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- [01:32]
A
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for May 20, 2026. I'm Dave DeFore here with Esperaheni. Coming up, the Knicks storm back to steal a victory from certain defeat in game one of the Eastern Conference finals. We have Mike Vorkanoff here to talk about it with us after S and I break it. Good morning S. How you doing buddy? Better than the Cleveland Cavaliers, I'm betting.
- [01:59]
D
Oh my God. I can't believe it man. I we were sitting there, we're like this is such an impressive win for the Cavs. It seems obvious you talked about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It was like the opposite thing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They absolutely collapsed. It was incredible to watch. If you were not a Cleveland Cavaliers fan just because of it was all self inflicted and I'm sure we'll, we'll talk about it all throughout but a 22 point collapse. First time that both conference finals games, the first conference finals games in, you know, to start off game one go to overtime in NBA history Which is incredible.
- [02:42]
A
Okay. One of these was not like the other. Yeah, let's be honest, until the Knicks started coming back, that's. This game felt like a different sport. And I mean part of it is just the intensity just wasn't there. What wasn't the same didn't feel like as big of a game as spurs and Thunder and obviously like a regular
- [03:03]
D
season game, honestly, a little bit.
- [03:05]
A
Right. Like it had that sort of energy. I think that that is part of why the Knicks look so bad. For three and a half quarters of the game. They didn't have the, the right intensity, the right energy. And still s as impressive as the Cavs were, if the Knicks had just shot better, this was a blowout early because the, the Knicks, they were scoring in the places that you want to score outside of behind a three point line. They were excellent in the paint, they were excellent in the mid range. I mean they were, they were excellent in the restricted area and could not buy a three pointer. So in a lot of ways I, I think that the energy and I don't know whether it was the crowd because it's hard to tell when you're watching an ESPN broadcast. We'll have to ask Mike Vorkanov about that. I don't know if it was the crowd or if it was the long layoff, but it didn't feel like the Knicks had the energy that we've seen out of them the last six games until the middle of the third of the fourth quarter.
- [04:03]
D
Yeah, I mean, they were 4 of 24 for the first three quarters from three. They finished the fourth quarter 5 of 7 and then in overtime they were 1 of 2. Like the shooting coming around was a massive part of this Knicks comeback. I will say though, I feel like the Knicks had found a recipe against the Hawks and against the Sixers when it comes to that Carl Anthony Towns flex action, you guys will see him, you know, above the break, playmaking, making passes, whatnot. But I actually don't think that works that well against his Cavs team. I think what works exceptionally is what Jalen Brunson did in that fourth quarter. And I know that might be easy to say because of how he looked, but the way Brunson was able to carve out this team just by mismatch hunting at the point of attack, going at James Harden, going at Donovan Mitchell, he poured in 38 points, but 15 of those came in the fourth quarter. His ability to get, I mean truthfully, James Harden on an island consistently, like every single possession down the floor, he Looked at the Cavs defense and said, james Harden, will you have this dance? And. And scored every single time.
- [05:14]
A
And there was just not enough fight there, in my opinion, by the Cavs. But also, there's a point in which Kenny Atkinson has to get involved. You know, James Harden also not really doing much work for them on the offensive end, despite the fact that he had all these possessions, and they didn't. They didn't bring in Max Druce until basically the game was out of hand. And that was probably the move to make a little bit earlier. Just, he's. He's better at navigating screens. He's been better on Brunson just traditionally. But also, how about going to Donovan Mitchell at any point down the stretch? I mean, I think that they could have actually pulled Harden because his defense was so bad. He was such a target, added shrew. And they. They likely win the game just for the fact that. That Brunson's not going to have as easy a time getting to the basket. I mean, you tip your hat to Jalen Brunson because something goes on in that guy's body chemistry. With five minutes left in a basketball game, this needs to be studied. Like, we got to figure this out, because he just doesn't miss. He's never rattled, and. And he's another one of these guys. And it's. You know, it's like Luca. It's like LeBron. His pace, it's perfect every single time. And then OG Anunobi, who hadn't done much. Much of the game, most of the game, was able to actually attack some. He almost had that big dunk on Harden where he gets fouled. But that OG Setting the screen. They throw two at Jalen Brunson, and that's just wide open. Either three for OG or drive to the basket. And now all of a sudden, you're cooking, and I just.
- [06:53]
D
That's. Yeah, I totally agree. But, like, what you just described is what the Cavs were doing to the Knicks for the first three quarters of this game. It was James Harden getting Jalen Brunson in action. It was Donovan Mitchell getting. Getting Jalen Brunson in action. Then the Knicks had to send two to the ball, and it was Mobley and it was Allen making plays in the middle of the floor. You got guys like Sam Merrill and Dean Wade knocking down shots. Like that was the recipe for the Cavs, and they looked exceptional doing it like the ball was flying, it wasn't sticking. But as soon as clutch time came around, it felt like the Ball gravitated towards James Harden and was kind of lost for Donovan Mitchell. You, you mentioned Mitchell in general. Like the, the fact that he only took five shots between the fourth quarter and overtime. He was one of four in the fourth quarter. O1 in, in. In the overtime, like that's just not enough for a guy who is your best player and overall in the game. He's. He's also the guy that poured in 29 points for you. He was your clear number one scorer. His ability to carve up the Knicks at the point of attack defense was the reason they were winning this game. It was the reason they were dominating in this game. I really do feel like when it comes to the Cavs fourth quarter process, Harden and Mitchell are not on the same page yet. And that is the sign of two guys who have not had multiple.
- [08:15]
A
Right. Neither guy plays when the ball's not in their hands. Right? Yeah, neither one. Harden. They sent two like you said. I will, I will give them credit. The Cavs ball movement was excellent for 3/4 of the game. You send two guy flashes to the nail, gets the ball, swing, swing, swing. You got a wide open three. It worked great. But you throw two at the ball. Okay. If, if your defense is able to stop that next pass and force you to reset. Well, James Harden hadn't moved at all.
- [08:51]
D
Yeah.
- [08:51]
A
Donovan Mitchell not moving off the ball. Like their offense isn't, isn't movement based. It's. It's pretty stagnant. On the odd times that Evan Mobley catches the ball on the wing and, and drives to the basket, you get something that looks different, but they've got like a little bit of an issue there where in, in my opinion, they went away from what was working. But part of it is that they were hitting some shots when, you know, when it maybe shouldn't have worked.
- [09:20]
E
Right.
- [09:20]
A
Like without the movement, they were getting looks and maybe that's not good basketball when you get down the stretch of a game. The, the Knicks defensive intensity really came up in the fourth quarter. They were rotating faster and those, those shots just weren't as open. Yeah.
- [09:37]
D
Can we, can we go back to Kenny Atkinson for a real quick second?
- [09:40]
A
Absolutely. You want to Talk about this? 18 to 1 run without a timeout.
- [09:45]
D
Yeah, no timeout is crazy to me. But also the fact that, you know, you see that they are very clearly targeting James Harden. And by the way, if you guys want to go and rewatch that fourth quarter, it was literally every single possession down the floor, they said James Harden is the guy that we are targeting. They have Dean Wade on the floor specifically for that problem to stay on Jalen Brunson if there is a switch to fight over that screen and stay on there. And yet they were very easily conceding that switch.
- [10:16]
A
There was no gap, didn't even make contact on a few screens. And they just, absolutely, and they just
- [10:22]
D
let that switch happen. I just, I feel like that is, that's a perfect moment for you to one call a timeout and adjust there to maybe recommunicate to your team what the game plan is against Jalen Brunson because there was no gap.
- [10:35]
A
However, you have to at least keep the offense honest. Right? Yeah, you, you may give up the switch anyway. You may get stuck on a real screen, but at least make them work to do it and, and be physical about it. I, I just, you know, there are times I wonder is there a secret gentleman's agreement on the soft switch with the way it happens so often it's
- [10:56]
D
like everybody does it so they just,
- [10:58]
A
but there also, there's a real, and I, I, I believe this, there's a real fear from defenders fighting over screens, gets you foul calls. Players stop mid like you know, mid dribble essentially going around the screen and then you know, sometimes you're giving up three shots. It's a double edged sword and all. I mean a lot of this does go back to the way that they're officiated. But I think there just in the playoffs, man, like you got to fight over, make, make the refs call something one way or the other, but also make, you got to make O Anobi who just missed a bunch of games with a hamstring. You got to make him work. You can't just say, okay, I'm going to give this up and concede it.
- [11:38]
D
Do you, is this over now for the Cavs?
- [11:42]
A
I mean, I don't know. We'll see because they did look good, right? But so much of that was the Knicks looked bad. And now like we just saw the Knicks look more like themselves or at least what we got used to over the course of the fourth quarter in overtime they, they outscored him. It was 46 to 21 in the fourth quarter in overtime. That's kind of what we have seen out of the Knicks the last few games. And they may be abandoning the Carl Anthony Towns, you know, on the wing thing like we might see.
- [12:11]
D
I think at least for this series it makes sense to maybe go for Brunson creating for you more.
- [12:16]
A
Well, that's one thing. But Part of it is I actually think Cat was a little too low. I think this is where you want Cat to. If he's going to initiate outside the three point line just to generate more space so that when the ball does swing and it finds someone, they've got driving lanes.
- [12:32]
E
Right.
- [12:32]
A
Like he's being guarded by, by Evan Mobley. I think you want to pull him away from the basket because challenging Evan Mobley, as we saw even in this game, was a big mistake. Let's talk.
- [12:42]
D
All right.
- [12:43]
A
Let's talk Cavs, because I do think they, they missed a, a golden opportunity here. They got figured out too, that that's a huge concern. They lose game two, the series is over. Period. I don't.
- [12:56]
D
They can't claw back at the same time. They've been in this situation before, you know, and they have, they have been known to kind of push series to seven. I mean, the first two series that they've. They've had have gone to seven games. They have an ability to stick around.
- [13:13]
A
Well, Dan Gilbert's got to pay for all those buses that he's renting. So he needs a new playoff. That revenue, man.
- [13:21]
D
I, But I just, I don't think it's over because I think the Cavs played exceptional basketball for three quarters of this game. And maybe you can point out the knicks shooting and being 2 of 19 in the first half as an aspect of that. You can bring up the fact that the Knicks were trying the Carl Anthony Towns angle and that wasn't working and they leaned Warren Brunson. Like there are a lot of avenues to look at the Knicks playing better moving forward. But I also think the Cavs can play better too. I think they will adjust. I think they will figure out ways to not get James Harden in actions constantly. But that feels like the push and pull of this series is how can the Cavs get Jaylen Brunson in actions defensively versus how can Jaylen Brunson get James Harden and Donovan Mitchell in actions consistently? Whoever is able to do that more probably ends up winning this series.
- [14:11]
E
Yeah.
- [14:11]
A
And I, I think adjustments for the Knicks, I, we're going to see less Mitchell Robinson, he just really wasn't effective. He doesn't give you the same advantage when you're going up against Jared Allen and Evan Mobley. But Landry Shamit and his spacing is very important and I think that we likely see him earlier and probably more often too. Cleveland, to me, look, you've got the. It's James Harden that, that's the issue. Both Ways it's you live and die by James Harden. He had six turnovers, five made shots. I, I, I, we've lost count of how many times he's had more turnovers. In my head, I just cannot remember how many times this postseason he's had more turnovers than made field goals. And s like 3/4 of this game, he was in charge of it and he wasn't doing a lot. He didn't have a lot of assists, he didn't have a lot of points. But he kept putting pressure on the defense, drawing the attention, giving the ball up, doing the right thing, and then they got good stuff. But once those shots dried up, he just gave him nothing and was beyond a negative because he allowed Brunson to just get cooking. So I think that's the big question. Like, can you survive 42 minutes with James Harden on the court? If I don't know, 16 of them look as bad as they did at the end of the game last night. Yeah.
- [15:36]
D
And I mean, this is, this is kind of the issue of having James Harden, especially at that, at this age, like prime James Harden wasn't a great defender, but you're looking at like mid-30s James Harden. And it's very clear that at this point in the series, at this point in the season for them, you're, you're going to get a version that is not the same mobility wise defensively. Just he can't keep up. And I wonder maybe if they tried to keep him on bigger guys, maybe that's the counter for the Cavs, like throw him on, see if he can work on like OG or mc.
- [16:08]
A
He guarded Towns a little bit. If you, if you've got him on OG again, what, what we watched at the end of the game, OG is a great screen partner for, for Jalen Brunson. So you're going to be pre switching them there. There's not really, I mean, Josh Hart, as soon as they sat Josh Hart, the game flipped for, for the Knicks because they didn't have anyone to, to park Harden on and they didn't have to work as hard to get him into action. You know, Landry, Shannon Bridges is the guy.
- [16:36]
D
But that means Harden is running around a lot because Bridges, all he does is basically run around and try to.
- [16:41]
A
And Harden's not going to do that actually. Right. It's not just that he can't. He's not going to. And so if you, you know, if you want to give up a million points off the ball, stick them on, on Mikhail Bridges, you know, who's a great cutter from the corner. There's just, there's not. There's no one you can hide him on. I think if James Harden's going to be in the game, he's 30.2 assists. James Harden, that's the only way he can play. If he's giving you 15, what, three assists and six turnovers, you're going to lose, plain and simple. Yeah, yeah.
- [17:15]
D
Hey, can I just, can I mention one thing? Knicks related before we go? It's now gotten to the point where we're four seasons into the Jalen Brunson Knicks tenure and obviously back to back conference finals.
- [17:29]
A
Yeah.
- [17:29]
D
But I just want to show a level of appreciation for a guy who is 6 foot 2 on a good day.
- [17:37]
A
Yeah, I was gonna say being able to.
- [17:39]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Because ESPN and Basketball Reference. I'll reference him as, as six foot two. That's what I'm saying. On a good day. Like a short king like Jalen Brunson, truthfully, being able to carve up defenses, no matter the coverage, no matter the defender, whether it's, you know, of course, the, the Sixers with their length or the Hawks with their length or obviously the Cavs now, his ability to consistently score the basketball. For four seasons now, he's been a guy who averages over 27 points per game for the Knicks on incredible efficiency like that. To me, he is one of the best guard scorers of his generation.
- [18:19]
A
Pound for pound, he's. I mean, pound for pound.
- [18:22]
D
Yes. It's just worth appreciating because of just how incredible he is and how hot he can get in the fourth quarter. Like we watched tonight, it's.
- [18:30]
A
It's incredible, especially because you know what's coming. He's not, it's not like he's trying to trick you or they're going to run him off a million screens. I mean, he's going to get the guy in front of him and he's going to take him to the hoop, he's going to put him in jail. He's going to. The big is going to come up and he's going to hit that floater.
- [18:47]
D
Incredible. Some work too, right?
- [18:49]
A
Yeah. He had some amazing shots in this game and that one that he hit high off the glass was just. I mean, had me giggling, man. Like Jalen Brunson's at that point. I mean, he is, he's a superstar. Guy is incredible. Anyone, anyone that can score like that down the stretch of a game again, when you know the card that they're going to be playing every single time and you can't beat it. It's, it's amazing. I do want to hit Carl Anthony Towns before we move on. Awful game in my opinion, from a, from multiple aspects. He had two of the, the dumbest fouls that were game changer potentially. Right? Like game changing fouls potentially. He had the, the foul on what would have been a flagrant foul on Jared Allen and that stole the life from the Knicks. And then down the stretch of this game, I mean it was a four point game and he grabs Jared Allen again and OG Anunoby had a wide open layup. So four point swing there in a four point game because the Cavs came down and scored.
- [19:50]
D
That was such a silly foul too.
- [19:52]
A
Yeah, yeah, this is. And again he usually is doing this on offensive fouls. I mean he makes a lot of bad defensive fouls, but the offensive fouls are usually the ones that really stand out. But they, they've got to find a way to get, get through to him that he's too important because this is not a Mitchell Robinson series. We saw, we saw the hack of Mitch. He, he was 2 for 8 from the free throw line. That's unplayable. And the Cavs are going to go to that because it's going to disrupt the Knicks rhythm. And I just. Carl Anthony Towns, he's got to be on the court. He did play 40 minutes. I mean he only had four fouls, but he's got to stop the dumb fouls. And seven turnovers.
- [20:28]
D
Seven turnovers. That's the number right there. I mean, the one thing that was somewhat of a miracle for Kat over the last 10 or so games was not only is he playmaking at a high level, you know, the assist numbers look good. He had multiple 10 plus assist games. But his turnover numbers were also low or lower than you would think for a guy who was playmaking like that. So he needs to keep those numbers low. He needs to not be silly with the ball. Especially against a Cavs team that likes to turn it over to, you know, and ultimately like the Cavs didn't turn it over that much. Actually they ended up with 21 because of how, how that second half shook out to be. But they were doing a good job of taking care of the ball to start this game. The Knicks relative to the rest of the league are pretty good at taking care of the ball. They need CAT to be a solution on that part. Absolutely. I completely agree with that.
- [21:20]
A
Before we go to break, a little bit of breaking news that we Got yesterday. Yeah. Jason Kidd is now out as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. He was there for five seasons. He has four years and 40 million left on his contract. But new teams, package Messiah, Jerry is like, nope, change in direction. We got to. We got to change a lot of stuff around here. And, you know, as my mind went to the last couple times that Jason Kidd was let go, and I have to just wonder, like, did he lose a power struggle to take over the front office of the team? Because Masai coming in, it just. I would say this. Unless you just think Jason Kidd is a terrible coach, I don't know that this makes a lot of sense right this second. Like, at the time of it, you just finished up a really successful rookie year with Cooper Flag. And, you know, I think maybe you would keep that rolling. If it was anybody but Jason Kidd, I would say, okay, makes sense. I can totally understand wanting to move on from Jason Kidd from a personality standpoint, as a person, maybe a guy who. Who shouldn't be coaching in the NBA for a lot of reasons, but in Brooklyn and in Milwaukee, and we'll probably hear some of these stories come out of Dallas, the power play that he. That he was making as a coach trying to take over the front office. Luka doncic gets traded 18 months ago, or whatever it was at this point, 14 months ago. And I don't know, I just. I've got a lot of questions, and as this reporting comes out, I'm going to be very interested to see what. What we learn.
- [23:01]
D
Yeah, I also, I think it's an effort from the Mavs to maybe just really clean house from the Nico Harrison era.
- [23:09]
E
Right.
- [23:10]
D
And anybody who was even remotely outside of ownership that was remotely a part of the. The Luka Doncic aspect. Right. I think that's really important to them because if you remember, right after they traded Luka Doncic, who was right beside Nico Harrison during that press conference, it was Jason Kidd. So that was, if anything, that was like co signing the decision making of the Mavs to trade Luca and I. I think that's another aspect PR wise to kind of clean house, start new. Nothing that has to do with Luka Doncic or the Luka Doncic trade exists anymore outside of ownership. And, you know, now Masai and Mike Schmidt and those guys, they can start new with Cooper Flag. I think that part makes sense on top of everything that you mentioned.
- [23:57]
A
Okay. Any coaches that. That come to mind that they should call up. I first guy I thought of, by the way, Jamal Mosley. I wonder if he's kicking himself a little bit taking the Pelicans job. Although, I mean, listen, five year contract, take the money. Yeah. You know, I, I thought about Billy Donovan just like. But does he want to go into a scenario where he's developing rather than coaching a team that's ready to compete? That's, that's a question that I wonder about. What about you, man?
- [24:27]
D
What about like a really. What about Tibs? Just Tibs with the young guys. Can you imagine, you know, like him, very motivated to coach a young developmental team. I don't watch.
- [24:44]
A
Right. If you did that like hard knock style, I would watch that. Like everybody watch Tibs, right? Yeah. That's our show. There you go. Everybody loves tips.
- [24:54]
D
Listen, sell it. We, we can do it. Executive produce right here.
- [24:58]
A
I don't know. I'm, I'm a little worried they're gonna go outside the box. And to me, this is a scenario. Make the smart move. Get someone who's young and can develop along with these guys.
- [25:09]
D
I think that's the key thing.
- [25:10]
A
Look to the Thunder, right? Find your Mark Dagnal. Go look to the spurt. Find your Mitch Johnson. Find a guy.
- [25:17]
D
Get that young guy. Find the Jordan Fernandez. Find those guys, right? Find, find the young coach because I think the league is heading that way. Find your Charles Lee. That's, that's the thing. I mean, Mike and Nori, he's a guy who's kind of Minnesota Timberwolves had assistant coach. He's a guy who's been considered for a bunch of different jobs. Also, like youngish.
- [25:35]
A
I'd like to see him take over a team that's ready to compete a little bit more.
- [25:39]
E
That's fair.
- [25:39]
D
Maybe Orlando, right?
- [25:40]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like some, some team that maybe just has pieces. Needs more creativity for Mike and Nora. But yeah, good luck to them. Again, look for your Mark Dagault. Get that open door policy down in Dallas. Guys. Stick around. After the break, we're going to talk to Mike Vorkanov from Madison Square Garden.
- [26:03]
C
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- [32:02]
A
It's the playoffs. That means we're keeping our guys up even later than we do during the regular season. Our man Mike Vorkanoff was at MSG for game one. Covers the business of basketball, but he also is in New York, so, you know, we're throwing all hands on deck at msg. Mike, how was the game for you, man? What a comeback. How about that? Save the. The vibe of the game to me.
- [32:26]
E
I mean, what a roller coaster ride. Like, the Cavs were dominating there in the second and third quarters. Heck, four. What, four minutes into the fourth, they were up 22 there, right? And then a real, you know, real record scratch moment there when the Knicks finished on a 44 to 11 run to close out a win. Insane. Insane comeback, I think at the NBA. Tweeted, this is like the second largest in playoff history or something like that since 97.
- [32:52]
A
All right, you. You say it was insane. Are you sure that the Cavs just weren't a little unlucky?
- [32:59]
E
Well, I mean, listen, that's what Kenny Atkinson says. They got some bad, you know, bad luck, some misfortune. You know, I think what he's referring to there is he's talking about a few shots, hard shots for the Knicks. I went in Michael Mikhail bridges three late in the fourth, Landry Shamitz game tie in three to make it 99. All, you know, hit the rim. Hit the backboard. Yeah, hit the rim. It like tilted over and then it came back in. So I think that's probably what he's referring to. Also an argument to be made that no bad luck involved. It was just Jalen Brunson doing usual Jalen Brunson stuff. And the stuff they had, you know, they had an answer for him for three and a half quarters there. And then I went kaputz for the final 13 minutes.
- [33:44]
D
We were just talking about this, but like, what were. What was the vibes around the Cavs after this game? Like, did. Did they feel like it was a collapse that they could not come back from, or was there still hope and optimism about the series?
- [34:00]
E
I think there's still hope and optimism. You know, I think there was some fatigue. They have played now 15 games these playoffs, and they just played game seven two nights ago, if my math is right, in Detroit, you know, they played three games in three different states now. Right. Remember when Cleveland, Detroit, New York, I, you know, Donovan Mitchell says, hey, we're beyond that. We lost. We bleep and blew it as a direct quote there. But as you guys know, like there's what the rhetoric is. It just feels like it was a huge loss opportunity right there. Again, up 22 in the fourth quarter on the road. Game one. Like the Sixers were in the same spot coming off a big game seven win and they just got waxed in New York in game one here. The Cavs were dominating it and dominating in a way that was like, I think real, right? Not just like outlier shooting or hot, something like that. They were playing tough, physical basketball and just dominating the Knicks in a way that the Knicks have been doing to everybody else these playoffs, which is what made you buy in. And then, you know, some very predictable things happen over the last quarter. Some bad luck, if you want some bad. Bad luck was it gets, it gets the best of all of us.
- [35:08]
A
I thought Streuss and I and Wade and Merrill were excellent in the game, especially on the defensive end. I mean, they scored some too, but the defensive end, I thought they were great at being physical with the Knicks wings, not letting them move around much. I mean, really bothering. Jordan Clarkson just had nothing for them when he was trying to contain them when he was playing defense. Down the stretch of this game. It was an 18 to 1 run, just absolutely getting dog walked by Jalen Brunson. Kenny Atkinson doesn't take a timeout. Well, what was going on there? Like, did he talk about this after the game?
- [35:48]
E
He said he likes to keep the timeouts in his pocket. Is that a good reason to. Especially as your point, like the Knicks are just Jalen. Hell, just Jalen Brunson is walking the Knicks back into this game. I think, you know, that's a questionable thing. Obviously. The other thing that I, I'm probably going to harp on and write about later, but everyone is also discussing is just like the James Harden of it all. You know, James Harden, they were able to hide him, you know, they did really again, three and a half quarters really were able to hide them. And then the Knicks just figured out, okay, we're going to put them in an action essentially every single possession. And first it was Jalen Brunson cooking James Harden one on one. And then it turned into, okay, we're going to shade him with Sam Merrill sent two at the ball and that turned into just, you know, like the Knicks will take that four on three every time and it leads to open threes for them anywhere somewhere in the corner. Like that was just something they could not fix. Atkinson did not want to bench James Harden, for the defensive possessions, it really hurt him. He didn't have much offensively. Right. So he couldn't even bail them out. On the other side of it, it wasn't kind of like a you get one, I get one type of thing. It was just a you get one, we can't do anything. And you know that that's how you end up losing by 11 in OT in a game you're up 22 in the fourth.
- [36:58]
D
Yeah. That's why it felt like the Knicks solved the Cavs in that final stretch of the game, in the sense that they found something that the Cavs just could not have an answer to or did not have an answer to. I'm curious to see what happens in game two. Did. Were there any discussions about, you know, what they could have done better to stop Brunson in that fourth quarter overtime?
- [37:22]
E
You know, I think there weren't because I don't know what they can do. They did a good job in the first few quarters, but, you know, they. They did it by really just like, hiding Harden off the ball. And the Knicks kept trying to, you know, get him into this, into these same things. Like Jalen Brunson would switch backside set, backside screens for Anunoby just to get the switches on him, to get Harden on him. And they put Harden on Cat. And that worked, too, in the third quarter because, you know, James Harden is such a strong, thick player that he can guard cat one on one. He did guard Cat one on one, but I don't know what the counter move is here. The Cleveland, as of right now, I don't know if they know yet. I think it was interesting, actually, before the game, Atkinson said, hey, we didn't have our full allotment of time to really study these guys and have our, you know, two, three days worth of prep and scouting. We kind of had to, like, do a looser version. And so I don't know if that was the reason they didn't have a counter to the counter to the counter. Right. Like, maybe these next day and a half or so affords them that. But also, there's some intractable issues to get through, which is Jalen Barneson is really good. He's going to seek out James Harden. And unless you're willing to take Jim's Harden off the court, I don't know how he tied him.
- [38:31]
A
And do you think Kenny Atkinson is unwilling to take James Harden off the court when. When the game gets tight?
- [38:38]
E
I mean, I asked him as much. I said, hey, did you ever think about Putting James on the bench, the defensive possessions. Right. Just the bare minimum here. And he said no, like he's one of our best defenders again, something.
- [38:49]
A
No, no, he did not say that.
- [38:51]
E
I, I think he said he's one of our better defenders. He's smart, he's got good hands. So I'm, I'm paraphrasing, but I think I'm also pretty close to the attitude. Yeah.
- [39:01]
A
See if I can find that clip. That is an unbelievable lie. Listen, coaches lie all the time. You gotta lie about your players, you gotta guess about. You don't have to say that. You just say, oh, no, no, I, you know what? I thought our best chance was having James out there, his leadership, being a veteran, turning the ball over more than he makes shots. You know, the stuff that you come to expect out of James Harden in the playoffs. Max truce was, was a better option in my opinion down there. Dot they go away from Donovan Mitchell pretty much completely. He takes five shots basically at the end of the game. Why did they go away from what was working early? Like, was there any reason there? Did they see something like, I mean, what was the, what was the answer to that?
- [39:47]
E
I think a part of it is, you know, for a period of time there, New York was putting two on the ball with Donovan when he had. Right. So they're trying to get it out of his hands. And so everyone else then had to, you know, kind of start swinging. And that gets a lot of people. James Harden, obvious, obviously had the ball in his hands for the last few possessions of the fourth quarter, those critical possessions. And I think also the first, let's say 2 of overtime, something like that. So those are like big Donovan Mitchell possessions. And that's something they're gonna have to figure out. You know, I think, you know, the Knicks played into Cleveland's hands early on where they kept kind of like blitzing James Harden. And James Harden was like, yes, I will take your blitz. I'll always make the right read. And we'll start swinging this ball around and get some four on threes. And then later in the game that turn into James Harden have to kind of like win off the dribble. He can't do that anymore. He was at his best in this game when it was off a swing, off a pass. You know, he was breaking down and already broken down defense. And you know, Don R. Mitchell, I think probably was the only guy for Cleveland who could do that, who could break down the defense by himself tonight. They're going to have to find a way to get back into that, you know, the Knicks did a great job. They also put some more energy. Guys out in the fourth, like Landry Shamit was playing the fourth quarter there. You know, Josh Harden wasn't playing up much. And so again, this is what's the counter to the counter. And Cleveland's gonna have to figure that out.
- [41:09]
D
I want to ask you about the vibes of the game. Crowd wise. It felt like for the first three quarters, and rightfully so, the Knicks weren't giving them much to work with, to be fair, but it felt like the crowd was completely out of it. Obviously, they go insane in the fourth quarter and overtime. I've heard the tickets were very expensive for game one. Were the fans priced out?
- [41:33]
E
I don't think the fans were priced out. This is what I will give to msg.
- [41:38]
D
You know, in a lot of arenas,
- [41:39]
E
when you put the really rich folks in and the corporate suites, like, the vibe just dies right away at msg. The rich folks, like, they're the ones going crazy on the courtside. They're the ones going crazy in the lower bowl like that. The finance bros are making a ruckus at msg. Like, that is not something you have to worry about. I think it was just like, hey, they're expecting, you know, listen, they've had so much success against Cleveland in the past. I think everyone was kind of expecting a Nixon 3 type of series. And it. That's not how it went. But as soon as it got to, I think around 15 or 13, 12 maybe in the fourth quarter, I forget what the exact number is, but like, as soon as it got there, MSG just flipped the switch and they were back into it right away. Like, it didn't have to get to two possessions. You know, it was like 12 points and they're like, all right, we're back in this. And now, now for game two. Now that they know no lead is or no deficit is too far for them, I assume that will also kind of, you know, illuminate how they behave in game two. But again, like, there's. There's one thing you can say about Knicks fans and you can never say that they are bad fans or any like, oh, no, anything like that.
- [42:50]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [42:50]
E
I sat there. So many bad Knicks teams where, you know, it was a fourth quarter and it was a tight game and, you know, like, say is on the floor or Lance Thomas and like, they're in it like it's the playoffs, so they're going to be into it.
- [43:02]
A
I think it's a 8 o' clock Eastern start. They're starting too late. You got to get that game at seven o'.
- [43:07]
E
Clock. That's a great time for New York. I'm with you.
- [43:10]
A
See, I, I, I'm on to something here. S, you guys want to make everybody mad before we leave? Okay.
- [43:17]
E
Yeah, sure.
- [43:17]
A
You only get to watch one playoff game the rest of your life.
- [43:21]
E
Okay.
- [43:22]
A
Would you go MSG or okc?
- [43:26]
E
I mean, I don't know. I think it's close. I think it's Madison Square card.
- [43:31]
D
I also don't think it's close. I think it's msg.
- [43:33]
A
Oh my God. Okay. Oklahoma City has the best crowd.
- [43:37]
D
It is an incredible crowd. Maybe having been there, having been in Oklahoma for game one of the finals, I can attest to the fact that it is an incredible crowd. But MSG just had. It's msg.
- [43:48]
A
I also think the broadcast, I, no, I haven't. That's why I was asking you. I'm just saying this. I, I also think that the broadcast nerfs the crowd a little bit because it, even when it got loud, it didn't feel loud. The first three quarters of the game though. Part of it is for us that, that, you know, like Mike, you, you watched Wemby and, and Shea last night.
- [44:13]
D
Sure.
- [44:14]
E
That was amazing.
- [44:15]
A
It felt like a different sport until the Knicks were back into it. Right. And I think that for us watching at home, it was more that than, than it being a bad crowd is what I'm getting at.
- [44:25]
E
I thought you were gonna say, like, which game could you watch for the rest of your life? Look, I, I mean, yeah, I think everyone was watching, you know, that game, Game one, and they're like, okay, the Eastern Conference finals is the third place game, right? Like in the world. The series is that third place series. But yeah, I, I, the, the level of basketball not on, you know, not in the same realm as what we saw the night before, but I come to MSG and like, just come to msg. I'm like a lonely December against the worst team in the league. And if it's a tight game in the fourth, it's, it's going to be a vibe.
- [45:04]
D
That's why finals MSG should be fun. We'll see.
- [45:08]
E
I don't know how an MSG finals is going to go. I, like, I wasn't, obviously I was not here in the 90s when they had those two finals, but with the pent up aggression slash, confidence slash, I don't even know what to throw, you know, drunkenness, like msg hosting a Finals game. It's going to be insane. It's. I don't even have the right words in my vocabulary to describe it.
- [45:34]
A
Yeah, well, only three more wins in the Knicks make it to the Finals. How about that Mike Vorkanoff? Guys, go and read them over at the Athletic. Thanks buddy, for hanging out with us. Thank you to S. Baraheny. I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us. Thanks for listening. Make sure you hit the subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed it, drop a like leave a rating or let us know in the comments. Thank you guys for waking up with us.
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