Speaker 1: Keith Smith. He rights for so many different and appears
Speaker 1: on the front office show at Sports Track and you
Speaker 1: can follo him on Twitter at Keith Smith NBA. He
Speaker 1: was with us earlier this year, was fantastic. Had to
Speaker 1: have him back again and he's with us on this
Speaker 1: Tuesday morning. Keith, hope you and yours are well. How
Speaker 1: are you today, I'm doing great.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, really appreciate you coming on. I am not surprised
Speaker 1: by the Pistons and Knick series. What has surprised you,
Speaker 1: if anything, and what's your takeaway in the first two games.
Speaker 2: I think the biggest surprise I've had is that Detroit
Speaker 2: has been able to contain the Knicks offense, and the
Speaker 2: Knicks offense has been one of the better ones in
Speaker 2: the league this year. Pistons defense was good, but it's
Speaker 2: not a great defensive group, but they've been able to
Speaker 2: really kind of keep them in check and that's allowed
Speaker 2: them to play in these two close games. And I
Speaker 2: said it last night, I think both teams are probably
Speaker 2: waking up this morning thinking we should be up to
Speaker 2: Oh it appears Detroit fell apart in Game one. New
Speaker 2: York feels like they probably have one foot away in
Speaker 2: Game two and that makes for a pretty good series.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't disagree with you. I think you know,
Speaker 1: Kate cunning and Jalen Brunson's been really good obviously, but
Speaker 1: he had six turnovers yesterday. Kid Cunningham in Game one
Speaker 1: had a double double, but had six turnovers. And look,
Speaker 1: I mean, when you handle the ball as much as
Speaker 1: those guys do, you're going to have some full pause
Speaker 1: every once in a while. But I think Cunningham has
Speaker 1: proved some things, and so is Detroit's youth. Now, I
Speaker 1: have argued this, Keith, when you look at the amount
Speaker 1: of playoff experience with Harris and Beasley and Hardaway and Shrewder,
Speaker 1: that really Detroit is not that untested in postseason play.
Speaker 1: Why do you think there is a mantra about Detroit's
Speaker 1: inexperience and that maybe the playoffs would be too much
Speaker 1: for a young team to adapt to.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a fair question. I think what people are
Speaker 2: looking at is they're looking at their main guy, being
Speaker 2: Kate Cunningham. This is the first go two other starters
Speaker 2: have never been anywhere near the playoffs either in Durham
Speaker 2: and Thompson. And then you've got I know Isaiah Stewer
Speaker 2: was out for Game two, but him Ron Holland that's
Speaker 2: I still think what people think of when they think
Speaker 2: of Detroit, because there's still I think some people coming
Speaker 2: around to they're here, and they didn't get here just
Speaker 2: fully homegrown. They made some really smart editions over the
Speaker 2: last really year or so, getting Harris and Beasley and
Speaker 2: then getting hard Away and Shruder. Though those guys are
Speaker 2: really solid pickups, and that's good. Now. The other thing
Speaker 2: is they don't have a lot of experience in the
Speaker 2: playoffs together as a group. But it's not like this
Speaker 2: Knicks team is swimming in experience together either. Townsend Bridges
Speaker 2: weren't there for them last year. They're figuring it out.
Speaker 2: You have just as much in the playoffs as Detroit is.
Speaker 1: Yeah, when you looked at Game one and Game two combined,
Speaker 1: I've argued that I think Detroit's been the better team
Speaker 1: in at least six of the quarters. Effect the largest
Speaker 1: defences they had yesterday was just three points, so I
Speaker 1: thought they were clearly the better team. Every team's going
Speaker 1: to make a run, as you well know, what do
Speaker 1: you expect in Game three?
Speaker 2: I think it's going to look pretty similar to what
Speaker 2: it looked like in the first couple of games. I
Speaker 2: think both teams are gonna be fairly low possession game.
Speaker 2: It's probably gonna be extremely physical. You're going to see
Speaker 2: both teams are really trying to get their main guys
Speaker 2: to the free throw line, both Tounningham and Brunson. They'll
Speaker 2: run selectively when it's there, when they can kind of push.
Speaker 2: And I think the big keys you kind of touched
Speaker 2: on before is it's the turnovers and then the offensive rebounding.
Speaker 2: If Detroit can continue to do a good job on
Speaker 2: the glass, which they did in game Game two, they
Speaker 2: got twelve offensive rebounds, they held the knicks, it's only
Speaker 2: seven offensive rebounds. That creates all these extra possessions for you,
Speaker 2: especially if you can then control the turn and that's huge.
Speaker 2: So I think it's probably going to look similar the same,
Speaker 2: probably not the prettiest basketball you've ever seen. And now
Speaker 2: I'll also say this, I think Dak crowd is going
Speaker 2: to be ready to roll for Game three. I think
Speaker 2: they are going to be fired off and run radio.
Speaker 2: It's been a long time since they've been in this
Speaker 2: position in my off series in Detroit, and I think
Speaker 2: that's gonna be a really fun environment.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I do too. Keith Smith joining us. You can
Speaker 1: follo him on Twitter at Keith Smith NBA. He of
Speaker 1: Sports Track and the Front Office Show. I do believe
Speaker 1: in motion can only take you so far. It sure
Speaker 1: sounded like Madison Square Garden was REVVD up and ready
Speaker 1: to roll last night too, and then Detroit took them
Speaker 1: out of it. They've shown me something that the Pistons have.
Speaker 1: They've shown I think great resolve. They played downhill, they
Speaker 1: played aggressive, That's why they got to the line thirty
Speaker 1: four times last night. And I think they've played for
Speaker 1: the most part very under control. Who do you credit
Speaker 1: that to? JB. Bickerstaff, the ve in presence on this team,
Speaker 1: the younger players growing up before our eyes. Are a
Speaker 1: combination of all three.
Speaker 2: Yeah, gets a little bit of all of it. I
Speaker 2: think what you see, especially in the playoffs, is when
Speaker 2: everything kind of gets a little wild. And in each
Speaker 2: one of these games, there's them moments where things have
Speaker 2: gotten very This is not as a writer, this is
Speaker 2: a horrendous grammar, but it got very scrambling where where
Speaker 2: things are just kind of going a little little crazy.
Speaker 2: And you saw in game one, maybe Bigger staff was
Speaker 2: the one. It was like everybody just on the down,
Speaker 2: slow down, like let's all relax. In game two with
Speaker 2: Dennis Shrewder, he went and literally got the balls three
Speaker 2: or four different times. It was like everybody just settle, like, everybody,
Speaker 2: take a breath. We don't need to be running around
Speaker 2: like crazy right now. And I think, I think that's
Speaker 2: what it is. And then I also think Keith Cunningham
Speaker 2: is really the very best ball handlers, point guards, lead playmakers,
Speaker 2: call whatever you want, in which he is one of
Speaker 2: That description fits him perfectly. Is when when they really
Speaker 2: find their way, it's when they're controlling the pace of
Speaker 2: the game. And he is really getting to the point
Speaker 2: where if he wants to play fast, the game's going
Speaker 2: to be played fast. He wants to play slow, the
Speaker 2: game's going to be played slow. And that's so big
Speaker 2: for both him and the Pistons.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's very similar to a football game last night.
Speaker 1: Who dictated tempo? When I thought the Pistons dictated tempo
Speaker 1: more than the Knicks did. I'm going to ask you
Speaker 1: this question strictly from a Piston's perspective. I'm not being
Speaker 1: a homer here. I just want your opinion. I like
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson. Is he a flopper, uh.
Speaker 2: Slopper, foul dator or whatever you want to call it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And there was the point last night where he was
Speaker 2: no longer even looking to score. He was just trying
Speaker 2: to get to the free throw line. And that that's
Speaker 2: when everything kind of gets sideways for me. I know
Speaker 2: that's when a lot of fans I really get upset
Speaker 2: and don't really like it. And that's that that's not great.
Speaker 2: He is a great player and I love the way
Speaker 2: he plays, but yeah, there was a point last night
Speaker 2: in the second half where he would drive it and
Speaker 2: literally sideways them back to the basket and jumping in
Speaker 2: the guys and throwing shots up to their credit, the
Speaker 2: officials were like that, we're not given to see it.
Speaker 2: What was he got? I think he earned and there
Speaker 2: were a couple of miss calls where I think he
Speaker 2: could have got there. I think there are a couple
Speaker 2: of miss calls that one against the Pistons too, and
Speaker 2: that's going to happen in a long game. But yeah,
Speaker 2: he's definitely a guy who you know, sometimes goes in
Speaker 2: there looking to win contact versus China's core.
Speaker 1: I'm interested to get your take on this because I
Speaker 1: think Tom Thibodeau's a hell of a coach. I really do.
Speaker 1: And it's like you said, I mean, the Knicks are
Speaker 1: good defensively. Detroit fourth and defensive assistency, so you know
Speaker 1: they're good defensively. Did Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks miss
Speaker 1: an opportunity with not making I'll use a clichee the
Speaker 1: proper adjustments to Detroit's hectic, frantic, helter skelter defense that
Speaker 1: seemed to catch New York off guard throughout the game.
Speaker 2: I think they didn't. They didn't. I think there were moments,
Speaker 2: especially with the turnovers, where that costs them. I think
Speaker 2: they generated a lot of really good shots and they
Speaker 2: just didn't make them. You know, Jalen Bronson was kind
Speaker 2: of had their best day as a shooter and he
Speaker 2: went four of twelve. You know, Og and Andobi could
Speaker 2: make shot. Car Anthony Town has been very muted so far.
Speaker 2: Jalen Durant has done a really good job staying in
Speaker 2: his airspace and not giving him any room to move
Speaker 2: out when he's out on the perimeter. Isaiah Stewart and
Speaker 2: some of that in Game one, Paul Reid did a
Speaker 2: nice job with that in his you know, I'll be
Speaker 2: a limited minute, but I thought he did a really
Speaker 2: good job of getting getting insane connected to Towns and
Speaker 2: that's mad. It's off on the Knicks to score. So
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, I think they're gonna probably come into
Speaker 2: Game three trying to find a way. We got to
Speaker 2: free U Karl Anthony Towns more. They can't just be
Speaker 2: the Jalen Bronson show. And then the Wings kind of
Speaker 2: shooting a lot of shots, and those guys are all good.
Speaker 2: But if you're limiting Towns to eleven field goal attempts
Speaker 2: and the other guys are taking ten to twenty field
Speaker 2: goal attempts each year, feeling pretty good about your deepense
Speaker 2: game plan.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he seemed almost disinterested or dispirited. If you will,
Speaker 1: Keith Smith from Front Office Show and Sports Track joining
Speaker 1: us here on ex'es and bros. I want your quick
Speaker 1: thought on some of the other series. It doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be anything in particular, but a general feeling. Clippers
Speaker 1: win last night, Kawhi Leonard had thirty nine to even
Speaker 1: the series with Denver. Obviously, Minnesota really impressive with twenty
Speaker 1: one threes in a win over a Lakers team that
Speaker 1: just didn't look conditioned very well according to JJ Reddick.
Speaker 1: And then of course the impressive showing by Oklahoma City
Speaker 1: as well, Boston tested by Orlando for a little bit,
Speaker 1: and of course Cleveland taking care of business at home
Speaker 1: as well. Is there anything that has stood out from
Speaker 1: you that has made you change your mind early on
Speaker 1: in the first game or two in these NBA playoffs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think come it's the one where I've probably
Speaker 2: had the most change of heart so far as the
Speaker 2: Lakers Wolves series. I think I went into that thinking
Speaker 2: the Lakers would find enough ways to score points, and
Speaker 2: they may still it's only one game, but the problems
Speaker 2: they had defensively with Minnesota, I didn't expect them to
Speaker 2: be quite that glaring. And then that was huge and
Speaker 2: they're gonna have to really tighten it up. I mean,
Speaker 2: they let a lot of open jump shots go thumb.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm contested in that first game, and then
Speaker 2: that that's tough. You're not going to beat a good
Speaker 2: shooting Wolves team by letting him shoot that much, so
Speaker 2: I would not with no hand in the face, So
Speaker 2: that that's a major challenge for them. There, So I'm
Speaker 2: very curious to see what happens in that that THEO
Speaker 2: series the rest of the way, and then all the
Speaker 2: other've kind of gone how I expected. I thought Clippers
Speaker 2: Nuggets would be a real battle. Let's see what happens.
Speaker 2: Is Damian Lillard playing game two not for the Bucks,
Speaker 2: does that change that series? We don't really know. It's
Speaker 2: also a little unfair to expect, after he's missed the
Speaker 2: last month plus to expect Damian lower to come in
Speaker 2: and just be Damian Millard. It's probably going to take
Speaker 2: him a little bit of time to kind of get
Speaker 2: himself going. But yeah, those are the things we're looking for.
Speaker 2: That's the fun thing about the playoffs. Get into game two,
Speaker 2: game three, and you start seeing those adjustments and eventually
Speaker 2: turn out of the adjustments and just has to be
Speaker 2: that you play better.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Keith dead on there. I actually said before, I
Speaker 1: think the dark horse is Indiana. I think Indiana is
Speaker 1: better than people give them credit for. They've been very
Speaker 1: steady this season. I think they play really well on
Speaker 1: both sides of the floor. And I just don't think
Speaker 1: enough people talk about him because of what Cleveland's done
Speaker 1: on the year and rightfully so in Boston's the defending champion.
Speaker 1: And then of course the Knicks is a team that
Speaker 1: people just seem to gravitate towards. Before I let you go,
Speaker 1: you just had brought up the Lakers lack of defense,
Speaker 1: not justifying the trade by any stretch, and you're not either.
Speaker 1: I am blown away that Nico Harrison, the general manager
Speaker 1: of the Dallas Mavericks, can be so out of touch
Speaker 1: to actually admit to the press publicly. I didn't realize
Speaker 1: the support or passion my words, not his, that Dallas
Speaker 1: Mavericks fans had for Luka Doncic. Why does somebody not
Speaker 1: go to him and say stop talking because you're making
Speaker 1: things worse in Dallas.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what I said yesterday. I said, word of advice,
Speaker 2: no more press conferences, no more talking than me to
Speaker 2: either work in silence or make a change. When he
Speaker 2: said that yesterday that he didn't understand how much Luca
Speaker 2: meant to the city, Yeah, Avericks fans, to me, that's
Speaker 2: a fireable offense. That is a compln You have no
Speaker 2: understanding of your team, your organization, your city, and that's
Speaker 2: that's just wrong. And you were not talking about coming
Speaker 2: in and trading a guy who is in year fifteen
Speaker 2: and doesn't have it left anymore. And here you're going
Speaker 2: to take the punches because you traded a franchise legend.
Speaker 2: This is a guy who's not I don't even know
Speaker 2: that he's hitting his prime years yet, and he's already
Speaker 2: one of the best players in the world, and you're
Speaker 2: sitting here saying, oh, yeah, I was surprised that people
Speaker 2: were so mad, But to me that that would have
Speaker 2: been enough right then and there, or I would have
Speaker 2: said if I was running that press conference, if I
Speaker 2: was pr would have said it's over, we're done. Then
Speaker 2: if I was ownership, would have come down the home
Speaker 2: and said, you're fired. Let's you know, hey, next press
Speaker 2: conference we have is announcing our next head of basketball operations.
Speaker 2: Because this guy, it's just very clear to me now
Speaker 2: he doesn't get it. And you're absolutely right, no more talking.
Speaker 2: Don't put this guy in front of a microphone again
Speaker 2: until sometime deep into the offseason.
Speaker 1: All right, lastly, and I appreciate the time and the insight.
Speaker 1: Tom Thibodaux said after the game last night that Brunson
Speaker 1: is not getting the calls like Cunning is getting the calls.
Speaker 1: Is that In my opinion it is, but I want
Speaker 1: I want confirmation from you that's a coach planning a
Speaker 1: seed for the rest of the series.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, absolutely so, Bill Jackson. Playbook he's explain about
Speaker 2: about the officiating and I hope it's swings your way
Speaker 2: in the next round. It's also a big market. I
Speaker 2: put playbook there where where it's often a team that
Speaker 2: gets a ton of attention. You know, those coaches are
Speaker 2: going to get a lot of play and and you know, sadly,
Speaker 2: more often than not they seem like they work. The
Speaker 2: question is that they only going to be a temporary
Speaker 2: type thing.
Speaker 1: Love your insight man. Appreciate the phone call and the
Speaker 1: chance to chat hoops with you. Keith. To keep up
Speaker 1: the great work with Front Office, show and sports Track
Speaker 1: and folks. If you want a good follow when it
Speaker 1: comes to the NBA, Keith Smith NBA with us here
Speaker 1: on Exis and bros. Have a great rest of your week, Keith,
Speaker 1: enjoy the rest of the playoffs. Thanks for the time, buddy,
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me