Pod Strickland Episode 399: Down But Not Out

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Every team, every topic, everywhere, this is Believe. Hello and welcome to our returner Pottschreclan PERSON.

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I'm your host, Trinipune PERSON. This is up is 399. I'm joined as always by my co-host. Stacey PERSON, that is at Stacey Pan 89 on Twitter. Stacey PERSON, how are you doing on this? It is a very beautiful Monday morning.

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Beautiful Monday morning right after Mother's Day, and I don't remember anything else that happened yesterday. Nothing of note.

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Nothing of note. We will talk about that very little of note that occurred yesterday. But before we do that, do you have to make a few answers to the first. Strickland ORG has an Instagram. Check that out. That is at the Strickland. On Instagram ORG, we're posting all kinds of new content there.The Strickland ORG also an instagram check that is at the strickland on it's instagram we're posting all kinds of new content there the trickland also has a youtube channel where you may be watching this podcast if you are done so already please hit like subscribe with the channel leave his comment that be a huge up to us the trickland ORG also has merchandise which can find on our website at www.w.w the strict.lund there's a link that'll take it to the merchandise store and you can find all kinds of cool content on there t-shirts sweatshirts hats, hats, coffee mugs, water bottles, you name it. We've got it. It's also got a whole new Nova York ORG line. Check that out. Definitely worth your time. Strickland ORG also has a Patreon which is subscribed to their number of tiers.There's a six-starter that gets you access to podcasts from the podcast that I host in front of the prejudice. You also got access to Hickson-Ros from the news podcast that I host by A.m.K. Doug along with Zach Blatter PERSON. You also got access to Circle Discord with the conversation number stops. There are further podcast that are hosted by A.D.A. Doug along with Zach Blatter. You also got access to Strictle Discord PRODUCT with the Conversation Number Stopped. Their Further Tier is a $9 tier. They get to X2, Strican, Normal, My Solo Poder, Rand and Ram over the Nixie Memorial ORG. You also got access to wonderful premium articles by Matthew Miranda PERSON, one of the best in the business.And now you get access to strictly NFL, our NFL podcast, which is hosted by Contranteam Metro's ORG, There are Further Tears. There are further tiers, $30, $.9 here, $30 tier, $50, $1 tier, and $100 tier that's from the variety of additional benefits. Like listening to that product recordings, purchase discounts, and even potentially host a podcast, alongside yours truly one day whether you choose to subscribe or not on this would be possible without you.And none of this would be possible. Without bet online, bet online, your number one source for all your summer sports this season. For LB, golf, NBA, and NHLL and HLLf ORG playoffs stats, all the latest stats, news, and scores available to follow your favorite teams. Get the latest odds in lines, including the latest team matchups, player props, and odds on just about every sport out there. Head to the website today, you're using mobile device to get in on the action.Got online where the game starts. So the Knicks ORG lose. They lose both game three and four. Game three, a nail biter, which they were unable to close out in the end. And game four, which was the opposite of a nail blader, more of an ass kicking. The Knicks lose 121 to 89.I don't know. I guess I'll just let you kind of, you know, what was your takeaway? I mean, I don't know. Game three, I don't think we have, there's necessarily needs to be a huge postmortem on that three days after, given that, I don't know, that game just seemed like you lost it a little bit on the margins there. And I just, I will again reiterate that like, if anybody is upset that I'm not going to talk about theofficiating at the end of game three, I'm not going to apologize for that because I don't think the Knicks ORG lost that game because the officiating, even if they did have a couple of tough calls to go against them. I'm not really interested in litigating that, and I find this entire bizarre discourse that seems to be occurring now after every single fucking playoff game. And not just the Knicks series, in every series apparently about NBA ORG officiating to be ridiculous. But yeah, I guess what were your thoughts after yesterday?

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So my thoughts were, you know, every other team, I believe, and you can correct me on this, I don't think any other team has gone without getting blown out at least once, right? Certainly the teams that are still alive. Am I incorrect on that? Maybe, okay, maybe the city hasn't gotten blown out at least once, right? Certainly the teams that are still alive. Am I incorrect on that? Maybe.

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Maybe, maybe Mississippi GPE hasn't gotten blown out, but. No, Oklahoma City GPE's gone, I mean, I guess I didn't get blown out, right?

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No, they haven't blown out yet. Yeah. Yeah, so the vast majority of teams are going to have one game like this. The ball doesn't, I thought the Knicks ORG got reasonably good looks. I don't know what the final numbers were, but I do know well into garbage time.They were three for 29 from three. That's not going to get it done in this day and age. I don't think a lot of them were bad shots. I think they missed a lot of open shots. You know, Deuce McBride has performed well beyond his years. Shots haven't been going down. I like that for the most part, he stayed aggressive yesterday. I thought he did a nice job getting some rhythm late in thosegarbage time minutes. But I think the biggest thing that's worrisome to me, you know, I think you had said this, and I would have agreed that you probably expect this to be two-two after four games, even before the series, right? I think both of us picked Nix and six. So in that sense, it's nothing, I think, just the blowout in isolation isn't anything to be concerned about.What is concerning is this is a team that Nick PERSON struggled against without O.GN and O.G. and O.B. inBI in the regular season and we just we know how impactful it is that's why that trade has been so good and his health makes me a lot more concerned and I understand why the Pacers are favored now according to Vegas ORG to win the series and defensively there's a lot to fix I know they will come out and you know I know Tibbs PERSON is going to be hard at work I know the guys are committed to it but OG there's a lot to fix. I know they will come out and, you know, I know Tibbs is going to be hard at work. I know the guys are committed to it.

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But OG PERSON covers up a lot. He's really the only, the only real big wing.

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I know Precius PERSON can play that role on defense, but you don't trust him really as a shooter. Hasn't worked at the fore with him playing next to Hartnstein PERSON. So, you know, I think it was a good adjustment to try Deuce PERSON. It just wasn't our night yesterday, our afternoon or whatever.

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Well, I mean, it wasn't a, I mean, he adjusted it when we're down 28.

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I don't really think that says anything.

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He was searching, right?

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I think he was searching with a lot of his lineups.

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I'm hoping that the starter's next game does reflect that adjustment. We'll see what happens. But to me, the most concerning thing is they look like a worst team without Oji PERSON.

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The shots will fall. They won't be quite as four on defense. And Indiana ORG won't shoot quite as lights out. But it's a loss that cannot be overstated. But the last thing I'll say is I don't expect an emotional hangover from the Knicks ORG. If they lose, I think it's because they're just too short-handed.I think they had a very tough loss in game three. But by any standard, right? And that's what happens. You play it. So with my initial point, every game has been close. There's been short turnarounds and you have this attrition.A game like this, I don't want to say it's to be expected. But after all of that, you know, the blowout can kind of function like a little bit of a break. And other teams have had that break. Well, they'll maybe have a game where the guys don't go all the way because they're going to blown out.So, you know, in that sense, I don't, I expect the mix to look a lot more energetic and to play better on Tuesday, but, yeah, on Tuesday, but I think the most concerning thing to me is just they haven't looked at the same all year

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without O.G. I mean, they play their best defensive game of the series without O.G. On game three?

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Yeah. They won their only game

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against Indiana in the regular season without O.G.

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Well, they never played him with OG PERSON, and they lost the season series. Right, but they won their only game against Indiana in the regular season without OG. Well, they never played him with OG

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and they lost the season series.

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Right, but they won their one game without him.

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And that was after the trade.

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So that was no Randall, no OG PERSON.

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I mean, it's basically the same team that they had now.

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Because I don't think they hadn't even traded for Bollyon or Brooks PERSON then. So I guess you could say they had Grimes PERSON. I'm not sure that Grimes PERSON was particularly effective in that game or at any point this season, really. Like, is this, I mean, are the odds against them?Sure, fine. Don't tell me the odds. No, I just, I just, I mean, kind of with this team. I don't really think the odds are that important. I mean, they're important. I mean, don't really think the odds are that important. I mean, they're important. I mean, you can't constantly just keep fighting against the odds.But I think they just had a bad game yesterday. They had a bad game. I think they were tired. They looked absolutely shot. Not even shot. I mean, that's not even right.They just didn't. They could not dial it up yesterday. They could not find that extra gear that they have found. I'll say the things that are most concerning to me have I think their attention in detail defensively has been bad this series, like really bad.

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It can be a function of fatigue as well. Yeah, it can definitely be a function of fatigue,

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but constantly jumping at shooters, especially early in games. It's been a consistent theme. And it's not just Josh Hart PERSON. OG PERSON was doing it. Dante PERSON is doing it. Like, they're all just, like, how many of the threes that Halliburton ORG is getting? It's not even a result of, wow, incredible shot making or, wow, what a wonderful set.The Pacers ORG ran. It's overreacting to like a kickout to a shooter. And it's like, oh my God. It's like, dude, that's, that's Obie Tappen PERSON. Like you don't probably know, like close out to him, but you probably don't need to fly at him. Like he's prime clay or something.Like it's, they've got to figure, they've got to just stop overreacting. And then the other part is they're also just, they've got to have a better, better resistance to allowing them into the paint. That was a problem even when OG PERSON was playing. Like, yeah, maybe he can cover up more in terms of once they're in the paint, he makes life harder because of his wingspan.He gives you an extra level of room protection with his, you know, kind of just his overall length and his ability to play that help defender role. But that's not that they were still scoring, I don't want to say, yeah, I mean, you could say it at ease in the first two games of the series, even with OG. So like there were stretches, obviously, when he was on the floor that the Knicks ORG were greatdefensively. You know, we saw that in game two, especially the start of game two, and then obviously the third quarter of game two. But, like, they weren't good defensively in those games either. And a lot of that has to do with non-OG ORG defenders. Like, I get that, I know that Josh Hart PERSON is, look, the guy's played way more minutes than he should have.He's being asked to do 15 different things, you know, as far as, you know, hey, we need you to solidify us on the defensive glass. We also need you to be able to go coast to coast and juice our transition offense. We're going to need you to make some kick out threes because you kind of have to. And so on and so forth. He's playing above and beyond his pay grade, really, and has done it admirable, more than admirable. He's done it at a level that I don't think anybody could reasonably have expected at various points of this season. So, like, I'm not, this isn't really like me shitting on him, but the guy's been bad defensively in the series, like really bad.He has not shut down anybody. You know, I don't care about, when Pascal Seyaka PERSON makes some shots over him, I don't give a shit about that. That's nothing he can do about that. But when you're getting blown by every fucking time by T.J. McConnell PERSON, or Andrew Nemhart PERSON, orname a ployer, Erin Neesman PERSON,

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it doesn't matter. Like, it's,

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that's not, like, you can't, then you're putting your, your other defenders in, in bad position. And Hartnstein PERSON had a terrible game. I mean, I thought in game three, to me, I didn't view that as a fatigue game or him being terrible or soft or anything.I just thought he was trying very consciously to avoid fouls.

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And you have to give some credit to Turner PERSON.

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Like, he played well. No, we don't need to give any fucking credit to Miles Stewart PERSON. And yesterday, I thought he just didn't like Josh Hart PERSON and like the rest of their team. But I think those two guys, in a lot of of ways feed your energy in ways that nobody else does, at least out of the guys we have available. He just did not have it.I mean, he had a turnover yesterday in the second half, the start of the second half, where he literally just threw it at Miles Turner's PERSON hand. Like I don't have any idea what the, like I get what he was looking at at because I saw I think it was Dante PERSON cutting wide open down the paint but I don't know how he ever expected that pass to get through with how he was trying to deliver it. You know, you saw him multiple times yesterday just not get over to box somebody out or make a rotation but then not make another rotation or just watch somebody dribble penetrate and not really go after to block the shot and like that's very uncharacteristicof him that was a very uncharacteristic performance from the entire team but i think in a lot of ways josh hart and isaiah hernstein exemplified it the most which is how little they were able to give you um and then on top of that yeah you've got brunson's injury, which, you know, he keeps saying he's fine. He looked, he was short on every single jumper yesterday. That usually is a sign of either fatigue or an injury.I don't know. We'll see, I'm not going to make excuses for him. The guys on the floor, it is what it is. He's got to battle through it, which is his mindset as well. So hopefully he's able to do that. But like, you know, the Dante one for me, to me he's the one guy, I didn't really thinkhe looked exhausted yesterday. I just think he won. He played a bad game, too, because everybody else was terrible. His defense being bad was exacerbated. And then he just didn't make shots, which, okay, that happens. Like, that's just, like, he had 35 the night before. I don't think it was, like, a matter of he... To me, he just didn't look that fatigued. He looked like he just missed shots.Deuce PERSON, obviously, has not had a good series at all. I thought he played fine in game three. I actually thought he was pretty solid in game three, and probably should have played more in game three. I would have brought him in much sooner. I would have left him in the fourth instead of Alec Berks PERSON.I thought that was a mistake at the time. But it is what it is. I mean, I'm not going to kill tips for that. I think that was a marginal decision. My opinion, he picked wrong. Do I know that if he picked Deuce PERSON to we know in the game? No, I don't know that. And Deuce did come in later, and it's not like all of a sudden we turn back into gangbusters. So we'll never know what cool would have happened in my scenario. You know, I, he's got to play better.I was happy he stayed in the game for a long time yesterday. Even during garbage time, I think he got to see the ball go through the night a few times, hopefully caught a rhythm because they're going to need him. And I did like that Tibbs at least started the second half with him, although he pulled the plug on that pretty quick, not just because Deuce PERSON himself wasn't making shots or that lineup wasn't getting stops or couldn't really put a dent in the lead.But I think because he just saw the heart and heartstein came out, I think at the same

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time.

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And they never came back in the game. And I think Tibbs PERSON never had any intention of putting them back in the game because they did not have anything yesterday. They had no juice. And, you know, that's, that's just what it is. But, like, I do think there are things Tibbs PERSON can do better, too.Like, they put themselves in deficits of their own making at the start of these last two games by starting precious. Precious at the four is not good. I'm sorry. Like, I know.

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It forces you to play Sims PRODUCT more, too.

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Yeah, it forced you to play Sims PRODUCT more, which is, I mean, it doesn't really forces you to play Sims more, too. Yeah, it forces you to play Sims more, which is, I mean, it doesn't really force you to play Sims PRODUCT more. You can manage that if you want, but the way Tibbs PERSON wants to run his rotation, it forces you to play Sims PRODUCT. Which is dumb because Sims PRODUCT is fucking awful.He's terrible. So, don't do that. And also the pressures of the four lineup. I'll tell you my biggest issue with it is this. And I think Jeff PERSON actually tweeted something out about this, maybe after the game and during the game, um,on his, on his Twitter. But like, what? Okay, so you're playing pressures at the four, presumably because you want to match up with Siakum PERSON. Fine. He's not doing a particularly good job defensively.He is not doing a good job particularly on the defensive glass. And offensively, he does absolutely nothing to compliment Jalen Brunson PERSON in that lineup. Like, it basically gives, it gave Indiana free pass yesterday to just show bodies constantly. They did not defend him. They literally were not defending past, or precious chew it.He got a couple open dunks off cuts because of that. That's not a sustainable way to live, dude. Like, that's just not real. Unless you have Nicola fucking Yokic PERSON as your center, you can't get away with a four like that. And even then, Aaron Gordon is a much,I mean, he's just a much better offensive player than Precious Chua PERSON. That just is what it is. Like, Precious PERSON can't create like that at all. He's also, I mean, I know Gordon PERSON's not a good shooter. Precise is a much worse shooter as far as I'm concerned. Like, it's just not the same thing.And we don't have Yokic PERSON. Surprise, surprise. As much as Hartstein might be the Yokich of the East LOC, that is a big difference. But, like, it just, I don't get any of that. And I'm sorry, like, the dumbest thing about this, and this is why I hope that Tibbs PERSON has learned his lesson. And I hope that coming out to start that second half, Wood Deuce FAC was him adjusting.The next one, four and eight in Februarybruary when they started precious i can i'm i'm actually going to pull this up because i want to want to make sure i have uh the full kind of um how it all played out this year uh so let me pull this up. All right. The Knicks this year, they... All right, let's do this. So, Julie Strandall PERSON and... I'm sorry, Julie Strandall and O.G. and Nobie PERSON go out on January 27that the end of the against Miami ORG. That was the last game they played for a long time. Julius PERSON is obviously out for the rest of the season. They win their next three starting precious against Utah, Indiana ORG. Or sorry, just the next, sorry, at Charlotte, Utah, Indiana ORG.But in February, they go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. They go 4 and 12 that month, starting pressures. They lose 4 in a row at one point, including a loss to the Pacers ORG, 111, 125 at the Garden FAC. And generally looked like the season was,I don't want to say veering out of control, but not pointed in the right direction. They then lose, they win against Cleveland ORG, they lose to Atlanta, beat Orlando GPE, lose an embarrassing game, one of the worst games of the season against Philly GPE,a 73,9 debacle. Offense has totally cratered over this time period. Fortunately for the next, OG comes back. Great. OG PERSON's back. We are good to go.They win their next three with OG PERSON back in the lineup. Unfortunately, OG PERSON re-aggravated his elbow. So after three games, we are back to Precious to Chua PRODUCT. No, we're not, actually. Because Tom DeVito PERSON decides, you know what? I'm going to start Deuce PERSON.I'm going to start Deuce PERSON. I'm going to play Deuce because we have seen enough that the precious Achua ORG lineup does not work. Maybe get floor spacing around Brunson PERSON. We will have to adjust and take some hits on the defensive glass, but I think the trade off will be worth it. And do you want to know what? He was right.It was worth it. The Knicks ORG then basically saved their season. They go, I think OG came back against the Bulls ORG on the road, which is on April 5th. But between March 18th and April 5th, they go, let's see, 101, 4 and 4 and 4, 5th. They go 5 and 4.So not like they were world leaders, but that starting lineup was fucking fantastic. That starting lineup, which I'm going to pull up for you right now, using pbpsetts.com ORG. That lineup was basically the best lineup, I believe, in the NBA ORG,and in terms of net rating. So that lineup is Brunson PERSON. It is Dante PERSON. It is Josh Hart PERSON. It is McBride PERSON. And is Hartenschstein PERSON.That lineup went. Put 172 minutes. Had a plus 31.37 net rating. They were 142.4 offensive rating and 111 defensive rating. They shot likely unsustainably hot in those minutes. And their opponents actually didn't shoot poorly.They were 55% from the field and 34% from 3. The next shot 62.6% for the field and 47.7% from 3. Look, those percentages probably don't hold up. But I'm going to roll with the minutes of that group over the precious group, which was worse, with precious in instead of deuce over the course of the season.That lineup played 189 minutes. They were a plus 8.2. 123 offensive rating, 114.9 defensive rating. They shot 55.6% from two or from the field, sorry, 35% from the field. 50.5% from the field allowed to opponents and 43.7% from 3. Look, the numbers are what they are.I'm not, I'm not going to kill Tibbs for trying it because I get the logic of trying Seacom ORG. But I think in the playoffs, when you're allowing a team to just effectively ignore a defender like that or an offensive player like that and load up in the paint.

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And you're not getting the tradeoff on the other end either.

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Yeah, right. Like, he's not doing it. And honestly're not getting the tradeoff on the other end either. Yeah, right.

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Like, he's not doing it.

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And honestly, like, I'm sorry. I'm totally fine if they want to go mismatch hunting with Pascal Seaccom on Josh Hart PERSON or is a hardstein. I'm very, very okay with that. Because to me, you are now taking them out of actually what they want to do. They don't want to mismatch hunt. They don't want to throw it into Pascal and have him cook. Like, that's notwhat they really want to do. But, I mean, but you can bait them into doing it. I think that's worth it. I think it's worth it. And you know what? If it doesn't work, guess what you can do? Okay. It didn't work. Go back to what you were doing. Try something different. It doesn't really matter. You only have so many options right now. But I feel very confident that the option where you're playing definitely two non-shooters and basically three, because even though Josh Hart has shot the ball well in the playoffs from three, I don't, teams are still not closing out. They're not defending him like anawesome shooter and he's still not confident taking that shot at the volume that you need him to take it to really make that viable, to at least give some type of like three out spacing. You're just making life really hard for Brunson PERSON. And I think you've got to try to make life easier for him, especially given the offensive load the guy's been carrying. Like, do him a favor, you know? Yeah, so, again, look, the Knicks ORG didn't lose this gamebecause Tibbs PERSON started precious. Obviously, that's ridiculous. Like, they lost by fucking 32 points, and they were now by 40 at one point. Like, you didn't lose the game because Tibbs PERSON started a certain lineup. They were going to lose this game no matter what the fuck they did.That's clear. But the series is not over as much as it might feel like that to certain people right now. It's 2-2. This is technically, it's like you're on, you're, you're, you held serve. Both teams have held serve. That's all that's happened so far.It's about adjusting though though, and figuring out what your best way to get two of three is now. And I'm sorry, like, I do not fear Indiana ORG's physicality. I know they've rebounded well in thisseries, and they take it advantage of some Nick PERSON's fatigue issues and Nick PERSON's size issues. I'm willing to take that bet. I want to make them try to, yeah,you want to beat us up inside? Go for that. Let's see it. Let's see you do it. I want you to do that to start every game, and I want you to do that for 40 minutes.Let's see how comfortable you are doing that. And I think on the other end, I will bet that Deuce McBride shoots better from three. Giving enough shots, I feel confident he will shoot better from three because his full season's kind of resume has shown me that. And he was good against the Sixers ORG in the playoffs. So I have no reason to all of a sudden doubt that he, oh, he's not, he can't do it in the playoffs or that, like, really, like, Indiana ORG is so good on defense that, like,he's incapable of making shots against him. I don't buy that either. So I'm going to roll with, I would roll with that lineup and I would feel very, very comfortable doing so because I think I've seen enough with precious. And you know what? If he doesn't want to start Deuce, then start Birx PERSON at this point.I don't really care. The point is you've got to like, you're not going to play some amazing defensive lineup right now. It's not going to happen. It's not. With your personal available, it is not goingto happen. So what can you do? I think you have to pick to juice your offense as best you can.

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And in the next case... Yes.

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Or in the Kn case. Yes. Or in the next case, right now as it is, that means playing four out, having four perimeter guys around one big and seeing how that goes. And it also, again, like you mentioned, it pushes precious back to the bench, which means you don't have to play Sims PRODUCT any minutes. There's a lot of benefits to just simplifying your decision-making, whereas I think putting pressures in the starting lineup complicates the decision-making for Tibbs PERSON, and that is a difficult thing. And, like, the final thing I'll say, too, is about Brunson PERSON, like,dude, yesterday there were multiple plays. Whether Deuce PERSON was hitting the shots or not, you can go watch the plays where Deuce is in with him, with that lineup, or, you know, or plays where Deuce PERSON is in with him with that lineup or, you know, or one precious is with him in that lineup. On the same place that he's kicking Caduce out to a corner three, four, he's blatantly ignoring precious and putting up contested mid-range jumpers over like one or two guys, like two guys really most of the time.That should tell you everything you need to know. That should tell you everything you need to know. Because if Deuce PERSON makes a couple of those threes, instead of missing them, and they were good looks. They're good looks for a quality shooter. If he makes a couple of those threes, all of a sudden now Indiana ORG is to think about how aggressive they want to be about sending help.And that changes the coverages and the pressure that Brunson PERSON is under.

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Yeah, I mean, I think there's a tendency to overreact to bad shooting on good looks. I think we saw it a little bit with Quickly last year. I think there's something a little bit more to it because quickly has a lower release. But one, he was still a net positive in his minutes, and, you know, before the injury, obviously. And so I think there was an argument that it's a shooter. He's still going to draw some attention.The same thing I think we both believe with Grimes, you know, during that heat series where you had Hart and RJ PERSON playing together and it crushed the spacing. And we saw it this year with Dante PERSON, right? Dante DiMenzo, you know, he had the big threes in game two. He had a good game too. But the first throughout, out of the first four games, he, first five games, really. He was four out of five games, I believe, not very good shooting the ball.But he's getting good looks. And then the floodgates opened. And, you know, he's been terrific. He was awesome in game three. I think that's worth mentioning. You know, one of the better performances of the postgates opened. And, you know, he's been terrific. He was awesome in game three. I think that's worth mentioning, you know, one of the better performances of the postseason period.And I think you're, but especially three-point shooters, you're going to, sometimes the ball's not going to go in. And I think you see a lot where people will just say he's playing like ass when it's just the open, like I think people will look at that variance and like ass when it's just the open like i think people will look at that variance and not really understand what's going on it'd be one thing if deuce was just you know if they were just the contests were better he's missing wide open shots and that

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he was like jacking up bullshit shots yeah um he was um you know he's just missing he's getting the

Speaker 11763.52s - 1868.14s

same shots and they're not falling down. And sometimes that happens to even great shooters. That happens to Steph Curry PERSON. Obviously, the highs are a lot higher and probably the lows are not as extended than as other players. But I think when judging whether to play a guy like that, you have to look at the whole thing, which I'm sure Tibbs PERSON is doing. You know, for example, like, I don't necessarily think Berks is a better option than Deuce PERSON,even though he shot the ball well the last two games. I do think it's somewhat encouraging that he looks at least like a viable option who's not going to hijack the offense. For some reason, of all the things that went wrong yesterday, one of the most frustrating things about Berks this regular season was he was, you know, he has these,he's the one who has these dark arts in the paint, and he wasn't getting those calls this year. And then, so then it's just a double whammy where he's throwing up garbage to get a foul, and he's not getting it. Weirdly, he's getting those calls now, which cool. And I would imagine that if he did have the shoulder issue,the time off actually helped. So he is the most fresh guy of guys who are playing. But I think to your point, like you don't over, you don't overreact to a guy missing open shots like this, especially when he has a track record of making them and the defense isn't doing anything to pay. I think it's correct to surmise that at this point, the Knicks are not going to be able to lock up Indiana ORG. They have to give themselves as much of a chance on offense as possible. I do think the defensive rebounding continues to be a concern. To your point, Precious PERSON has not helped with that. I know that the Knicks out rebounded, or they had more offensive rebounds than the Pacer ORG's, but as a percentage of missed shots,I think the Pacers ORG actually must have outrebounded them on offense because they just weren't missing a lot of shots and the Knicks ORG missed basically everything.

Speaker 21868.88s - 1878.96s

Yeah, I also saw a lot of Pacer's hands and like, oh, of course the Knicks ORG. Look at them. They lost this game and they still outshot us on the free throw line. It's like, dude, you didn't need to shoot free throws because you guys made every fucking shot?

Speaker 01879.12s - 1886.08s

Like, that's how you didn't get to the line. And also a lot of those free throws I think we we got were like, if the game was over.

Speaker 21886.38s - 1889.06s

Like, they're like irrelevant calls. Like, I just, whatever.

Speaker 11890.32s - 2062.48s

Yeah. So the Pacers had nine offensive rebounds. The Knicks had, it wasn't just Pacer ORG. I mean, even, I'll talk about it. So the Knicks had 16 offensive rebounds, a lot of them late. But if you look at, you know, they must have missed.They missed, what, 59 shots. The Pacers missed 38, right? So when you look at it that way, the next, and so giving up nine offensive rebounds out of 38 shots, especially in this team, is not good. And defensive rebounding has been an issue all series. So that is something that you'd hope they need to clean up, to your point, Hart PERSON being gassed probably doesn't help there because he's one of their best rebounders. Hartnstein PERSON having to constantly deal with penetration and help doesn't help either. But Jeff had a tweet where the Knicks ORG won the possession battle,they turned the ball over a fewer times. They had way more free throws. That's kind of been their formula, but they, you know, obviously were blown out. And I think we're, you know, I think that, one, you're seeing the role of three-point variance there. But I also think it tells you that you need to do something to put the odds in your favor, the three-point, because I don't think you're just going to lock this team up. You know, I think they can do a better job stoppingdribble penetration. I think they can do a better job on the defensive glass, a heart with some more energy, maybe generate some more deflections. But that is kind of just, you're going to have to play an offensive game. I do want to ask what this, because I've seen some discussion even before yesterday, where, you know, the pace has been at Indiana ORG's preferred level. I think there's been a lot of fast breaks or whatever. But I think that that's a conversation.I always feel like, well, I don't think the Knicks ORG are giving up transition opportunities because like after the Knicks ORG get a layup on transition, right? It's not like that's ending with the Pacers ORG immediately running back, right? I think you can say if you feel like the Knicks ORG and the Knicks have a pensioned all playoffs for making some boneheaded turnovers in transition. And you want to talk about that.Like if you're not a great transition team, don't run. That's fair. And if you want to say, you know, you're playing these guys 46 minutes, you need to slow the game down at least when you can. But I also think the flip side is if you want to keep Indiana ORG out of transition, the best way to do that is to make your shots. It's tough to, when you're missing a lot of shots, which the Knicks ORG have been in thehalf court, they're going to look to push off the miss. When in the half court, if you're more prone to turnovers, particularly when Brunson PERSON's out of the game or when you're playing this too big lineup, you want to avoid that. And the best way to avoid that is to try to get transition opportunities. But I'm curious if you think they need to slow down on offense or anything like that.

Speaker 22065.46s - 2149.88s

This is what I think. The Knicks ORG, I'm just going to read game by game. This is starting game for and going back. These are just the pace numbers. 95.7. This is on basketball reference, by the way, just in case anybody's wondering.90.8. Just on basketball reference, by the way, just in case anybody's wondering. 90.8. 91.5. 95.5. I don't think any of these games have been played particularly fast. I think people are just completely lost because the previous series against Philly GPE was much more.I mean, it was a lot. It was slow as hell. The pace in that series was 90.3. The pace in this series overall is 93.4. So, I mean, that's a pretty significant difference. But you're talking about slow as shit,we're still pretty slow. Like, this is not a fast series. So I just don't even agree with the premise at all. Like, I don't think they're playing fast. I think it's just kind of jarring because of how slowevery possession was against Philly GPE. It's not that fast in the series so far. Do you think they should have a different approach

Speaker 12149.88s - 2151.96s

in transition at all, though, given...

Speaker 22151.96s - 2153.9s

I mean, you've got to make smarter decisions.

Speaker 12154.44s - 2156.86s

They've got to finish better. It feels like this series...

Speaker 22156.86s - 2261.26s

I mean, I don't... I don't even know the numbers because I thought their transition against Philly GPE was a problem, but then apparently at the end of that series, we were the second best team in the playoffs in transition, so maybe I'm just like, I have, you know, blue and orange gogglesand I'm just uber focused on the shit the Knicks ORG are doing wrong. But, like, I mean, I thought they had some shitty fast breaks yesterday. I mean, one of them, like Brunson PERSON just smoked a layup that he clearly, I don't care what he says. That's either fatigue or an injury. He's going to have to figure that out.He's got to overcome it. But it is what it is. But, like, Josh Hart PERSON had one right at the start of the game where he drove. He, like, drove it, he, like, threw it widely back to Dante PERSON who had to catch it on the move and then he turned it over. It's just, they've got to make smarter decisions with that, too. Like, look, sometimes it's not there.Sometimes it's just not there. And it's okay to pull that too. Like, look, sometimes it's not there. Sometimes it's just not there. And it's okay to pull it back and not try to force it. Like, that's really the key to me is can you, can you make, you know, can you just make smart decisions? But their overall approach, I don't really have a problem with it. And I just think this entire idea that like the series been playing, we're playing at some breakneck speed. I mean, it's ridiculous.It's just not true. It's just not. Like, I think what people are struggling with is that Indiana ORG has successfully been able to get into the paint early in, early on in their shot clock. But they're not like shooting often that early in the shot clock. I think they're going to, they're having to like make an extra two or three passes.And they've done that well to their credit. And the next have defended it poorly. They've overreacted, which you talked about earlier in the pod. So they've got to do a better job with that. But I don't think their initial approach is bad. Yeah.

Speaker 12262.66s - 2345.76s

I mean, they're going to need easy buckets, right? I think if you want to stop the transition offense. And I think, I don't know if it was Jeff who said this, or I think it was XJ on their pod, hot hand theory. But I just think it's one thing that people talk about the Indiana ORG transition offense, but they were very effective half-court team as well. So this is a potent offense. And not having depth at center, obviously losing OG hurts. I do want to say that I get kind of the frustration with so much of the shit talking that comes. It's like, you know, why are they celebrating?They're beating a completely depleted team. If the Knicks lose this series, I don't think we should be taking anything away from Indiana ORG. I think it's completely fair as we look at this roster going forward. And, you know, as you're evaluating Tibbs PERSON, you have to take that into account. You can't just say, you know, this means it's not working or they need a 1A or all that shit. But I do think, like, just the same as, you know, being frustrated by, you know, this means it's not working or they need a 1A or all that shit. But I do think, like, just the same as, you know, being frustrated by, you know,all the focus on officiating, I do think it's not worth it to try to take away from a team. That is winning a playoff series. And frankly, Indiana played well yesterday. I do want to talk a little bit more about Alec Berks PERSON. I know there was...

Speaker 22345.76s - 2376.88s

Is the frustration actually, though, about... I don't think the frustration is that Indiana ORG's... Like, they're... I don't think that the frustration for me, I can only speak for myself. The frustration for me isn't that Indiana ORG shit talking.The frustration for me is that through the first two games it was oh, game one, wow, they got destroyed, they got killed by the refs. That again became some weird narrative after game too, which is insane to me, consideringwhat occurred in that game.

Speaker 12377.76s - 2379.96s

And then... You didn't think there was big market bias

Speaker 22379.96s - 2390s

going on? No, I did not. But I guess maybe there was and then they somehow managed to ignore that the last couple of games or something. I don't get around. I don't know. I never know how that's... It would have ignored it for 20

Speaker 12390s - 2391.12s

years, too. Maybe.

Speaker 22392.46s - 2418.14s

And my frustration is that like then, okay, that's fine. But then also, oh, Tyos Halliburn PERSON, he's hurt. He's hurt. So, oh, my God.We have to, like, but then now he's not hurt, and now he can run his mouth and shit talk and talk all this fucking, I mean, even in game three, he was happy to run his mouth during the first half, and everything was good, everything's flowing, he was cooking, he's getting wide open threes.He was happy to run his mouth then.

Speaker 12418.54s - 2419.9s

And what do you do in the second half?

Speaker 22420.1s - 2529.1s

Yeah, he didn't do anything in the second half. Yeah, he had a nice little stretch to shot at the fourth quarter, but he wasn't running his mouth. I didn't want anything to do with the fucking, with anything to do with the ball at the end of the game. Andrew Nemhart PERSON, please save me.Like, I'm sorry, that shit is corny to me. And everything about that guy is corny to me. Like, I don't give a fuck what anybody thinks. I don't buy that. That whole fucking thing with the ankle. Okay, first of all, the guy after game three looks like, you know,he's limping off like he just fucking, I don don't know like he fucking stormed the beach at normandy or something uh and then and then before the game yesterday i think doris was talking about some you know alleged conversation i know i always i by the way i just want to say i always i always i always wonder if like they're like oh we talked to this guy yesterday i'm like did you actually talk to him or was this like a made-up thing? But like, she was like, oh, you know, we were talking to that Tyrese or whatever it was yesterday.And he's talking about blah, blah, blah, blah. And then he was saying, you know, I could barely walk. Like before. It's like, dude, what are you talking to? You could barely walk? You could barely walk.Really? You could barely walk. He's listed on the fucking report now with four different injuries. Come on, dude. The fucking hamstring were the never-ending hamstring injury. This guy, it's got a hamstring injury for four months.Sit the fuck down then. If it's hurting you that much, sit the fuck down. But you know why he didn't? He said it openly. He's worried about his all NBA ORG eligibility. Okay.That's your choice. That's not mine. I don't got to worry about it. If that's what matters to you, so be it. I don't want to hear a fucking sob story. And oh, but now is not, wait, now his hamstrings healthy, right?So I don't, like, I'm just sick of like, honestly, very particularly, I'm sick of Tyree PERSON's hollabren's bullshit. And I think he is bullshitting. And I think anybody that wants to keep giving him the benefits out is a fucking idiot and a moron and should probably get a lobotomy and not donate their brain to science because nobody needs anybody that's stupid in society.

Speaker 12530.88s - 2537.94s

I mean, I think we've known this, right? The whole, he wanted to go to Sacramento and then he played up the narrative of getting pastime.

Speaker 22537.94s - 2608.5s

But there are people that were still, like, there are objective people. Like, after game two, I was listening to podcast. I'm like, oh, man oh man well if this is what tyrese is then what what can indiana do i'm like did we watch the same game because in the first half of that game he's flying around zipping around up the floor you know kicking the ball out throwing it miles turner running a dribble hand off with him he looks fine he's looked fucking physicallyfine for months now there's nothing to do with an injury. There's nothing to do with that. Maybe it's a mental part of it. Maybe that's real, and I can accept that. That is a real thing, especially when you're coming off a hamstring. You may not want to push yourself because it's hard. It's very hard. And that's something that I'm sure that, OG PERSON, if he does come back, is we'll see it.We will see it. There's no way to avoid it. You have to, like, get comfortable and confident in being able to push off. I get that. And maybe he doesn't trust himself in the paint for that reason. Halliburn, I'm talking about.Maybe that's why he doesn't want to take, you know, try to create too much space with his side steps because he doesn't trust. That's real. That's fine. I can accept that. But that's not the same thing as being injured.He's not fucking injured. Watch him play. Look at him. Does he look slow to you? Does he look like his burst is compromised in any

Speaker 12608.5s - 2614.32s

fucking way does it look like no maybe just that much of a warrior yeah no maybe yeah maybe

Speaker 22614.32s - 2798.52s

that's what it is but like i mean come on and then like he gets fucking pushed in the back like really oh everybody knows that that he's been i didn't know i didn. I had no fucking idea he was listed with a sore back until like three minutes before game one. I was like, what? He has a sore back? This has been a thing?Like, what did this happen? It's disingenuous. It's bullshit. And honestly, I'm just because it's fucking cowardly and it's soft is what it is. This guy's been listed on the fucking injury reportquestionable with this fucking, this back thing for like eight games in a row. He's played every single one. Buddy, is it questionable? Is it? Or are you going to play?Or do you want to have a built-in excuse if you play like shit? That's what it looks like to me. And that's what it is. That is what it is. That's 100% what it is. He wants a built-in excuse and he's got it.Because if he has a bad game, we're going to hear it. Oh, it's just amazing that 100% what it is. He wants a built-in excuse, and he's got it. Because if he has a bad game, we're going to hear it. Oh, it's just amazing that he's even playing through this. But, but no, Jalen Brunson PERSON, last two games. Oh, Aaron Nesmith, the fucking Brunson stopper. Oh, look at this masterful adjustment that Rick Carlisle is made and he's locking down Jalen Brunson PERSON. And it's like, oh, okay. So when Brunton PERSON struggles, he just struggles. But when Halliborne PERSON struggles, oh, his hamstring, oh, my God, his lower back.Oh, he stubbed his toe yesterday coming out of the shower. Like, it's bullshit. I'm sorry. That's what pisses me off. Literally nothing else. You can talk shit.Talk shit. Fine. Whatever. I don't, and I won't begrudge them that they won the series. They outplayed this yesterday. And yeah,do I think that like, there's a critical mass occurring for the Knicks ORG now where there's just so many injuries they've been dealing with for months on end, that it's built up and guys are reaching close to like their breaking points? Yeah, that's possible. But at the end of the day,you have to take advantage of your opponents. You have to take advantage of their injuries, whatever adversity they're facing. And Indiana ORG did that. And they capitalized it and didn't give his room to breathe. So you have to give them credit for that. That doesn't piss me off. That's literally basketball. And if they make the conference finals, like, you know, I mean, I talked about us with Sam yesterday in the post game. It wouldn't mean to me that, like, I don't think you need to downplay what they did. Like, they still made it to the conference finals.But I think you would objectively look at their path, assuming that they played Boston GPE. And I'm assuming Boston GPE would smoke them. I think you would look at that path and probably be like, all right, like, they're a good team. But they're probably not the level of team that a conference finals run necessarily proves to you. And obviously, and to be completely clear, I don't think this version of the Knicks ORG, if they make the conference finals, to me, like the reason for optimism Nix fans would have moving into the next season isn't because just, oh, we made the conference finals.It would be like, well, we made the conference finals dealing with Randall being out for the year, OG missing X games, Mitch missing X games, Bogie going down in the middle of the first round when it seemed like he was finally starting to get it together. Like, so those are the reasons for optimism.

Speaker 12798.52s - 2801.24s

And you have the flexibility continued to add.

Speaker 22801.24s - 2801.36s

Right.

Speaker 12801.74s - 2805.52s

And Indiana ORG would have similar optimism where, well, look,

Speaker 22806.12s - 2848.02s

if you look at it, honestly, I think objectively you'd look at it and be like, all right, they're good, but they're not like a championship contender, but they have the flexibility to make moves. That's not a bad situation to be in at all.I'm not saying that. None of that, but none of that annoys me. It's just very specifically, the entire bullshit. And it's utter, complete and utter fucking bullshit, the conversation around Tyre's Halliburne PERSON. I'm so sick of him and I'm so sick of every fucking excuse that he gets.And I'm so sick of being told how fucking fun he is and how we have to root for him because he, oh, he's doing it in a small market. Who the fuck cares what market he's doing it in it? He can be doing it in fucking Moscow GPE for all I give a shit about.

Speaker 12848.42s - 2851.14s

And it would not affect how I view what he's doing.

Speaker 22851.14s - 2897.82s

Like, he's, it is, it is an absolute fucking joke the way he's talked about and the way he's discussed. And the way that he gets a fucking excuse every fucking time. Oh, oh, well, you know, it's just hard because people are yelling at me because they're put me in parley's night. Nobody wants to hear this shit, dude. Like, I'm sorry. I don't feel bad for you.Oh, people are yelling at you because they gambled on you. Tough shit, dude. They do that with every player probably in the NBA ORG. And also, again, to quote Don Draper PERSON, that's what the money is for. Shut the fuck up. I do not want to hear it.You're going to get paid either $40 million a year or $50 million a year, depending on whether you make all NBA for the next five years. Shut the fuck up about your sob story. You fucking coward piece of shit.Fuck him.

Speaker 12902.06s - 2920.08s

Yeah, I mean, I think there's something particularly grading just about the discussion around him. You know, he's obviously a talented player. But yeah, I mean, I think it's also, it is the whole conversation.

Speaker 22920.08s - 2927.92s

I mean, that's part of it. He is a good player. He's a talented player. So why do we need to make all these excuses for him? If he's a star player, then treat him like a star.

Speaker 12928.16s - 2942.16s

And I'll tell you what, no one is making excuses for Brunson PERSON right now. Not in the media. I've already seen the narrative flip now. Again, right? I saw someone who's like, people actually thought Brunson was better than Donovan Mitchell PERSON, which is like, buddy.It's two games.

Speaker 22942.78s - 2947.54s

I mean, he has beat Donald Mitchell twice in two sure and and has gotten way better

Speaker 12947.54s - 2952.82s

and that's i've we even said this i i don't think that's i think that's it's an interesting

Speaker 22952.82s - 2957.14s

conversation but i do think like it's insane to act like mitchell is better uh or has

Speaker 12957.14s - 3057.74s

his head and shul is better um i do want to point out to kind of what you're saying with you know even if they make the eastern Conference finals, you know, you're still feeling like this version, you know, probably needs a little bit more. And that could be already on the roster with Randall PERSON and all that. But I do think it's, you know, we were seeing that, you know,in the Discord PRODUCT and everything, you know, if you're discussing things, like what kind of moves they can make. And there's people like, look, they're having so much success. We just beat Philly in six games. You know, we're up. Why are we talking about, why?I wouldn't want to trade, you know, Dante PERSON. I wouldn't want to move any of these guys. And I think what it, I think what maybe to yesterday also kind of shows is the Knicks are a very clutch team. I don't want to say that they didn't deserve to win those games. But long term, I don't know that you can just say we won so many games right at the wire.Again, without certain guys, sure. And that's a reason to just run it back, right? I think a move, unless they were to win or get to the finals um and and you know put up a solid fight i don't see them just running it back um because one injuries are always going to happen right uh so you know you do want to continue to build depth you also are seeing that you know even if you're healthy you're putting a ton on Jalen Brunson PERSON.And, you know, I think we are aligned on that, but curious to your thoughts there. I mean, you have to expect them to make some kind of move, and likely a pretty big move this summer, right?

Speaker 23058.26s - 3165.66s

Um, maybe. I don't know. think that they they could look at this team and be like well we were the best team in basketball in January do we really need to do anything I don't know I don't think that's like I don't think it's that crazy to just be like yeah let's work on you know I would I think it's a reasonable to look at this team be like I would I think it's a reasonable to look at this team be like I would I think it's a reasonable to look at this team be like I don't know I would I think it's a reasonable to look yeah, let's work on, you know, I would, I think it's a reasonable to look at his team and be like, all right. We saw what the starting five looks like. We know that Josh Hart PERSON will move back to the bench, which makes our bench stronger. We know that Dante, you know, he was only even playing like 23 or 24 minutes a game during that month.But we know, obviously, he's taking a leap since then. I think he, I mean, he already, like, kind of shown that he was trending in the right direction prior to that anyway. He was really playing well off of Randall PERSON. So not to worry about that part. But, like, so you know that. I think you'd have more confidence induced going into next season.Personally, I think that he's pretty close to making a leap right now. He's shown, like, I know that it's hard to see because it's hard because you want to win these games. These are meaningful games right in the playoffs, do-or-die games in a lot of ways. And his struggles, the things he still struggles with pop and they cost you on the margins and that hurts.But I think that, like, I'm very encouraged by the fact that he's shown a really, I mean, he's actually, he's way more confident driving left than he is to his right. I'm not sure what that's about. I wonder if he's a lefty in like something, like in, like in something.

Speaker 13165.66s - 3168.14s

I think pull-ups can be a lot easier going left, right?

Speaker 23168.14s - 3179.66s

If you're righty. Right, but he's better driving. Like, he's better finishing on his left. Like, his best finishes come when he drives left. So that part is interesting to me. I just wonder if, like, maybe he's ambidextrous in some ways.

Speaker 13180.82s - 3196.68s

No, but I'm saying like he might have, because he's been a pull-up first guy most of his career, if you're always going left to get to that pull-up. And then, you know, so you just might have more reps going left like that, right, than finishing. Because when they take away the pull-up, then you do have to attack the rim, right?

Speaker 23199.22s - 3204.3s

Maybe. I mean, I just have never seen somebody that, like, you know.

Speaker 13204.36s - 3205.42s

Inverse to what you'd expect.

Speaker 23206.18s - 3346.28s

Yeah. Yeah, just it's, I don't remember somebody who is like a right-handed player being so, I mean, I guess Jha PERSON. Jaws like the one guy I can think of who is clearly much more comfortable driving left than right. But he's not a great pull-up shooters. That's just maybe like a really strange quirk. But like I, anyway, the point is like I think he's like,he's clearly showing more willingness to do stuff off the bounds. It doesn't always work out. I think he's still ironing out what's a good shot. What's an acceptable shot? What is he good at? You know, all those type of things.But like, I don't, I don't know. I think that you can, anyway, I think the next guy look at him and be like, he's,we feel much better about him coming into next season. So now you look at the roster and you're like, okay, well, we have bogey, you know, is that somebody we believe in? Or is that a contract now we can use again in trade? Maybe you attach one of those protected first or one of our first this year to get a player in that you like, that you feel more confident in to replace him.And that gives you better solidity. Maybe you, and the other part is like, let's say you're like, hey, we're way less concerned about Mitch PERSON getting hurt coming off the bench than we are with him as a starter. So now you solidified your bench, right, with bringing Mitch PERSON there. And so like, I just think that there's plenty of opportunityfor them to look at this team as is and feel like maybe we don't need to do something major now I don't I don't know that I don't feel really strongly one to the other to me everything should be judged as like in the light of what it is specifically so like every move should be judged on the merits of its own. I don't think they should write off making a big move. I don't think they should write off a big move not being worth what it would get to make it happen. I think the dumbest thing or the worst thing you can always do is feel pressure to make a move.

Speaker 13348.28s - 3352.68s

But hasn't the conversation changed a little bit with Brunson PERSON being of this level of superstar?

Speaker 23353.06s - 3359.34s

Because you mentioned it in yourself, you're always trying to win the title. Yeah, but the team they were was like showing they were a title caliber team.

Speaker 13360.26s - 3362.74s

For a short, I mean, it was 14 games.

Speaker 23363.04s - 3366.92s

And I think the other point of making is that. That's 20% of the season almost? Yeah, but, I mean, it was 14 games. And I think the other point of making is that... That's 20% of the season almost?

Speaker 13368.78s - 3374.34s

Yeah, but I mean, the schedule opened up a little bit. I don't think teams make a decision.

Speaker 23374.34s - 3379.18s

They smoked Denver GPE. They beat the Timberlis and they smoked the Sixers ORG.

Speaker 13379.96s - 3383.02s

Yeah, but they also won a lot of games in there against...

Speaker 23383.02s - 3384.86s

Right, but they smoked good teams.

Speaker 13385.16s - 3390.8s

The two laws they had were at Dallas, a dumb game they lost,

Speaker 03390.96s - 3393.52s

which they did not show up to start the first half of that game.

Speaker 23394.18s - 3399s

And they still had a chance to win that. They probably should have won it, to be honest. And then the other game...

Speaker 33399s - 3402.38s

No, the other game they lost was...

Speaker 23402.38s - 3409.62s

No, in January, the other game they lost was... Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure it was to Orlando, and that was a game Brunson PERSON set.

Speaker 13410.94s - 3413.48s

Yeah, okay, I thought you were counting just after the trade.

Speaker 23413.72s - 3414.3s

No, no, no.

Speaker 13416.3s - 3551.96s

The point is, for me, like, that is an important sample. You can definitely be encouraged by it, and you don't feel the need to be pressured into any kind of move. Looking at the playoffs and saying, look, they made the second round. The margins being this tight, I think, is a little bit, people are taking a little bit into too much into it.Yeah, this is a team that's built to win close games, but I don't think that means you say, well, that's okay, we can just keep grinding out because you're seeing kind of some of the toll that takes. And so that's what I think that nothing should be off the table. I think that's correct. But I do think you have to treat this team as they have a no doubt about it, superstar.And I think where I'm a little bit, what's funny, I think I was higher on Deuce PERSON than a lot of people when he was, when the ball wasn't going in. So I believed in his jump shot since he was in college. You know, he has a, you know, the form looks good. It's, it's Pres ORG certified. And if Presus PERSON says somebody can shoot, it's usually something I'll believe.But I'm struggling, I guess, to see it a little bit with him being like a viable bench creator now maybe randall going to the bench and playing with this version of deuce is enough to make that a viable lineup but even during that stretch you saw that they really the bench creation wasn't there with brunson sitting um so i i would imagine they tried to do something to either to give, do a co-star, you know, like a vet who can kind of help steady the ship.I think of all the things that went poorly, I do think like if Berks PERSON is actually hitting open shots and playing a little bit smarter, it does take some pressure off of deuce, right? But I think, I guess I'm not sold that that he's going to turn into this viable point guard. I think he's best as like a D. Anthony Melden PERSON type,which is an extremely valuable player. But I do think that still is a need that they'll have to address. Either, you know, with just getting a vet who can kind of steady the ship next to him or, you know, maybe more of a polished point guard in the draft. And again, with due shooting like this, you don't need that guy to be a high-level shooter necessarily either.

Speaker 23553.9s - 3567.16s

Yeah, I mean, you have veteran options like Carl Lowry PERSON, somebody who will be a free agent. I'm not really sure. I wouldn't mind just adding him because he's still to me, like a good player.

Speaker 13568.66s - 3572.58s

But he's the guy that keeps coming to mind is like, calmly on this team next to Deuce PERSON.

Speaker 23572.58s - 3577.18s

I would really like that. I don't know if he's available. I don't think he would. No, they extended it.

Speaker 13577.32s - 3577.92s

He's staying.

Speaker 23578.4s - 3582.62s

But that's the type of player I'm thinking of, I guess, if you're just going to try to

Speaker 13582.62s - 3583.32s

upgrade the bench.

Speaker 23584.24s - 3586.46s

Yeah, I mean, I don't necessarily know who that is.

Speaker 13588.06s - 3592.74s

But certainly they need somebody else who can create off the dribble.

Speaker 23592.9s - 3593.28s

And I agree.

Speaker 13593.28s - 3600.82s

Like, Deuce PERSON, to me, his creation jump, if it happens, is more as, like, it's still more to me as

Speaker 23600.82s - 3679.08s

an off-ball combo guard than, like, I guess the best way I can put it is, while if you want to, like, quibble over whether quickly is a point guard or his deuce a point-guard, the best way I would put it is that quickly, if he's not a point guard, he's more of an on-ball combo guard, whereas to me, Deuce PERSON is way more of an off-ball combo guard. Like, they can both do the other thing, but they're better at one than the other. Like, quickly to me is better on ball now than he is off ball.And he's still really good. He's a great off ball player, but he's better on it. He's better being involved with the ball on his hands or at least touching it. Whereas Deuce PERSON to me, is that his best when he's playing off of anybody else's creation, which is fine. Like, he still has the ability, you know, he's shown that he can now attack a closeout, get into that mid range. Um, he's shown that in a pinch, he can create in a pick and roll. Like those are good things to have, but he's not really somebody you want to ask to do that consistently. Um, so getting somebody else who can create is definitely, I mean, yeah, especially very specifically at that guard position, like breakingdown a defense, running a pick and roll, running a steady stream of pick and rolls even, that's something that they need to add. I don't know who that guy is. Like, Kyle Lowry PERSON probably isn't that guy anymore, even though he's still valuable in a lot of ways. Tias Jones PERSON.

Speaker 13679.76s - 3682.86s

Tias Jones is not, he's not going to sign with the Knicks ORG.

Speaker 23683.94s - 3688.32s

Well, I mean, if it's a, if it's a situation where Washington ORG signs in because they don't really have a choice,

Speaker 33688.32s - 3690.08s

but they eventually trade him.

Speaker 13690.92s - 3694.06s

Yeah, maybe you could do that, but I don't think he would be very happy about it.

Speaker 33694.36s - 3698.56s

And also, I think he's been a pretty poor playoff player, if I remember it correctly.

Speaker 13699.84s - 3700.12s

Yeah.

Speaker 23700.74s - 3704.2s

I don't, I even looked at his numbers as well, but I remember that being a thing.

Speaker 13705.64s - 3708.4s

So I don't know who it is they can go get.

Speaker 23708.56s - 3710.42s

I mean, luckily it's not my problem either, but.

Speaker 03711.02s - 3712.2s

Do you think Deuce PERSON can evolve?

Speaker 23712.28s - 3721.6s

Do you think Deuce has evolved enough on ball to play next to Randall PERSON or to make that more viable to give Randall an outlet as opposed to just having to carry the bench?

Speaker 13721.98s - 3722.3s

No.

Speaker 23722.82s - 3725.66s

I think you need somebody who's actually capable of, like, running the offense

Speaker 13725.66s - 3727.68s

to get the best out of Randall PERSON.

Speaker 23728s - 3797.9s

And, you know, that's part of Randall PERSON's own limitations where I know those bench minutes. I think they won them actually on aggregate, but a lot of that had to do with their defense being pretty solid. I'm not sure that that is nearly as effective in a playoff situation. I don't know that that formula is nearly as effective. So I'm not sure, again, I don't know who it is that they would get.Finding quality bench guards is actually very difficult, and that's generally why your stars need to be able to buoy bench lineups. So we'll see how that works. I don't know who it would be. And the number of guys you get... This is why something like Caruso PERSON, to me,would be very beneficial, because he's not obviously some dynamic, like, creator type. But he's somebody, I would feel very confident to just be like, hey, we need you to run the offense for, like, you know, fucking six minutes a half when Brunson PERSON sits.I would feel very confident with that. Obviously, we know he could play with Brunson PERSON, right, you can play off of Brunson PERSON. I think him and Deuce would be five. I think they'd be really good together. So, and defense.

Speaker 33798.38s - 3799.74s

Yeah, they'd definitely be great together on defense.

Speaker 13799.86s - 3804.22s

Even offensively, I think Caruso PERSON's more capable of just running the offense,

Speaker 33804.32s - 3810.12s

getting into the paint a little bit, and then, you know, Deuce PERSON obviously can play off of that. I'll be fine with

Speaker 23810.12s - 3830.14s

that. Like, that's, that's probably the ideal guy that you can go after. Obviously, you know, I think we kind of jokingly talked about it, but I don't, like, if you could get DJ McConnell PERSON, that'd be great. I have no idea what Indiana ORG would let him go. I don't think they will let him go. So that's only to consider. But like, yeah, I mean, if that is what you, like, to me, Caruso PERSON is a guy. If you can get him.

Speaker 13831.56s - 3846.5s

Would you, would you have concerns about Caruso? If Hart PERSON is moving back to the bench, would you have any concerns about spacing there, given that, you know, either of them is, I mean, Caruso PERSON hits his shots, but it's not a very high volume, right? It's four attempts a game, I believe.

Speaker 23847.44s - 3849.74s

I don't remember what it was this year, but it was...

Speaker 13849.74s - 3864.1s

I think he had 40% of his threes this year, but it was just like 4.4 attempts for game. And first career, he's an accurate... It's a little bit like McConnell PERSON, right, where you don't want to leave him open, but... Yeah, I mean, I don't...

Speaker 23864.1s - 3874.46s

He's not a high volume, three-point shooter, but, again, you're talking about bench minutes, and there's always ways to like, there's always ways to, um.

Speaker 13876.72s - 3880.12s

Yeah, so 41% from G3 on 4.7 attempts for game.

Speaker 23880.24s - 3886.78s

So with Hart PERSON already there, that's why it's a little bit more concerning. But Hart's shown the willingness to put up shots.

Speaker 13886.9s - 3895.34s

And yeah, to your point, maybe you have OG PERSON play with that unit and bring them out a little bit early, especially if you're already fine with Hart playing there at the three.

Speaker 23895.34s - 4031.88s

You always just have like a greater margin for error with your bench guys, right? Like you, when you're playing bench versus bench, guys are bench players because they're not as good as starters, generally speaking. Like that's usually the logic around the league. So if your bench has flaws, that's not atypical.That's typical. What you really want are pieces that can mix and match and give you combinations and blend in with your starters. And like, obviously Deuce PERSON can do that. Obviously, Josh Hart PERSON can do that.Obviously, you know, Mitchell Robinson PERSON in his own way, assuming he's back and he was the backup center, he would be able to do that, right? We know that he can play with the starters. And then we know, like, I think Caruso PERSON could easily do that. Well, would there be situations where, or combinations you don't ideally want to use? Probably.It's on tips to figure out what those combinations are. But there would also be combinations where he'd probably be fucking awesome. You know, like there, I mean, there would definitely be games where you'd be like, hey, Dante doesn't have it tonight. Let's play with Caruso next to Brunson PERSON. You know what I mean? Like there are just different combinations that he could fit in that I think that's, and that's really what you want from your bench guys.That's kind of why I thought Bogie PERSON was an interesting addition because he has the versatility to fit in that I think that's and that's really what you want from your bench guys. That's kind of why I thought Bogie was an interesting addition because he has the versatility to fit in with different guys at the four or three or whatever. And, you know, unfortunately, we didn't get to see that for too much. He struggled in the regular season. And then once he kind of started to figure that out, it was like, oh, you're injured now. Sorry. So that part is tough. But yeah, I still think there's a viable path to just like not doing anything crazy, largely running it back, try to make an impact move or two and move from there. But I will have to see what the Knicks ORG choose to do. I mean, there's obviously an argument to your point of making a more significant move. Wouldn't surprise me if that's what they chose because they are really good,and I do think that they feel some level of urgency with Brunson PERSON there. But I think you can feel a sense of urgency, but not feel like the move that you need, the move that you want to make, the move that you want to make, the move that makes sense to make, is available yet. So, yeah, that's kind of where I stand on that.

Speaker 14032.44s - 4086.18s

Yeah, but obviously the Knicks ORG are still playing a series. You know, we talked about kind of the, you know, moving precious out of starting lineup. We'll see, you know, what continues to happen with Berks PERSON. Do you think that, you know, obviously in previous games, they really hunted Halliburton ORG, you know,and there's this talking point, which I think is a little bit overstated. It seems like Brunson PERSON is just getting the same shots, and those are shots that, look, you know, we've come to expect him to be brilliant from mid-range all the time, but particularly with an injury, it can be a little bit more difficult. Do you think there's other things the Knicks ORG can tryor did try maybe in previous games that they didn't do yesterday that you'd expect them to go back to to free up Brunson a little bit more beyond the lineups and all that.

Speaker 24087.36s - 4090.38s

I'm sorry, can you, will they mismatch on Halburner PERSON's in?

Speaker 14091.62s - 4099.92s

Or other ways to kind of, is it, do they need to get Neesmith off Brunson PERSON more? Are there things that you either saw them do previously or that they can do in general?

Speaker 24099.92s - 4207.68s

I mean, I would say this. I would venture to guess that Neesmith will get, he was allowed to be more physical with Brunson in Game Street and 4 than I would say this. I would venture to guess that Niece Smith PERSON will get. He was allowed to be more physical with Brunson in game straight and four than I think he was at the garden. I expect a similar trend to occur where he's not able to get away with physicality as much on Brunson in game five. So he will be off of him more. I think they could probably try to do more stuff to get him off of Brunson PERSON.But it's also hard because it's the playoffs. They're going to let you grab and hold a little bit more so you can stay attached easier. They've got to find ways to attack that. And again, like, to me, the biggest thing is, and this is why I did not like sticking with Burks PERSON over, sticking with Burks over due during that fourth quarter in game three, Because they kept trying to use Brooks PERSON as the screener because they wanted to bring, I think it was Halliburn PERSON who was on him, into the action. And so ideally what you want is either you get a switch or they have to show two to the ball and then, you know, Brooks PERSON gets an open shot or he has a lane to attack.To me, Deuce PERSON is better at that. He's a better screener. He has a developed and he's developed a chemistry with Brunson PERSON as a screener. We talk about us with big men and guards all the time, right? Where pick and roll is kind of like this coordinated dance between the two of them and they have to, you know, you have to get an understanding of what your partner likes to do. Like, Deuce and Brunton PERSON have built that up.Berks and Brunson PERSON, they've ever played together. They've barely ever played together. So how would they have that chemistry? I think that was a mistake. And, but yeah, like, I think you need to mix up the screeners on Brunson PERSON. And to his credit, I think they've actually done that pretty consistently through this series.So, yeah.

Speaker 14209.3s - 4217.32s

You, I think, are pretty optimistic about game five and the rest of the series.

Speaker 24218.78s - 4221.94s

You know, obviously going back from the confines, they have home court advantage.

Speaker 14222.72s - 4233.58s

Is there anything in particular you expect to see Game 5 or your particular reasons for optimism beyond the team's just track record? They'll be at home.

Speaker 24234.52s - 4298.38s

I feel like that's pretty significant. I don't know. They're what, four and one at home in the playoffs? They were four and one last year at home in the playoffs. They're eight and two in the last two seasons with under Tibbs PERSON in the playoffs there. I know there were one and two his first year.I don't really put much stock into that first playoff run. It just that team is so very much nowhere near his talent. Yeah, they're just nowhere near as talented as these last years. And in retrospect, we probably should have been like, all right, well, it's cool getting here. Let's move on.And like, there's something you could do. If Randall PERSON plays like shit, I'm not going to put like, well, yeah, it is what it is. There's no way to, and with that, the talent we had on that team, there's no way to overcome that, which is not possible. With the last year's team, obviously I think that's a better indicationof where we are now. Obviously, obviously this year's record is a better indicator of where we are now. But even last year's team, obviously, they have a better indicator as well. And look, I just think that I just-

Speaker 14298.38s - 4301s

They only lost once in the playoffs as well, right? At home.

Speaker 24301.28s - 4301.94s

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 14302.32s - 4306.76s

And look, I think that sometimes you get your ass, it's not the worst thing in the world. It can light a fire under your ass. And look, I think that sometimes you get your ass, it's not the worst thing in the world.

Speaker 24308.26s - 4363.32s

It can light a fire under your ass. And I'm not saying, like, you might not, like I don't think these guys need added motivation. But it's always kind of stupid, right? When it's like, well, like, I know that Brunson PERSON has to say this stuffbecause that's just how he's wired where he's like, well, if you need more motivation in the playoffs, I don't really know what you're doing. But like, it doesn't hurt to have more motivation. Never hurts to have more. Never hurts to have more haters in your life and have people to respond to.I just, I don't know. I have a good feeling about game five. I'll say that. That's it. I couldn't tell you what it is because Because logically, you look at the teams. One team is dealing with, you know,they basically have six and a half guys, seven guys. We want to be generous. The other has their full compliment of players. I know that Tyries Halliborne PERSON has overcome so much and hopefully he can make it through his super serious injuriesand maybe he'll be able to walk with the ankle he has.

Speaker 14363.32s - 4366.7s

Let's us compare the Pacer's missing Matherin PERSON to the...

Speaker 24366.7s - 4370.62s

Yeah, we don't need to compare idiots to anything.

Speaker 14370.88s - 4381.92s

So, yeah, I mean, clearly that's ridiculous. Matherin was also just not a good player this season, which is fine. His second-year-player player is really talented, but it doesn't make him good right now at NBA ORG basketball.

Speaker 24384.06s - 4601.12s

But, like, yeah, I just, on paper, it should be the Pacers ORG all the way. But I feel like you're going to get a pretty awesome crowd tomorrow. I think these guys will have a fire lid under their ass by Tibbs PERSON. And I think they're all, I think they're pissed. I think they lost game three EVENT, obviously, the way they lost it. And I think they, look, not I think.They know. They got embarrassed yesterday. They got embarrassed yesterday, like, flat out. Whatever we want to say, you know, fatigue, short-handedness, whatever. You lost by 32 points on the road in a playoff game. Like, the fucking game was a five-and-a-half-point spread.You know what I mean? Like, you got beat down. I think they'll be pissed. I think they'll be pissed. And I think they'll want to show that what they, like that game five is not, or that game four, rather, is not who we are.We're a different team. We're the team that you've seen all year. So this is not like a number. I mean, if you want the numbers-based approach, it would be this. It would be, I think, so far in the series, one second, let me pull it up. So far in this series, the Knicks are shooting a very nice still, 39.3% from 3. They felt 10 percentage points after yesterday's game as a team.They were shooting 49% coin in that game as well. The Pacers are shooting 41.5% from 3. I think they are due for a little bit of regression. Halliborne shooting 45.2% from 3 all of a sudden. So his hamstring magically recovered in time. Congrats to him. What a guy. Miles Turner, he's shooting 44% from 3 all of a sudden. So his hamstring magically recovered in time. Congrats to him.What a guy. Miles Turner PERSON, he's shooting 44% from 3. T.J. McConnell PERSON, I mean, he's only taken 5, but he's shooting 40%. Obie Toppin is shooting 54.5% from 3. He's only attempted 11, but still, like,I think they even had a bad shooting game in this series yet. At some point, you would think, like, they'll just have a bad shooting game just because you will have a bad shooting game in this series yet. At some point you would think, like, they'll just have a bad shooting game just because you'll have a bad shooting game. Nature of the playoffs. I think to me the key of this game is,can the Knicks ORG get out on them early? And then can they hold the fucking lead for once? Like, we've seen them get out to leads a few times, right, in game six against Philly and then in game five, game two, or, yeah, game two against Indiana ORG. Granted, game two against Indiana had some extenuating circumstances with, you know, Brunson PERSON going out and then all, it's a very bizarre game. But, like, I think, I, I feel good about them. I feel good about them. And I alsofeel good that Tibbs PERSON is not going to start pressures at the fore. I feel very, very good about them. I feel good about them. And I also feel good that Tibbs is not going to start pressures at the fore. I feel very, very good about that. I think he, I took him starting Deuce PERSON to start that second half as an understanding of like, all right, this is just not. The precious thing is not working. Let me use.And I think he used that second half to try shit, get a look at lineups that he knows and probably will need to use in this game. Like, I know there are people that were mad that Brunton was in the game as long as he was in the third quarter. I think he wanted to get a look at that lineup. I think it was Brunton, Dante, Deuce, Burks, and Precious PERSON. I think he wanted to get a look at that. And that lineup, I mean, look, the competitive portion of that game was over.But I thought they, they, you could see how that would work offensively. That was promising defensively on the glass. Obviously, you're going to have some issues. But you're trying to figure out tradeoffs, right? And so I thought he used that third quarter kind of well to explore a few different things.

Speaker 14602.38s - 4614.7s

Do you think there's any way, I mean, I don't know how much you, how closely you watch Garbage Time, is there any way he expands to like eight guys or play someone, like a Dequan Jeffries PERSON or someone? Why?

Speaker 24616.38s - 4620.42s

Well, I mean, he didn't play Dequan Jeffries when we had like seven guys in the regular season.

Speaker 14620.54s - 4622.5s

There's no fucking shot he's playing this guy in the playoffs.

Speaker 24623.16s - 4624.74s

Yeah, I mean, I would tend to agree.

Speaker 14624.74s - 4625.1s

I, you know, I would tend to agree.

Speaker 24630.22s - 4634.58s

I, you know, if there were any takeaways from garbage time, I do think it's worth talking about this. It's a conversation I don't particularly enjoy, but, you know,

Speaker 14634.58s - 4701.4s

you do see people now going back to the narrative that, well, they're kind of getting what happens when you play guys a ton of minutes in the regular season. So I think the only, no one ranked in the top 10 on the Knicks in regular season minutes. Brunson and Randall, I believe, were tied for 15th. Obviously, Brunson PERSON was playing through the injury. But, you know, in a minutes per game situation, and this has been the running theme, right?Everyone criticized all the Randall PERSON minutes. And to be clear, I was critical of how many minutes Randall was getting in 2021, 22, but that was more from the standpoint. He just wasn't giving effort often on defense. And it just was more of an accountability thing. But, you know, obviously in the past, you know, in Chicago, they've had injury-riddled teams. And, you know, people feel like, you know, other teams will play their end of the bench guys to withstand the attrition and all of that. I know you've always been kind of not a Tibbs Minutes ORG police guy.You know, and I guess what would you say to that, especially when people will bring up that, you know, this is not a isolated year where the Nix or where Tibbs PERSON team has had a lot of injuries.

Speaker 24702.74s - 4716.64s

Randall and OG PERSON's injuries have nothing, like, okay, if you want to use the hamstring for OG, sure, but the reason OG PERSON missed out initially had nothing to do with TIBS. Randall PERSON's injury has nothing to do with tips. Mr. Robinson PERSON's injury has nothing to do withminutes or tips.

Speaker 34717.78s - 4720.22s

So

Speaker 24720.22s - 4722.18s

we were going to sit, Brunson PERSON?

Speaker 14723.32s - 4724.36s

Well, so the other teams

Speaker 34724.36s - 4726.18s

might play an end-of-the-bench guy, right?

Speaker 24726.18s - 4728.76s

Or might live with those more, and you lose a game or two more,

Speaker 14728.88s - 4731.4s

but you have fewer injuries. That would be the argument.

Speaker 24733.02s - 4766.24s

I mean, there's so many hypotheticals here that I just don't really know what to do with it. Like, I think if Tibbs PERSON had a guard or another creator that could at least buoy the offense to a decent level, he would play Brunson PERSON less. Like if we had quickly still and quickly was in the playoffs and had gotten over whatever his issues were in the playoffs, I guarantee you Brunson PERSON plays less. I'm positive Brunson PERSON plays less.And you know what? Even if you played the same amount, his minutes would be different. They could have less pressure on him because you get better looks.

Speaker 14768.96s - 4787.18s

There's heart, you know, they're obviously tired and all of that. You don't think there's anything, do you think that Tibbs PERSON has mismanaged the long game, I guess, either in the playoffs or regular season, given, because in the playoffs, the minutes have been very high, right, for relative to other teams. I mean,

Speaker 24787.2s - 4790s

were they that much higher than, like, the shit that Nurse PERSON was doing with the,

Speaker 14790.08s - 4793.22s

you played MBE the entire second half, one game. I know that.

Speaker 24793.22s - 4813.78s

I think people just, what are we, like, are we trying to win the games? Are we trying to, like,how are we treating the playoffs? Are we trying to get, are we treating the playoffs, like, we want to manage everybody's minutes and make sure that we get through.Like, I don't get that. They don't have the luxury of's minutes and make sure that we get through. Like, I don't get that. They don't have the luxury the Celtics ORG have. They don't have the luxury that I mean...

Speaker 14813.78s - 4815.84s

Every other team basically has... Not every other

Speaker 24815.84s - 4846.02s

team, but it's like, you know, Indiana ORG right now, they have better depth than us because their guys are healthy. That's... It's that simple. Like it really is that fucking simple right now.I'm just looking at this box score yesterday from Denver, Minnesota GPE. This is just Denver, Minnesota GPE, right? Gordon played 41 minutes. Yokic played 39. That was only because of foul trouble. He would have played more than that.Murray played 39. Minnesota GPE, only because of foul trouble. He would have played more than that. Murray played 39. Minnesota.

Speaker 34848.68s - 4850.34s

Anthony Edwards, 45 minutes.

Speaker 24850.48s - 4945.1s

Carl Anthony Towns, 38 minutes. Jada McDaniels, 38 minutes, Rudy Gobert PERSON, 35. Is that really that much different than what Tibbs PERSON has been doing? Like, really? Like, I get the Josh Hart PERSON thing is crazy. But is that really that much different? And don't you, and wouldn't you say, like, look, if Tibbs had Nas PERSON read on his bench andNekale Alexander Walker PERSON, maybe he'd give guys less minutes too, because he could be like, oh, you know what, Nause can play some four, so I don't need to play OG that much. Oh, Nekale, Alexander Walker, I like him, he can play two, three, one, whatever. I can buy Brunton PERSON some minutes. I can buy Dante some minutes. I can buy Josh Hart PERSON some minutes.Like, he doesn't have those guys on his bench right now. I don't, like, I just, I don't know. Like,I, like, if you, I mean, I would imagine if you went through the first three or four games of the playoffs where the next got totallyhurt, but the minutes look different aside from Josh Hart PERSON. I mean, I think if you looked at OG's, I did this the other day, actually.I can, I mean, I can split up these game log right now I think if you looked at OG's, I did this the other day, actually. I can, I mean, I can just pull up this game log right now. But if you look at OG PERSON's game logs, so if we go all the way to the playoffs, and the first, this is a minute, the first four games, okay? 31, 28, 3630, 39, 21, 46, 48.Then he plays 50, 20 in an overtime game in game 5 against Philly GPE. And then he plays 45-15 in game 6, close-out game against Philly GPE. I don't think that that's, I really just don't think that that's that crazy. I don't. Given the fact that Boganovich PERSON got hurt. Boganovich gets hurt in game four.

Speaker 14945.86s - 4947.8s

And it's not like that was a minutes-related thing.

Speaker 24947.86s - 5119.22s

No, and yeah, he gets hurt literally like 20 seconds into his stint. So he's done. So at that point, your option is like, all right, let me get Berks PERSON in? And Berks PERSON, yeah, granted, he's played fine. He's played pretty okay last couple games here. I mean, he played flat out really well in game three, I thought.But like, that's just, I don't, I'm sorry. I have a tough time accepting this stuff. Like, you know, and even I think Dante, Dante DiVincenzo PERSON, if you look at his minutes in the first many or five, six games of that, of that Sixers ORG series, I'm pretty sure he had his minutes cut drastically. So like, if this is, this is game log for the, just the Sixer EVENT series, okay?2438, 2714, 28, 18, 28, 18, 2811, 2540, and then all 48 in the closeout game. Is that that crazy? Really? Is that that crazy? I don't, I don't see it. I don't, I'm sorry, I don't see it.This is Brunson PERSON's game long for that, for that series. Sorry, one second. Brunson PERSON game log. 4119, 37, 56, 45, 25, 25, 45, 433, 32, 50, 51, 43, 36. And yeah, that is crazy. That is pretty crazy.But you know what? They literally can't exist without Brunson on the floor half the time. Like their offense just goes to shit. We saw this in game in game two against Indiana ORG, right? Like, as soon as Brunson PERSON sat, we got destroyed. And then when he played, they were like a plus 28 or something in those minutes.I don't know. I just, the minutes think to me is, it is what it is, man. People are going to bitch about it forever. I don't know. I, I just struggled to really, I mean, like, Mitchell Robinson PERSON, for example,I'm going to read all of his minutes since he returned from injury. So he came back on March 27th. He played 10 regular season games, and then he played six playoff games. These are just a minute. I'm going to read it down from the start. 1226, 1939, 1008, 1524, 1106, 1909, 1939, 1447, 2502, 726.Then in the playoffs, 3021, 1741, 1158, 2,06, 1746, 1147. I mean, is he fucking running Mitchell Robinson PERSON to the ground there? Like, I mean, I don't, again, I just, I can, it's a pretty boring exercise, but I can go through, here's Isaiah Einstein PERSON for the playoffs.

Speaker 05120.38s - 5145.06s

1730, 1739, 3018, 2551, 28, 14, 2634, 29, 5202, 3,03, 3903, 3903, 3, 3803, 3 8, 3, 3,03, 3 81 3903 3903 3 835 21 319 so like to me it looks like he pushed heart and sign for the first three games this series harnstein played the price yesterday he didn't have it but for the most of the playoffs he's been at 30 he had one 30 minute game prior to the series and that was a 30 minute 18 second game against philly in game two aside than that he's been at 30. He had one 30-minute game prior to the series,

Speaker 35148.22s - 5148.54s

and that was a 30-minute, 18-second game against Philly in game two.

Speaker 25150.28s - 5191.64s

Aside than that, he's been under 30 in every game. He was even under 20 in game one against Philly GPE. So, like, I just, I don't know. I don't know what to do with the minutes thing. I think it's kind of disingenuous, given the injuries we had, the fact that the majority of those injuries, the regular season injuries had nothing to do with minutes management, and then blaminghim kind of for like the current spate of injuries, which yeah, I mean, I do think the OG thing is probably fatigue-related, but I don't know what you really want him to do because you're trying to win, right? Like, it's the playoffs. You're not trying to just, to just this is not like if this was a stretch of games in fucking february i'd agree that he doesn't

Speaker 15191.64s - 5196.56s

do that normally in february right yeah that's my point is like his minutes for his players

Speaker 25196.56s - 5201.48s

if you look at him over the last his top minutes guys it's pretty normal pretty fucking normal

Speaker 15201.48s - 5207.14s

yeah and and you know obviously yesterday but every team has had a blowout so brunson

Speaker 25207.14s - 5214.86s

in minutes per game is actually ninth he's in the playoffs um so to the point we made earlier number

Speaker 15214.86s - 5247.46s

two in minutes per game is josh hard but brunson their star is only ninth and he's tied with 39 year old lebron james so he played the same number of minutes for game as 39-year-old LeBron James PERSON. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I think it's just, it's a tough, it's a, I think people, you know, from a next fan standpoint, people, I get the frustration and wanting something to blame. I've probably been guilty of that in the past.I probably overstated at the time, you know, how much not starting Alfred Payton PERSON could have helped them maybe win that series.

Speaker 25248.14s - 5265.84s

I mean, dude, this minute's leader stuff is hilarious, actually, if you look at the list. Number one is Tyreys Maxie PERSON, like, like, oh, Nick Nurse, just killing Tyre's Maxie out here. Kevin Durant PERSON, famously, extremely never injured and very young. Kevin Durant PERSON.

Speaker 15266.26s - 5267.9s

This is for the playoffs only, by the way, right?

Speaker 25267.9s - 5285.34s

Yeah, 42 minutes per game. Luke Donchich PERSON, who is injured, by the way, playing on a knee that everybody is like, you know, oh, my God, this guy's warrior. I do. Gregorke PERSON's playing through it for sure. 41.9 minutes. Anthony Davis PERSON, the ever strong, definitely never hurt. Durable. Anthony Davis, 41.6 minutes. Devin Booker, 41.9 minutes. Anthony Davis, the ever-strong,

Speaker 05288.36s - 5302.08s

definitely never hurt, durable Anthony Davis, 41.6 minutes. Devin Booker, 41.5 minutes. Joel Embed is averaging more minutes in the playoffs than Jalen Runson, 41.3. Yeah, like, even OG, OG's 12th. He's at 40 minutes game. James

Speaker 25302.08s - 5312.94s

fucking Hardin was averaging more minutes than him at 40.3. Anthony Edwards is averaging the same minutes as Ogen-Nobie ORG. Do you think Anthony Edwards is going to die soon? Are we worried?

Speaker 05313.54s - 5316.18s

Harry Irving PERSON, another very, an Ironman

Speaker 25316.18s - 5327.18s

of yesterday year, 39.9 minutes per game. Nicole Yokic PERSON, who is 7' foot 350 pounds or something, 39.9 minutes.

Speaker 15328.42s - 5336.48s

Like, the minute stuff is just, it's bullshit, dude. It is, it is bullshit. So the Knicks have three guys in the top.

Speaker 25337.48s - 5350.5s

I'm waiting until I find the fourth year. In the top 34. The 35th is Devinchenzo at 35 and a half. That is just not that abnormal. I'm sorry. It's not.I have to agree.

Speaker 15351.5s - 5364.86s

But, yeah, I mean, I think it's a way one to kind of discredit the Knicks ORG, I think, nationally. And I think I get it from Knicks ORG fans who there's frustrated and you want something to blame. As a bearish fan, I get it. But, yeah.

Speaker 25365.46s - 5406.12s

I mean, the reality, too, is, like, if Randall PERSON was healthy, OG PERSON's minutes would go down, heart minutes would go down. Like, it would solve itself. Randall PERSON getting hurt is really the big, it hurts because they don't have a lot of guys that Tavis PERSON feel. The only guys that you feel comfortable playing before,right, are OG Hart, who isn't really a four, but can because he just is a psycho. And then Precious, who can, like, play the four, but isn't good at the four. So, I don't know.Like, those are his options. And I'm not, I'm sorry. I'm just, I'm not going to kill him for not playing precious with the four against Philly GPE. I'm just not going to do.

Speaker 15406.42s - 5410.9s

Does it make you regret trading Obie Toppin for two first, second on picks? How are you?

Speaker 25411.98s - 5414.16s

No, it will never make me regret that.

Speaker 15414.32s - 5503.56s

It's funny. Happy for Obie PERSON that he's in a good situation for him, though. Yeah, I mean, he's played well. With Randall PERSON, I want to get back to that because something I've seen a lot of people say is, well, maybe they're better off about Randall, right? And all of that, right? Or even using it as like maybe this makes you want to, makes you more willing to part with Randall in the off season, right?Or you don't need to trade him for a star. But you just mentioned it obviously is very important. I think even, so I think it's fair to say that, like, just his ability to absorb minutes is big. DJ from Nick's film school posted, I mean, he's been kind of tooting this horn for a long time when we're at the regular season. But Brunson PERSON is an elite catch-and-shoe player. Those attempts have dried up.I think according to the stats, these playoffs, DJ posted 78% of Brunson's threes have been pull-ups. He's shooting below 30% from those. But as per usual, he's shooting upper 40s and then 47% on catch and shoot. So to me, that really screams to the importance of Randall PERSON because I just don't have other viable creators. So I'm curious, you know, I've always found, like, if you want to say he's maybe, we've had the conversation a lot,is he the, can he be on this roster when they win a championship or are there better fits or whatever? That's one thing. But I think the idea that this iteration of the Knicks is better without Randall PERSON, to me, you guys seem ridiculous for a long time.

Speaker 25510.74s - 5524.52s

Yeah. is better without Randall PERSON, to me, has seemed ridiculous for a long time. Anybody who thinks this team is better off without Randall, like, if you believe they're better off without Randall PERSON because you're right about in the playoffs, I get that. I think that's reasonable. When I think people...

Speaker 15524.52s - 5526.46s

Well, I see the ball moves more and stuff. Yeah, yeah. That's all, well, I get all that. the playoffs? I get that. I think that's reasonable. What I think... Or see if the ball moves more and stuff.

Speaker 25526.56s - 5855.06s

Yeah, yeah. That's all... Well, I get all that. And I've argued for that. I think that's a genuine concern with the decision the next will have to makein terms of should they bring Randall PERSON back? They need an extension, et cetera, et cetera. I get all that. And I appreciate it. And I think that's a nuanced discussion that deserves its own time of the, you know,time in the sun. And it'll happen. Like, I'm sure we'll talk about that when the offseason comes. And I'm sure the next priority, they're probably talking about it, considering it, whatever. What I think is really disingenuous and bullshit about the Randall PERSON discussion is we're not just talking about the playoffs. Like, this is what is so frustrating about this conversation about, like i thought you guys were like super tough and and now like oh now it'stoo much now it's dude they haven't been playing short-handed for like the last two weeks last month they've been playing short-handed since the end of january february march april we're middle of may that's three and a half months. They've not had Randall PERSON since then. They didn't have OG for, what, two and a half months at that time? I mean, how long did OG PERSON play, right? He played, like, basically a month of games over that time, maybe, max.Like, there's a cumulative toll that takes on you. And that, look, that's not, like, there were a couple games Brunson PERSON missed in that time. I think he might have missed one or two. Mitchell Robinson, look, that's not, like, there were a couple games Brunson missed in that time. I think he made him miss one or two. Mitchell Robinson missed most of that. And obviously, I read the minutes out earlier. He was clearly on a minutes limit when he came back. Like, guys miss time with injuries. And I'm not telling you to write a sob story for us. not telling you to write a sob story for us because, you know, if you want to push back and I think this is a fair counter is OG and Mitchell Robinson PERSON miss games.That's part of what you get with them. That's fair. But the Randall PERSON injury to me is the one that really, really added a significant cumulative toll onto this team because he's a guy that his injuries have all been freak kind of accidents right like last year was the ankle sprain where bam kind of had his foot slide underneath randall um and then this year was the you know the hawkes NORP play which you can't legislate for that and those are freak injuries they're not muscle strange right and they're not recurring these are not recurring injuries so that's the one that's really a killer and that's the one that ramped up the most minutes on guys because ranel PERSON not being out and then oh g of course being out at the same time meant that you had very verylittle depth and um you know they tried to address it by getting bogey and Berks PERSON the deadline. The Berks PERSON thing was a dud. It's been nice that he's been playing. He gave us a couple of nice games here in the playoffs, but that was a dud for most of it. He was terrible.I don't know what the hell was going on with him. It wasn't just shot making. It's his decision making. I mean, for his decision making to be what it was in the last two games versus whatever the fuck he was doing in the regular season is pretty stunning to watch. And that Bogdanovich PERSON was hurt.Or Boganovich PERSON, sorry, he got hurt now in the playoffs. But he was not great initially right off the bat when he joined the team. He needed time to adjust. So it was hard to, you know, if you're trying to win games, but then you're trying to get Bogdanovich PERSON involved, it's a hard balance to strike. And, you know, could Tibbs PERSON have done something better?Maybe. I'm never going to say no. Like, he's not perfect. I'll tell you that. But I don't think it's, I didn't come away from this season feeling like, wow, what a crazy thing.And he did give, look, Bogdanovich was averaging 20 minutes a game in New York GPE. So it's not like he's at 19.2. So it's not like he wasn't playing. You know what I mean? Like he was still playing. He gave him minutes.I think he did as best as he could in a tough situation. And this is a team that clearly internally, I think from the front office, down to the coaching staff, down to the players, felt they had a chance to do something this year. And they were hoping that Randall PERSON would get back. Obviously, Randall PERSON didn't get back. And they were hoping Oji PERSON would get back?OG PERSON got back. But then Oji PERSON got hurt again. And it's like when you feel like you have a chance, you owe it to yourself to give yourself that chance. And that means you're going to have to make hard decisions. And some of those decisions might mean, hey, I'm going to need you to play more minutes than I normally would for a month here,or two months or whatever it is. And they made those choices, you know, if you want to say that they have to reap the consequences of that now, so be it. But I don't think this was down to Tibbs PERSON because we also have evidence of Tibbs adhering to minutes limits, right, with Hartstein, with Mitchell Robinson PERSON.So if the front office told him, hey, buddy, and I think he was doing with Brunson PERSON, too. Brunson, there's a long stretch of games where Brunson was like not playing more than 35 minutes. That was it. Like, there was, you know, no matter what, he was playing 34 to 35 minutes. So it's not like he can't adhere to a minutes limit. I just don't think he was given one with many of these guys.And so if you want to blame somebody for that, again, I think then you should probably say the medical staff and the front office should understand who their coach is. And if you're worried about that, the potential burnout down the line, then they need to be more proactive about, hey, buddy, can't play Josh more than 38 minutes. Can't play Dante more than 38 minutes. Figure that out. But aside from that, I don't know. I have a tough time blaming.I'm not going to lie.

Speaker 15856.54s - 5856.94s

Yeah.

Speaker 25857.08s - 5859.26s

I mean, I think I would agree with all of that.

Speaker 15861.1s - 5923.28s

I think it's sometimes, I think people are reading, are trying to kind of make that, it's been a narrative. A lot of this stuff is a narrative, right? I think it was Paul Pierce PERSON who was like, oh, you know, it's like Paul Pierce was saying, oh, well, you know, Tibbs PERSON makes them practice too hard. That to me has always seemed like nonsense.You know, I think quickly he was talking about it, like he pays more attention to detail. Like a shoot-around, he will, you know, he'll probably have, you know, make you do stuff when people guys are just trying to chill or whatever. But I think the idea that the idea that the Knicks ORG just don't have, you know, the Knicks ORG are getting run into the ground in practice, that seems to be to be a lot more narrative than what the evidence supportsor, frankly, you know, how you see in line with what you see other teams around the league doing.

Speaker 25930.24s - 5938.56s

What do you mean? I think that the I think that I think that the minutes that he plays to the point that you made forest players is not really out of line with what other coaches

Speaker 15938.56s - 5943.22s

are doing right what standard yeah I mean I would say the one thing he does do which I don't

Speaker 25943.22s - 5994.38s

think I see as much around the league is like like the, like, 18 minutes in a row type of thing. Like, I think you could, and I think that specifically could be a fair criticism of him where you're like, hey, like, I don't mind the 44 minutes, but can we break it up a little bit better? Like, can we not do like the, you're going to play 16 to start the half? Then I give you a two-minute break and then you come back. Like, it's just that, maybe. Like, you know, there's stuff that you can, you can point to with that, that maybe is different.But I agree, like, how the output is not the issue. The output is not the issue, right? You can, you can quibble with the inputs, but the output of not the issue. The output is not the issue, right? You can quibble with the inputs, but the output of how he determines his players' minutes is not some huge outlier in the league at all, really.

Speaker 15995.92s - 6000.88s

Yeah, I'd have to agree. All right.

Speaker 26001.92s - 6018.84s

Unless you have anything else, I think that's a good place to end it. Anything, viewer, going once? No, I think it's a good place to end it. All right, cool. Stacey PERSON, let the people know where they can find you,and plug anything you'd like to plug.

Speaker 16020.2s - 6034s

You can find me at Stacey Patton, 89, and I'll plug all of the great work done at the Strickland ORG. And, you know, I think, hopefully we'll have a happy recap coming in a couple of days.

Speaker 26039.14s - 6040.82s

Yeah, looking forward to that.

Speaker 16041.3s - 6046.14s

I have nothing to plug personally.

Speaker 26046.74s - 6105.68s

So I'll plug all the work with the Strickland ORG. Check out the post games, the recaps, Miranda, Jeff dropped one today on a game that I'm sure nobody truly wants to relive. But give it a read. I'm Jeff PERSON that does great work with us. So check all that out. Colin dropped a piece last week about OG and Ovi PRODUCT.I think he got hurt shortly thereafter. So if you want to blame somebody, blame Colin PERSON. Aside from that, I got nothing. So thank you to everybody for listening. Thank you to our sponsor, Bet Online ORG. And I will see everybody after.I should be on the post game for game too. So I'll see everybody then. And we be on the post game too. So I'll see everybody then. And we have a special guest lined up for episode 400. So definitely looking forward to that. Again, that is our show for today. I hope everybody has a great rest of the week,especially our New York GPE Knickerbockers. Also, one thing we didn't mention, if they get through Game 5 EVENT, they have a really good shot at Game 6 because they're going to have three days rest in between. So I'm going to keep in mind.

Speaker 16105.9s - 6109.44s

Do you think OG PERSON comes back for that?

Speaker 26109.56s - 6112.6s

Also, that's a possibility, although I'd have to imagine he's a minute's restriction.

Speaker 16113.4s - 6114.86s

I don't know.

Speaker 26115.12s - 6173.58s

I think there's a chance he could be back by Game 6 EVENT. I think he would play in Game 7 EVENT to some extent. We'll see. Hopefully he doesn't get to that. I mean, hopefully he doesn't get to that because the Knicks ORG win. But if the Knicks can't win by then, then hopefully it gets to a game 7. We'll see. Hopefully he doesn't get to that. That'd be, I mean, hopefully it doesn't get to that because the Knicks win. But if the Knicks can't win by then, then hopefully it gets to a game seven.We'll see. All right. That, again, is our show for today. I hope everybody has a great rest of the week. And I will see you on Friday. You know when you're listening to a true crime story that has an unbelievable plot twist that makes you stopping your tracks?

Speaker 06174.04s - 6188.86s

That's what our podcast, People Are the Worst WORK_OF_ART, brings you with each episode. I'm Rachel PERSON. And I'm Rebecca PERSON. We're identical twins who love true crime cases that make you say, didn't see that coming, and we hate the people responsible for them. Listen to People Are the Worst now on Apple, Spotify ORG, or wherever you get your podcasts.