Spurs Force Game 7 + Knicks Finals Mailbag

The Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals, but one question remains:

Will it be Oklahoma City or San Antonio?

CP The Fanchise and JD Sports Talk break down the Spurs' dominant Game 6 win over the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's struggles, Victor Wembanyama's impact, and which matchup would be most favorable for New York. 

The show also covers:

•  Mitchell Robinson's finger injury 
•  Mike Brown's impact on the Knicks defense 
•  Why Mikal Bridges has elevated his game 
•  Knicks Finals expectations 
•  Fan mailbag questions 
•  Championship outlook for New York 

Plus, JD makes his return to KFTV for a wide-ranging discussion as Knicks Nation counts down the days until Game 1. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:08

Alright, here we go. Salute to uh Knicks Nation and NBA Nation. We got another special edition simulcast of the NBA Report and Knicks Fan TV. The waiting game continues for the New York Knicks because OKC and the San Antonio Spurs have battled to a game seven. So uh tonight's show, the first half, we are gonna recap the game six between the Spurs and the OKC Thunder. That's the Spurs dominate the Thunder in this one. And then on the second half, we are gonna kick it over to Knicks Fan TV for Knicks Fan TV mailbag. I told y'all I got a special guest on tonight's show. Not really a guest though, because he is part of the KFTV family, but it is the return of one JD Sports Talk, man. Back by Popular Demand. We got JD in the building, man. So lock in. Hit the like button, hit the share button, subscribe to the channel. Late night edition of the show. We've been running these late at night, you know, as uh as we get through the dog days of this break from these juggernaut Knicks. But lock in, like, share, subscribe, call us up on the Discord, and let's get into it, man. Alright, my dude, how you feeling, man? How you feeling, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Bro.

SPEAKER_05 1:30

How I'm feeling.

SPEAKER_06 1:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:34

It's been what, a few days? And I still can't believe it, man. Yeah. I was gonna ask you, like, you know, how you feel as well. Because honestly, CP, I I still like I I can't believe like really. I just I'm speechless at the fact that we we are the ones that are just sitting back and we're watching another conference and another series, and we are going to the NBA Finals. I can't believe like Wednesday coming up is gonna be game one of the finals. By the way, when they're gonna bring the decorations back to the NBA court, right? It reminds me of the Lakers Celtics series where you had the nice trophy sitting in the middle, and it just looked, it felt like a huge event. And I remember when I watched those finals, just dreaming about the day that I can see a Knicks player on such a court on top of such a trophy, because it looks like a beautiful scene on TV, right? And to now see that the New York Knicks are gonna be a part of such a stage, such an event. And then when you look at the opportunity to either beat a two-time MVP, or what people are now saying could be the next conversation of the potential future GOAT conversation, the unicorn, the next, the you know, people are already saying he's the face of the league and he's already the best player in the world, and he's this and he's that. I mean, this has the makings potentially of one of the, if not the most highest rated NBA finals we've ever seen. And we're gonna be a part of that, man. And I still can't believe it.

SPEAKER_06 3:30

Yeah, it still is surreal, man. And and that's that's the common phrase from everybody that you talk to. Like, yo, I can't I like coming into this, into the season, that was the expectation, right? Like finals are bust, finals are bust. It is here, but it's still the quality of the path, the way that they got here, the fact that they're waiting and waiting and waiting for the next opponent and dominating, you know. Like I go back to last year where every game, win or lose, was a grind. Every game. Coming back from 20 points down, game one and game two versus Celtics. Every single game, every single win against the Pistons, you know, blowing it against the Pacers. And even in the games that they did win, like they had to come from behind, down 20 points in game three, led by Towns. Like it every time it was a grind for them. But this year it's completely different, man. They've been a boss all. And uh, as of tonight, their opponent is still not determined because uh Victor Wembenyama, who you just spoke about, and the and the San Antonio Spurs, put the beats on SGA and the Thunder. 118-91. Random boys at the gym. You had Victor Wembenyama with a sensational 28 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, uh Stefan Castle, 17 points, and the starting lineup. But hey, it was uh Dylan Harper was a star off the bench, man. 18 points, two or three from downtown, four dimes, and the Spurs defense would not be denied, man. What do you think of the game?

SPEAKER_05 5:04

Well, going into it, I felt because of the way the Spurs, you know, the way that it's such an interesting matchup because the Spurs, they feel so comfortable at home. And when you have that team with such athletic young talent playing at home, it you see the difference in in some of their key young players. Whereas on the road, these same young players, you see the magnitude of the mistakes that they make. That's where you're starting to see as the series has gone along, you start to see the the although both of these teams are young, but from the Spurs standpoint, you you see some of the still potential needs, but also their their inexperience. So going into tonight, I felt that they were going to respond. You saw from the beginning, this was Taylor made to be a seven-game series. Yeah, personnel-wise, the stage, their you know, their history in terms of this season, how the Spurs have dominated them from a record standpoint, but you just knew that OKC was going to respond, come the playoffs. So, listen, now it's is all set for game seven. SGA hasn't really been SGA has not been himself at all. I mean, he including tonight, he's shooting 37% overall for the series. He was six of 18. He shot 33% tonight, and he's only shooting 26% from three. And guess what? You know what's a part of that? As the the the um social media, you saw Adam Silva have an interview with Pat uh McAfee about flopping, and and and as the stage is getting you know larger, the talk is getting larger, sooner or later these refs are gonna see it. And I've never seen a player fall as much on every single, almost every jump shot, he's falling. And as the series has gone along, you're starting to see less and less and less of those calls when he's just falling. And hey, the efficiency has followed up where he's been inefficient. So as a Knicks fan, I'm looking at this, and you can look at it both ways. You can look at this and say, wow, this is gonna be some matchup between Jalen Brunson and Stefan Castle and you know Dylan Harper and some of these young athletic defenders. At the same time, you look at SGA and how the fact that this team has missed Jalen Williams, this team has missed a bunch of role players, and they don't miss a beat, bro, because every single player in that rotation can play now, and every single player in that rotation can defend. So this is gonna be uh a great game seven. And who do you got? Who do you got, CP?

SPEAKER_06 7:58

It's tough to say, right? It's tough to say because the home matchup, the home team, you know, and and that's where your role players shine. So whereas tonight, I mean, SGA wasn't I mean, 15 points for SGA. He only played 28 minutes, but six of 18 from the field. First and foremost, give credit to the Spurs defense. The Carter, that Carter Bryant matchup, that's kind of his kryptonite right there, man. I mean, Carter Bryant, he's built like OG Ananobi. He's held SGA in check. They uh well, first off, give credit to the referees. They allowed both teams to be very physical in this game. This was a dog fight, bar, brawl. This is my type of game. They were very physical in this game, and the referees let them play. So I love that. But Carter Bryant, that SGA matchup, man, he did a good job of just being very physical with him. And overall, San Antonio is forcing him into taking very tough shots. But at home, he gets the supporting cast help from Caruso, seven points tonight from Caruso. Isaiah Joe, three points from Isaiah Joe. You know, Jared McCain, who was the hero in game five, 13 points, a little bit more pedestrian. He did it, go two or three from downtown, but like, you know, Lou Thor 5. Hey, Chet, only 10 points. So I would expect that, you know, at home, you got to figure they're gonna they're gonna go out on their shield, right? You're gonna probably get a 45-minute outing from SGA. So I think this Thunder could squeak out a tough win, but the J Dub, J Dub looked horrible tonight. He's not looking good.

SPEAKER_05 9:36

What if the refs let them play in game seven? Because I think they will. I think they have to. Yeah. And I think if that if that happens, OKC might be in trouble. Yeah. Because when you look at, you know, you you talked about Carter Bryant, and he's built very similarly to OG Ananobi, where they're 6'7 and they're they're like tanks, like linebackers playing small forward. Yeah. And that strength, when you see the way that they play SGA, if they're gonna let them get physical, SGA has a little bit of trouble getting to a spot. And even if he does, he has like a little bit of a slower release. So the contest is much is right there, which just alters a little bit of his shot at the highest point. And that's how you're getting these. And CP, he's only shot over 40% one time this whole series, and that was game two when he was 12 or 24. He's only shot over 40% one time the whole series. So it is evident here that these oh these San Antonio Spurs wing defenders are bothering him. They are the physicality is affecting him, and even from a matchup standpoint, SJ is slender. He's like a slim, you know, he's 6'6, but he's he's slim. So if you let them play, you see it that he's just having a little bit more trouble. And then that's where a game seven with pressure becomes interesting because he's the guy that they need in game seven. And if he's gonna be inefficient in game seven, as you mentioned, now you need the Jared McCain's. Now you need the role players to be, you know, the X factors for a game seven. But it's just so hard to predict CP because both teams, like the San Antonio's Purs, are so young. And I really want to say that they'll win it. I just don't know if the Stefan Castle with 10 turnovers is gonna show up, if the Dylan Harper that can't hit a jump shot is gonna show up, if the De'Aaron Fox that's still working to get back is gonna show uh show up. Like, I still don't know which of the two sides of these youth, young San Antonio Spurs are gonna show up in game seven. But I I kind of, yo, I really do think the Spurs might be the better team, bro.

SPEAKER_06 11:56

I I I think it's a toss-up at this stage of the game, man. That it's why we're going seven. But tonight for the Spurs, when you look at the shooting numbers, I mean they shot 47% from 37 from three, and conversely, OKC 37 and 25. But you're right, man. I think this game is going to come down to the turnover battle. This is what has doomed the Spurs in this series. It's what doomed the Pacers in the finals. When OKC get their A game, despite Shay's brilliance and MVP brilliance and the supporting cats, their A game is getting into that dogfight where they're turning you over and turning it into points. It's just like why how Detroit was successful. It is the possession battle with OKC that kills you. They may not always be marksmen from three. Their shots might not always be fallen. But when Kasen Wallace and Dort and Chet and Caruso and they're getting after it on the ground and they're turning those into points, that's when you get into trouble. And as you just said, with San Antonio's inconsistency from shooting, from a shooting standpoint, that's where OKC becomes dangerous. Like you look at San Antonio's losses, they lose game two by nine. They turn the ball over 21 times and led to 27 Thunder points. All right, that was game two. If you look at, let's see, look at the next game that they lost, they lose game three, 123-120-108. That was the first game in San Antonio. They turned it over 15 times, which led to 20 OKC points. If you go to the next game that they lost, which was game five, that was a Jab McCain game. Again, that was Castle. It ridiculous from the turnovers. They turned over 17 times, I mean 15 times, and give up 20 points off of those turnovers. Can they do that tonight? Rather, I think it was like 11 times and they gave up 10 points. Can they do that again? Can they take care of the ball in OKC? If they do, they have a good chance of winning it.

SPEAKER_05 13:57

And and Wembayama, who has been already dubbed the best player in the NBA, I think a little bit prematurely myself. That's just me because obviously, you know, uh the rhetoric changes depending on who the player is. I guarantee you, if it was someone else or or Jalen Brunson, you have to prove more and prove more and prove more. Well, Victor Wamiyama just needed game one to happen, and now he's the best thing ever. But nevertheless, he averaged 29 minutes during the regular season, CP. And in this series, he's at 37 minutes. And I think you started you saw last game, he looked gassed last game, and the fatigue started to set to settle in. Tonight he only played 28. But he only played 28 because of the results of the game. Last game when he looked gassed, he played 38 minutes. So if game seven turns out to be this dog fight close game, I'm just a little bit concerned that if he has to get up there into the 38 range, will he have enough uh to finish the series out? And and if and from a Knicks standpoint, you're going to play now, I think it's the first, second, what, a third consecutive series where your opponent is gonna come off a seven-game series, but this time the Knicks are gonna have more days' rest than those other series just because of the schedule with the NBA Finals. But this is Wembayama versus SGA. I'll tell you this, EP. People are if this is true, that this is about to be the era where, bro, y'all better win it this year because these San Antonio Spurs starting next year with this experience that they're gaining this year, starting next year, bro, this is the opportunity now, and it might even be like we're looking at a Lakers. This reminds me of the Tim Duncan Kobe era, is what's brewing here. Where every year, if it wasn't the Spurs and Tim Duncan, it was the Kobe Lakers in the finals, and it was those two teams. That was the era. The Tim Duncan Kobe era, nobody else won championships. Yeah, this might be the beginning of that between OKC, where you know, you we look at it year in and year out, it's either gonna be OKC or San Antonio for the next five years. And at least for game seven, I have no idea who's gonna win. I'm gonna be honest. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_06 16:36

Yeah, I think it's a true toss-up. One of the keys for San Antonio in this game to me was how they came out and started the third quarter. You know, they had they took an eight-game point, eight-point game, eight-point lead into the half. And OKC, they were making their run. They were trying to make their run to really close the gap there. But, you know, San Antonio saw it was able to keep them at bay. They take an eight-point lead into the half, but then come out in the third quarter and put the beats on them. That was the game. That was pretty much the game. You didn't see Shea after that. San Antonio goes on a 32 to 13 run in the third quarter and took the lead from 8 to 26. And that was their defense. That was just relentless attack in the basket. Stefan Castle continues to kill these dudes. You know, Dylan Harper. I mean, their guard attack outside of Webbinyama and the strengths that he possesses on both ends of the floor. Their guard attack, man. It's special. And it opens a lot, opens up a lot of avenues, and that's how you get the Champagny threes. And, you know, sometimes Keldon Johnson, whenever he's on, he's knocking that down. And then Devin Vassel as well.

SPEAKER_05 17:40

Bro, they and the Spurs have they have also the personality. They have the attitude. Like Stefan Castle is a very uh very uh expressive player on the court. He he he he he's very passionate. And he he yo, he's taking this matchup versus SGA personal. 1000. Like, and you see him, you know, talking trash to the OKC players. He's going one-on-one against SGA when he gets a steal, he's he's staring him down. Uh, we saw Devin Vassell today. I love, I don't know if you saw there was a moment, CP, tonight, when Devin Vassell had a ridiculous block on Chet Holmgrim. And not only did he grill him, but he stepped up to him and shoved him. Yeah. And the reps didn't call it tech. I got so hyped. I was like, oh my god, finally, the rap. I was hyped.

SPEAKER_06 18:35

They said, oh, they letting these young bulls play. Let's go.

SPEAKER_05 18:38

I was hype. And they didn't call it tech. I'm like, I can't wait till we play. Yeah. This is what they're gonna let. Bro, this is. I hope Adam Silver sees a moment like that and says, This is what this is what we've been craving for, is let these guys play. And more importantly, let their passion be what it be. Who cares? Like, let those moments you saw Chuck Homer was smiling because he was like, oh wow.

SPEAKER_06 19:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:01

And and no tech was called. And I was elated by by that moment. But the Spurs have the attitude, and I'll ask you this, because I thought maybe earlier in the series, you know, let's wait a little bit later. Let's let's talk about who you rather face and all that stuff. But we there's only one game left. I can't ask you who you rather face after game seven. Yeah. Game seven's what? Saturday? Saturday. Saturday. Saturday. So I can't ask you after Saturday who you rather face. So we can have this conversation right now. Who do you want to win on Saturday and why? Spurs. I think the next matchup is better with the Spurs. Oh, so you try to get the easier matchup.

SPEAKER_06 19:44

No, no, I'll say this. I'll say this. J Dub, he's not ready for this. The hamstring's not ready. He looked terrible. Look, he's rusty, I get it, but he's not he's moving very he's he has no lift. The jumper's not there. He has he doesn't have the J-Dub explosiveness. And you can't expect that with a guy coming off of a hamstring because there's a good chance he's really not ready to play. He's trying to play, and they're giving him like little like five-minute spurts, but without him at his all-star level, without AJ Mitchell, the Thunder become much more beatable. Again, their defense is still ferocious. And Chet and SCA, they can still turn up. They can still turn up on you. Their defense is their calling card for me when it's not Shea's incredible shot making and getting to the free throw line. But to me, the Spurs, from their inexperience, how much will Wemby have left in the tank? Obviously, yes, he's still gonna play at a high level. And the Knicks are a way better three-point shooting team than the Thunder are. And the Knicks defense, when you think about the Spurs' um propensity to turn the ball over, that's Taylor made for the way that this Knicks defense is playing right now, from Bridges to OG to Carl Anthony Towns, the bench, so on and so forth. I think San Antonio is a better matchup for the Knicks.

SPEAKER_05 21:05

You know what? You know, I'm usually the type of guy that, you know, I'm I'm I as you know, I'm very competitive. And I always want the champions, and I always want what with quote unquote Deemed as the tougher road or the tougher matchup or the tougher player. I was that's how I was, and that's how I am, and that's how I am as a fan. But not in this one. And the only reason is bro, I don't like watching OKC, bro. Yeah, I don't like watching. I don't know about you, man. And they're a young team. It's not like we're talking about a washed up. This is not the Brooklyn Nets with KG and and and and Paul Pierce and them, where you're like, all right, that's it. You know, go ahead, retire. I don't want to watch this no more. It's they're a young team, and yet they ain't they're not fun to watch, bro. Yeah, they're not fun to watch. I also because of The last year finals with the Pacers and the low ratings. Like, I don't want to be a part of that. You never know when we when is the next opportunity that we will be there. You don't know that. And when people are already anticipating and saying, yo, the Spurs, Wemba Yama at the guard in 1999, you know, you look look at those Spurs crowds now with Wembayama and the nice court they they have on game one, like aesthetically, um in terms of just the presentation, the moment, and the excitement of not only Nixon Spurs fan, but the nation, the nation, yeah, and and and internationally, everybody seems to want that matchup. And guess what? I usually don't fall for those things. I'm laser focused on the game, but I'm all in on that too. I'm all about the ratings too. I'm all about Wembayama because it looks like we're gonna see him multiple times in the big stage. Let's do it right now. I want to see it, and guess what? You really can't go wrong. It's not like saying the Spurs is giving you quote unquote the easier matchup, because bro, both of these teams are gonna be championship contenders for the next five years. 100%. So it's not like we're saying, you know, you know, you're picking a team that you're gonna wash or no, there's no easy matchup, bro. You're either gonna play the two-time MVP who gets the ref calls, or you're gonna play the 7-5 guy with the Mitchell Robinson injury now. Now that that's a concern for me. So either way, it's a tough matchup. But I also rather play the Spurs from a basketball standpoint, CP, is I go back to this. You seen it with the injuries with OKC, and the one thing is they're battle tested, and they're gonna be battle tested and ready. You saw game five, that was their moment to prove it in a 2-2 series coming off San Antonio, and you saw how they responded in game five with no Jay Will, with no AJ Mitchell, because of their rotation and their championship early experience. San Antonio Fred, as talented as they are, as great from a game-to-game basis we've seen it this series. You just don't know if you're gonna get the next the budding star, Dylan Harper, or still the young developing Dylan Harper. You don't know if you're gonna get the budding star Stefan Castle or the guy that's still trying to develop his playmaking and general guard skills, right? With the turnover issue he has. Like you don't know, and I'd rather take my chance in a long series that eventually that inexperience in an NBA final stage is gonna show up.

SPEAKER_06 24:36

So if I had to pick, I would rather take my chances against the San Antonio Spurs. Yeah, I'm with you. But it's it's for those reasons why at home, still a coin flip, but I'm gonna give OKC the edge on Saturday. I think I have to, you have to give him the edge. So we'll we'll see. We'll see how it happens, man. We'll see what it what how it goes. What do you guys think in the chat? What do you guys think in the chat? Spurs or thunder? Who's winning in game seven? But absolutely uh just colossal game by Wemby and the Spurs, man. As I said, a 26-point lead in the third quarter. They go in a 20-0 run to put uh SGA on the bench and uh give him something to think about on Saturday, man. This game said everybody knew it was going seven. And as I said, hey, kill each other, beat each other up.

SPEAKER_05 25:28

As I'm thinking about it, it it's it's interesting because this could set up either into either needing Mikel Bridges to put the stamp like put the stamp on this Phoenix Suns esque uh playoff runs. And I say Phoenix Suns because the New York Knicks, we have this is the Phoenix Suns, Mikkel Bridges, is where we have this playoff run. It's either gonna set up where you're gonna need him to have the finals of his life against SGA and the refs. Yeah, I'll put that in there. Or somebody better be getting Mitch on a splinter right now. You better be giving him treatment because if it's against the Spurs, we're gonna need Mitch to have the series of his life against Victor Wembayama. So the two dynamics is is is gonna be interesting.

SPEAKER_06 26:23

KFTV NBA report, Simon Cast. We are recapping uh Spurs versus Thunder Game Six, in which the Spurs put the smack down on the Thunder 118-91. Call us up on the Discord. Let us know what you guys are thinking. And we see a couple of callers that we're gonna get to. Also, Mitchell Robinson for the New York Knicks. Breaking news today. Mitchell Robinson, broken right pinky finger. I mean, five alarm blaze. Man, I was I wasn't expected. I just got back from the city from doing the KOC show. I wasn't expected to do this. I was I was planning for tonight's show. I'm like, all right, let me chill, get the house in order, get ready for the game, throw some dinner on, boom, boom, boom, and next thing I know, here we go. Emergency live stream. Mitch broken pinky. What you think about it, man?

SPEAKER_05 27:12

Bro, you know, you know how when you first read these tweets, like you don't you don't process anything once you hear, you know, no timetable for return. Like, you know, when you hear out, no timetable for return, out indefinitely, like you just jump the gun. Like, and when I read that Shams tweet, and it was no timetable for return, I'm not like I'm already thinking, oh my god, he's out, he's done, he's cooked, it's over. And I'm just like, oh my god, I knew this was too good to be true. Why? Why us? Why? Like, I couldn't, bro, I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and and I was trying to wrap my head around like where does this come from? Like, when did it happen? Like, how did it happen? Like, was it just typical Mitch being country Mitch on a day off? Or or this is actually happening the game because they reported it a couple days later. Like, what are we doing here? Yeah, I was totally uh just confused, and and now as I'm starting to like read a little bit more about it, we still don't really know if he can play, but it sounds like you know, Ian's talked about like, wait a second, the player's gonna have a lot of say in this as well. You know, I guess is up to you know how much pain tolerance uh Mitch um will be able to tolerate. And and and listen, he has to find a way, bro. I mean, you got Damian Woody, the former uh Nets offensive lineman, sharing his experience on Twitter, talking about I'm an offensive lineman. I broke, I had a cast on my hand. I don't I don't know what these NBA players are talking about. He should be able to play. But then you have these the Twitter doctors talking about, well, if it's surgery, he's out for the year. Like you're getting so many different versions, and in typical Knicks fashion, we won't know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 29:02

Well, I have I think he's I think it's a good chance he plays. Um we'll wait and see. We'll wait and see what happens. Obviously, look, the time off, as we talk about the Thunder and the Spurs going at it for seven, the time off it may has been a huge benefit for the Knicks this year. Look at how they looked against the Pacers last year. Look at how Brunson looked. Look at how worn down the Knicks looked last year in even just getting to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is completely different. You know, at least uh at least by the eye test, they look a lot fresher, they're playing faster, they seem to be moving well, right? I mean, end of the season playoffs, everybody's banged up to a certain extent. Even Josh Hart hurt his finger again, but they just seem to be uh a lot better conditioned right now. At least that's what it looks like. So, you know, this extended time off, this is important for them and important for Mitch. So let's see. You know, pain tolerance standpoint. Do they find a splint? Are you certain orthopedics I'm speaking to say, you know, most likely he gets taped up? As we've seen. I mean, look at Josh Hart. Josh Hart's been playing with a finger injury for 82 games plus.

SPEAKER_05 30:13

Hey, he can't make free throws anyway, so what is it that is?

SPEAKER_06 30:16

Right. I think people are like, yo, maybe maybe now he makes his free throws.

SPEAKER_05 30:20

Like, like, what is it really gonna, you know? Uh I just want the hand to be good enough to grab rebounds and to block shots. That's it. And to not foul Wemby if we play him. That's all right. That's all he's gonna be needed to do. Like, that's all I need you to do. I don't even care if you miss every free throw. Like, you that's not gonna really change it, you know, if if either coaches of of you know, the whoever makes it to the finals, that's not gonna like alter their plans of hack a mitch. Like, they were gonna do it anyway. Dang on Jimmy. Like, oh, like that's not gonna change anything. It's this is strictly about can he play and can he not play? And if he can play, then wrap wrap that finger up and make sure that once the basketball hits the hand, and it's the pinky. So I if you wrap it up well, it may not be as bad. He did he's not a ball handler, you know. With Josh Hart, you know, he he you he it would affect him because he pushes the basketball all the time. He's he's left open for shots. What is it really gonna like affect Mitch? So, you know, find a way to play. But I just I I hope it really doesn't affect it because I just hate the fact that, yo, bro, bro, come on, man. We need everybody 100%. It's already hard enough. We're gonna be the road team no matter who wins. We're on the road, right? Right. And no matter who wins, everybody's gonna say we're the underdog. And no matter who who wins, like Mitch has a tough task, whether it's Chad Hongerman, Hartenstein, who can't miss a floater, by the way. Yeah, like he's taking that floater game from the Knicks to OKC to another level. Bro, he's he's making floaters over the 7-5 Wimbayama, and it's hitting nothing but the bottom of the net. So you got that task, or you got Wimbayama. So, like, it's already a tough hill as it is. We don't need anything else to you know have us have a setback. So I hope we can make it. And now you appreciate the the whole Mike Brown maximizing the roster and everything is full circuit because guess what? You never know. If Tibbs is here, maybe we still make it to the finals. But I don't know that we make it sweeping everybody every single series in this time.

SPEAKER_06 32:35

The way Tibbs has his rotations, yeah, you know. True story, true story. Let's get to the phones, man. Grabba on the Discord, grabba, go ahead and unmute your mic. Yeah, I'm in the spot. You, yes, sir. How you feel, man?

SPEAKER_01 32:47

Yo, JD, my brother, what's good, man?

SPEAKER_03 32:52

What's good?

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Man, what's goody, boy? I know I know you're feeling good off this 50 burger this yeah. I know you're feeling good. We in the finals, my boy. It's crazy, boy. We in the spot, man. What's up? Uh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

I gotta cover my energy, man. I I had to had to catch up on my uh it's crazy because literally, as soon as I clicked on the video, boy JD d'asmatically appeared on my screen. I said, Oh no, we lit tonight. We we lit tonight, we in the spot tonight, bro. CP, I ain't forget about you. It's good, my brother.

SPEAKER_06 33:28

Hey, I just heard from you a couple hours ago, man. We Gucci over here, you already know, man. You know, you know how to hit the back to back on you, bro.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Come on, we back in the spot, man. We back at it, man. Back to it. Uh, but yeah, man. I'm I'm just hype. And the the the the Mitchie thing, you know, a little a little a little damper on on the move, but you know, the way I'm looking at it, man. Mitchie, you gotta go down with the shit, my brother. You know what I'm saying? You gotta you gotta go down with this shit. Though whatever you got, throw it at the wall, and let's just hope it's stick, man. This is it. This this this this is what we've been waiting for, fellas. Basketball basketball immortality, and it's just yeah, this is fine, it's finally upon us, man. It's just feels good. We've all been waiting all these years to even have these type of discussions. Like, you know, it we just talking about, you know, RJ and you know what's his future looking like, and you know, what type of draft picks we gonna get in the draft, you know, salary cap and who we gonna trade, this and the third. Now we're not even worried about none of that, man. We we just we just getting ready for Wednesday game one in the NBA finals. I just wanted to tap in with y'all boys, JD, man. It's good seeing you back, you know, on the number one show for the fans, by the fans. Well, I hope you're good, man. Hope everything Gucci with you, man. I'm gonna holler at y'all. Let's go, man. Nixon Five, man. I'm talking crazy. Nix and five, man. Let's go.

SPEAKER_06 34:46

Craver on the Discord. Uh, let me salute some super chats in here. Shout out, John Terray. Five out. Super chat says a tribe called KFTV. CP equals Q tip. Shout out to uh the abstract, man. Just was talking to him uh this week. Matter of fact, shout out to the abstract. He's locked in. He's out the window. He's out the window. Uh Q tip is out the window. I can confirm that. A shout out to Alex. He says Alex equals five. CK equals Shahi. JD equals Jarobi. Let's go. Salute, salute, man. Uh 86 Smurr, franchise channel member Five Hour Super Chat says, I'm going to game two of the finals that Friday. CP, if you're not able to make it, I'll call in for the arena report afterwards at postgame. Let's go. 86 Smurr, are you going to OKC? Are you going to San Antonio? Or does it even matter? You're just going. You're going to game two. Uh, we're looking into that as well. Shout out to Cynthia, franchise channel member 5 Super Chat says, salute CP. What JD in the house? Salute to JD. It's been a very, very long time. We miss you. Shout out to Cynthia on the uh the check-in. Always appreciate you. Dark Souls 47 says, the only good JD in America is back. So and JPP says, chances Mitch tapes the finger and who y'all want. I think it's a good chance that he does that. And yeah, we just we just kind of went through that segment. And it's the Spurs. Well, let's see. Let's see what Wemby has in store. Wemby and SGA. Or really Wemby versus Chet, because that that's his sworn enemy. But yeah, it's going to be a fascinating matchup. I'm locked in on that game every minute. Locked in on Saturday? Saturday. I'm locked in. Locked in. You're going to watch it anyway.

SPEAKER_05 36:23

You're going to go anywhere? You're going to sit in the middle of the day. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_06 36:26

Nah, I got to watch. I got to be in the lab. I got to be in the lab. I got to watch. You know, when you go out, it's hard, man. Like you can't really, you know, at least if you're home, I got multiple screens. I got the app on my phone. If I want to rewind, I rewind on my phone. Like, you know, if I miss anything, I gotta really lock in in the lab. Then I'm gonna go live after the after the game. And then we're gonna have our finals preview. We talk about initial thoughts. You know what I'm saying? So I'm in the lab. I'm in the lab. I gotta focus on the club.

SPEAKER_05 36:51

By the way, I don't want no excuses, man. I'm tired of that. I'm tired of hearing that. You know, it's so interesting. We should get the clips of going into the Hawks series. People, it's funny how when you smoke someone, how the narrative changes. Yeah these were the people were talking about how, wow, you know, the Hawks wanted the Knicks, and and and the Hawks are the and they were, they were the hottest team since whatever date, the all-star break. They had this record and they were the hottest team, and blah, blah, blah. And then we smoke them, and it's oh the the the CJ, but all of a sudden it became the CJ McCullum Knicks. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And then you play the Sixers, and it's like, well, when you really and I even put a poll up before the series was over. And I had 71% said the Sixers would be the tougher matchup than the Celtics. And it was crazy. Yeah, that was crazy. Wait, hold on. If they're gonna get this type of efficient poor George, and then you and then you because people forget. Did y'all forget what Tyrese Maxi used to do to us? And then all of a sudden, Mikhail Bridges, Phoenix Suns Mikhail Bridges, and Bridges locks him up. Put him in a crib. And that totally changed the series. And then we made Joel Embiid look ordinary, and nothing else mattered. Once we took out Tyrese Maxie out of so all of a sudden they became, oh, and then the clips were well, these Sixers were actually the finals contenders that we thought were gonna be. And and they're not the typical blah blah blah seed. They beat the Celtics. Like they were getting credit, and they were saying they were the tough, and then we smoked them, and it's like, oh, now it's their seeding. Oh, so now we're going back to that. Right, right, right. And then we play the Cavaliers. Right. They weren't they weren't supposed to be your typical seven seed, right? Yeah. And then once we smoked them, it's like, well, you know, oil and beat is not totally healthy. Now Port George is old. And now now their seeding matters. And then we play the the Cavaliers, who the Cavaliers were supposed to be. It was either them or us going into the season. Remember, we're not talking about. Nobody's even talking about Detroit. And nobody's even talking about the Celtics. Remember, because the Celtics actually had an outstanding year without Jason Tatum. Going into the season, it was either Cleveland Cavaliers or the New York Knicks. And then it became more that it was going to be the Cleveland Cavaliers after the move for Darius Garland. Because not to say that that was a better move, but at the time, because of Garland's injury, that was that seemed to be the more now move. Oh, and then they go in and they win and all this. And then now we smoke them. And it's well, you avoided the number one seed. The same number one seed that if it wasn't for the Franz Wagner injury, would have never even sniffed the round that they went to. Yeah. Right? And then the same number two seed that bro, we beat them already. So the narrative continues to change. So I'm telling you right now, I don't want no excuses that this team went to seven games. You know why? Because they still gonna get three days off. Again, CP, I'm gonna say it again. They're gonna the series ends Saturday. Saturday's what? The 30th or the 31st? The 30th. The 30th. The 30th. Yeah. Yeah, because now is is technically the 29th. And so that's Saturday. They're gonna get Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, into Wednesday. The other series, you go to game seven, you get one day off. So I get that. Oh, you know, they did that with the with the Cavaliers. It's funny how they needed rest, but when they were up smoking us in the by the third quarter, they didn't need rest then. They didn't need rest then before we came back. But they needed rest after we smoked them. The fine whoever whoever this game seven matchup, they're gonna get three days off. I don't want to hear nothing after game one. And we're gonna be on the road. Yeah. And guess what? And guess what, CP? I hate to say what I'm about to say because it could happen. And we've already seen it. If we come out game one the way we came out against the Cavaliers, against OKC or the Spurs, it ain't gonna be no comeback.

SPEAKER_06 41:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:05

You know, it's gonna be hard to do that what we did at the Garden in OKC or in San Antonio if we're down 20 plus in the fourth. So we have pressure too. So if we win game one, I don't want to hear nothing, no excuses. That's all I have to say about that.

SPEAKER_06 41:21

Uh I'm I'm definitely with you on that. All right, let's get to uh more on the phones, Rob G. Rob G, let's go ahead and unmute your mic.

SPEAKER_09 41:28

What's up, CP? What's up, JD? Can you hear me? I'm glad and clear. How you doing, man? Doing well, doing well. Um, you know, you JD was just talking about this a little bit. Um, but I don't know if you guys saw Mikhail's presser. It was either today or yesterday, but he was saying that that someone asked him about the the rust of going into game one against Cleveland. He said that, you know, now being on the road, being in a hostile environment, it just, you know, they might it might force them to snap into it quicker. So I thought that was good to hear. I also think, you know, obviously I'd rather have home court advantage. Like anyone would be crazy not to want to have home court, but I do think the Knicks like to play on the road. They can play on the road. I know JP is the sometimes it feels better to hit a shot on the road, silent, you know, be the silencer, and I feel like it kind of thrives in that environment if like the whole team does. So silver lining there a little bit.

SPEAKER_06 42:18

I mean, all the clinchers have been on the road and they washed them all out. So I mean, hey, that the w a lot of a lot of those uh those games we've been in there heavy, but I I don't think you know at this professional level, they can handle it, man. They're ready to win anyway, man. Home on the road.

SPEAKER_09 42:33

Yeah, Detroit game six, you know, even though that was an early round game, that was a tough opponent. Like we've won on the road, we've been great on the road all this this post-re season run. Um, you know, did want to touch on, I think the a big thing for us in the finals is gonna be the the turnover fast break stuff because we've been so dominant in those categories against our opponents so far. These teams are a lot more athletic, but I feel like our IQ just across the board, and I feel like the change with having so much ball movement, you know, not as much dribbling and just having like that off-ball motion is gonna help us limit turnovers. I feel like that's gonna be huge for us, and that's you know, something that we've done so successfully, and I'm it's a great sign going into this finals run because we're gonna definitely need that to stay.

SPEAKER_06 43:20

Yeah, good points. Good points, man. Rob G on the Discord, and and hopefully, you know, they're able to rely on the off-ball movement and the cutting, which will kind of cut down on the necessity for everybody to put the ball on the floor. Obviously, you you know, you're gonna need to have Jalen, you know, make his maneuvers and mika as well, but you want to be able to put it in in your trusted ball handler's hands.

SPEAKER_09 43:40

And um Especially, especially Jalen. Yeah, he's got control of the rock. These these guys are gonna be pressed up on our other guys, you know, but they're ready. They're ready. I I think about it. They're they're ready. You know, they know it's it that now is their chance, you know, their first real chance at it. So I'm excited for it.

SPEAKER_06 43:59

They're ready, man. And well, yeah, we'll hear from you uh during postgame. Good call, Rob. Appreciate the call. And so to everybody in the chat once again. All right, so this next segment, we're gonna get into the mailbag side of things on the on the KFTV side. So for the NBA report side, we will drop you guys off. Shout out to everybody on the NBA report for tapping in. We will see you guys next week. And uh next week will be our finals preview, man. So make sure you guys tap in on the NBA report side as we will be bringing you a simulcast on KFTV uh practically every night for our NBA Finals coverage. All right, so NBA Report side, we will see you guys next week, or maybe even Saturday for our NBA Finals preview. All right. So let me close out on the NBA report side. Okay, there we go. All right, man, KFTV side. So let's get to these mailbag questions. CP the franchise, we got JD in here. So to everybody in the chat. Late night check-in. Let's go, man. Knicks chilling, waiting on their finals opponent. All right. So let me just pull this up. Nope. Alright, it would help if I had the questions up. Alright, hang tight one second.

SPEAKER_05 45:13

Feel like I could be up doing pods every night until the until Wednesday. Gotta figure sign out for the wait.

SPEAKER_06 45:20

Yeah, yeah, that's it, man. You gotta figure something out to pass the time. The adrenaline is so crazy that it's like I'm not, I don't even care what you're doing. I'm ready for game one like now. I'm ready for game one now. Let's get to it. You know, shout out to Mitch, though. We need Mitch back. We definitely need Mitch back. All right, let's see. Uh mailbag question. We we had polled our Twitter audience uh for a couple mailbag questions. Uh first one is Terry Aki, 47, says, how should the Knicks deal with the Mitch and Shamet free agency development this summer? Especially Shamut. Shooters like Duncan Robinson and Luke Kennard are getting 12 mil a year contracts. Shamet is better than both. What do you think, man? Uh I don't I don't think they're gonna be able to skirt by on another vet minimum with Shamut next year, man. I think I think next, I think this offseason is the one where he gets you know more financial security for him and his family, and it's gonna be hard to stay here. It's gonna be hard to keep him. I don't I don't think they keep him, man. It's gonna be very hard.

SPEAKER_05 46:19

There was a rumor report today about them about like the Knicks are fully um fully intend to go well into the second apron next year. Um for for for Mitch at least. Yeah. Uh they're willing to do that for Mitch. And I know that's a concern because I can see a lot of teams out there, especially these teams that are budding playoff teams, look at a guy like Mitch. I can see the Lakers somehow trying to figure something out. I can see you know a lot of these teams in the Eastern Conference try to, you know, sign Mitch because the Mitch angle that gives him leverage, obviously, hey, I was a big part of the reason you went to the finals. And if it's like it's like winning the Super Bowl in the NFL CP. You win the Super Bowl, your backup players are getting starter money. Yeah, if you're a free agent. Just because the stage just takes your your value to an overpaid level. It's just it's just the stage. Like that's just what happens. So we win the finals. You know, Sham is shooting 90% from three. Listen, I'm be honest, he can go. It's fine. I'm good. He can go. You we got we got a couple draft picks coming up this year. Yeah, yeah. You got you got you got to figure out a role for DOR next year. Right, right. This is just the evolution of a year-to-year basis. You know, the guys that are waiting in the wings, they there's their turn to step up next year. And guess what? If the Knicks win the title, that's where teams are actually more willing to let players go and give young players the opportunity. You don't have that pressure no more of having to sign veterans. You can now give a shot to the next guys coming up. So, you know, uh, and and then Deuce McBride is is is another guy, you know, that is and there's Jordan Clarkson. Like, there's guys that you can figure out a way. I'm not gonna go crazy over Shaman just because Shaman has been in the league long enough to where you could see where someone just gets hot, but he's not gonna be 90% forever. So if he wants to have if he wants to get 10 million now instead of three, and we don't got the money because we need it for Mitch, I'm fine with it. I don't want to lose Mitch.

SPEAKER_06 48:28

Yeah. It's gonna be hard.

SPEAKER_05 48:29

Mitch, we can't afford to lose, bro.

SPEAKER_06 48:31

He can't afford to lose Mitch. Can't afford to lose Mitch.

SPEAKER_05 48:34

Can't afford to lose Mitch.

SPEAKER_06 48:35

No.

SPEAKER_05 48:36

So And the reason is also, the underlying reason is, unfortunately, Huk Porti really.

SPEAKER_06 48:44

He's not ready. He's not ready.

SPEAKER_05 48:45

He's he's probably been my biggest disappointment this year. He's not ready. He he doesn't quite look like an NBA first backup off-the-bench type guy.

SPEAKER_06 48:55

He's he's still looking kind of third stringy, which is why this Mitch injury, he's gotta, he's gotta gut it out. Has to. Absolutely has to. All right, let's get to the next question. Next question comes from uh PR Claudio, early offense stance, is is asking, how did the Knicks defense improve so drastically from the alleged mastermind, Tibbs? What do you think, man?

SPEAKER_05 49:23

Wow. How did it how did it improve so much? Well, I think there's two areas. I think the offense improved, and just by just by that, automatically the defense is just going to improve because you're controlling tempo more. You are um winning, you know, look at some of these games where they're winning by blowouts. When you can take a team off their rhythm even even you know offensively, sometimes that automatically leads to even a better defensive performance, even if you might have not the best defensive personnel. Because guess what? The other thing about that question, and I know why that question is asked, because I know fans are saying, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I was told that this can't be a good defensive team because your two best players are your two weakest defenders. And Tibbs had those same two players for a few seasons. Well, you know, Brunson. And now Mike Brown, his first year, has those same two deficiencies, has pretty much the same rotation. And guess what? You know who else got better in this under this system? And I'm shocked. Jordan Clarkson. All of a sudden, Jordan Clarkson is a pest, a pest defensively. Yeah. He doesn't care if you get by him. When when he gets in the game, he looks like one of these OKCO Spurs guards. He's like giving you ball pressure. Yeah, he's in your jerks. He's in your jerks. Like he and where did that come from? That happened after when he got this second opportunity into the rotation. It's like, it's like if, yo, the Jordan Clarkson thing is as if they said, listen, we're gonna take you out of the rotation for a month. Let's work on your defense. I know that's probably not what happened, but I'm saying it just felt like they just said, you know what? Let's work on your defense. We're gonna give you a break. We're gonna work on something, we're gonna put you back in the rotation, and then we're gonna see a much improved player because that's exactly what happened. So I think Mike Brown deserves a lot of credit from bringing the guy from the Clippers, the defense. Co-Conner, the Clippers, O'Connor, Clippers was no one as a good defensive team. And he improved guys individually, he improved the offense. And Kat, man, listen, Kat, bro, he's playing better defense. Like flat out, he's playing better defense. Mikhail Bridges is back to the Phoenix Suns, Mikhail Bridges. So I think, CP, it's an overall offense. Player development. Remember, you talked about that. That was one of the big reasons why he was here. Player development happened. And I also think the minutes, I think the minutes had the yo, Mikhail Bridges was number one guy complaining about the Tibbs minutes. And he's the one, he's the one, he's the guy that looks the most fresh.

SPEAKER_06 52:20

And that's the toughest matchup on a nine-to-night basis. Yeah. It's all very interesting. Um, you know, you could point to the fact that when they simplified the defense, going back to ice and more pick and roll coverages, it certainly took off. I definitely see the the point in the increased offense. Because as I say, when your shots are falling, you're more engaged defensively. And with Carl Anthony Towns, well, he got more engaged offensively. And then, you know what I'm saying, his defense was also top-notch. But you got to give Brown a lot of credit because I've said this on several pods. Like going into this, it was the question was can you win with two weak links in your defense? But Jalen and Towns are playing good defense, right? And their rotations are crisp. They're protecting the rim, especially where Carl Anthony Towns is concerned. Even if they're getting switched out onto bigger opponents where Jalen is concerned, he's holding his own. He's he's staying physical. Their intensity on the on the defensive end has been top-notch, especially under Mike Brown. And as you said, he's made Jordan Clarkson a better player. So you gotta give you gotta give uh Mike Brown a ton of credit, man. And and Mikhail Bridges as well. Mikhail Bridges as well. You know, you look at the the um the effort that he's given on on Nikhil Alexander Walker. That was the talk, the most improved player. He was a bucket. He was he was a little bootleg Shea. He took him completely out. He took the Cinderella shoes right off of him. He he sent them back to Minnesota. And uh and with Maxie, I mean, Mikhail Bridges' coverage is especially in those pick and rolls, man, navigating the screens and forcing the turnovers. He's been fantastic. And Carl's leading the team in defensive rating, which is crazy. So get give those guys credit, but give Mike Brown credit as well, man. Hey, the the Nuggets figured it out when they won the chip with Jokic and Murray.

SPEAKER_05 54:12

Yeah. It was the same thing. Your two best players are your two weakest defenders. And the same thing happened there. And listen, you know, um I I would say Kat is playing better individual defense than Brunson. Brunson's giving more effort. And what tends to happen too, CP, is when you have enough defensive isolation possessions where you hold your own, then what you do is you you kind of take away a little bit of the other team trying to hunt you as much as they probably wanted to. In other words, you see when you know when you watch the game and you see a guy try to hunt for someone and they don't have a successful possession, they missed the shot. Sometimes when they do it two times in a row and they miss both times, you don't see it again to like a while later in the game because it's like, okay, this this didn't work. And I think last year, people, whenever people isolated towns, whenever people isolate Brunson, everything, everything went to went to hell. And this season, especially now, when people are doing that, if the guy is scoring, it's just him scoring one-on-one. But it's not affecting the whole team, it's not derailing the whole process. It's still a one-on-one possession, and you're getting the effort and you're getting some stops.

SPEAKER_06 55:34

Yeah, good points. Good points there. All right, next one. Let's see who we got here. Okay, all right. I I like this one here. This question is, I mean, it's pretty wide open. But he says if you had a 16th roster spot in this current squad and you could give anyone in the league to add to its magical run, who would you add? It's kind of open-ended. I mean, I mean, you know, you could go out there.

SPEAKER_05 56:01

A 16th roster spot. Right.

SPEAKER_06 56:03

So I don't know. Are we get to add a player? Yeah. Are we talking about like a bench player? Are we talking about a you know a superstar and all the years?

SPEAKER_05 56:10

You take it however you want to take it. Look at the team now. And I mean, if you want to OD, you can OD. Yeah. Then if you're gonna OD, you gotta tell me what you're gonna do. Or you could say, you know what, I'll take this player. And obviously it can't be nobody from the Spurs or Thunder because those are the potential matchups. Nah. I would have gone with AO, man. Well, you think OKC could win, so who would you think OKC's gonna win game seven? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 56:37

Damn, why are you I would I would I would go with AO. I was thinking about him. I would go with AO. He was the guy I wanted at the trade deadline, and he had a great run with this with the Wolves. Great run. Gave him everything they needed. The ball handling at the guard spot, attack in the basket, the defensive tenacity, a little bit more size. I think Ayo would have been a perfect. Not to say, you know, we didn't get it out of Deuce or Alvarado, but you swap out Alvarado for for Ayo, you're cooking now. I think that would have been a perfect pickup for the Knicks. You know, that it was a little bit too much out of their price range, and you can kind of understand why they had interest in them. That would have been a great pickup for them.

SPEAKER_05 57:26

So if we're playing one of these matchups, I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with Tari Eason. Okay. Six. You know, I'm gonna I'm gonna go with the tall, mentally tough, gritty, can hit the corner three, can defend, has attitude, is tough, has gone against, you know, some of these big time uh players in the Western Conference and always holds his own. I think he's a very underrated rotational player. Yeah. Uh coached by, you know, another gritty coach in the Udoka. I think he has that New York mentality. Kind of in your AO. Yeah, you know, yeah. Similar from the big tardy series. Your guy is 6'5, he's a very good three-point shooter. Yeah. My guy is 6'8. And and I think him putting him in that rotation would would be deadly. For sure. Oh, guess what? I just said 6'8 guy.

SPEAKER_06 58:22

Who do we have next year? 6'9 guy. Moe Diar. Mo Diar. Moe Diwar. All right, next question comes from Nick's report, Momba the Goats. Is how would you match up defensively against OKC? Who guards who? How are you matching up with OKC, man?

SPEAKER_05 58:39

Well, who's their starting five? Is Jalen Williams back to the starting lineup? How do you want to do it? You want to do it based on who started today?

SPEAKER_06 58:46

Does Jalen Dub, I think they go with the, I don't know. Let's say, let's go with who they have right now. Because assuming J Dub doesn't start, maybe he comes off the bench still. So it would be it would be SGA, Jared McCain, Dort, Chet, IHart.

SPEAKER_05 59:07

All right. So obviously you're you already know where I'm putting Jalen Brunson. He's gonna guard SGA. No, I'm just kidding. Brunson on uh on on Dort. Right. Then I'm gonna go Kat on Hartenstein. I'm gonna go Brunson on Doris, Kat on Hartenstein, Hart, Hart, damn.

SPEAKER_06 59:46

Hart gotta go on McCain. It has to. You wanna do that? It has to. You gotta put you gotta put OG on chip and you gotta have McHale card SGA.

SPEAKER_00 59:59

That's interesting. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:03

Yeah, yeah. You know, because McCain is gonna bring Hart a little bit out to the perimeter. Yeah. And then you gotta you gotta chase McCain. And McCain, McCain got the got the quick mechanics. So like I could, I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if they try a little bit of Hart on SGA and put McKell on on McCain.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:24

McCain and then leave uh OG on Chet. You gotta have OG on chet. OG and Chet and Kat on Hartenstein. That that's because the matchup is locked. That's locked.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:34

Because they they did that, they did that something at the Cavs. Where I felt I was like, wait, why are we seeing any possessions of Josh Hart against against James Harden? When James Harden, James Harden didn't know what to do to create any separation against Mikkel. He was trying move after move. Like he didn't know what to do in those isolation. He didn't know what to do to get open. And they still messed around a little bit with Josh Hart on James Harden. So I could see that rotation, but um when it comes down to it, Mikhail on SGA, OG on Chet. Yeah, that I'm I'm with that.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:11

I'm definitely with that. Okay. Alright. Um, let's see. What else? Now, if FJ cooks Mikhail, it starts to get interesting. There. Yeah, well then you gotta move OG on him. You know, you gotta move OG on him. All right, this is an interesting one, and we'll wrap with this one. This is from uh TMTG, Joe Gott Game. He says, What's your ideal nine-man rotation consisting of players from 94, 99, and the 26 finals teams? Your ideal nine-man rotation. I need a little time for this, man. Hold on, hold on. I gotta write this down. I gotta write this down. Hold on, what's the roster? 94? All three. 94, 99, 26. Finals teams. Nine man rotation. I'm not even gonna think too much.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:12

Yeah. Oh, nine-man rotation.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:14

Nine man.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:19

Ooh. Hold up, hold up.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:29

I gotta find a I gotta find a spot for my boy Alley Houston. He's my favorite dick of all time.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:33

Yeah, of course. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:48

Nine man rotation.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:50

Wow.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:57

Oh, this is easy, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:59

This is easy for you?

SPEAKER_06 1:03:00

Yeah, this is easy, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:03

Well, well, all right. I'll uh uh let me.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:05

Wait, hold on. Do you want to do it just forget matchups? Let's just do forget matchups. Let's just do like the roster.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:11

Okay. Alright, I got mine. I'm ready.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:14

Hold up, hold up, hold on, hold on, hold up. Because I don't want you to give me answers. All right, you got starting five.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:20

All right. Uh Chris Dudley at center. He started.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:24

David Wingate. Oh, this. Oh, man. Yeah. Yeah, I got my. I got mine. I got mine. Okay, hold up, hold up.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:35

Oh, man. Bro, this is gonna be interesting, though, because you got Latrell, Allen, OG, Mikhail. I want to know who you started.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:45

Hold on. Yo, this yo, my small forward is tough, bro.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:54

It's tough. It's tough. Bro, am I going OG or Spree? Started.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:02

That's tough. That's tough.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:04

I don't know. Your list is your list, man. Your list is your list, man.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:07

You probably gonna go Larry Johnson. Alright. You know what? I'm going my list again. I don't care. Alright, I got my starting five. And then let me work on my four and then I try.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:22

Okay. What do you guys think in the chat? And I'm not even looking at you. I'm not looking at none. Nine man rotation from 94, 99, and 26. What do you guys think then?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:41

Bro, this is tough, bro. Very, very tough. Very tough. A lot of people are saying this is the best Knicks team, like most talented Knicks team in memory. Like so it's like, if that's the case, then how many players are we really taking from the past?

SPEAKER_04 1:05:02

Damn, who's my backup guard?

SPEAKER_06 1:05:05

Alright, you want me to go with mine?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:07

Yeah, go ahead. Go with yours.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:08

Okay. Alright, here's where I'm going. I'm going with Kat first. Brunson at the one. Wait, you didn't really? I thought you were gonna go Charlie, uh Charlie Ward. I'm going Brunson at the one. I'm going Alan Houston at the two. Okay. I'm going Anthony Mason at the three. Wow. Okay. Going Anthony Mason at the three. I'm going OG at the four. And I'm going with the big fella, Patrick Ewing at the five. I got shooting. I got switchable defense. I got size. I got multiple ball handlers. And off the bench, here's my four off the bench. I'm going with number three. John Stalks. My idol. I'm going with number eight. Latrell Sprewell. I'm going with number 34. Charles Oakley. The Oak Tree. And at the five, I'm going with the big bodega. Carl Anthony Towns. There it is, man. That's a championship five right there. Nine right there. People saying LJ, you know, LJ when he was with the Knicks, this wasn't prime LJ. This wasn't Grandmama. You know what I'm saying? I'm going with everybody at their peak powers. Peak powers when they were Knicks. Brunson, Houston, Mason, OG, Ewing, and I'm going Starks, Sprewell, Oakley, and Carl Anthony Towns. Wow. The squad right there, man.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:58

Alright. I'm going. My start at five. I got Jalen Brunson at the one. Alan Houston at the two. I don't know how you stop and die. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:12

Like.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:14

I got OG at the three. Okay. I have. Oh, this would be lovely against OKC's double big man. I have Car Anthony Towns at the four. And I have Patrick Ewen at the five. We're surrounding the big guy with his best shooting space he's never seen in his life. I mean, oh my God. He's playing with Kat, OG, Houston, and Jalen. We're going to change. You want to talk about change the game, bring it back to Inside Out? That's what we're about to do in 2026. And off the bench, I got Spree. I have Starks. Okay. I have Mason. Okay. And I have Marcus Camby.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:08

Alright. Alright. There it goes, ladies and gentlemen. There it goes. So throw your nine in the chat. That was a good one, man. That was a good one. Good question and good exercise. And uh and nice to take a trip down memory lane, combining all three finals teams. I was about to say all three championship teams. All three finals teams, but the 26th team has a chance to get it done. So let's see. Somebody in the chat said Melo.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:41

Yo, low-key. Low key? I know he's not looking too like because of the trade-off team, but low-key Randall's up there, bro.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:55

We gotta end the show, man. The show's over now, man. The show's over. The show's over. It's over, man. It's over, man. How about chat skipping around a little bit? Hang tight. Let me let me get this off. Hang tight. Chat skipping around.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:16

I know Camby's swinging on someone.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:18

He's swinging on somebody. The can be man is swinging on somebody, man. All right. Let me salute the rest of the chat. Chat is skipping around a little bit. Shout out to Albert Bayers, 10 hour super chat. Salute CPJD. What a time to be alive. Nixon 5. Albert Bayers, good to hear from you, man. Jeffrey Glynn. Shout out Jeffrey. Five hour Super Chat. Says, uh, praise up for Mitch, man. We need him. The Frenchman can't handle big country. Let's go. We need Mitchie, man. Definitely. Emil Beaumonsor, Australian Five Hour Super Chat. Emil, good to hear from you, man. It says been a while. CP, congrats on everything. How do you think our role players stack up against OKC and the Spurs? I think we're fine, man. You know, it's it's role players, they just well, well, I don't know if you mean bench players or role players. But either way, I think I think we're fine. Whether it's bench or role players, we're fine. You know, OKC, hey, one night their bench players score 76 points. The other night, they kind of look like this. You know, they're the role players for a reason. But for the Knicks, I think the the way that, especially if you think about McCal, OG, Hart, they're unlocked. They have the experience factor. They're ready to roll, man. Two-way play. And you're getting two-way play from both from all three of those guys.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:33

And I think one of the underrated X factors has been like I think one of the pieces that has taken this bench and this offense to like unstoppable levels. Yes, I get the Shaman stuff, but Shaman had a little bit of a you know, he's been he's been a little bit up and down in terms of the totality of the season and everything. But the piece that you were hoping um everything was lining up, I wasn't, I was concerned about the fact that Deuce only had like six games. And when that happened, when he returned, I was like, man, I hope I wish he had more time. He only shot 33%. But in the playoffs, he's been at 43% for it. And I think Deuce McBride's shot making ability in the playoffs has really like unlocked a lot of that like spacing coming off the bench and has really taken the Knicks. Like he he's a dynamic factor of like that that that like is the Knicks bench just good enough? Well, McBride takes them to very good enough, like they're good enough to compete against OKC in San Antonio.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:39

Big time, big time. Uh shout out to Rhyme Animal Chuck D. $10 Super Chats says Knicks and six on anybody, maybe five. These fans don't know what they're looking at. This is serious business. Shout out to the Rhyme Animal Chuck D. He also says uh $10 super chats says familiarity allows a captain to lead a players-only meeting and a game three. For whatever reason, they locked into Mike Brown after that. Yes, they did. Held each other accountable, and they are clicking on all cylinders, man. Shout out to Chuck for the super chat. Shout out to you, JD. Shout out to everybody for tapping in, man. Game seven coming up on Saturday, and we will find out. The waiting game will be over. Who will it be to take on this Juggernaut Nick and take this fan base into another frenzy, man? Can't wait to get started again. Uh, great show, great show, all the mods. Remember that these shows are available in audio podcast format. A like, share, and subscribe. And let's get to it. Back at it on Saturday for an early NBA Finals preview. We're gonna take a quick look, whether it's San Antonio, whether it's OK C. We're gonna find out what the next play. I would have to think 8 30. I think it's all 8 30. I think it's all 8 30. Check it.

unknown 1:12:54

Check it line.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:01

8 p.m. 8. 8, okay. Alright, there we go, man. So we'll see you guys after the game. Good show.