticky, a little bit more exciting 0:18:35.179 --> 0:18:35.619 to root for. 0:18:36.739 --> 0:18:38.499 Well, you know, there's a couple of things that come 0:18:38.539 --> 0:18:41.979 to mind, you know, not super exciting, but it's worth 0:18:42.059 --> 0:18:45.779 mentioning the development of Isaiah Hartenstein. You know, the Knicks 0:18:45.819 --> 0:18:50.419 signed him before last season as a backup center, a 0:18:50.499 --> 0:18:53.419 moderately priced backup center, played really well, actually played all 0:18:53.419 --> 0:18:56.859 eighty two games last year, and then this year, Mitchell Robinson, 0:18:56.899 --> 0:19:00.099 their starting center, who is playing the best basketball of 0:19:00.139 --> 0:19:02.659 his career, injures his ankle on December eighth in Boston 0:19:02.779 --> 0:19:04.899 and misses the next fifty games. And now all of 0:19:04.899 --> 0:19:07.659 a sudden, Hartenstein is thrust into the role of starting center. 0:19:07.659 --> 0:19:11.459 And in fact, he wasn't initially moved into the starting lineup. 0:19:11.499 --> 0:19:13.539 Tom Thibodau liked him coming off the bench. That the 0:19:13.539 --> 0:19:16.899 first four or five games after Robinson got hurt, the 0:19:16.939 --> 0:19:20.099 Knicks started Jericho Simms until Simms injured his ankle, and 0:19:20.099 --> 0:19:22.659 then Hartenstein went into the starting lineup and has never left, 0:19:22.699 --> 0:19:25.379 and he has elevated himself to a guy that's getting 0:19:25.699 --> 0:19:30.499 all defense conversation about him. I mean, he's clearly had 0:19:30.539 --> 0:19:32.979 the best season of his career and just an interesting, 0:19:33.059 --> 0:19:36.979 you know, spin off of that. The relationship between the 0:19:37.059 --> 0:19:39.819 two Nick centers is something that I've always gotten a 0:19:39.899 --> 0:19:44.059 kick out of Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson, and it just 0:19:44.179 --> 0:19:46.859 kind of shows because it could be a sticky thing, 0:19:46.979 --> 0:19:49.779 right Mitchell Robinson's the starting sen He's playing the best 0:19:49.819 --> 0:19:53.939 basketball of his career. Hartenstein takes over that spot, He's 0:19:53.939 --> 0:19:56.979 playing the best basketball of his career. Robinson is now back, 0:19:57.219 --> 0:19:58.899 you know, is he one hundred percent healthy? I don't 0:19:58.899 --> 0:20:01.379 know if anybody is this point the season, but Robinson's 0:20:01.379 --> 0:20:04.579 an important guy now coming off the bench, and especially 0:20:04.619 --> 0:20:07.059 in a series like this when you're facing Joel Embiid, 0:20:07.659 --> 0:20:12.179 Mitchell Robinson and Hartenstein are going to be very very important. 0:20:12.379 --> 0:20:16.539 But they have this kind of brotherly friendship that has 0:20:16.619 --> 0:20:18.619 developed over their two years together in New York. And 0:20:18.659 --> 0:20:21.139 they're obviously completely different. I mean, Mitchell Robinson is a 0:20:21.139 --> 0:20:25.539 country boy from Louisiana. You know, he likes his fishing, 0:20:25.579 --> 0:20:28.419 he likes his country music. Isaiah Hartenstein grew up in Germany. 0:20:28.499 --> 0:20:32.059 Father was a professional basketball player, So they come from 0:20:32.259 --> 0:20:34.979