Speaker 1: Right out of the gates.
Speaker 2: We can welcome to our guy, Tony Jones on a
Speaker 2: beautiful Friday afternoon. Do not let us win game six, Tony.
Speaker 2: That's all I have to say.
Speaker 3: That's all I have to say. Do not let us
Speaker 3: walk into Indianapolis and walk out. Don't let us win
Speaker 3: game six. Just don't let us win game six. Finish
Speaker 3: us off. That's all. That's all I say.
Speaker 2: I do kind of I do, kind of like porters
Speaker 2: angle though on the other side with it's like, please
Speaker 2: let us win game six.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, no, no, it would be nice
Speaker 1: to win game six.
Speaker 3: No, no, no, don't let us win game six. Okay, no,
Speaker 3: you let him win game six. Not winning game seven.
Speaker 1: I'm with you.
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what was weird? Man, Like, if you
Speaker 2: had not watched any of the series. Let's say you
Speaker 2: were on vacation, you went over to Europe for a
Speaker 2: few weeks, and you didn't watch any of the first,
Speaker 2: you know, four games, and then you just watched last night,
Speaker 2: you would have been like, how is Indiana up? I mean,
Speaker 2: last night was a bloodbath? What were your what do
Speaker 2: you think was different? Let me ask you that from
Speaker 2: your basketball eye, what what made last night different for
Speaker 2: New York or Indiana either way.
Speaker 3: Well, remember when we talked last week, and and and
Speaker 3: and how sad and just miserable I was after Game one. Yep, Well,
Speaker 3: game one is the difference of the series. Yeah, Game
Speaker 3: one is the difference of the series. So, you know,
Speaker 3: But to your point and to your question, in two
Speaker 3: of the last three games, we have defended Indiana very
Speaker 3: very very well. Uh uh. Game three we defended them
Speaker 3: very well. Game four they kind of got away from us.
Speaker 3: Game five was our best defensive night of the series.
Speaker 3: So in two of the three we've kind of figured
Speaker 3: them out, you know. So what that means for Game six,
Speaker 3: you know, I don't know, because the one thing from
Speaker 3: covering the first I've I covered the first rounds of
Speaker 3: this playoffs, you know, through how many teams, five teams
Speaker 3: or whatever. And the one thing that that this playoffs
Speaker 3: has been defined by is that there's no carryover to
Speaker 3: these games. These games are all individual entities unto themselves.
Speaker 3: So you know, I don't think there's gonna be any
Speaker 3: carryover to Game six. I mean, if New York wins,
Speaker 3: game six is going to be because you know, they
Speaker 3: play a great game six, not because of anything that
Speaker 3: happened in game five or anything before, but there are
Speaker 3: clearly some things that you know, Tom Thibodeau is adjusted to,
Speaker 3: and you know, he's kind of thrown some stuff against
Speaker 3: the wall and they've stuck. You know. Obviously the biggest
Speaker 3: thing was he just got sick and tired of cameraon paint.
Speaker 3: Like if there are there, if everybody on the Knicks
Speaker 3: gets hurt, and there's like four guys, uh, five guy
Speaker 3: I was on the bench. You know, Tom Tippodau is
Speaker 3: going to go hoosiers and just play with four rather
Speaker 3: than play with campaigns. And you know, it's one of
Speaker 3: those things where I think that there's been some adjustments
Speaker 3: made that have worked against this Indiana offense. And now
Speaker 3: it just comes down to game six whether or not
Speaker 3: the Knicks can can go and get a big road
Speaker 3: win in Indianapolis.
Speaker 2: So I will say this to me, the main difference
Speaker 2: last night, And I don't know how much of this is.
Speaker 2: And by the way, if the Pacers are playing possum here,
Speaker 2: if they decided to mail it in, then that's a
Speaker 2: dangerous approach. So I don't know how much of it
Speaker 2: had to do with Indiana's inability to execute or get
Speaker 2: up and down with pace like they've been able to
Speaker 2: quite frankly since January if you've been watching them. But
Speaker 2: last night Tony was the first game in the entire
Speaker 2: series where I thought the Knicks actually gave They didn't
Speaker 2: have to give forty eight minutes because it was basically
Speaker 2: over in the fourth, But I'll say the next gave
Speaker 2: thirty two to thirty four minutes of intense defensive effort,
Speaker 2: like they were closing out on the perimeter. They weren't
Speaker 2: giving as much space to Halliburton, who did not have
Speaker 2: a good game, Like when you go back and watch
Speaker 2: what happened in Indiana when the Pacers hung one thirty
Speaker 2: on the Knicks in Game four. Yes, give Halliburton a
Speaker 2: ton of credit for a historically special offensive game, give
Speaker 2: the Pacers credit for getting up and down the floor
Speaker 2: and knocking down shots. But this is not your grandfather's Knicks.
Speaker 2: There is no Charles Oakley or Anthony Mason or Anthony Bonner.
Speaker 2: If you want to go deep deep cuts there, you know,
Speaker 2: there's no big physical defensive you know effort. As far
Speaker 2: as the way the team plays schematically, this is not
Speaker 2: Pat Riley or Jeff Van Gundy. This is one of
Speaker 2: the better offenses in pro basketball, and their defensive efficiency
Speaker 2: in the league was around twelve or thirteen if I
Speaker 2: remember correctly.
Speaker 1: If they're going to win two more.
Speaker 2: Games, they've got a guard the way they did last
Speaker 2: night for the f they have that in them.
Speaker 3: Well, I think it's gonna be tough because I mean,
Speaker 3: these series are every other day. The series is every
Speaker 3: other day all the way through. I mean, so you
Speaker 3: know it's gonna be tough on the legs, you know.
Speaker 3: Last night, I mean I think they had a shot
Speaker 3: of adrenaline, you know, from from the crowd. You know,
Speaker 3: but this is gonna be a road game in games six,
Speaker 3: you know, now, the shot of adrenaline is gonna be
Speaker 3: come from. Hey, your season ends if you lose this
Speaker 3: game tonight, and then you have, you know, an off
Speaker 3: season of questions that you have to say. But you
Speaker 3: know you're gonna have to. I mean, it's gonna be,
Speaker 3: you know, one of those things where you're gonna have
Speaker 3: to manufacture your own energy and you're not gonna have
Speaker 3: you know, the garden crowd behind you. Now, you know,
Speaker 3: the one thing that we both know is that the
Speaker 3: Knicks have played extremely well on the road during this playoffs,
Speaker 3: and you know, down two oh, after losing two in
Speaker 3: the Garden, they did go and they they did get
Speaker 3: a game, which is what they needed in Indiana, and
Speaker 3: had to be game three because you know, you're not
Speaker 3: coming back from a three to zero deficit. So you know,
Speaker 3: winning a game four after losing a game three wouldn't
Speaker 3: have meant anything. But what they have done after that
Speaker 3: horrific o to start with both of those losses at home,
Speaker 3: they have at least given themselves a chance, right, so
Speaker 3: they knew what the formula was. Okay, you lose both
Speaker 3: games at home, you know the series is probably over.
Speaker 3: So what's the formula. The formula is you have to
Speaker 3: win game three because you're not coming back from three
Speaker 3: zero downs. So they won game three. Obviously they lost
Speaker 3: game four, but they won game five, so you know,
Speaker 3: it comes down to can they win the game six.
Speaker 3: The one thing that I do think is in their
Speaker 3: favor is that, you know, for the first time this series,
Speaker 3: I think Indiana is going to face some series pressure
Speaker 3: because they know they have to win this game six
Speaker 3: because they can't have this go back to a game
Speaker 3: seven in New York. You know, so their shots are
Speaker 3: going to mean something for the first time in this series,
Speaker 3: and they're just not playing with house money like they've
Speaker 3: been playing, you know, for for for most of the series.
Speaker 3: But you know, if if New York doesn't get it
Speaker 3: done tomorrow night in game six, man oh man, oh man,
Speaker 3: oh man, are they going to rule game that game
Speaker 3: one where they allowed uh that historic rally for for
Speaker 3: oh one definicit?
Speaker 2: No man, you called it, and I talked about it
Speaker 2: on the show as well, and then privately with you know,
Speaker 2: Nick fan buddies of mine. That's just it's hard to
Speaker 2: come back from. You know, It's one thing just to
Speaker 2: lose home court. It's another thing to have your soul
Speaker 2: snatched from you after losing a game where you clearly
Speaker 2: were in the driver's seat. But to me, I'm gonna
Speaker 2: come back to I'm gonna come back to a couple
Speaker 2: of things as far as how I believe the Knicks
Speaker 2: can actually get this done, because I do feel like
Speaker 2: the way some people have talked about this series isn't
Speaker 2: necessarily true. I think these two teams are very evenly matched,
Speaker 2: and I think it's a close situation. I could see
Speaker 2: Indiana dump trucking New York on Saturday and winning in six.
Speaker 2: I could see the next winning on Saturday and losing
Speaker 2: Game seven of the Garden. And I could see either,
Speaker 2: you know, I could see any of the three scenarios
Speaker 2: left on the table actually happening. This is going to
Speaker 2: come down to effort on defense for New York to
Speaker 2: close out to get back in transition. Then it's going
Speaker 2: to come down to possessions, meaning you have to offensive rebound,
Speaker 2: and then you have to take care of the basketball,
Speaker 2: which leads me to a couple of players. Okay, so
Speaker 2: I love Josh Hart and Josh's you know, his attitude
Speaker 2: and embracing the role that he's been asked to embrace,
Speaker 2: coming off the bench and being a bat out of
Speaker 2: hell has been awesome. But sometimes he makes passes that
Speaker 2: remind me of like the kid in the neighborhood whose
Speaker 2: mom forced him to play junior jazz to make friends
Speaker 2: and he doesn't know how to play. Josh makes some
Speaker 2: of the dumbest passes that I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 2: And there are moments where Carl Towns just forgets how
Speaker 2: to play defense, so he grabs onto somebody and just
Speaker 2: commits fouls. And I hesit to go too hard on
Speaker 2: Kat because I actually think he's been great and Indiana
Speaker 2: does not having a matchup for him. He's eating Miles
Speaker 2: Turner's lunch and your boy Tony Bradley, your boy, Tony
Speaker 2: Tony Bradley. You know he's not the answer, and neither
Speaker 2: is Neither is Thomas Bryant. They have nobody to guard Kat.
Speaker 2: But Caad has to realize, like, let the dude go,
Speaker 2: don't grab him, don't commit stupid fouls. You're too important.
Speaker 2: You need to be on the floor. And there are
Speaker 2: just some Josh Art passes that leave me scratching my head.
Speaker 2: This to me, Tony comes down to some simple things
Speaker 2: for New York, and it's the way Tom coaches, which
Speaker 2: is good news. You've got to guard, you have to
Speaker 2: close out on the PERIMETERI you have to get back
Speaker 2: in transition, and then it is a possession matchup offensive rebound,
Speaker 2: which is where Mitchell, Robinson and Cat have the advantage,
Speaker 2: and then take care of the basketball, do not turn
Speaker 2: it over. If they can do those things, I still
Speaker 2: think there's a world where New York wins this.
Speaker 3: Series taking care of the basketball. Tomorrow night for me
Speaker 3: goes to the top of the line by leads and bounds.
Speaker 3: If Indiana is able to get in transition, force, the pace, force,
Speaker 3: the tempo, get up and down, the series is over.
Speaker 3: There's not a road that New York can win that game.
Speaker 3: So the Knicks are gonna have to take care of
Speaker 3: the basketball. They're gonna have to get a shot up
Speaker 3: every possession. They're gonna have to defensive rebounds, and when
Speaker 3: they defensive rebound, they're gonna have to go and make
Speaker 3: those guys guard for twenty four seconds of possession. And
Speaker 3: they're gonna have to do it without turning the ball over,
Speaker 3: without giving up turnovers, for touchdowns, without giving up turnovers,
Speaker 3: and allowing them to play ninety four feet. They want
Speaker 3: Indiana to have to play forty seven feet, not ninety
Speaker 3: four feet. They want that game in a half court. Tomorrow.
Speaker 3: They got the game in a half court for the
Speaker 3: first time this series. Even in the Game three that
Speaker 3: they won, that game was still played in the full court.
Speaker 3: New York just played, I mean well, kat just played
Speaker 3: a historic fourth quarter and they they came back and
Speaker 3: got that one. But other than Game five, Game five
Speaker 3: was the first game of the series where New York
Speaker 3: was actually able to slow the pace down and get
Speaker 3: this game to where get that game to the speed
Speaker 3: where they wanted it. And that's going to be really
Speaker 3: important tomorrow, trying to get that game out of the
Speaker 3: ninety four feet because you know it's going to be
Speaker 3: in Bainbridge and it's you know, those guys are gonna
Speaker 3: get up and try to get up and down the floor,
Speaker 3: you know, So they have to do that. And the
Speaker 3: one one subtle thing that they have to do that
Speaker 3: not many people are talking about. When New York makes
Speaker 3: a basket, they have to bust back on defense because
Speaker 3: any end of the best team in the league at
Speaker 3: taking that ball out of the net and running off
Speaker 3: of makee And they've done it over and over and
Speaker 3: over again this series and figured out ways to get
Speaker 3: open shots. And you know when Jalen Bronson or Karl
Speaker 3: Anthony Towns they go to the basket, you know, when
Speaker 3: they flail and they get on the floor, whether they
Speaker 3: make that shot or miss that shot, they got to
Speaker 3: get up and they got to get back because Indiana's
Speaker 3: coming back and playing five on four and they've done
Speaker 3: it over and over and over again in this series.
Speaker 3: So you know, I agree with every single point that
Speaker 3: you say. The turnovers to take care of the ball.
Speaker 3: If they if they can figure out a way to
Speaker 3: take care of the ball and get a shot on
Speaker 3: ninety percent of their possessions, I think they actually have
Speaker 3: a chance.
Speaker 1: Come on that, all right?
Speaker 2: Moving over to the West, and I'll just ask the
Speaker 2: question simply, does it really matter who wins out of
Speaker 2: the Knicks and the Pacers because it just feels like
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City. Well, if we're honest and if we're fair,
Speaker 2: they've had this level all year long. I think people
Speaker 2: are waiting to see if they had the level in
Speaker 2: the postseason. So Tony Okase is eighty and eighteen this year,
Speaker 2: they are twenty nine and one against the East.
Speaker 1: The only game they lost was at Cleveland.
Speaker 2: Maybe we should just acknowledge that this team is historic.
Speaker 2: They're great now, They're gonna be great for a long time.
Speaker 2: Do either of the Knicks or the Pacers have a
Speaker 2: shot in hell of making the finals?
Speaker 1: Interesting, I don't think.
Speaker 3: The Knicks too. I think the Knicks lose in five,
Speaker 3: if not a sweep. I think Indiana can get it
Speaker 3: to six, maybe seven if they play above their heads
Speaker 3: because I think in the styles make fights, and I
Speaker 3: think Indiana plays a style that had the chance to
Speaker 3: give Oklahoma City some issues. I don't think that Knicks
Speaker 3: have a chance in hell because you know they play,
Speaker 3: you know, Jalen Bronson plays a lot of isolation basketball,
Speaker 3: and you just can't do that against Oklahoma City. You know,
Speaker 3: you saw what they did against Anthony Edwards. You saw
Speaker 3: what they did did against John Morant in the first
Speaker 3: in the first in the first round. The the difference
Speaker 3: in the second round, and one of the biggest reasons
Speaker 3: why Denver was able to take that series to seven
Speaker 3: is because Denver doesn't Denver doesn't play isolation basketball. You know,
Speaker 3: they run a lot of gebel handoffs, they run a
Speaker 3: lot of movement. All five guys handle it, all five
Speaker 3: guys shoot it. Obviously, you know there's from Nicola Jokish factor.
Speaker 3: He's the best player in the world. But you know,
Speaker 3: they play a brand of basketball to where you know,
Speaker 3: Alex Carusso and Cason Wallace and Lou Dort just can't
Speaker 3: key on one ball handler. You know, Minnesota plays a
Speaker 3: lot of isolation basketball and that just wasn't gonna work.
Speaker 3: And so you know, The point is Indiana doesn't do that.
Speaker 3: Indiana moves the ball. They play you five guys. And
Speaker 3: the one thing that the Tyreese Halliburton's superpower is that
Speaker 3: he never ever turns the basketball over and against Oklahoma City.
Speaker 3: You know, if if that rings true, then you know
Speaker 3: that's that's a matchup that you know. Okay, So he
Speaker 3: just hasn't seen so far in this playoffs. Now there's
Speaker 3: still a better team, and they'll probably still figure it
Speaker 3: out as the series goes on, and they'll probably still
Speaker 3: win that series in six. But at least that series
Speaker 3: will be to me, will be interesting. Uh, Oklahoma City
Speaker 3: in New York is going to be a mismatch. I
Speaker 3: think it ends in five, if not four. So the
Speaker 3: the answer is if we want to see the finals,
Speaker 3: that we actually want to watch, rufe for Indiana to
Speaker 3: win this series.
Speaker 2: All right, moving over to Little Jazz before I set
Speaker 2: you loose, you know, we are a few weeks away.
Speaker 2: We'll turn our calendars to June coming up on day,
Speaker 2: and then we've got about three and a half weeks
Speaker 2: until the draft.
Speaker 1: So let's just talk a big picture.
Speaker 2: There's not a lot of individual specific things that I
Speaker 2: can ask you about that we haven't already discussed, so
Speaker 2: Jazz with two first rounders two second rounders at least
Speaker 2: that's what they have now, And just wondering what you're
Speaker 2: hearing about the overall approach. And then I'll actually add
Speaker 2: a second question just because our listeners will be curious
Speaker 2: to what your take is. Have you changed your opinion
Speaker 2: on who best case scenario is at number five as
Speaker 2: we approach Draft night?
Speaker 3: No, I mean best case scenario to me in my
Speaker 3: opinion is who's ever left out? As you know VJ
Speaker 3: asked from Trey Johnson or Ace Bailey. You know, I
Speaker 3: know that you know there's some Conker Nipple talk out there.
Speaker 3: I know that there's some Jeremiah Fears talk out there.
Speaker 3: But for me, you know, I think that the Jazz
Speaker 3: has to take somebody at five that has the outcome
Speaker 3: of a star or superstar. To me, that's not continental.
Speaker 3: I think Continentple is going to score fifteen to eighteen
Speaker 3: points a game for ten years in the NBA and
Speaker 3: he's not going to be a superstar or a star.
Speaker 3: So even if you know with you know the floor
Speaker 3: that Ash Bailey has, which I think he has, you know,
Speaker 3: a really low floor, but I also think he has
Speaker 3: a super high ceiling. You know, I think that the
Speaker 3: Jazz just have to go ahead and swing if he's
Speaker 3: the guy that's there at five, and take that chance,
Speaker 3: because you know, they went and lost sixty five games
Speaker 3: this year. You know, you go and you lose sixty
Speaker 3: five games, and you know you pretty much that's your
Speaker 3: intentional outcome. You better take somebody that you can develop
Speaker 3: into a superstar level player or a star level player.
Speaker 3: And I think that you know, Ah Bailey has you know,
Speaker 3: a star level outcome at one hundred percent of his ceiling.
Speaker 3: I think the same of VJ. Askham. I think the
Speaker 3: same was Trade Johnson. I don't think vjstem will be
Speaker 3: there at five. I think that he goes either three
Speaker 3: or four. And you know, I think that VJ is
Speaker 3: probably the safest of those three in that tier because
Speaker 3: of because of his athleticism. I mean, he is a very,
Speaker 3: very very gifted athlete and he's a very very gifted
Speaker 3: defender as well. So I think that he's probably my
Speaker 3: bet to be the first one of those three off
Speaker 3: the board. And I think that my bet is that
Speaker 3: Aces is the one that's available to the Jazz at five.
Speaker 3: So if I were, if I were the Jazz and
Speaker 3: I were handicapping this thing, and this is just me
Speaker 3: talking and not the Utah Jazz, I would be taking
Speaker 3: Ace Bailly with the fifth pick of the June of
Speaker 3: the twenty twenty five NBA Draft.
Speaker 1: One more thing, I'll set you loose.
Speaker 2: Tim McMahon hopped on this week, and I don't know
Speaker 2: if this was solid intel or Tim just pontificating Kyrie
Speaker 2: Irving's injury. He floated Colin Sexton out as a potential
Speaker 2: target for the MAVs to utilize while Kyrie's getting well.
Speaker 2: The Jazz actually, ironically enough, even though the books are clean,
Speaker 2: moving forward, they probably will not have a lot of
Speaker 2: space cap space this summer. I'm going to go out
Speaker 2: on a limb and say John Collins picks up his thirty.
Speaker 1: Million dollar player option.
Speaker 2: Now if John doesn't, first of all, wow, Second of all,
Speaker 2: the Jazz actually have a little flexibility, but I don't
Speaker 2: think he's going to opt out. So any thoughts on
Speaker 2: potential moves other than the draft.
Speaker 1: They're not in a spot.
Speaker 2: To sign a bunch of free agents even if they could,
Speaker 2: they don't have the cash. So well, they kick the
Speaker 2: tires on a Colin Sexton, a John Collins, a Jordan Clarkson,
Speaker 2: the usual suspects. Are there any other avenues to potentially
Speaker 2: add a little bit of talent outside of the draft
Speaker 2: capital the Jazz having their back.
Speaker 3: Pocket, Well, they'll they'll explore Jon Collin straight for sure.
Speaker 3: And I would not be surprised John is traded this
Speaker 3: summer because he'll he'll pick up the player option, but
Speaker 3: he's going into the last year. It'll be it'll be
Speaker 3: an expiring and you know, frankly, he had a really
Speaker 3: good year last year. Uh and yeah, it's just a
Speaker 3: terrific shooting year.
Speaker 1: Act.
Speaker 3: So you know, I think that there are teams out
Speaker 3: there that will give value for a an expiring John Collins.
Speaker 3: We'll see what happens with Jordans. My guess is that
Speaker 3: he probably doesn't have uh that kind of value on
Speaker 3: the market this summer because I don't think he had
Speaker 3: a great season last year, you know. And we'll see
Speaker 3: what happens with with Colin section as well. You know,
Speaker 3: I don't think that the Jazz are averse to trading
Speaker 3: any of the three or all of the three. I
Speaker 3: don't think that they're verse to having those guys on
Speaker 3: the roster uh going forward. But you know, I do
Speaker 3: think that John is probably if I had to get
Speaker 3: that's the most likely to go, just because of the
Speaker 3: season that he had last year. And then they'll you know,
Speaker 3: I think the big thing. I think they'll go out
Speaker 3: and they'll get a veteran point guard this sure, no
Speaker 3: matter what happens in the draft. You know, I don't
Speaker 3: think that they'll go into next year, you know, without
Speaker 3: giving Isaiah Callier some some some competition at that spot.
Speaker 3: So uh, I think that they are reasonably sure that
Speaker 3: Keante George is not a point guard at this point.
Speaker 3: So you know, I think that that, you know, I
Speaker 3: think point guard will be uh an area of a
Speaker 3: focus for them, uh in the offseason.
Speaker 2: All right, ton my guy, we'll set you loose. But
Speaker 2: all I have to say one more time is do
Speaker 2: not let us win game six.
Speaker 3: Win game six. Just don't don't let us do it.
Speaker 3: Just finishes off. You better finishes off.
Speaker 2: That's what I'm saying. All right, brother, good, thanks for
Speaker 2: the time. I have a great weekend.
Speaker 3: All right, Yes, sir, I appreciate.
Speaker 1: Tony Jones our guide.
Speaker 2: Tony stops about today courtesy of our friends at IFA
Speaker 2: Country Store, summer vacations and.
Speaker 1: Warmer weather, or just beyond the horizon.
Speaker 2: As the days grow longer and brightly colored flowers be
Speaker 2: in making their appearance, it's time to start planning and
Speaker 2: applying Step two of I Phase four plus annual lawn
Speaker 2: care program. Designed with a blend of vital macro and
Speaker 2: micro nutrients. IFA Step two fertilizer promotes strong roots and
Speaker 2: vibrant colors in your yard.
Speaker 1: At IFA and IFA Dot co Op