Speaker 1: Good information on the New York Knicks is news Day
Speaker 1: and Barbara Barker writes for news Day and she's been
Speaker 1: writing on New York sports for well over twenty years.
Speaker 1: You can follow her on Twitter or x at mean Barb,
Speaker 1: which is a very interesting handle, and she joins us
Speaker 1: here for the first time looking forward to this conversation.
Speaker 1: Thanks Barbera. We appreciate it. How are you, hey, man,
Speaker 1: I'm great. How you doing, I'm doing fine. Thanks? Just
Speaker 1: out of curiosity, I probably get it all the time.
Speaker 1: I doubt you're mean, But why mean bar for your
Speaker 1: Twitter handle?
Speaker 2: I'm okay, Like I'm so old that that in the
Speaker 2: olden days when AOL was invented, I can remember this
Speaker 2: all right. I picked my friend told me about this
Speaker 2: cool new thing called AOL. Right, and her name. She
Speaker 2: has got to pick a name, and her name is Gene,
Speaker 2: and she picked mean Gene. So I picked mean Barb.
Speaker 2: And it is thought at this continuity, that's all. It is.
Speaker 2: Not bad.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I doubt it reflects your personality. I'm glad you're
Speaker 1: with us. Appreciated very much. You wrote about Jalen Brunson
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter and how he saves his best
Speaker 1: for last. You've covered a lot of great athletes. I
Speaker 1: think he's a hell of a basketball player and I
Speaker 1: think he's a hell of a leader for that team.
Speaker 1: It's a fine line, though, between trying to get in
Speaker 1: the flow of a game early for a player like
Speaker 1: Brunson and then taking over down the stretch. What do
Speaker 1: you think that that line is for him? And when
Speaker 1: do you think he first started asserting himself in this regard?
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, he won Mister Klutch this year.
Speaker 2: The thing that's been around for a couple of years,
Speaker 2: right is he Adam expands all these awards into millions
Speaker 2: of territories, right, So he he won that, I really think,
Speaker 2: I mean he can't. He really has been a leader
Speaker 2: since he came to the Knicks, all right. But as
Speaker 2: far as the fourth quarters, I mean, his statistics in
Speaker 2: the fourth quarters are incredible and even I mean, I
Speaker 2: think Cad is just an unbelievable player and it is
Speaker 2: going to be built upon for years to come. I mean,
Speaker 2: you guys have a great player, but you look at
Speaker 2: the two of them, and Brenston has a little bit
Speaker 2: more experience. I mean in the fourth quarter, kid who
Speaker 2: has incredible stats is you know also has you know,
Speaker 2: I will add to the points that Brnston has. Okay,
Speaker 2: I'll just say Brinston's fifty three points on sixty five
Speaker 2: percent shooting in the fourth quarter. Kate is twenty six
Speaker 2: on thirty five percent shooting. Brnston has eight is six
Speaker 2: one turnover ten. You know, Kata's tennis is eight turnovers.
Speaker 2: Kate is a minus fifteen. Brnston is a plus twenty five.
Speaker 2: I think that's just I think it's I mean that's
Speaker 2: just experience, that's just playing, and that he just has
Speaker 2: the ability to turn that switch on and off. I
Speaker 2: mean we really saw it last year too. I mean
Speaker 2: the fact that he keeps doing it again and again.
Speaker 2: I mean, he is the most popular name, and I
Speaker 2: mean since I mean, he might even be more popular
Speaker 2: than Patrick Ewing was, I'm trying to think. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's a very very popular Nick. I mean, you know, people,
Speaker 2: there's nobody that doesn't like it. People didn't like Carmelo
Speaker 2: all right, there were people that didn't like the Knick
Speaker 2: style of basketball when Patrick Ewing played people. I mean,
Speaker 2: he is beloved by the Nick san base.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's a very likable person. And I don't disagree
Speaker 1: with you. He's not well liked in Detroit right now
Speaker 1: because they see him as a flopper.
Speaker 2: But he's not a flopper. I didn't say that. I
Speaker 2: well about that and people got mad. But you know,
Speaker 2: he draws falls and Ali does it whatever. He is
Speaker 2: a bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a lot of players who do that. By
Speaker 1: the way, there's plenty of players who do that. Let's
Speaker 1: get to the elephant in the room, and that's the
Speaker 1: end of game four. The argument has been they let
Speaker 1: them play all game long. My argument back to that
Speaker 1: was the whistle was blown. There were seventeen personal falls
Speaker 1: on each side, and in a game like that, when
Speaker 1: it is that blatant, and knowing that that had been
Speaker 1: called earlier in the series, what was your overall take
Speaker 1: on Tim Hardaway's corner jumper from three with contact from
Speaker 1: Josh Hart. Well, he was.
Speaker 2: Definitely followed by jus Hart. I think dus Hart even
Speaker 2: said it too. But you can't argue a non call,
Speaker 2: all right, and it's something that happened. And also just
Speaker 2: Hart was shoved by Tobias, which was a fall right
Speaker 2: before that, and that wasn't called. So there were other
Speaker 2: things that weren't called. Do I think like Detroit has
Speaker 2: a reason to be upset. Yeah, but if you look
Speaker 2: every time a team is lost in this I mean,
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, Tibodeau went on and on about
Speaker 2: Jalen not getting calls, and I'm not saying he was
Speaker 2: right in game. You know, in the game they lost,
Speaker 2: you know, So I mean, I just I just think
Speaker 2: there's been a lot of whining and the league has
Speaker 2: decided to let calls go. And I mean that that
Speaker 2: is a really tough way to lose, and it's a
Speaker 2: really really tough way to lose. And you know, but
Speaker 2: I think there was a lot of stuff that wasn't called.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's more of the editude here. I totally
Speaker 2: understand how you guys feel in Detroit, but that's not
Speaker 2: the reason. You like, that's the reason that the game
Speaker 2: was lost at the end, But there's other reasons. You
Speaker 2: know that you lost that game too.
Speaker 1: Under Barbara Barker joining us from Newsday. You can follow
Speaker 1: her on actual Twitter. Mean, bar but very kind to
Speaker 1: join us here this morning. What has surprised you most
Speaker 1: about this series so far?
Speaker 2: I mean that the Knicks have countered your guys toughness.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is a team that was known as tough.
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely absolutely so going in you know, it's not
Speaker 2: like I grew up in the Do you guys support
Speaker 2: your teams back there in New York? Because things are
Speaker 2: so expensive. I mean the cheapest Nick ticket tonight is
Speaker 2: three hundred and eighteen dollars. All right, Because things people
Speaker 2: sit back and wait and say, what are you going
Speaker 2: to do for me? All right? This, this team and
Speaker 2: last team's, last year's teams was really well liked. This
Speaker 2: year's team because they you know, retooled. You know, they
Speaker 2: brought in some guys. They're not seen as like guys
Speaker 2: that left. Like people love Dante DiVincenzo and what he
Speaker 2: brought to this team. All right, certainly you know, uh,
Speaker 2: the Cowbridges skill set is better than his, all right,
Speaker 2: but people just were waiting. People just were waiting to
Speaker 2: see call Anthony Towns for better or worse. Has this
Speaker 2: reputation as a beamed off. I think it's because he
Speaker 2: has a quiet voice maybe or something. But he doesn't
Speaker 2: have that tough guy reputation. And he has been tough,
Speaker 2: I mean in game three, in game four, so I
Speaker 2: think people people want to work worried. This is a
Speaker 2: shared thing is there's an actual one in three against
Speaker 2: you guys in the regular season, so people were worried
Speaker 2: about this matchup. Some people wanted them to drop down
Speaker 2: out of three so they didn't have to play you guys.
Speaker 2: So I think the physicality of the series and the
Speaker 2: fact that the Knicks have been able to, you know,
Speaker 2: play with the Pistons, I think that has been a
Speaker 2: big surprise to people here. I mean that they really like.
Speaker 1: It's interesting that you bring up the toughness, but also
Speaker 1: earlier in the conversation the experience. And I think people
Speaker 1: view Detroit as this young team, and I'm not saying
Speaker 1: they're not because Kate Cunningham and Jalen Duran, for example,
Speaker 1: and obviously guys you know, like you know Ron Holland
Speaker 1: the third and Asar Thompson, but you know, Tim Hardaway
Speaker 1: has plenty of experience. Tobias Harris has plenty of playoff experience.
Speaker 1: Dennis Shrewder's got plenty of experience, Milie Beasley has a
Speaker 1: ton of playoff experience. Why do we focus on Detroit
Speaker 1: being so young when in their eight nine man rotation,
Speaker 1: nearly half has a ton of postseason experience under their belt.
Speaker 2: Well, because they're really good players, don't I mean, I mean,
Speaker 2: you know, their best player does it. Okay, that's why
Speaker 2: their best player does it. They don't have experience as
Speaker 2: a team, all right. I mean I mean people love
Speaker 2: your team. Look what you did from last year. Look
Speaker 2: you know, look look what JB did or what they
Speaker 2: all did together. I think you guys as a team
Speaker 2: have an identity. But I mean you look at Tobias
Speaker 2: who he's a super good guy. You know, last year
Speaker 2: in the final game against the Knicks, he scored zero points,
Speaker 2: all right, So I mean when he played for Philadelphia,
Speaker 2: I mean Tim Hardaway junior, he's not beloved here because
Speaker 2: he played for Knicks teams that weren't very good, all right,
Speaker 2: So when he played this so I mean you know, yeah,
Speaker 2: you have experience, but I mean it's not seeing it
Speaker 2: seemed that you're your best play your best player, and
Speaker 2: he is so good. I mean he's he's he's going
Speaker 2: to be a great player. I mean if he isn't
Speaker 2: you know he's a superstar already. Your best player doesn't
Speaker 2: have the playoff.
Speaker 1: Experience, Okay, I get it. I still think when you've
Speaker 1: got guys who are making big shots and need to
Speaker 1: make big shots, and they are are part of that rotation.
Speaker 1: I think sometimes it gets a little overblown. Your team
Speaker 1: a year ago, won one more game, had a better seating,
Speaker 1: and yet the expectations we all know, I mean a
Speaker 1: lot of it is self induced, right, but they're high
Speaker 1: for your team. Do people think they can get further
Speaker 1: than just past Round one in New York if they
Speaker 1: close out the Pistons here tonight.
Speaker 2: I don't like the Celtics. I don't think the ether
Speaker 2: team can so I mean, you know, all the prizes whatever,
Speaker 2: But the thing is, I think for the Knicks, they
Speaker 2: were built to beat the Celtics, all right. They're all
Speaker 2: went four against the Celtics this year, so I think,
Speaker 2: you know, I mean they were I mean before their
Speaker 2: first day, the first game of the year was between
Speaker 2: the Celtics and the Knicks, and Jill Mizoola said to
Speaker 2: his team, this team is built to be and then
Speaker 2: they came out and destroyed the next all right. So
Speaker 2: I mean I just think and also, you know, Celtics
Speaker 2: Nicks is a big rivalry. I mean, you know, Nix
Speaker 2: to Troight has its rivalry moments over the years. But
Speaker 2: I mean that's a big rival, so I think players
Speaker 2: really want to see, you know, get there. But when
Speaker 2: the Knicks drew Detroit, people are like, I don't know
Speaker 2: they're going to get I mean they thought, I mean
Speaker 2: everyone thought there's just going to be a really tough series,
Speaker 2: which it really has. I mean that, you know, the
Speaker 2: Pistons easily could be up three one, you know, I mean,
Speaker 2: everything has come down to the end. It's been a
Speaker 2: really exciting series.
Speaker 1: What will be key tonight? We were talking with Rick
Speaker 1: Mahorne yesterday. He said he put right on the noseman
Speaker 1: in game four. He said, you know, turnovers are so important.
Speaker 1: Detroit turns it over nineteen times twice in the series,
Speaker 1: they have turned it over nineteen times. Credit to the
Speaker 1: Knicks for that, but some of it sloppily play on
Speaker 1: the part of the Pistons. What do you think will
Speaker 1: be most important in game five.
Speaker 2: Tonight, Well, they got to get rid of the sloppy play.
Speaker 2: I don't make that big of a deal about the Pistons,
Speaker 2: I mean, because I've already wonted Medicine Square Guarden being
Speaker 2: able to deal with Madicine Square Guarden quite frankly, I thought,
Speaker 2: you know, since Game three not so much. For maybe
Speaker 2: you had younger people, and maybe because it was during day,
Speaker 2: people hadn't been drinking. You know. Game three was like
Speaker 2: Game three was so loud. I couldn't like the next morning,
Speaker 2: it's still hurt for me to talk on the phone.
Speaker 2: My ears hurt. I wish, I mean, and I bought
Speaker 2: earplugs for Game four. I mean, it was I've never
Speaker 2: seen it. I haven't seen a crowd like that in years.
Speaker 2: So I don't think. I mean, you know, the Knicks,
Speaker 2: you'll get a super loud, pumped up crowd, but I
Speaker 2: don't think. I don't think it's going to equal that.
Speaker 2: So I think I think the distance is so naked deal.
Speaker 2: You know, if it comes down to the fourth quarter,
Speaker 2: it's just going to sort of be execution, somebody not
Speaker 2: making a mistake. I mean, if it's that close, let's
Speaker 2: hope it's not the officials, because that would be bad,
Speaker 2: you know, to have redo. I think, and that finally,
Speaker 2: I don't think it will be How do you.
Speaker 1: Think the Giants and jetted it in their draft.
Speaker 2: I'm not the football people, all right, I can just
Speaker 2: stay away from that. Giants. You know, every every year
Speaker 2: people get excited about some quarterback or this or that
Speaker 2: and and yeah, you know so, I mean, well, we'll
Speaker 2: see the Giants head. They both have a long way
Speaker 2: to go. But you know, having been a Lions, you know,
Speaker 2: you know, you guys fought the Lions for years, finally
Speaker 2: getting a good team, all right, So I mean it's
Speaker 2: a contro.
Speaker 1: We'll enjoy it. We'll enjoy it. One final thing from
Speaker 1: from Barbara Barker from Newsday, Joining is here on X
Speaker 1: and and Bros. Throughout the Great State of Michigan. Follower
Speaker 1: on X AT mean, Barb, when you look at this
Speaker 1: series as a whole and eventually when the run ends
Speaker 1: for both these teams, because neither one is good as Cleveland,
Speaker 1: neither one is as good as Boston, and I would
Speaker 1: argue I think Indiana is really good. I think they're
Speaker 1: an underrated team. What do you see the weakness? Where
Speaker 1: does Detroit lack?
Speaker 2: In?
Speaker 1: What area does New York lack? Do you think to
Speaker 1: try and get in that same conversation, I.
Speaker 2: Think Detroit, as much as you mentioned the experience around them,
Speaker 2: they they need a few more. They have a superstar
Speaker 2: and they need like a few more. I mean, you
Speaker 2: know stars, Oh, Tim Hardaway going to be there next year?
Speaker 2: Isn't this last year was toxic? I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the last year. It is a good question
Speaker 1: him and Beasley would be up. Yeah, I mean that's
Speaker 1: a good question.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, So I think you just need some more
Speaker 2: stars around Kate or if they don't have to be superstars,
Speaker 2: but I mean you have a foundation there. That's what
Speaker 2: I think. The Knicks, I mean, they have to. I
Speaker 2: was looking at because what they did in Detroit? Did
Speaker 2: they come together as I mean, the Knicks have the pieces.
Speaker 2: If you look at the pieces and the stars they have,
Speaker 2: they should be. They have to learn together to play
Speaker 2: together as a team. I think, you know, I was
Speaker 2: wondering Troit. Did they must wrote something like they you know,
Speaker 2: some people go to an you know, to yoga retreat
Speaker 2: to find themselves. Did the Nicks find themselves in Detroit?
Speaker 2: Because I think that's as well as I've seen them
Speaker 2: play as a team. The problem is they haven't. You know,
Speaker 2: a lot of times it's been Jalen Brunson in iso
Speaker 2: offense that's not working. You know, they haven't really you know,
Speaker 2: they've needed Cat to step up, which he did. You mean,
Speaker 2: big time in Game four, they've needed other players to
Speaker 2: step on on a more consistent basis, and they needed
Speaker 2: to I think trust one another enough. And I'm not
Speaker 2: saying Jalen wasn't trusting these guys, but you know, he
Speaker 2: was out for a month, I mean, and came back with,
Speaker 2: like you know, with an injury with five games left,
Speaker 2: and I think there was just some you know, I
Speaker 2: think they get we'll see, we'll see what happens, because
Speaker 2: I mean if they you know, Tambadeau would almost one
Speaker 2: hundred percent lose his job if they don't get out
Speaker 2: of the series, all right, So I think you know
Speaker 2: that's you know, that's one thing. I mean, who knows
Speaker 2: you can't predict the knixt you can under predict what's
Speaker 2: going to go on.
Speaker 1: I will s interesting because I think he's a really
Speaker 1: good coach. Reaching players is one thing, though, but he
Speaker 1: sure seems like a really good coach. You do a
Speaker 1: great job, Barbara. We really appreciate a great insight from
Speaker 1: you and Newsday. Keep up the great work, and I'm
Speaker 1: glad you enjoyed our town here for a short period
Speaker 1: of time, and I hope you're back for Thursday as well.
Speaker 1: Have a great day.
Speaker 2: Okay, thanks man. I don't know if I want to
Speaker 2: get back on that plane, but yeah, all right, take care.
Speaker 1: I'm with you. Yeah, the travel could be a little
Speaker 1: bit much. Barbara Barker joining us here from Newsday Here
Speaker 1: on ex'es and bros. On this Tuesday morning