Knicks STUN Spurs in Game 2 | INSTANT REACTION

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: The Athletic NBA Daily

Episode: Knicks STUN Spurs in Game 2 | INSTANT REACTION
Date: June 6, 2026
Hosts: Dave DuFour, Esper (Esfandiar) Baraheni, Guest: Amin Elhassan

Episode Overview

This episode delivers an immediate, in-depth reaction to Game 2 of the NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks stunned the San Antonio Spurs 105-104. The Knicks now lead the series 2–0 after winning both games on the road. The panel (Dave DuFour, Esfandiar Baraheni—"Esperahenney", and Amin Elhassan) dissect the crushing loss for the young Spurs, the Knicks’ resilience and physicality, coaching decisions, Victor Wembanyama’s struggles, and look ahead to a pivotal Game 3 in Madison Square Garden.

---

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Spurs’ Crushing 2–0 Home Deficit

• Surprise at Series Score:
  • "I don't think anybody expected this to be two. Oh, no way, New York." — (Esperahenney, 03:25)
• Youth & Psychological Impact:
  • Spurs’ lack of composure and crucial mistakes, particularly by Victor Wembanyama (Wemby).
  • Wemby’s late turnover and foul invoked comparisons to J.R. Smith’s infamous Finals blunder:
    • "It reminded me so much of J.R. Smith in game one...that picture of LeBron..." — (Amin Elhassan, 03:32)

2. End-of-Game Sequences & Decision-Making

• Wemby’s crucial foul:
  • The panel debates whether Wemby’s late-game intentional foul was wise; it bought the Spurs a final play, though they couldn’t capitalize (04:07).
• Spurs Offensive Choices:
  • Disbelief over the last-play pick-and-pop for Wemby on the perimeter instead of attacking the rim.
    • "How do you wind up with a pick and pop...when your best player is seven and a half feet tall?" — (Dave DuFour, 04:40)

3. Spurs' Offense & Lack of Intention

• Offensive Identity Crisis:
  • Long stretches where Wemby is not featured.
  • Elhassan relays a story about Bernard King’s focus on “his spots” to highlight Wemby’s lack of offensive purpose:
    • "There were 15 spots on the floor. Those are my spots...He had a plan...Wemby doesn't have a spot..." — (Amin Elhassan, 05:50–06:25)
• Shot Selection and Turnovers:
  • Spurs repeated impatient mistakes and bad fouls, particularly by younger players (09:45).
  • Youth exposed: “Just not getting bored with making the right read over and over is something we have to do…” — (Stephon Castle quote via Amin Elhassan, 09:40)

4. Knicks’ Physicality, Resilience & Execution

• Mental Edge:
  • "You can’t help but feel like the Knicks are winning the mental battle...just not making the same mistakes." — (Dave DuFour, 09:50)
• Karl-Anthony Towns' (KAT) Impact:
  • Defensive discipline and rebounding against Wemby.
    • "He’s got a body on Wemby every time a shot goes up." — (Amin Elhassan, 10:33)
  • KAT’s passing and control praised.
    • "I don't think I've ever seen Cat play with this level of control on both sides of the floor..." — (Esperahenney, 10:42)
• Knicks’ Team Offense:
  • Drive-and-kick sequences, attacking closeouts, and role player contributions (Shamet, Deuce, Bridges) were highlighted.
    • Sequence at [11:21]: "Kept going: drive, kick, pass, drive…Wemby cleared the lane three times, then just gives up by the end." — (Dave DuFour)

5. Coaching Analysis: Mike Brown vs. Mitch Johnson

• Knicks’ Coaching Growth:
  • Mike Brown’s progress and willingness to adapt, trust his players, implement role player contributions (Shamet), and challenge stars when needed.
    • "Mike Brown deserves a ton of credit…he's coaching his ass off." — (Amin Elhassan, 15:28)
• Spurs' Leadership Void:
  • Uncertainty whether Mitch Johnson is truly asserting himself as head coach versus deferring to Popovich’s shadow.
    • "It's almost like Mitch is still doing the interim thing because Pop's out." — (Amin Elhassan, 20:24)
    • "You can’t outsource it...No, I gotta be the one.” — (Amin Elhassan, 21:39)
  • Lack of accountability and “bad cop” moments from Johnson, compared to Brown’s evolution in handling personalities (21:19–22:55).

6. Adjustments Needed for Spurs

• Wemby Usage:
  • Spurs need to run intentional sets to get Wemby easier looks in the paint.
    • "How do we play with intention to get Wemby the ball? Because that's the only way..." — (Amin Elhassan, 30:50)
• Defensive Tweaks:
  • Possibly deploy more zone to conserve Wemby’s energy.
  • Assign Kelton Johnson more to Towns, improve defensive rebounding and avoid unnecessary turnovers and fouls (31:12).
• Role Player Imbalance:
  • Knicks’ role players decisively outperformed Spurs' supporting cast offensively (29:56–30:10).

7. Wemby’s Fork-in-the-Road Moment

• Historical Comparisons:
  • Debating which Finals comp fits best (2011 Mavs-Heat, 2012 Thunder), noting Spurs’ youth and Wemby’s crossroads.
    • "We talked about this with Chet a week ago. We'll talk about it with Wemby now…" — (Amin Elhassan, 35:57)
  • Difference between LeBron’s 2007/2011 struggles and Ben Simmons’ inability to recover from a shattered confidence (36:35–36:57).
• Wemby’s Shot Selection:
  • Over-reliance on threes, lack of post touches early, hero-ball without focus, calls for more paint engagement.
    • "If he was playing hero ball, he'd have 30 shots...At least demand it." — (Amin Elhassan, 40:58)
• OG Anunoby’s Fearlessness:
  • Highlights how Knicks attacked Wemby inside despite his presence:
    • "I want to talk about OG Anunoby and his lack of fear of Wemby...dunking all over, dunked on him..." — (Dave DuFour, 41:46)
    • Knicks trusted their system and “kept coming,” not backing down from Wemby’s rim protection (42:28–42:56).

8. Looking Ahead: Is the Series Over?

• Game 3 at MSG:
  • Panel agrees MSG will be ferocious and the Spurs face a historic challenge—no team has won the Finals after dropping the first two at home.
    • "...there is no tomorrow. Like, this was their night...and they came up short.” — (Amin Elhassan, 24:06)
  • Spurs adjustments: need smarter offense, less impatience, and better support for Wemby (30:10–31:55).
• Final Predictions:
  • Both hosts and Amin lean Knicks for Game 3, possibly in a sweep or “gentleman’s sweep.”
    • "It's going to be the Knicks. I think it'll be 3-0." — (Esperahenney, 44:05)
    • "What part of this inspires me that by Game 3 now they’ll figure it out in the most hostile environment?" — (Amin Elhassan, 44:55)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We absolutely, positively need one… you don’t know what to do. That’s why he [Wemby] catches it and is like, okay, I think I’ll take this pull up jumper from 17 feet.”
  — Amin Elhassan (06:42)

• “The Knicks have out-physicalled the Spurs in the most important spots on the court.”
  — Dave DuFour (08:43)

• “Mike Brown is coaching his ass off… We don't give that same kind of grace to coaches.”
  — Amin Elhassan (15:28, 15:43)

• “Wemby’s offense is almost accidental... it was after Harper got in there and the defense collapsed on him.”
  — Amin Elhassan (41:06, 41:29)

• “If you’re gonna be hero ball, take bad shots… at least demand it.”
  — Amin Elhassan (40:48)

• “Legends are made there and Wemby has a chance to do something absolutely incredible.”
  — Esperahenney, on MSG's pressure (28:06)

• “This goes back to the Thunder and Chet...they got scared. They allowed it to be: he's gonna block 100% of these. You gotta keep testing.”
  — Amin Elhassan (42:13)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Knicks Stun Reaction & Spurs' Mental State — 02:58–04:41
• Spurs Last Possession Breakdown & Wemby’s Decision-Making — 04:07–05:16
• Wemby’s Offensive Usage & Spurs’ Lack of Structure — 05:16–07:28
• Youth & Mistakes: Spurs’ Turnovers and Patience — 09:40–10:06
• Karl-Anthony Towns’ Impact & Knicks Team Play — 10:08–11:42
• Coaching Insights: Mike Brown’s Growth, Spurs' Leadership Gaps — 15:20–22:55
• Adjustments for Spurs Moving Forward — 17:08–19:25, 30:10–31:55
• Wemby’s Crossroads: Historical Comparisons & Growth — 35:00–37:52
• Attack Mentality vs. Wemby; OG Anunoby Highlight — 41:46–42:56
• Crowd, Pressure, and the Outlook for Game 3 — 27:24–28:23, 43:50–44:55

---

Summary

This episode delivers a punchy, intelligent breakdown of Game 2’s dramatic finish and broader series themes. The hosts highlight the Knicks’ gritty, composed approach and coaching, while underscoring the Spurs’ youth, lack of direction for their star, and absence of true leadership since Popovich stepped down. Panels analyze the development crossroads facing Wemby, drawing historical parallels and cautionary tales, and agree that the pressure in New York looms as an almost insurmountable test.

Bottom line: The Knicks have seized control with toughness, execution, and a maturing star at both the coaching and player level, while the Spurs’ foundation faces a trial—both mentally and tactically—they have yet to answer.

---

Transcript

[Notion Representative]

Agents are getting smarter every day, but even the smartest agents get stuck without the right context and the right tools. That's where Notion comes in. With the recent launch of custom agents, Notion became the collaborative AI workspace where teams and agents work side by side. And now their new developer platform is turning that workspace into infrastructure. Developers can build on what sets Notion's developer platform apart. The collaborative workspace and the platform you build on are the same thing and unlike other single player platforms, Notion is built for teams with permissions, visibility and governance from day one. Plus it's easy to use CLI authenticates in one line and with a cloud based zero infrastructure path, you can just write your code, deploy and you're done. Learn more about Notion's developer platform today at notion.comacast that's all lowercase letters notion.comacast to try Notion's developer platform today notion.comacast

[Grainger Representative]

when you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

Men's Wearhouse helps you love the way you look no matter if it's a formal occasion or a more casual thing. Job interview, tea time, high school reunion, wedding, courtside seats or just a neighborhood party where you want people to say man, he looks impressive. If you're a man with something, anything on the books, Men's Wearhouse has the clothes, shoes and accessories that make you look and feel good. Their in store experts will help you find the right look while their on site tailors will ensure you've got the right fit. Men's Wearhouse love the way you look.

[Dave Dufour]

Good Morning. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Good evening. Welcome to the NBA Daily live stream on YouTube. It is morning in Europe for everybody joining us from there. Esperahenney, Dave Dufour and you definitely know our guest Amin Elhassad. You probably know him from the hit movie podcast Cinephobe or from the Pulitzer Prize winning Pablo Torre finds out Pulitzer Prize winner of Daniel Hassan. How about that? Congratulations man. That like that's incredible.

[Amin Elhassad]

It is incredible and it it doesn't get old and we just had another episode that dropped and one of my favorite Things is that I not only want to Pulitzer, but I got to learn along the way.

[Dave Dufour]

It's funny, it's so educational. This game was educational. Game two of the finals, obviously, we're. We're going live right after the game. The Knicks win 105, 104, thanks to a Jalen Brunson free throw that broke the tie. Spurs couldn't hit. 17 foot jumper by Victor Wenyama. And I. I just want to start with The spurs being down 2 0. Lose the two home games. This one was crushing. They had a lead again, lost it.

[Esperahenney]

I don't think anybody expected this to be two. Oh, no way, New York.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, like, how do you even come back from this if you disperse?

[Amin Elhassad]

That's a tough one, man. I swear. Because it's a young team. So I wonder the psychological impact, you know, we. Victor having that turnover towards the end that allowed Brunson to go to the free throw line and make one out of two. It reminded me so much of J.R. smith in game one. It was a 20, 2018. And that picture of LeBron kind of

[Esperahenney]

like, what are you doing?

[Amin Elhassad]

What are you doing? And then so it is. There's. There's going to be a picture. I mean, I can't wait to see what that moment where he's kind of. He's got his head in his hands

[Esperahenney]

and he fouled afterwards.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

So. Okay, so can I ask you guys.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay, please.

[Amin Elhassad]

Because this is an interesting thing, because at first I was like, what are you doing? Then I thought about it. If he doesn't foul him, there's a chance because it's just him and Brunson.

[Dave Dufour]

That's right.

[Amin Elhassad]

Brunson goes in for the score, and now they're down two with maybe two seconds to go. His decision to foul him immediately basically gives them a chance, at least say, okay, we got seven and a half seconds, which they did. And then Brunson gives them a gift by missing a free throw. So now we don't even have to tie. We got a chance to win this thing and we got time to run something good. Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

[Notion Representative]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

How do you wind up with a pick and pop in that situation when you're your best player seven and a half feet tall? I felt like Dear and Fox actually had a lane to the drive. Yeah, I mean, in that position, I mean, like, don't you want to put pressure on the rim, put pressure on the defense, put pressure on the referees?

[Amin Elhassad]

It was. You know what's funny? I kind of felt like it Was the karma of the rest of the game come back to bite them? Because for much of this game, they acted like they did not know that they have a player who's 7 foot 5 and is supposed to run the league and all that.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

The entire first half, they didn't run a single set for him. I'm talking about this ball is going to get to Victor.

[Dave Dufour]

Yep.

[Amin Elhassad]

Even. And two of those were after the fact. It was not like, hey, we ran it for Victor. It was like, there was nothing going over here. Hey, Vic, you're around. Like, that's how they did it. So I felt that way in game one. I said, there's no way they're going to come back. And we talked about. They didn't play with any intention in game one.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

The defensive pressure was a lot better tonight.

[Dave Dufour]

Absolutely.

[Amin Elhassad]

But the offense was still unintentional. They're going out there and they're playing off vibes. I was at dinner last night. I was talking about this. I interviewed Bernard King years ago for NBA Radio legend, and Bernard King told me. I said, what was your approach? You're one of the greatest scorers ever. He said, there were 15 spots on the floor. Those are my spots. And so everything was about me, was like, how do I get to that spot? And if they try to cut me off here, then I'll do this. And if they try to send me this way, I'll go this way. That the double comes from the nail. I doing this, and the double comes for the weeks. He had a plan, like, almost like an.

[Dave Dufour]

But I'll ask you this.

[Esperahenney]

Does wy have spot?

[Dave Dufour]

He doesn't have a spot.

[Amin Elhassad]

He don't have a. He has. No. Look, it's not just. He doesn't have spots. He doesn't even know. He doesn't have spots. He doesn't even know what we're supposed to have spots. Absolutely right. It's like the. It's like the. The scene from where the Millers, where it's like, you got paid 500, you got paid 500,000. You got 100, you got paid. And then the last kid's like, y' all get paid.

[Dave Dufour]

That's.

[Amin Elhassad]

That's like, oh, we got spots. So when you are so laissez faire in how you approach offense, you enter these zones where, like, you have these droughts, and you enter these zones where we absolutely, positively need one. You don't know what to do. That's why he catches it and is like, okay, I think I'll take this. Pull up jumper from 17ft. Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Actually, it wasn't really the last shot.

[Amin Elhassad]

It.

[Dave Dufour]

The last shot didn't bug me as much as the previous shot.

[Amin Elhassad]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Where he just. There was nothing happening. Mitch Robinson's on.

[Esperahenney]

30 seconds left.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esperahenney]

Full 24 seconds left on the shot clock. You had a chance to not only drain the clock, make it so that it's harder for the Knicks to get a shot, but also get a better shot.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

You know, spurs don't have a lot of bread and butter.

[Amin Elhassad]

No.

[Dave Dufour]

Right. Like just in general, not even just for Wimby, Just generally, everybody. They've been running that. The. The high horns, you know, they call it 45 action, whatever. And that's about the only sort of pet stuff.

[Amin Elhassad]

They didn't run that in the second half, by the way, at all. And they ran it a bunch in the first half, and then they just stopped doing it.

[Dave Dufour]

I think the last time I saw him run, it was late second quarter with Luke Cornett on the court.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

You know, but with Wemby, they just don't do it. You know, I mentioned on the show yesterday that Harper and Wemby don't really have much of a connection, which is tough because it's your two best players,

[Esperahenney]

especially so far in this series up in the game. They've had nine assists together, total.

[Amin Elhassad]

In the playoffs. Playoffs. Yes.

[Esperahenney]

Harper and Wemby.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

How many minutes?

[Esperahenney]

Not that

[Dave Dufour]

much together, which you have to. You have to have Harper with Cornette because he's your second best player, and Cornette, those cornet minutes just die. That being said, look, the Knicks won the game, and a lot of it was just toughness. It was kind of like we said in Game one. They just never stopped coming. And frankly, the conversation around the Western Conference finals and the physicality and a lot of us questioning, oh, could the Knicks turn it up to meet what the Thunder and the spurs have been able to do? I think the Knicks have out physical. The spurs in the most important spots on the court.

[Esperahenney]

I will also say the spurs have been doing physical, physicality in a dumb way, like Steph Castle. A couple of those fouls in that first half were just silly, unforced fouls. The one against Jose Alvarado in the

[Amin Elhassad]

corner where, like, they point seven on the shot clock.

[Esperahenney]

On the shot clock, and you foul Jose Alvarado, of all people. I just. I think that level of physicality, that aggression, that's what's not work.

[Amin Elhassad]

I'd like to go back. I'm sorry. I know we moved off of like the. But I want to go back to a quote from Stefan Castle yesterday, media day. Okay. The question was in terms of half court pace and the shots you created the threes, how was it going back and looking at the film? And Castle says, yeah, I think for us playing in transition, trying to play fast, probably easiest way, we create shots fine and they have court. I think when we got to our plays, we kind of seen a similar look for the most part. Kind of created the same shot over and over. But I just. I think just not getting bored with making the right read over and over is something that we have to do for next game. You're getting bored playing basketball in the finals. Like, but like, I should say board playing basketball, board playing organized basketball.

[Esperahenney]

I wonder if making the right.

[Dave Dufour]

I think it's impatience. This is.

[Amin Elhassad]

This is youth. This is you, the youth.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

And I said this about. About game one, and I think you. You watch game two, you can't help but feel like the Knicks are winning the mental battle, of course, between the ears. They're just not making them same mistakes.

[Amin Elhassad]

And.

[Dave Dufour]

And again, they never get tired. Karl Anthony Towns, by the way, two wins away from being final finals mvp.

[Amin Elhassad]

Isn't that nuts?

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Let's talk about. Let's talk about Cat, because I thought that he had another fantastic game on both ends. He did a great job of just bothering Wemby constantly physically. Even though, you know Wemby winds up scoring in the second half quite a bit. It just wasn't. Wasn't a good shot diet. It wasn't stuff around the basket.

[Esperahenney]

There were no easy.

[Dave Dufour]

Nothing easy. And then Carl, I think Towns work on the glass.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

It has been unheralded, I think has

[Amin Elhassad]

a body on Wemby every time a shot goes up.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

He's like, you might grab this rebound because you're 76. You're not going to grab it because nobody or someone forgot to box you out.

[Esperahenney]

I honestly, I don't think I've ever seen Cat play with this level of control on both sides of the floor. Like the defense obviously not being able to foul. We've seen Cat make a lot of silly fouls before with the offense, the hooks that he does. But even offensively, he only had three assists in this game. It felt like he had 15 with the hockey.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah, the.

[Esperahenney]

The finding the right cutter, then they drive and kick like it just.

[Amin Elhassad]

You know what the Knicks did a great job of. And Cat was one of the people here. But also him passing the ball allowed for this to happen. Attacking closeouts. They attacked the hell out of their closeouts. That one play that they had where just kept going. Quarter.

[Dave Dufour]

About 4 minutes left in the second quarter. It was drive, kick, and then pass, then drive, then kick, then pass, then drive, then kick. Wemby cleared the lane on either side three times in a row. And then he just gives up by

[Amin Elhassad]

the end of the play and they

[Dave Dufour]

wind up with an open look. I mean, this was they. They are beating him down not only like physically by touching him.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yep.

[Dave Dufour]

They're beating him down by making him use his legs constantly. He played 40 minutes in this game when he was shooting those free throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter, the camera zoomed in on his face here on the Jumbotron and look, he looked just anguished, like, like maybe on the verge of tears. He was so exhausted. You know, we're going to get to a point, I think next season this will happen. They're going to start counting down those free throws and opposing arenas.

[Amin Elhassad]

Oh, yeah, he's taking 15 seconds next season. How about next game?

[Dave Dufour]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[Amin Elhassad]

They'll do it in the Garden. And then it's the same thing that happened to Giannis. It happened in one road game. And then after that the next year, everybody was like, this is what we do now. Whenever Yana, six free throws. No, this is. I'm struggling because I'm like, I have to temper a lot of criticism because I'm like, they're 12 years old. Of course, of course he's throwing the ball away and other guy's not looking up the floor.

[Esperahenney]

And yeah, they never been here. Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

And it shows. And it's like. And, and by the way, it's not just the. The 21 year old on the 22 year old. Fox is 28. He's making a lot of these mistakes. Cross court passes, turn around and just like, let me pitch it back up court. What could go wrong? These things are happening. And I remember going in, I was like, well, Fox has played in the game seven. It's like he lost that game. He had seven games of playoff experience in his life coming into this season. And this sort of struggle that they're. They've had in these two games. I thought it would rear itself more in the Minnesota series. It didn't.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

I thought for sure Oklahoma City, they would will. They didn't. And they got here and I was like, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe. Maybe these guys are just special.

[Esperahenney]

Wemby with four turnovers, Fox with four turnovers. Bad Turnovers, turnovers. Castle with four turnovers. All bad turnovers. It's the cross court pass. It's the round kick again.

[Dave Dufour]

It's the impatience.

[Amin Elhassad]

How many. How many cross court turnovers and open that led to open floor right? Exactly at the top here. Yep. Number two. How many times the Steph Castle gonna look at like four guys. I think I can get it right. And Mitchell Robin, I think I can get through that. It's just like I said, Harper's the

[Dave Dufour]

only guy that you're allowed to do that.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah, but. But that's because he plays with incredible balance.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

So he gets there and he gets on two feet and so he can stop and pivot and turn on. Castle's going and he's taking off. And so there's no opportunity to change the game plan once the defense has collapsed.

[Dave Dufour]

Big. The big adjustment. Oh, there we go. We lost the cam.

[Esperahenney]

We're.

[Amin Elhassad]

Oh.

[Dave Dufour]

And we're back.

[Amin Elhassad]

We're back.

[Dave Dufour]

Live tv. You know, that's what we're doing.

[Esperahenney]

We're making.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah, we're good.

[Dave Dufour]

We're good enough. Yeah, it's okay. Down the stretch of this game, they closed with Dylan Harper over. Over Julian Champagne, which was one of the things that I mentioned. You know, like maybe they should try from the game one to game two, ultimately like the Knicks, they were able to hit the shots they needed to hit. The spurs were not. The spurs could not put this team away.

[Esperahenney]

They were also. My bad, I didn't mean to. But they were able to make the decisions that the.

[Amin Elhassad]

There you go. There you go.

[Esperahenney]

Every guy on the floor could put the ball down on the floor for the Knicks. They can make a read. They can make a decision. Shamet, Landry Shamit is out there filtering into the middle.

[Amin Elhassad]

He was the last, got the last cut.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

Last signing and in that last non

[Esperahenney]

guaranteed contract to have this level of impact in the NBA Finals.

[Dave Dufour]

Now Mike Brown before the game he said that that was not the Knicks. He said, he said that they were talking Landry Shamit during his interview he said it was Shamet's agent which is why he signed so late. I'll tell you what, he won't be honestly done coach be on any kind of minimum deal after this.

[Amin Elhassad]

This I, I want. I. Because we're talking about Mike Brown. Mike Brown deserves a ton of credit.

[Esperahenney]

Yes. Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

This is. I've talked about this for years. We, for some reason we can look at when Benyama make these mistakes and say three years from now he's going to be so Much better. He'll never make that mistake again. We don't give that same kind of grace to coaches.

[Esperahenney]

That's very true.

[Amin Elhassad]

Mike Brown, oh, he had LeBron. He, like, that was 14 years ago.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

The idea that, like, he hasn't grown, he hasn't learned anything in this time at all. He hasn't changed, he hasn't experienced different things. It's so preposterous. How many things did he do in this game? Whether it's, hey, that possession you talked about where. Where Wemby wasted the entire shot clock. Right. They had Mitch out there. Now a more scared coach could have said, hey, look, we get Mitch. Yeah. We'll get to stop it. Then they'll foul him if he gets. Now we're giving away a position over there. Cat's been doing great defensively. Let's have Cat out there. He didn't. He trusted Mitch out there. Landry Shammit is a guy that he's given a lot of confidence to throughout the season. The decision to challenge OG Anunoby foul over him, that was a great call. Mike Brown is coaching his ass off.

[Dave Dufour]

He is.

[Amin Elhassad]

We're not going to talk about it because Kat's been amazing and Dylan Brunson had the game one. He did whatever. But Mike Brown deserves a lot of credit. And they're. You know what?

[Esperahenney]

Even when it comes to Cat playing amazing, that's Mike Brown.

[Amin Elhassad]

Mike Brown.

[Esperahenney]

Because throughout the regular season, I mean, look, you look at Cat's regular season numbers, it's career lows and shot attempts. It's career lows and efficiency.

[Dave Dufour]

It's.

[Esperahenney]

He's not. He didn't have a good season, but it was about buying into the process of how the Knicks wanted to play.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yep.

[Esperahenney]

And that's Mike Brown, like the last six weeks of basketball. His level of composure, him buying into, hey, I'm going to move the rock. I feel like that has to do with Mike Brown, too.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, 100%. Okay, let's. Let's just go ahead and talk about the spurs offense. Okay. What can they do to get Wemby easier? Looks, you know, I keep thinking whether. Can they set a screen for him?

[Amin Elhassad]

How about. There's a. There they had like a. A play that they run for him. We pinned down and he. And depending on how tight he curls, it could be a really great shot or it can be him settling for a jumper, a long jumper.

[Esperahenney]

They didn't really run it along.

[Amin Elhassad]

This is the part where I wish I'd been in the presser, which Coach Johnson, because someone Needs to tell me, is it Wemby? Obviously, some of it is Wemby. He's not intentional enough. No, the part where his teammates aren't is that, hey, in the huddle, hey, guys, remember, we got to do this. And they go out there and they just do whatever they want. Right? Or is this also Mitch not rising to the occasion in terms of guys, slow down here, because I kind of feel like I keep going back to this story. It's one of my favorite stories ever. Kenny Smith told the story on Inside the NBA years ago. Dwight Howard had like two shots at halftime or something like that. And they were asking, hey, what do you think the adjustments are? And so Magic goes for us. And Magic says, yeah, Dwight Howard needs to shoot more. I mean, it's a typical Magic, which is not incorrect, but it just didn't really add me. Kenny was like, I remember there's a game where Hakeem had only four shorts at four shots at halftime. And he came in the locker room and he mother effed every last one of us. And everyone thinks Hakeem is this really nice gentleman. Let me tell you something. He, when he was pissed, he'd be ready. And I was just like, yeah, that right? Is Wemby doing that?

[Dave Dufour]

He's not demanding.

[Amin Elhassad]

And, and even if he isn't, which he should be, but even if he isn't, is Mitch doing that right? You mother efforts get him to like, if they come, we draw something. We come down and we're getting a bullshit shot. We come back, another timeout.

[Esperahenney]

Yep.

[Amin Elhassad]

No, no, you guys don't get it. This is what we want here.

[Dave Dufour]

The Pop timeout. We don't see those at all. You know, we see him like I look, I'll give Mitch Johnson a lot of credit. He's coached very well to get here. Right. Young team. And he clearly has a connection with these guys. Can coach them up, you can get into them. I don't see that with Wemby, though, and him.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Where is Mitch Johnson challenging Wemby to go get the ball and, and then not settle? Like, again, I thought there were moments here where it was another kind of like Kobe game from him.

[Amin Elhassad]

A little bit. I, I, I wish. I know he talks to Pop all the time. I wonder also if Pop being around.

[Esperahenney]

I'll be honest, there's a lot of pop.

[Amin Elhassad]

A lot of pop questions.

[Dave Dufour]

We, we mentioned this. It was kind of.

[Esperahenney]

I talked about this yesterday. It just feels like it's like I may and look rightfully so. Pop is an icon, but There's a lot of Pop conversation for a guy who hasn't coached in two years. You know what I mean?

[Amin Elhassad]

I just feel like the head coach has to feel like it's his team, and I don't get that feeling. I. Mitch is a very good young coach. I think he's going to have a fabulous career at this point. Giving it every day. They're telling us, well, Pop says this and Pop thinks that. And Pop, is Pop coaching this team.

[Notion Representative]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

Or it's almost like Mitch is still doing the interim thing because it pops out. Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

As opposed to it's my team. Stop asking Bob. Talk. I'll be the one to deliver this message to you.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

You got, you have to. As a head coach, you have to be able to play backup. Okay. Everyone's.

[Dave Dufour]

This was going to happen to any. If it was a young coach, first time coach that was replacing Pop, this

[Amin Elhassad]

was going to happen.

[Dave Dufour]

But even if it was Steve Kerr. Yeah. I still think this would happen. You know, you're coaching in the shadow of a legend and it's in his house, you know, And I think that that's part of it. But also it needs to be Mitch Johnson's team.

[Amin Elhassad]

But I'm, I'm going to tell you what the difference is between if it were, let's say Steve or someone or Bud or whoever. Older guy.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

The difference is those veteran coaches would not outsource the bad cop material to Pop. I get the vibe. Don't. Now, I don't know anything. I haven't talked anyway. But I get the vibe that the outsourcing of the tough love goes to Pop. And Mitch is everyone's best friend.

[Dave Dufour]

They talk all the time about the spurs sort of infrastructure and how Manu comes in, Tim and David Robinson. Maybe that's not a good thing for a young team. Maybe the coaches need to be the, the authorities.

[Amin Elhassad]

I'm not, I'm not going to go as far as it's not a good thing because again, they're here.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

So. But I would say you have to be able to do that.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

You can't outsource it. You can't be like, well, I'll, you know, Tim's already talked. No, I got to be the one.

[Esperahenney]

I bet you this is something Mike Brown has learned also. You talk about development from 2007, that relationship he had with Braun and the, the pressure of, hey, you got to be that guy to now coaching under Steve Kerr and like understanding what it takes to deal with the personalities and stars. You, you're now in New York doing that.

[Amin Elhassad]

I feel like Mike is. Yes. But from the other end of the spectrum, Mike was ocd. Mike was a control freak. Mike was like every small thing. He blow it up mountains out of Mole Hills, and going to Golden State really helped him, like, understood.

[Dave Dufour]

Because Steve Curtis is CEO coach, he hands things off. Mike Brown ran the defense for a while. He ran the offense for a while. He got a chance to do a lot like Mike Brown got a chance to do a lot of stuff and get into the nitty gritty. But Steve offset that stuff.

[Amin Elhassad]

And as a result, Mike understood there's a different way to do this. Like my way, which, of course, he did it. He was an assistant here. I won a championship here. But again, the environment was kind of rigid like that.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

So for him to see Steve. Oh, wait, there's another way to do this. And I can. I can. There are times when I do need to yank the chain. Yeah. But there are times when I got to let him go.

[Dave Dufour]

Well, Rick Brunson playing such a pivotal role coaching this team.

[Amin Elhassad]

Absolutely.

[Dave Dufour]

And, you know, we talked about how he chewed him out about complaining to the referees and just, you know, you see him on the sidelines. He's getting after these guys.

[Esperahenney]

Someone, again, that's big.

[Dave Dufour]

Who's doing that over, you know, Sean Sweeney, sort of, but not really someone.

[Esperahenney]

Post game was actually asking about that. They said, like, what. What has allowed you to evolve as a coach this year coaching this Knicks team? And he said it's. It's genuinely. His assistant coaches are not afraid to call him out. They're not afraid to call him on his. On his BS or call him on something.

[Dave Dufour]

I wish they would tell him about showing up to the pregame on time. Maybe that's.

[Amin Elhassad]

That's part of the process. But.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay, let's spin it ahead because It's. It's a 20 hole. You lose the two home games, you're going to MSG Monday night.

[Esperahenney]

I think the only time a team has come back from down two zero on the road to win a championship is the Warriors 2016 or. Sorry, the Cavs. The Cavs.

[Amin Elhassad]

But here's the thing. How many teams have lost the first two games at home.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

And then came back to.

[Esperahenney]

Right. Oh, right, right, right, right, right.

[Amin Elhassad]

That's the one. That's what makes it.

[Esperahenney]

That's the problem. That's zero.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah. That's that. And that's. That's why tonight was. You know, in the words of Carl Weathers, there is no tomorrow.

[Esperahenney]

Yep.

[Amin Elhassad]

Like this was their night. They had to come away with this and they came up short. And it's almost a gift and it's a curse. The fact that this is a one point game, right. It's pretty remarkable. This looked like they were. They look like they were done.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, they just that like 190 run in the fourth quarter or 14, 0 run fourth quarter.

[Amin Elhassad]

97.88 with 526 to go.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

And it was just like.

[Esperahenney]

Okay. And they got it to 97. 90.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah. 97, 92. 97, 97 with 250 to go.

[Dave Dufour]

And then that the OG the three throws.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Lawless

[Dave Dufour]

written in the notes. This is a hooper right here.

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

Drop by GNC where new happens first and GNC cuts through the noise to find you what actually works. You'll find the best products from the latest launches, trends and innovations in wellness and performance, all handpicked by experts at gnc. Get a sneak peek at the newest formulas, flavors and brands coming soon to gnc. From trending ingredients to breakthrough formulas, the drop by GM keeps you in the know and on top of your goals. New drops launch regularly, so there's always something exciting to discover.

[Grainger Representative]

Thank you for calling the Bombas Comfort line. Bombas make socks, slippers, tees and underwear made with the highest quality materials. Press 1 for comfort, 2 for style, 3 for donation. You chose style. Bombas is style is for whatever you enjoy. You can run in Bombas, lounge in Bombas, dress them up, dress them, dress them down. But always give back in Bombas because with every item purchased, another is donated Bombas comfort. Worth calling for. Go to bombas.com audio and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M-B-A-S.com and use code audio.

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

Hey everybody.

[Amin Elhassad]

This is Taylor from the Total Soccer show and this episode is brought to

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

you by Hotels.com the summer of soccer

[Amin Elhassad]

is right around the corner. And if you aren't using hotels.com to book the experience of a lifetime, it's worth asking why? As a member, you save up to 20% on hundreds of thousands of hotels

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

around the world and earn rewards on every single stay.

[Amin Elhassad]

Which means the trips you're taking now

[Notion Representative]

help pay for the ones you're already dreaming about.

[Amin Elhassad]

So whether you're following your team across

[Notion Representative]

North America this summer or planning a

[Amin Elhassad]

well earned escape after being glued to

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

football for weeks on end, make sure you book on hotels.com and start earning rewards.

[Amin Elhassad]

Because when it comes to hotels, it it's all in the name hotels.com.

[Dave Dufour]

wait, what do you even do here?

[Esperahenney]

Do. Do we think it's over? Are you given the historical context now, are you saying that.

[Amin Elhassad]

I'm not saying they're gonna get swept.

[Dave Dufour]

That's the buzz in the arena.

[Amin Elhassad]

It absolutely.

[Esperahenney]

Literally a broom.

[Amin Elhassad]

They're guys. They're going to an environment that is unlike any other. Look, I, I've said this before. It will not be louder than Oklahoma City was last year. It will not be louder than Oracle was when the warriors were. It will not be louder than even Cleveland. I don't think Toronto or. It will be insane, though.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

There's an insanity. There's an insanity in the crowd. There's an insanity outside. When your bus rolls up.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

You're going to see things that you've never seen ever. Right. Then add on to it, we're down two zero and we kind of really shit the bed twice. Then add on to it, oh, the sitting president is going to be here.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

And the mayor and, and the Chalamet. But whatever. However many celebrities came off of this, multiply that. But their whole row is going to be. Oh my God. I remember his, his music. His.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

This is the backdrop against which now you are fighting for your life.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

And I'm 12 years old. Right. Like, like all of that. And they're 12 years old. It's. It's, it's tough, man.

[Esperahenney]

I mean the, the other side of that is legends are made there and Wemby has a chance to do something absolutely incredible if it.

[Amin Elhassad]

So you said spin. What do I have to. It's cliched, but it's, it's true. Just got to win game three. Yeah. It's all about game three.

[Dave Dufour]

Play better, make sure.

[Amin Elhassad]

And so what are, what are some of the things that they did well tonight? Number one.

[Dave Dufour]

Ball pressure.

[Amin Elhassad]

Ball pressure. The Knicks do not have enough ball handlers to come up court consistently, right?

[Esperahenney]

Absolutely.

[Amin Elhassad]

Number two, Brunson has not.

[Esperahenney]

Brunson has not shot the ball.

[Amin Elhassad]

Well, you know the half court trap, I thought. Well, I thought they went 7 or 25. They went to it a little too often. The Knicks started to get a rhythm of it and also the spurs guards got tired.

[Dave Dufour]

Yes. I actually thought the way using Carter Bryant as the, as the guy picking him up full court and then what they would do is when the, the Knicks set that high, high. That high pickup point like by a half court, they just switched it with the guy who was going to guard him anyway. So the Spurs, I thought in the first Half the defense just made a lot more sense because they. They had pre switched to set up their defense to be set up for Brunson. And the second half I just didn't feel like they did as good of a job. And again like the Knicks just kept making plays. They. They kept these guys in rotation. And still as much as like we talk about how the Knicks played well, still only scored 105 points again. I mean this is you know, this is not like the spurs defense has collapsed or something. It's their offense.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yes, the defense has been. Yes as has been adequate.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Adequate enough to win.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

If your offense isn't what they're doing

[Esperahenney]

like you're not getting enough from Vesel or Champagne. Like they had a good third quarter stretch from Kelton Johnson. I thought he was good in like crashing the energy class energy guy. But outside of that you're not getting the shot making that you need. And you look at Mikhail Bridges who dropped I think 20 tonight. He knocked down a few threes.

[Amin Elhassad]

Talking shammy.

[Esperahenney]

He was.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Esperahenney]

The. The shot making from Shamit, a couple of big threes from Deuce. The Knicks other guys, their role players are dominating that matchup offensively. It's not even close. So how do you do that at home now?

[Amin Elhassad]

So. So I think that there's something there in the defense. I think you hope some of this three point shooting gets better right by quarter 5 of 13 first quarter like all right, decent 2 of 10 in the second quarter, 2 of 7 in the in the third quarter and then in the fourth they got a couple up in there and what was that?

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, Wemby hit a big one three.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

So. So like there you go, three of four in the third in the fourth. So can the three point shooting get better? Can we continue to bring the defensive pressure and make the guards have to really get turned six seven times coming up the floor. Can we get rid of this absolutely unnecessary dumbass turnover.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah. And fouls man. Stupid fouls.

[Amin Elhassad]

The turnovers. But I can live with the dumb foul. I can't live with the cross court biddy ball. We learned don't throw pitch back passes and then and then we're probably should have been 1A. How do we play with intention to get Wemby the ball because that's the only way any of this other stuff.

[Dave Dufour]

I am tired of seeing him face

[Esperahenney]

up on the wing real quick. I feel like they also have to figure out a way to to solve the cat problem. Yeah, he's been an issue like matchup wise, they have not figured out. Yeah, the defensive side, I agree with you. He's playing Wemby solid, very physical. But offensively, the way he's spacing them out.

[Dave Dufour]

See, but this is what Chad was unable to do in the last series, what he's doing, because not only like, he. He can shoot over the top of Wemby, so he. So Wemby has to guard up. And if. If Wemby's up, he can also go by.

[Esperahenney]

And then when Castle was on him, he's.

[Amin Elhassad]

He's right down.

[Dave Dufour]

By the way, whatever we thought about Castle being able to guard Cat coming into the series, that is not a matchup that the stores need to. Even so, they're searching.

[Esperahenney]

Like, they're searching. They have not.

[Dave Dufour]

They're a guy or two short to

[Amin Elhassad]

me, and I know he hasn't shot well in the playoffs, but Kelvin Johnson is the small guy that I would put on Cat. But the other thing I'll say is they went to zone, like, two possessions.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

The Knicks didn't score in those two possessions. Again, real small sample size. But if our thing is, like, how do we get Wemby just to stay in the. In the paint? Can we.

[Dave Dufour]

I think they went to the zone for rest because that was right after. That was the end of the second quarter. That was before, you know, they. They subbed Wemby out not long after that. But it was after that series where it was the drive, pass kick. I mean, they wore him out. And to me, I think that they probably just have to adjust their defense again. You know, I. I guarding Josh Hart with. With Wimby.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Just. Maybe you got to just do that.

[Esperahenney]

Just lean into that.

[Dave Dufour]

And you gotta. Gotta play Kelton Johnson more and hope that he can give you anything on

[Amin Elhassad]

offense at the very. He should be doing what Josh Hart's doing. Like, I may not be making these shots, but it was. What was the quote from Josh the other night? He said, mitch, you. You grab rebounds regular, right?

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

I grabbed. I grabbed rebounds to kill team.

[Dave Dufour]

Kill teams.

[Esperahenney]

And like, that's.

[Amin Elhassad]

That's Keldon Johnson. That's your playbook.

[Esperahenney]

That's right.

[Amin Elhassad]

You should be. You should be flying in from the wings, grabbing offensive rebounds, keeping these possessions alive, and. And then being physical on the defensive end. But again, very similar archetype.

[Esperahenney]

Both of you guys.

[Dave Dufour]

All right, guys, before we get out of here, Game three. Yep. Is it over? Wait, I actually.

[Esperahenney]

I have another thing.

[Amin Elhassad]

Oh.

[Esperahenney]

Oh. I actually want to ask you. You're a historian.

[Amin Elhassad]

Oh.

[Esperahenney]

You know, you Know this game through. Oh, 82. No, not 82. I'm not asking 82.

[Amin Elhassad]

You know, I know they're doing this all weekend.

[Dave Dufour]

Worse. Yeah, you gotta get.

[Esperahenney]

Oh, you probably will get Owen this series, particularly when it comes to Wemby. A lot of people have Talked about the 2011 Finals comp with the Mavs. There's also. I. The one I was thinking of was like, 07 Spurs, Cavs with the talent is better for this first team than last. That cap scene.

[Amin Elhassad]

I think 2011 is a more appropriate.

[Esperahenney]

I agree.

[Amin Elhassad]

Because. Oh, 7 was.07 was. You were playing against a dynasty.

[Esperahenney]

First of all.

[Dave Dufour]

Yes.

[Amin Elhassad]

Like, it's not just, hey, this is our first time. We're not supposed to be here. It's like we're playing against. These guys have already won it three times at that point. And, you know, so that was different. And. And that was really unexpected. And it was LeBron and literally just four dudes.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Right. This time, maybe 2011 is too stark. Right. Because 1011 is the Heatles.

[Notion Representative]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

And these guys aren't the Heatles.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

It might be one day, but at this point, they're not there.

[Esperahenney]

But the Mav side is interesting for the 2000.

[Dave Dufour]

For the next.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, it's Dirk.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Esperahenney]

Those guys who didn't.

[Amin Elhassad]

Is it 2012? Are they the thunder from 2012? That's actually right.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

We're. We're. We're young, and we're not supposed to be here this soon, but we're here now.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

And everyone says the three of us are going to be running this league forever.

[Esperahenney]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

Now, there were financial reasons that were impending that broke that team up. These guys don't have those. Those problems. So this could be the first step. But it's just.

[Esperahenney]

The reason I ask is because it's interesting to look at things like that historically and be like, all right, where are we with the conversation of Wemby? You know what I mean?

[Amin Elhassad]

The comp is the other reason why in 2007, I don't think we looked at LeBron and said, LeBron, you got to figure this shit out. Oh, yeah, it was like, well, we

[Esperahenney]

did say he was. He was the best player in the world, but no, not like, yeah, no,

[Amin Elhassad]

no, we did, but there was no part of our game or are watching him play and, like, where we were levying. The reason why you guys are getting swept. You're playing in a way that's not Good enough. Right. 2011, LeBron.

[Esperahenney]

That was a difference.

[Amin Elhassad]

That's the one where we're like, dude, how. How is Berea guarding you?

[Esperahenney]

Yeah. The post ups against John Stevenson, like,

[Amin Elhassad]

or the, like not even the place. They just kicking him back out. He's not even looking at the basketball. That's where I see the similarity with Wemby. Like, what are you doing? What are you doing? Get down there. What are you doing? Like, we're asking him, why are you playing basketball in this way? And like I said, these are the forks in the road. We talked about this with Chet a week ago. We're going to talk about it, about WEMBY Now.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

LeBron took that shit personally. Came back a better basketball player. The 1213 season is still, I think the best season he ever played. Shot like 60% from the field, 57% from the field, 40% from three. Right. Like that was like LeBron's like, I'm going to be a machine. Yeah. On the other side of the ledger, Ben Simmons passed the ball when Trey Young was under the basket and he never recovered. Yeah, he just, he just was that forever. So I don't think Wemby's going to be Ben Simmons, to be clear. But these moments like tonight, you're either going to build off of it and it's going to be like a core foundational reason why you become the even greater player.

[Esperahenney]

Part of the documentary, right?

[Amin Elhassad]

Yep.

[Esperahenney]

Episode one.

[Dave Dufour]

Or.

[Amin Elhassad]

Or it's going to be. We're going to be asking questions. Maybe, maybe he's James Harden. Right. Like where you're like great player and you got all these stats and accolades and MVPs, but like what happens when it's. What happens when the lights are bright?

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

What happens when the lights are bright on Monday, Game three? You think the spurs can, can do anything?

[Amin Elhassad]

I. They have the talent again. What I read out was not like. And then you need like, it's not hard given what they're capable of doing. It's just they get. They have to do it the thing I want to did this on the dls post game show. I want to. Game one of the Western Conference finals. They're down three.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Wemby's have an amazing game, but Thunder seemed to be like, oh, this is it. The knockout blows. Come in here in overtime and Wemby pulls up from there, 30ft out and everyone swoons. Oh my gosh. It's where I step. Pulled up and I said, that's a bad shot. That is bad basketball.

[Dave Dufour]

He was tired.

[Amin Elhassad]

He's a 34.9% three point shooter in the Postseason and the regular season.

[Esperahenney]

It was an insane shot.

[Amin Elhassad]

That's an awful shot. Time and score. That's an awful shot. He makes it, the world carries him on his shoulders. And all I could think of, all you did was validate for him. Yeah, that's my shot.

[Dave Dufour]

Right?

[Amin Elhassad]

That is not your shot.

[Esperahenney]

Right?

[Amin Elhassad]

And now you're seeing it. And I said at the time, and everyone hit me with the oh, my aunt was my uncle and all that stuff, but I'm like, if he misses that shot, we're killing him the next day. What are you doing?

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, it's true.

[Amin Elhassad]

He makes the shot, they win the game, eventually win the series. And it just another, another brick in the, in the championship wall. Right?

[Dave Dufour]

Make or miss league.

[Esperahenney]

This is what I was talking about earlier. It's like the, you're good, don't worry. The over reliance on the three point shot from Wemby, right? It's like.

[Dave Dufour]

And if it doesn't, if he's not hitting the three in the first quarter, it just, it feels the rest of his offense comes out of that. I feel like he doesn't really get into rhythm if those first couple don't fall.

[Amin Elhassad]

And again, not. That's not a way to be living.

[Dave Dufour]

What happened to the old school mentality of the big man gets post touches to start the game? Honestly, like, why don't we just.

[Amin Elhassad]

We were doing that for what's his name?

[Esperahenney]

I remember watching that Robin Lopez,

[Amin Elhassad]

Steve Nash and Amari Stoudemire as it's our two best players. And then our, our like role players or Jason Richardson, incredible offensive talent. And Grant Hill, who once upon a time was a great role player. At that point though, great player, great role player. We would start the game with something for Robin because we gotta get him touches.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Engages. And Robin's a good player. But it's like when I read out those other names, like, of course. Okay, there's three hall of Famers in that list.

[Esperahenney]

That's what the Timberwolves try to do with Rudy sometimes. They're like, we got to give him a touch. Just so he knows these guys spent

[Amin Elhassad]

a half not giving him the ball.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, he had five shooting possessions in that first half. Like, look, he needs to come out and take 20 shots in the first half.

[Amin Elhassad]

These are the times I, I have to imagine you guys feel like me. Then we don't know, right? We're, we're over here. We're not in the locker room, we're not on the bench. So we like, we can draw conclusions.

[Esperahenney]

It's a black box. We're trying to look and get. Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

And I'm fully capable of saying, hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I read this wrong, but if I'm wrong, you need to explain to me what's happening. You need to tell me what's. Okay. My explanation is incorrect. What is the correct explanation? Is it. Are you telling me the Knicks defense is just so concerned that we're not even gonna let him touch the ball, that that's what's happening?

[Esperahenney]

It has been. It has been anyone but Wemby. But he's also allowing that.

[Amin Elhassad]

He's allowing a tap. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

And again, the offense isn't giving them a lot of help. You know, it's not. Again, you don't. How often do you see the wide screen so he can come down? There's not much happening there to. To just, like, Even with. Off the ball, when he has the ball. When is. You ever see a shooter come up from the corner? Never. No one's moving. And some of this, again, is. I think some of this is got to be on Wemby. It's the. He's doing the superstar sort of hero ball a little bit, I think so far in this series.

[Amin Elhassad]

Not well, but not well. Not even like a dude. If he was playing hero ball, he

[Esperahenney]

would have, like, 30 shots.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah. Like, give me the damn. The shop profile. Okay? But, like, it's like. It's like, yo, if you're gonna be hero ball, take bad shots, okay? At least demand it.

[Dave Dufour]

Go 8 of 30.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Jalen Brunson, 7 of 25.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Pressure on the defense is your job again, Jalen.

[Amin Elhassad]

We're gonna let Stefan Castle and Devin Vassell and Dear and Fox beat the guys. It's insane to me. And again, like, the problem is you look at the box, and I know there are people gonna look at the box. What do you want from him? You watch that game. You know, his offense is almost accidental. Even those dunks he had, it was after, like, Harper got in there and, like, the defensive collapse on him.

[Esperahenney]

Deep paint touch.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah. But it wasn't because this was for Victor.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah. It was because it was for someone else who was trying to make something happen. And then the defense collapse, and then we got to look for the next thing.

[Dave Dufour]

All right, one more thing, actually, before I make you guys tell me if this is over, Okay. I want to talk about OG Anunoby and his lack of fear of Wemby

[Amin Elhassad]

dunking all over, dunked on him.

[Esperahenney]

And he also had that drive earlier in the game where he went. Went up against him, hit that reverse. He's not. Yeah, he's not afraid of it.

[Amin Elhassad]

But it's like, again, this is the beauty of the NBA playoffs, is that on a regular season night, we have Milwaukee last night. I'm in San Antonio now, whatever we got there. And I'm playing basketball. Oh, shit. This guy. Oh, what do I do?

[Esperahenney]

Right?

[Amin Elhassad]

In a postseason, and especially in NBA Finals, we're sitting there as a staff, as a team, everyone is devoting 100% of their energy to watching the tape. How am I going to beat you?

[Esperahenney]

Right?

[Amin Elhassad]

And I guarantee you they were looking at his closeout discipline. He's not really disciplined. He.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

If he thinks you're gonna.

[Esperahenney]

He makes up for it with how

[Amin Elhassad]

big he is, with how long he is. But you have to attack the closeout with zero hesitation. Attack it, and then once you get there, you gotta be cognizant. Now, he had a bunch of blocks.

[Dave Dufour]

He did.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah, he had a bunch of amazing blocks.

[Dave Dufour]

There was a Josh Hart one with,

[Amin Elhassad]

like, Towns found, like, oh, he's wide open. And he came out of nowhere and just erased it. But the idea is, much like the Nixon 94 was like, their ethos was they can't call every foul.

[Dave Dufour]

Right, Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

Same thing. He can't block all of them. You're gonna get some blocks, but as long as we just keep coming. And this goes back to a conversation about the Thunder and Chet and sga, it's like they got. They got scared. They allowed it to be. He's gonna block 100% of these.

[Esperahenney]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

You gotta keep testing.

[Dave Dufour]

Also.

[Esperahenney]

That keeps.

[Amin Elhassad]

They did.

[Dave Dufour]

They were going to the Jalen Brunson ISO.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yep.

[Dave Dufour]

Right. Pulling him away from the basket. And then the offensive rebound game starts.

[Esperahenney]

The driving kick stuff has been awesome for them, man. Like, I think it was at the end of the game. 28 assists to 39 made shots for the Knicks. This is, like, beautiful game. Yep.

[Amin Elhassad]

This is. This is the 2000. This is the two. Excuse me, 2000. Wow. 2014, the 1973 Knicks, right? Like, this is the one with, like, Bill Bradley passes it. They just pass around the horn, and then the guy lays it up and stuff. That's. That's.

[Esperahenney]

You got tape from 73.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Amin Elhassad]

All right.

[Dave Dufour]

Who's winning Monday, guys?

[Esperahenney]

Oh, man, I. I find it hard to say that the spurs are going to win game three just because it's going to be msg. It's going to be loud as hell in there. And I. It's going to be the Knicks. I think it'll be 3.

[Amin Elhassad]

0. I. I picked them to win tonight.

[Dave Dufour]

The spurs. Same.

[Amin Elhassad]

Did not. I'm with S. I don't know. It's like how, what part of this inspires confidence again? Had they won this game? It was only after they were on life support.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Amin Elhassad]

And then they made a flurry of plays to get them back into the game.

[Esperahenney]

Even if those flurry of plays was like there was an adjustment made to make them play differently. No, it was just like, yeah, they

[Amin Elhassad]

just made sure they started making shots. They started making shots and, and going back to game one, even when they were up, I was like, they're not getting him the ball. So like the idea that they haven't even played correctly through two games and in one game they were up and they blew it. And another game they were down and they came back but they lost both games. What part of this inspires me that oh, no, no. But by game three now they'll figure it out in the most hostile environments.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, I don't think so either. I think the Knicks do this. I don't know if it's sweep, but gentleman, sweep is sweep. Anyway, anyway, I mean, you're the man.

[Amin Elhassad]

Thank you.

[Dave Dufour]

I appreciate you being on. Guys, check out Cinephobe. Yeah, great podcast with Amin and Zach.

[Men's Wearhouse Representative]

We should.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, yeah, you guys.

[Amin Elhassad]

Death Warrant was the episode that came out yesterday.

[Dave Dufour]

But also check out Pablo Tori finds out.

[Amin Elhassad]

Yeah, Illuminati. Yes. No, Amini, everything. Absolutely.

[Dave Dufour]

Thank you for hanging out with us for Amino, Hassan and Esperani on day before and we've been live from NBA Finals game two. Thanks for waking up with us. Thanks for staying up with us.

[Grainger Representative]

Ever been at the checkout wishing you had more cash to spend? You're watching the total climb, doing mental math, getting ready to put your favorite yogurt back. It's the worst. Clio lets you access an up to $250 $50 cash advance fast so you can cover your groceries without the panic. No interest, no credit checks, just simple flexible repayment. Get up to $250 with Clio and keep grocery shopping stress free.

[Dave Dufour]

Depending on eligibility, you can get up

[Esperahenney]

to a $250 cash advance.

[Dave Dufour]

Terms and conditions apply.

[Amin Elhassad]

Parle tu francais?

[Esperahenney]

Hablas espanol?

[Notion Representative]

Parle italiano. If you've used Babbel, you would. Babbel's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers. Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com acasta spelled B A B-B-E-L.com acast rules and restrictions may apply.

[Dave Dufour]

Your team just added its 67th AI tool and also your 67th security blind spot. The good news? The Vanta Agent works like a GRC engineer in the background, finding every app your team uses, scoring the risk, and drafting fixes for you. Vanta is the platform used by over 16,000 fast moving companies like Ramp, Cursor and Harvey who are shaping the future with AI and staying ahead of AI risk. Get [e-mail].