346 - Knicks OBLITERATE the Cavs 130-93 and SWEEP into the NBA Finals!

The Knicks DESTROYED the Cavs to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals!  Another great team effort drove the blowout.

130 - 93 doesn’t look like a normal playoff score, and that’s the point. We just watched the New York Knicks turn Game 4 into a message, finishing a 4-0 sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers and charging into the NBA Finals with the kind of edge every fan dreams about. I’m Don, and I’m breaking down why this run feels different, from the early knockout punches to the way the Knicks keep turning closeout games into blowouts.

I dig into the biggest reason I can’t stop smiling: killer instinct. The Knicks don’t just win, they step on the gas when the series is there to be finished. That shows up in the numbers (11 straight playoff wins, dominant road performances) and in the way the minutes shake out when the starters get to sit late. Then I get specific about what’s fueling it: a true team effort where Jalen Brunson doesn’t have to be Superman, Landry Shamet lights it up off the bench, and Karl-Anthony Towns fills every column while still needing to stay out of foul trouble. I also talk about Deuce McBride finally seeing a couple threes fall, which could matter a lot against Finals defenses.

It’s not all confetti. I hit the concerns that travel with the Knicks into June 3: rest vs rust after another long break, injuries and nagging bumps, Mikal Bridges cooling off, and the tactic everyone will copy called Hack-A-Mitch that puts Mitchell Robinson’s free throws under a spotlight. Whether the opponent is San Antonio with Wembanyama or Oklahoma City with SGA, the margin gets thin fast.

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Transcript

Welcome And Big Claim

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to Chargy Guy Sports for Talk Hole for the Yanks, Giants, Knicks, Rangers, and the Rocker Scarlet Knights. I'm your host, Don. Thanks for listening. Today I'm going to be talking about the New York Knicks obliterating the Cleveland Cavaliers and sweeping their way into the NBA

The 130 To 93 Knockout

SPEAKER_01 0:27

finals.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Let's go, baby. Oh, baby. Go New York go is right. One thirty to ninety-three. One thirty to ninety-three.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

The New York Knicks absolutely destroyed the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals to move on with a four-nothing sweep into the NBA finals. And for the New York Knicks, it was another absolutely dominating game in which they had showed killer instinct in trying to close out an opponent. And this is not the first time this happened. And the announcers were talking about it too. But if you look back on the earlier series when they were trying to close out Atlanta, they won the closing game by 50 points. When they were trying to close out Philly and sweep them, they beat them by 35, 33 points. And now when they were trying to close out Cleveland, there is a killer instinct in this team. They won by 37 points and they were up by 45 in the fourth quarter at some point. They put the Scrubs in with about seven and a half minutes left. Brunson has not played the fourth quarter, they said, in any of the closeout games. The Knicks are not only playing exceptional basketball now, but they have a proven at this point killer instinct in these puttaway games, and that is critical. It is hard to think that the Knicks could be feeling any better about themselves than they do right now after another brilliant road performance for the New York Knickerbockers here. The Knicks won their 11th consecutive playoff game overall, 11 straight. I mean, how friggin' awesome is that if you are a New York Knicks fan. It has been well over a month since the Knicks experienced a loss. And, you know, you almost think as a Knicks fan, it's a bit silly, that you'd want them to lose one game here so that you know how they'll react and then, you know, maybe win the game after and get the you know out of their heads. Because, you know, if they lose game one in the NBA Finals, you're thinking, oh my God, the first loss in a month, now we're losing the series. And uh, but still 11 consecutive wins in the playoffs, six consecutive road wins in the playoffs, all by double digits. The Knicks are clicking on all cylinders, all cylinders. I mean, they came out right from the start in this game in fuego, right? I mean, they were losing in the very beginning of the first quarter, but by the end, they were up a fair amount. They had ended up with like 38 points in the first quarter. 29 point lead, they built it up to in the second quarter. They had about a 19-point lead at halftime, if I remember right. The league got up to 30 in the third quarter, and that was after Cleveland had a little run in the third quarter there to cut it to 16, but the Knicks just kind of pulled right back away and built it up to 30. And like I said before, in the fourth quarter, the Knicks were up 35 with seven and a half minutes left, and all the subs came in at that point. Basically, it was over. Knicks didn't even have to play any starters the rest of the game, and and the Knicks pulled away, kept the lead. Even the Knicks backups, including Koelick, were burying threes and playing well. The New York Knicks surging at exactly the right time here, and they're gonna get another sizable rest until game one of the NBA finals, which is on June 3rd. The Knicks were up 45 points at one point in the fourth quarter.

Unsung Heroes And Team Basketball

SPEAKER_01 4:37

As for who was good on the Knicks and how they won, it was another team game. Like Brunson was not really a star and he didn't need to be again. Landry Shamit came off the bench and just was reigning three-pointers early and often again, again. And I don't know what he finished with, but at some point they said he had made 12 of his 13 three-pointers in the Eastern Conference Finals. That is just brilliant, brilliant stuff. He he continues to be absolutely a valuable, valuable, valuable bench player, maybe the most valuable bench player in the NBA, at least in these playoffs so far. Carl Anthony Towns, another excellent game. He continues to be really versatile, gets a ton of rebounds every game, continues to shoot threes really strong, played a good inside game. He continues with the assists, shoots his free throw as well. You know, he takes his, you know, fair share of dumbass fouls, you know. DAF, you know, that's what you call cat K-A-T D-A-F. Carl Anthony Towns, dumbass fouls, right? Cat daff. But, you know, that you just have to deal with that, right? But he played well. Deuce finally got unlocked a little bit, hit a couple three pointers, and that's important. I was really, really glad that that happened. Coming into this game, that is almost the one thing I really want to see because I think we're gonna need every single player on this team for whoever we're gonna meet in the in the NBA finals. Because whether we play San Antonio and Wemby, whether we play Oklahoma City, the reigning NBA champions and SGA, it's gonna be a big challenge. And we need Deuce to be Deuce, and that means hitting those three pointers, and he really wasn't doing much of that at all. I mean, he's been struggling since he came back from that injury, really, you know, since the end of the season on. And it was good to see him rein in some threes today. What else? Hart played okay, you know, did his normal filling of the scoreboard column, assists and rebounds and blocks and steals, scored a few points. Again, Brunson didn't do a whole lot, you know, wasn't really necessary for Brunson. He just did what he always does, but he didn't have to be Superman in this game. And the rest of the team just kind of filled in. OG did what he always does, and again, Landry Shamett off the bench was just exceptional, exceptional. And Mitchell Robinson played really, really well, you know, off the bench, had a couple al-oops and some big rebounds and steals, and does what he does. And the Knicks as a team look about as in sync as I have ever seen them. And that is just a brilliant thing, peaking at exactly the right time. It's brilliant, it's great.

Health, Rest, And June 3

SPEAKER_01 7:31

130 to 93. If you're a Knicks fan, you have to be ecstatic, not just to, you know, have show that killer instinct. Put teams away, don't let them creep back in, have to go back to the garden, get your rest. Anyone that's nicked up, we saw a couple people banged up today. Hart hurt his hand again. At one point, you saw Mitchell Robinson, I think, was hurt, and there was a couple other people, you know, shaking off various things here and there. And and this is the way it is. And and you know, we know that OG was hurt for a long time and he finally came back. So you want time to rest, and the Knicks now have time to rest. They're gonna have, you know, basically another full week plus off. June 3rd, I believe, is a week from Tuesday. If I I don't have a calendar in front of me, but again, the Knicks are gonna have about seven to nine days off, I think I guess at this point, eight days off, something like that. Plenty of time to actually heal, rest, and be ready for game one of the NBA finals.

Hack A Mitch And KAT Fouls

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Other quick bits here. Hakomich again was employed by Cleveland, and you can bet your bottom dollar that either San Antonio or Oklahoma City is going to employ Hakomich, and the Knicks don't seem to have an answer for it, and Mitchell Robinson cannot seem to find a way to make any free throws. Now, two for 14 in free throws in this series, and it's just impossible to believe that any other team is not going to employ that. So it's up to Brown to put him in in situations that will minimize that. And obviously, that would be under two minutes and a quarter or before the opposing team has five fouls, that kind of thing. But it continues to be a problem, and you really, really hope that it doesn't become a big problem in the NBA Finals. Now, if Carl Anthony Towns continues to play as well as he does, and if Kat can stay out of foul trouble, which is critical, then it minimizes the impact of the Hackamich. Because the more that Carl Anthony Towns fouls, the quicker he has to be on the bench, and the longer he has to be on the bench, and that means that you need to have Mitchell Robinson in there, and that means there's more opportunity for them to foul him and him miss free throws. So a critical component of defeating Hakomich is Carl Anthony Towns not taking any dafts, dumbass fouls, right? So we're gonna have to look forward to that and see how the Knicks do. That that is not a small thing, and you know, I know the Knicks are playing so well overall, but there is going to be a gigantic step up in competition when the Knicks get to the finals. They have played Atlanta, who is okay. They played the Sixers, who are a decent team, and they played Cleveland, who's a pretty good team. They're gonna now play San Antonio or Oklahoma City, who is a massive step up in talent, experience. I mean, you talk about Kat not taking a bunch of fouls. If he's got a matchup against Wimby the entire time, you there is some worry about you know how many fouls you can take and who the Knicks will match up with. So, anyway, bottom line is Knicks have to get their rest, make their plans, and take it to whoever their next opponent is. Other bits and bites.

Bridges Cools Off At Wrong Time

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Bridges actually cool off a bit. Mikhail Bridges has had a brilliant, brilliant postseason after the first four or five games of the Atlanta series. We've talked about just how on fire he was with shooting. He did cool off a bit in this clinching game four, and I'm hoping that is not a sign of things to come, right? He's not going to be great all the time. It seems like he had, though, right? And that was the thing with him. He was so good for so long that, you know, he was bound to have a sort of off game. And I don't know if I'd call it an off game, but he certainly wasn't anywhere near his shooting brilliance that he's had, you know, say the last 10 games of these playoffs. Bottom line is, you know, McHale finally cooled off, and you have to hope he picks it right back up in the conference finals because in the NBA finals, because we are going to need every bit of every player against those two elite teams, whoever makes it in the West. So Bridges cooled off, Hakamich was used, and the other piece I wanted to talk about was how did we get here in this series and what was key?

Game 1 Comeback Set The Tone

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Game one was the key. The Knicks were down 22 points with seven and a half minutes left in the game in game one, and found a way to come back and win that when Brunson was Superman. Bridges contributed as well, too, but you know, Brunson lifted the team up, picked them off the basically off the floor, and won it almost single-handedly on his own. Brunson was brilliant in that game in the fourth quarter. The Knicks somehow rallied from 22 points down with seven minutes and won it in overtime, and was a super exciting game, and a game that had to just completely knock the wind out of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Because after that game, it was all Knicks. It was all New York Knickerbockers after that game one gut punch of a defeat by Cleveland and a thrilling, unbelievable victory by the New York Knicks. So that game one set the tone for the rest of this series. And other than that one game, the Knicks have just been dominating and blowing out everyone. Going back, you know, so many games in the playoffs here. Again, 11 consecutive playoff wins, six consecutive road playoff wins, all by more than 10 points. Another close-out victory on the road with the Knicks winning by more than 30 points, right? And that is now what three series in a row here? Insane. Just crazy, crazy stuff. A 37-point road victory to propel yourself into the NBA Finals. So very good stuff.

Finals Fears, Opponent Thoughts, Closing

SPEAKER_01 13:43

And again, you have to think back to when they were getting ready for this series and the whole rest versus rust argument, right? And now you think, okay, they're really, really hot. Do they really want to rest another eight or nine days? Well, we had the same argument last time, and there was some rust. Let's face it. The Knicks came out in game one of this Cleveland series. We just talked about it. They they were in all kinds of trouble. They were down 22 points. As good as the Knicks were playing, could you imagine them being down 22 points at any point here? They're the ones that have been up 20, 30, 40 points in every single game. Yet in that game one, they were down, at home no less, 22 points. And certainly Rust plays a factor. So you have to hope that that does not occur again, you know, in game one of the NBA Finals, because it's another eight days off, and the Knicks need to make sure they are prepared right from the get-go. They certainly will be rested, and you know, you have that whole rest versus rust argument, and hopefully the rest will overcome the rust, and we're gonna have to see. As for who we want to play, as we're gonna get out of here in a minute for Jersey guy in the NBA Finals, it's hard to say. It's hard to say. Either opponent is a tremendous challenge for the Knicks, and again, a as I talked about before, either opponent would be a massive step up from the three teams that the Knicks have beaten in the Eastern Conference so far. So do I have a preference who they play? I don't actually. I really don't. I would like to see Wemby, although I I think I'm somehow a little more scared of the Spurs than I am of the NBA champions, if that's somehow, you know, possible. So I I have to think that, you know, we'll just wait it out and see, make the proper preparations, make a good game plan, and then execute. And at this point, the Knicks are on in seventh heaven and rolling and have to be as confident as any basketball team can possibly be at this point. Go new yuck, go no yuck, go, go no yuck, go to your go. All right, and that is gonna do it for the podcast. Go Knicks. Thank you for listening to Jersey Guy Sports. Please subscribe to the podcast. Please tell your friends about it. I'll be back soon with some more sports talk. Thanks and have a good day.