Best of the Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Nix in for Nixon, for Nicks, in for Nick, in
for Next, in for Nixon, for Nixon, for Nix and for.

Speaker 4 (00:42):
How did this shallow made breakup effect? The Knicks mindset?
Entry Game one eight seven seven ninety nine. It's still
the third quarter quarter of the game. It's the third
quarter and four.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Okay, save this so when the Knicks come back and win,
we play at the beginning of next down.

Speaker 4 (01:04):
So we're never gonna play the same hell the beginning
of next out considering what they've just watched this third quarter.
I'm watching it.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
It's it's sex and it's not been great. Bob, No,
it's not been great.

Speaker 4 (01:17):
Uh. The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmen Live from
the Fox Sports Radio Studios. We are live as always,
first hour brought to you by tirakantirack dot Com frover
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(01:39):
the way tire buying should be. Minute and a half
to go in the third quarter. The Cavaliers eighty eighty
one sixty six lead over the Knicks. This third quarter
for Cleveland has been incredible. For the Knicks, it has
been abysmal. They have just fouled Mitchell Robinson. The last
three times he has had the basketball, he has not

(02:01):
made a free throw. The hacker Robinson working for the Cavaliers.
It is a fifteen point lead. They are doing whatever
they want to Offensively, they look like the team that
is more polished coming off rest. The Knicks look like
a team that is looking for answers, which is the
exact opposite. Obviously, with the Knicks coming off the big rest,
the Cavaliers having played on Sunday and right now they

(02:23):
are enjoying the vapors of that seven game win and
really it's been the Cavaliers in the third quarter. The
Knicks are chasing defensively, they're over pursuing so much, and
Josh Hart on Donovan Mitchell is just not working right
at the beginning of the third quarter, I said, this
is not working, gotta change it up. This is not
working that he is absolutely torching Josh Hart. Mitchell is

(02:45):
the only one really having a phenomenal game on the
Cavaliers tonight. Everything is going through him. He's got six
steals to go along with the twenty four points. Cavaliers
are up big with a minute to go in the third. Yeah,
thirteen career playoff games, game ones for Donovan Mitchell. He's
averaged thirty three points a game en route to another

(03:06):
one of those performances tonight. He's been fantastic. You look
at Harden's plus nineteen only nine points, which matches the
season low that occurred in the game seven. But offensively,
they've just been motoring through the Knicks roster. And we've
talked about it a lot of wondering how much the
end of the regular season and the first couple of

(03:28):
rounds were really indicative of where they're at defensively or
whether that could be exposed, and tonight flat footed, a
lot of standing around and opportunities getting to the rim.
You've seen some wide open into the lane for Mitchell
for Harden, and then talk about turnovers. It's been fairly
ugly in that regard over the course of the night.

(03:49):
And the Knicks cold shooting out the gay They're four
of twenty three from three point range. Yeah, it's not
been great. It's not been great. And your guy, hey,
I'll give you a positive. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (03:59):
The rest of the Knicks are ten of eleven from
the follow up.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yeah, oh no, everybody else long as Mitchell Robinson stays
the hell away from the game, everybody else is great.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
However, it is four fouls on Donovan Mitchell right now,
four fouls still late in the third quarter for him.
So that's gonna be something to watch. The way I
look at this game right the way I see this
game going. And you're gonna call me crazy, but you're crazy.
Even if it ends, thank you, Frostburg, You're crazy. Even
if it ends with Cleveland winning this game. I still

(04:31):
feel pretty good this What do you mean? This feels
like the whole fourth quarter. Have you seen an NBA.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
Game these these leads tend to disappear at times. Uh,
this seems like a feeling out game, and and the
you know, look when when when a team ends a
series and one team hasn't played in a while, another
team has played just a couple of days ago. Look,
I thought this was gonna be Hey, James Harden was
gonna be falling on a Sneakers and it was gonna
be a Knicks blowout. But obviously sometimes we that a

(05:00):
team that has just played, Hey, we're still in that
mode playing.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Every other day. Here we are again, here, new opponent,
and we've played. We take you a little bit by surprise.
I think everybody is surprised the way the Cavaliers are playing,
the way they're moving, maneuvering the offense, they're getting down low.
The Knicks defense is not playing well again, they're over pursuing,
they're too aggressive. This feels like it's one of those okay,
feeling out games where it's not going well for the Knicks.

(05:26):
But I haven't seen anything tonight that tells me, all right,
this is going to be a problem the rest of
the series. The Knicks do have to figure out the
best way to guard Donovan Mitchell because, as I said,
Josh Hart is not the answer. But outside of that,
I see a lot more aggressiveness from the Cavaliers. I
see a lot more of them moving around. And that's
kind of why we are where we are right now.
I haven't seen where the Cavaliers are going to really

(05:47):
give anybody problems, the problems the rest of the series,
but I see tonight right now, this was not what
the Knicks had expected. Things are not going well. Their
body language is bad. And here we are at the
end of the third quarter and the Nick are gonna
be down by at least fifteen going to the fourth.

Speaker 4 (06:03):
So while overall not a great night, I look at
it and say, Okay, obviously the next game is a
big one, but I expect a big adjustment. Again, still
fourth quarter ago, but I expect them to adjust more.
I haven't seen anything tonight that's really shary. Buried the
thunder last night and they went to double over all
of a sudden, Wemby's turned into I Am Superman.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
I'm Galactus to do that for three more games here.

Speaker 4 (06:26):
I mean, they've handled you pretty easily.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
Yeah, I think the Knick shooting is the Knick shooting
is gonna come back, and I don't think they're at home.
They're not gonna shoot like this from three. Brunson's not
gonna miss free throws like he is to play the Pistons.
It's a it's a This is a bad night for
the Knicks, that's what.

Speaker 5 (06:43):
And the Magic and the Celtics.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
You know, Look, I thought it would be the reverse
of this. I thought the Knicks would be out after
the hunger and coming out, but I think they they
get a little bit of a reality check here. The
playoffs have gone so well for them. Yeah, I mean
it's a bad night, right, It's a bad night. Jalen
Brunton's having a bad night. The Knicks have a bad night. Defensively,
everything is not going their way. Cleveland is playing well.
I give Cleveland a lot of credit. They have come

(07:07):
in attacking the basket, they're making the extra pass that
the Knicks are doing a lot of things I have
not seen them do in the playoffs. So it's one game.
I honestly, I feel like it's just one game because
I'd be the first guy saying, well, I can't believe
I got loaned into this false use security with beating
the Sixers.

Speaker 4 (07:23):
Man they steak, they would have lost to the Celtics. No,
I'd be giving you that if I felt that way.
I just feel like tonight not a great night for them.
And Game one and Game two are gonna be two
different things. We shall see. We've got one more quarter
to go for this one. I like your optimism trying
to stay glass half full as you watch the replay
of James Wood and his inside the Park grand slam,

(07:46):
just moments that was really a fort so you were
doing you No, hey, you know what. He tried to
make a tough play. He tried to catch a fly
ball and didn't catch it. No, no, no, that was
that was Pete Crow Armstrong against the Brewers with with
plenty of space between him and I did not watch
our watch. He did not yell at a fan in
the stands and and and lose his mind and say

(08:06):
bad stuff. He did not do that well. He at
least crashed into a wall and made an effort, whereas
uh PCA was LOLLI gagging, much like we've seen defensively,
just standing still. You would think with all the days off,
with the weight of of everything that's gone on, and
the hyperbole around this team, right, because we owe to

(08:26):
the fact that you haven't been on the biggest stage
since nineteen ninety nine. You got two series and now
in theory, the Red Sea parted because we got James
Harden and Donovan Mitchell coming to town. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
Well look, I mean, look, Mitchell has been terrific, right,
you know, showing up tonight wearing the Mets hat to
the game, which is a bit. Why is don Mitch
wearing a Mets Obviously he's grown up, he's a New
York kid, he's a Mets fan, so it's hard for
me to hate him because he loves the Mets.

Speaker 4 (08:54):
I do still have to hate it now because he's
telling you. I still feel like, you know, he's wearing
that hat to troll to trolled. Hey, you could have
had me, but you do whatever. Danny Ainge wanted the
entire world for you, just wouldn't trade you to the Knicks.
So it's not like it's the Knicks fault. But yeah,
this is a bit. I'm excited to be back here
and I'm gonna show you.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
Right, he's like Reggie Miller or Halliburton walking back into
the garden where I am extra motivated because I'm playing
in Madison Square Garden where I'm not gonna be this
guy most other nights. But oh a MSG with the
lights on, Look, how good I'm gonna be? Right, that's
the kind of night that Mitchell is having.

Speaker 4 (09:26):
Well, But we talked about it, right, just the game
ones he has come to play. Now you just have
to see can you keep that energy defensively? What answer
do they have? That's the bigger question? Right is this
the Knicks team that for the first half plus of
the season we openly mocked. You can go find all
sorts of tape about the lack of defensive acumen. Well, look,

(09:48):
I told you from the beginning.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
Josh Hart on him is a bed I told you
last night before we were talking about Game one. I
feel like I could coach the Knicks. I'm like Josh
Hart on Donna. Mitchell's not a great matchup. Josh Hart
should be on on James Harden is what did I
tell you? Harden is going to try to foul bait.
It's getting late in the playoffs. He's thirty seven. As
long as the Knicks keep him off of the free
throw line, he's gonna struggle. Josh Hart is the guy
for James Harden. Maybe you want Bridges, maybe Annonoby, whatever

(10:13):
it's going to be, but it needs to be somebody
a little bit more athletic on Donovan Mitchell. And as
you see, Josh Hart is picking him up right at
the arc and Mitchell just blowing by him. Well, I
mean this is not even close. Like, okay, how much
more do you have to see that? Josh Hart on
Donovan Mitchell is not working? Like I really expect there
to be a big change in the fourth quarter at least,

(10:33):
if anything, to set up Game two that Okay, it's
we're gonna make it a little bit harder for Donovan
Mitchell to really run things like he is tonight.

Speaker 4 (10:39):
Eleven of seventeen from the field is Mitchell right now?
He has shot one free throw, James Harden zero.

Speaker 6 (10:46):
Nick and Fournix and four Neck and four Jayson Nixon four.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
It still can be Nixon four. We got the whole
fourth quarter, We got the whole fourth quarter. The go
with you, Stott, listen, dumb Hey, Hey, how's how's that?
What time the lag?

Speaker 7 (11:02):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (11:02):
Exactly what sounds like you tonight?

Speaker 6 (11:04):
What time is the Like you didn't know this was coming?

Speaker 4 (11:06):
But you didn't know this is coming. You're just really opposite.
You love coming, love James Harden all of the sudden
poop in there. Really it really didn't. That's all they.

Speaker 6 (11:19):
Do, Jason.

Speaker 4 (11:20):
I hope the Lakers are enjoying kankun I hope you're
enjoying your time.

Speaker 6 (11:24):
I hope of a sudden, your Knicks aren't that good,
are they?

Speaker 1 (11:26):
My team is in the Eastern Conference Final, are they? They
haven't showed up to my team is. I'm kind of
watching them on television right now. I'm watching them kind of.

Speaker 5 (11:34):
Three quarters.

Speaker 4 (11:35):
I'm not watching good.

Speaker 1 (11:36):
I'm not watching your team anywhere. I'm not watching your
team anywhere. I haven't seen your team anywhere in a while.
Maybe like better about your team getting blown out at home. No,
it makes me feel good that my team is playing
and your team is not not really playing.

Speaker 6 (11:48):
Just bitter man really playing.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
The Knicks live rent free and four they rent free
in your head for Dixon four.

Speaker 6 (11:56):
But that's not possible anymore.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
Never rooting for the Nicks and four hard, it's not
even rooting for the Knicks and four garbage.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
No no Knicks, no, no Nicks, no, no Nicks no.

Speaker 1 (12:10):
Uh so we are into the fourth quarter. First minut's
still eighty three sixty nine Cavaliers with the lead. But
again it's not gone well. But I have not seen
anything crazy.

Speaker 4 (12:19):
You know, I'm a hardened guy, So I mean, you know,
the the old guys that are still out there, a
little bit of acting and whatever.

Speaker 5 (12:27):
He's hiding in that beard.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
Yeah, I I am. I am firmly. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:33):
Well, well, look, they've not been good to I'm telling you,
not been good. Shoo, They're all hiding everywhere it's been.
I can't tell you one aspect of the Knicks tonight
that has gone well, right, because they suck. Brunson has
not been good. Dude, Your team is right, yes, because
sucks is what they do. Play in the Eastern Conference finals.

Speaker 4 (12:51):
Back to back. Yeah, when's the last time you got
to a conference final?

Speaker 6 (12:54):
What's that? Seventeen eighteen championships? I lost? No, No, let's.

Speaker 4 (12:58):
Let's play what have you done lately? Because you're saying
they always do this? Sorry, this isn't us to sing
about the Knicks, sir. This is a Wendy's show tonight, right,
This is a Wendy's Yeah, and one team is showing
one team isn't.

Speaker 6 (13:09):
Yeah, Rent, the Calves are playing in there.

Speaker 4 (13:12):
The Knicks live, Rent free in your head, he actually
did just get you there. And one team is playing tonight,
the Cavaliers are playing.

Speaker 6 (13:20):
Hey, Jason, your diaper's full.

Speaker 4 (13:22):
Uh uh. Just enjoy all the off season looking ahead
at the draft, because that's what you should. You're doing
right now, your diaper. You're looking ahead at the draft.
That's what you're doing. That's what you do. I don't
know you can do that? Can you do that? Can
we do that? That's a stunday, we can do that. Okay.
Just want to make sure, Just want to make sure.

Speaker 6 (13:37):
That's the Knicks highlight brought to you by Tiraq.

Speaker 4 (13:40):
No, that's oh, it's great. We got another sponsor. That's fantastic.

Speaker 5 (13:44):
Plus side for the Knicks. Harden and Mitchell both with
four fouls.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
Yeah, so.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Again, Yeah, like I said, if I felt if I
felt awful, I would feel worse.

Speaker 4 (13:54):
You do feel worse. Did you have a big MAC
before you came in helping them? I I positivity. It's
a it's a bad game. It's like I said, it's
a bad game. Everything is not gone. Well, they've not
shot free throws well, that's a team. Everybody shot well. Yeah,
everybody shot well.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
But that's the thing is everybody go to the free
throw line. It's not the whole team, it's one guy
goes to the free throw line. Nothing has gone well
and and it's it's been a night for the Cavaliers.

Speaker 4 (14:25):
All the loose balls, all the rebounds off of the
long threes, offensive boards for them.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
Everything is good. The Calves are playing great tonight.

Speaker 6 (14:33):
I am.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
I am okay with where they sit. Even if they
lose this game, I'll be all right. Everything will be
just fine. Trust me, it's all right. And we still
got another quarter to go. Maybe the Nike will score
seventy five points. We got Tacos and gas seventy five points.

Speaker 5 (14:45):
I don't know. They're still stuck at sixty nine.

Speaker 4 (14:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:48):
And the other thing is this game, this game, no
matter who you're rooting for, this game is not making
anybody forget about last night.

Speaker 4 (14:53):
No, no, no, I'd rather you know what, as much as
you and I may have talked off hair about what
else is there to talk about out last night, I'd
like to go back and.

Speaker 5 (15:02):
Revisit that game a little bit more.

Speaker 4 (15:04):
Can we just replay the the wemby Otani line that
is up and our social team did a great job
getting that up. That often imitated, never duplicated today's takes
last night. But yeah, this game is certainly nobody's masterpiece. No, no, no, no,
as good as Mitchell has been anybody not a whole

(15:25):
lot that you hang your hat on. Here can we
talk about Alex Cruso exit, al about a Fresca exit
swollen down The Jason Smith Show with my best friend
Mike Harmon Coming up next.

Speaker 1 (15:36):
We got more from the NBA against a big lead
for the Cavaliers. We had a big head coach getting fired. Today,
we got big news out of the NFL. Keep it
right here, Happy Tuesday. At least it is for cass
fans right now Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 8 (16:06):
Steve Gott's here. I have a podcast empire. It continues
to grow, and I have brought it here to iHeart.
I'm also doing a live radio show from three to
five pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me
out of the house. It's called Stu Gotson Company Live,
which is available in podcast form right when the show
finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports.

(16:29):
A lot of phone calls.

Speaker 9 (16:31):
I love you on your show.

Speaker 4 (16:32):
It's one of my favorite.

Speaker 8 (16:32):
A lot of interact shit, guys not taking themselves too seriously.
Those are just some of the things that you can
expect from Stu Gottson Company and Stegotson Company Live. So
listen to Stu Gotson Company Live and our original podcast.
Please subscribe, rate and review Stu Gotson Company and God
Bless Football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. You do it

(16:55):
today and you can check all of those out on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast four wherever you get your podcast.

Speaker 7 (17:11):
Five Second Dance Party, Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith
Show with my bas friend Mike Harmon.

Speaker 4 (17:25):
Don't look now. The Knicks have cut it to seventeen Yeah,
the mid three point shot, Allen. The Knicks have cut
it to seventeen uh ninety three, seventy six, pleasing with
the lead right now six and a half to go
in the fourth quarter. It has been all Cleveland since
just before halftime.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
This game, Cleveland got out to a big lead early.
The Knicks come back after a bad first six seven minutes,
They take the lead after the first quarter. Cavaliers run
it back to halftime, and.

Speaker 4 (17:54):
They have been in control of this game since the
midway point of the second quarter, and it has been
what's for yelling Cavs and four. Uh.

Speaker 1 (18:02):
Look, I'd be the first one to tell you if
I was so unbelievably worried. But it feels like an
adjustment game. It's an adjustment game for the Knicks, not
playing Cavaliers coming off how well they've played their big
win Sunday night.

Speaker 4 (18:16):
They're doing what they wanted to do coming in here.
It feels like and it feels like an adjustment game,
where Okay, Game two is gonna look and feel a
lot different now. The pressure obviously, you want to stay
in this series. You gotta win Game two. It's a
must win now. But I feel like I've not seen again,
I've not seen anything that tells me, Okay, the Knicks
clearly or out manages as a bad matchup for them.

(18:37):
They're over pursuing defensively, they have a bad matchup on
Donovan Mitchell, they got to find the right guy to
put on him because Josh Hard is not that guy.
Jalen Brunson is not that guy. You might you might
have to move things around a little bit, but you know, defensively,
the Knicks have found a way. So but outside of that,
it's like, okay, now we're adjusting from what we watch
with MAXI running the team and then and then then
beating the last round. Now here's Donovan Mitchell who's playing

(18:59):
at a high level. Uh, that's about them. That's what
the Knicks have to do is adjust for a game two.
But again, and it's an adjustment game. That's how I
look at it. Seen it many times, many many times,
many times I've seen it. Wow, they come in to
win Game one and then all of a sudden, it's
a clinic the rest of the series. And that's where
I go, You're gonna get a clinic sudden. So all

(19:20):
of the you know, either Nixon four or five seem
to be the consensus, like, all right, I know they've
had a great year, and I know they're the people's
champion because everybody loves Jalen Bronson. They've grown to love
Karl Anthony Towns, to a degree. With his new role
and flow. Here, you have an opportunity to send a

(19:41):
message home court. You've been sitting on your ass for
a week. You couldn't get into the met Galla parties,
all of that stuff, that you are ready to come
out and show the world that you're the big bad Knicks.
And there there was no intensity, no ferocity at all
from this squad. It's been a stinker. It's been a

(20:02):
it's been a crap tastic game. I can't, I can't,
I can't get it's craptastic. They're terrible, terrible Sunday they are.
Let's go through all of the playoff failures that we
have seen, such a lacklans a coverge titles.

Speaker 1 (20:21):
How many times you have to see, Hey, here's a
couple of passes and it's mobile, or Jared Allen for
a slam down low, uncontested like that's that's what the
game has been, men, They've been crap task.

Speaker 4 (20:31):
That's my fear is that the team we thought had
couldn't play defense for the first half plus of the
season got fat against and all of a sudden, they
got a team that's willing to body up because you know,
as much as people dismiss the Cavaliers, and a lot
of it is you know, they have a liking problems
with James Hardens. These guys are pretty damn good, especially

(20:52):
when you talk about that front core. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
Oh, look, like I said, this is the game, this
is where we're gonna be at for game two.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
I'm okay. You even got o g back and he's
he has shown he's a guy that is rusty like
you gun.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
He's got three points tonight. He has not had a
big night. He has not impacted the game at all.
Like I said it, you know, I expected it to
go the other way.

Speaker 4 (21:14):
It did not.

Speaker 1 (21:15):
But seeing how the game is going, because I've seen
a basketball game, adjustment game. I just saw the super
cut of the nine thousand celebrities there. But I really
do have to ask, does the Jenner Shalo may breakup?

Speaker 4 (21:27):
But I don't know. I don't know that they're broken up.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
I don't We're still friends, he put it up on Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:32):
But I but yeah, you know, seeing some I'm not
sure this could wind up being the Now.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
This is where I give the Cavaliers a lot of respect.
If they are trolling everybody, if they're behind this challo
may breakup like with with with Kylie Jenner if they're
behind this, Like, now, that's genius to do that, right,
you know game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. Hey,
we have all we have, we have the videos or
the pit what is it? Jacob Elordi and her were
supposedly in a in Hawaii this past weekend together. Hey,

(22:01):
guess what Donna Mitchell's got these minutes. Here you go, TMZ.
I know you don't want to miss the boat like
you did with Rabel and Rassini. Here's the videos out
there for you. Like if this is a troll job
by the calves, this is it. This is an epic
troll job.

Speaker 4 (22:13):
Because he was he was in what the Weathering Heights? Right,
and then he was in Frankenstein. Yeah, I thought that
movie was overheating and Weathering Heights. I didn't bother. There
was a desire for here's the thing.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
There was a desire to see Frankenstein in another Weathering
Heights state that was out there like, oh, you know what,
people want to see another remake? No, I mean you
know another remake of Weathering Heights. That's people want to see.
That's been a minute, that's what people want. So let's
get a new pride and prejudice up. Yeah, while we're
at it, we'll have more on this game coming up
in a bed. Steve de Sager will have the latest
on what's trending. It is a twelve point lead now

(22:46):
for the Calves with five and a half left to go.
The garden coming back to life a little bit.

Speaker 4 (22:50):
Stop playing with your food now, if today went any different.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
A year ago, well I shouldn't say that. Doesn't make
sense what happened today, Okay, base I would say this,
there's a reality where Jason Kidd is coaching this game
for the Knicks. Okay, it was last year. If you
remember when the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau, what was the
first thing they want? Who was the first coach and
wanted to talk to? Jason Kidd?

Speaker 4 (23:19):
Right?

Speaker 1 (23:19):
Rick Buker joined us that I went and found a goal.
I remember Buker telling us the first night when they
fired Tips, he was at the top of their list.
And Buker said, Jason Kidd is at the top of
the Knicks list who they want to talk to.

Speaker 4 (23:29):
What happened?

Speaker 1 (23:30):
The Mavericks said no, and we're gonna give you a
contract extension. Now, we're not gonna let you do it right,
And there was a lot of go I'm sure the
league was, we're not gonna help the Knicks. We don't
want to make any of our guys available, even though
Jason Kidd seemed like he was open to talking to
the Knicks.

Speaker 4 (23:43):
But we're not.

Speaker 1 (23:43):
Letting you do it, not letting you do it. Well,
fast forward a year where today the MAVs fired Jason Kidd.
They owe him forty million dollars, they are eating the
rest of that contract. A year ago was we want
to keep him from the Knicks. We're going to keep
him here, and now a year later things went so
bad they want him gone. They are eating forty million

(24:06):
dollars forty million dollars to have.

Speaker 4 (24:09):
Him go away.

Speaker 1 (24:10):
Now the story, according to a couple of sources, he
wanted a bigger role. He wanted to be able to
move upstairs a little bit, but when they hired massai
U Jerry, that wasn't happening. And now it's Jason Kidd
is out. They're looking for a new head coach for
Cooper Flag and they are starting over in Dallas.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
Twenty six and fifty six, he did coach the Rookie
of the Year, so he had that going for him,
but otherwise just an absolutely abysmal season. Look, he's always
been a guy seen as a bit abrasive, I think
would be the kind way to put it. So if
things are going south and there's such dysfunction around the organ,

(24:47):
and maybe Cooper flags like, I can't do this, I'm
not running with this, and it was abysmal, and it's
not like he was playing with a full hand. By
the way, Yeah, wait, guys, you made deals for guys
you count on to be part of this rotation. We're unavailable, old, defeated,
and unavailable, and it was all about Cooper flag. So

(25:09):
you know, I'm waiting for all the backstories to start
flowing out of this because you know, again, Jason Kidd's
history isn't exactly clean in most of the breakups with
his past coaching expeditions, but this he went thirty nine
to forty three, they win the one point eight percent
shot to get Cooper Flagg and then this year was

(25:31):
just an unmitigated slug and just a miserable eighty two
game March exit about a Fresca exit swollen down the
Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
We'll have more on the Jason Kidds situation coming up,
because it's just so poetic for them that, oh, we're
doing all we can. We want to keep you away
from another team, and now they got to eat all
of that money.

Speaker 4 (25:56):
Now.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
The thing is, I get it with Jason Kidd, right,
I get it because you are getting to the new whatever.
You're getting to the new era of the Dallas Mavericks, right,
and this year didn't go well. It's built around Cooper
flag and so this is where you're at now.

Speaker 4 (26:15):
So all right, so what do we do.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
Well, Now, it didn't go great, and we need somebody
new to come in. The Luca trade went down, and
really you have Jason Kidd has left over. Now it's
everybody from the Luca trade now is gone, right, So
everybody who is there and you're seeing a lot of
what today was. Oh there's no way Jason Kidd wasn't
in on Luca and all this blah blah blah blahlah
blah blah. So now it's really part of it is, yeah,
you want to start over, but that desire people forget

(26:39):
the Luca trade is still hanging over the organization. It's
like this is something they probably should have done a
year ago, where we need to move on from this
because it's still hanging over the organization.

Speaker 7 (26:48):
Now.

Speaker 4 (26:48):
You can't get rid of all the players, right, but
what do we do?

Speaker 1 (26:51):
Anthony Davis has gone, Nico Harrison has gone, now Jason
Kidd has gone. Where Cooper Flag driven? Sometimes you need
to continue to beat that entire bad vibe out of
the organization to say, okay, before we can move on.
And that's kind of where you're at right now. Or Okay,
here's a guy who has left over and now we're
now we have new coach, new GM, new leadership, knew everything,

(27:11):
new Cooper Flag. We are putting this in the rearview mirror.
I would be surprised if they make an announcement that
the high the new head coach, no questions about the
Luca trade. Please, that is not who we are. We
have moved on from that, no new question So there
is a part of that that's big.

Speaker 5 (27:26):
Well, some of that you get away from it.

Speaker 4 (27:28):
And everybody has kind of pointed fingers for the last
year Plucess to who knew what and how and why
and when and everything else. And look, Kyrie Irving was
unavailable to you for the whole season, right, So I
mean there's a big part of what might have been
in terms of a player on the court, leadership, whatever
else to help facilitate. Because Cooper Flag we watched many

(27:51):
a weary minute trying to do everything and handling the
ball and all of that. But to your point, sometimes
the organization just needs to shift, even if even if
it doesn't look as bad in hindsight because Luca was unavailable.

Speaker 6 (28:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (28:06):
Yeah, So some of the guys are going, hey, I
mean how many how many voices did you hear suddenly
taking kind of my tack to it of Nico. I mean, look,
maybe maybe it wasn't the worst. What we talked about
a lot on the show, right of health, contract, all
of those things.

Speaker 5 (28:21):
Suddenly it started to shift a little bit.

Speaker 4 (28:24):
But you're never gonna get that out because the idea
of what Luca was is still too great even if
you got that one point eight.

Speaker 5 (28:31):
Percent consolation prize in Cooper Flag.

Speaker 4 (28:34):
So just get that.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
The part of it is, yes, Jason Kidd, you can
talk about all what were the relationships like and what,
but part of it we just got to get outside.
I mean, what's left over from If we have the
same vending machines, we have to get rid of them,
all right. If we have the same change uniforms, we
have carpet in the hallway, we have to change our
color scheme.

Speaker 4 (28:50):
We gotta change everything. We got to get rid of
everything that's left over from the Luca toxics era.

Speaker 5 (28:55):
We have bring back that old uh angry.

Speaker 4 (29:00):
Horse logo that you ran with all those years when
it was when the Green I like that, Yeah, the
horse riding in for the apocalypse, right, the four horsemen.

Speaker 1 (29:11):
So there it is for Jason Kidd. And don't look now,
but there's a game at the garden. The Knicks have
cut into the Cavaliers lead, and not just cut in it.
It is now. It is now a five point game.
Joining us now with the details on it is special

(29:34):
delivery Steve to Sega SD.

Speaker 4 (29:37):
What do you got?

Speaker 9 (29:37):
The Calves were leading at New York ninety three seventy
one with under eight minutes to go, ninety four eighty nine,
now the lead with just over three minutes left, and
in the knicks long playoff history, in any playoff game
where they were down by thirteen or more at the
end of three. The Knicks have lost forty playoff games

(29:58):
in a row in that scenario, dating back to nineteen
seventy three, a comeback against the Celtics. There wasn't much
scoring in the bulk of the first half. This is
game one of the NBA's East Finals. Calves in the
first quarter only scored sixteen points, which tied for the
fewest in game one of a conference final in the
last fourteen seasons. But by the end of three, the

(30:19):
Calves were up fourteen points, and in Cleveland playoff history,
when they're up double digits to start the fourth quarter,
they're sixty four and one. Thing is The one loss
in that scenario was last year, when they blew a
fourteen point lead and lost second round in a game
to the Pacers. Right now, it is Caves ninety seven
to ninety at New York under three minutes to go.

(30:41):
Donovan Mitchell twenty nine points and six steals. Calves have
seventeen turnovers.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
In this game.

Speaker 9 (30:47):
The Knicks are led by Jalen Brunson's thirty four points,
although New York from three point range is six for
twenty six. Tomorrow, Game two of the West Finals after
the classic last night, when the Spurs took the over
in double overtime at Oklahoma City. Victor Wim and Yama
had forty one points twenty four rebounds in that game.
San Antonio is now five to one against OKC this season.

(31:10):
Jason Kidd is no longer the MAVs head coach. As
the club put it, they mutually parted ways as Kidd
had four years left on his contract. The new team
president there in Dallas is Messiou Jeery no NHL tonight,
but Vancouver fired coach Adam Foot and his staff after
one season. That team has a new general manager. The
NHL's West Final starts Wednesday. Colorado hosts Vegas. Vegas has

(31:32):
yet to give permission for teams to interview its former coach,
Bruce Cassidy, who still has a year left on his contract.
Minneapolis was voted to host the NFL Draft in twenty
twenty eight, and Nashville will host the Super Bowl in
twenty thirty in its new stadium. NFL owners voted on
that today at the league spring meetings. Arsenal clinch the
Premier League title for the first time in twenty two years.

(31:55):
They had finished second three straight years until this The
league season ends this weekend. Arsenal will be the Champions League.
One of the two final finals teams at the end
of this month, going up against parisander Man Carlos Alcarez
will miss the French Open and Wimbledon due to his
wrist injury. He's already won four all four majors in
his career. The French Open starts this Sunday. To Major

(32:17):
League Baseball, the Cardinals have scored two and the ninth,
gaming up two and the ninth to send it to
a tenth inning. It's now Pittsburgh sixth Saint Louis six
in the tenth. Trying to keep an eye on this
game in New York, they're under two minutes to go now.
The Cavs have just taken a ninety nine to ninety
three lead at New York, again under two minutes to

(32:39):
go in Game one of the East Finals to Late
Night Baseball. To the fourth inning, Padres have four to
two on the Dodgers thanks to two two run homers
against LA starter Emmitt Shean. Dodger pitcher Blakesnell had his
elbow surgery today. The Padres, who won seven of nine
are the first place team in the NL West half
game over the LA Dodgers and mill Hawaukee is now

(33:00):
first in the NL Central half game over the Cubs
after winning in Chicago five to two against the Cubbies
winning pitcher Jacob Mazerowski six scoreless innings eight strikeouts. Tampa
Bay is still three games up on the Yankees in
the AL East. The Rays have won twenty of twenty four.
After beating Baltimore four to one, the Yanks held on
for a five to four victory over Toronto, beating Dylan Cees.

(33:23):
Yankees pitcher Garrett Cole will make his season debut Friday
against the Rays. After Tommy John surgery last year, Cole
missed all of last season. Cincinnati won at Philadelphia four
to one. That ends the Phills five game winning streak. Infact,
the Phillies offense went three for twenty nine with fourteen strikeouts.
Kyle Schwarber of the home team was out again due
to illness. The Phillies record now sixteen to five under

(33:46):
the interim manager Don Mattingley. Wins for Atlanta and Cleveland
on the road, wins for Boston and Houston on the road,
and in DC the Mets were down. Excuse me, Mets
were up five to nothing. In the second inning. Bobashett
a couple home runs, but eventually the lost to Nolan
MacLean Washington nine to six. Over in New York, James
Wood of the Nationals and inside the Park Grand Slam

(34:08):
after the left fielder missed a leaping at tenth at
the outfield wall. Updating the basketball, the Knicks have tied
the Calves ninety nine all under forty seconds to go
in Game one of the East Finals.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
Jason, thank you, Steve O. A Landry Shammitt three. That's right,
a Landry Shammitt three that looked like the big Kawhi
Leonard three from the NBA Finals few years ago. That
hit the rim, hit the back of the rim, bounced up,
bounced down, bounced in to tie the game.

Speaker 4 (34:37):
It is now one oh one, one oh one.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
Jalen Brunson with a layup that has tied the game
with sixteen seconds left to go.

Speaker 6 (34:48):
It's a radio on the call.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
Are we going to be seeing overtime? Will the Cavaliers
win it with a big shot from James Harden. I'll
tell you in a couple of seconds, because it looks
like we could be getting over time. The Knicks have
erased that twenty two point lead. The Cavaliers miss a

(35:11):
three at the buzzer. We go to overtime. One oh
one A piece. Didn't think this was coming. Hey when
I threw that out there the day, you know what, Hey,
it's not the game that.

Speaker 4 (35:21):
Was last night. Oh, I don't know. We had a
better fourth quarter than last night. Go New York, Go
New York. Co, Go New York, New York Coat.

Speaker 5 (35:30):
No cheering in the press box.

Speaker 1 (35:32):
One oh one, one oh one, We have more on
this incredible game one of the Eastern Conference Final. Stefan
Marberry is clapping like crazy. That's coming up next, Jason
and Mike Fox. If you're skilled in manufacturing, your next
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Expresspros dot com. Expresspros dot com.

Speaker 2 (36:48):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.

Speaker 4 (36:58):
NIX and four.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
A scant forty nine minutes ago, nothing look possible, But
here we are now with two minutes to go in overtime,
and it's the Knicks with the basketball and a one
oh seven one oh one lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A twenty two point Cavaliers lead disappeared Jalen Brunson with

(37:26):
a bucket to tie the game at the end of regulation,
and now a Landry Sham at three has just given
the Knicks a one ten, one oh one lead with
a buck forty nine left to go in overtime. I
see your one great Wenby shining moment game and I raise.

Speaker 4 (37:49):
You one Nicks comeback. You look so upset, Mike Carmen.
You do not I like sad Jason Smith the way
do not look happy right now. I don't like bad strategy,
bad execution and thinking that the clock's suddenly going to disappear.
This is like watching your favorite football team go into
a prevent defense and then watching a lead e road

(38:12):
because that's what the Cavaliers did. Started playing passive basketball,
slow footed, no offensive vent. You actually had a twenty
four second violation. How many times do you see that
a basketball game? Right? You don't do that because everybody's
running to get a three point shot up as fast
as they can, no matter what the size of the
lead is.

Speaker 5 (38:31):
And in this it's it's been miserable.

Speaker 4 (38:33):
Harden's been awful, Mitchell's been erased, and Jalen Brunson took
over the game. Well look, it became the Jalen Brunson
Show in the fourth quarter, and so your tone and
tenor you were the low stephen A.

Speaker 5 (38:47):
Smith consol.

Speaker 4 (38:51):
Ridiculous and now you're over the top and screening. Well,
I'll tell you what's happened. It was a twenty point lead,
Brunton hits a three, they get a turnover, a bucket,
they cut it to fifteen, and it was just slowly
from there. The Knicks could do no wrong.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
As bad as the first three quarter, three and a
half quarters were all of a sudden, all the shots
are going bank, shots are falling, and it's insane to watch.
And what the Cavaliers did was they stopped going underneath
and they started settling for threes, and they kept taking threes.
The Knicks would leave them open for threes. They kept
leaving them open threes, threes, threes, and the Cavaliers kept missing, right,

(39:29):
James Harden is not having a big game, and the
long rebounds the Knicks were getting them, and they were
coming up up and down the floor making their shots,
and the Cavaliers were just settling right. This was a
game where they were on their heels. They were way
on their heels. And the Knicks were able to continue
to keep you know, throw the hammer down there. They
did hit a three, you know, to give them a

(39:49):
six point lead with about a minute a half left
to go, but the Knicks would not be denied. And
you look at this game. You've seen it again, You've
seen it so many times. Here's a team with a
big lead. We start playing nine to lose. Will settle
for threes. We've been making our threes, okay so far
in the game. Not anymore now, sixteen to forty eight
from three point range.

Speaker 4 (40:07):
They took eight three point shots in the fourth quarter.
They made three of them. They had four shot attempts
inside the paint. They go one of four, Like you've
been living in the lane for three plus quarters and
you stop riddle' be that batman. Now there a couple

(40:29):
of things. I'm sure Atkinson he's got at least three
or four calls, and he's gonna ask raise a qui
hand to Scott Foster and his crew and be like, hey,
what have we got here?

Speaker 5 (40:38):
But overall, you let a lead like you get nothing,
you get nothing. You get what you get.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
So one ten, one oh four, the Cavaliers did hit
a three, to make it a six point game with
a minute forty five left to go in overtime. So
a nice timeout on the floor, a nice time to
bring you our play of the day, brought to you
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(41:08):
Tirerack dot Com is the way tire buying should be. Well,
this is from earlier in the show when it was
a twenty two point lead for the Cavaliers as we
opened up tonight, and that's our play of the day.

Speaker 3 (41:20):
Nixon for Nixon for Nicks, In for nixt.

Speaker 4 (41:25):
In far it's still the third quarter. It's quarter of
the game. It's the third quarter.

Speaker 1 (41:36):
Okay, save this. So when the Knicks come back and win,
we play at the beginning of next down. So we're
never gonna play, say.

Speaker 4 (41:42):
Oh, play of the day, play of the day, Right up,
sat you fast wow of scant fifty three minutes later.

Speaker 6 (41:50):
You know what?

Speaker 4 (41:50):
You know what? The biggest change in this game was
Mitchell Robinson got put in carbonite since it is the
Mandalorian and grow Google very good her carbonite in the
Wars universe. Very because he couldn't do anything and they
sat his ass down and everything went right thereafter exit

(42:11):
about a Fresca exit, swollen dome, A one tar coming
up next? Is it an unbelievable game one comeback from
the Eastern Conference Finals the opposite of what happened to
them last year? Or are the Cavaliers back on their
way to taking Game one? That's next right here, Chasing
and Mike Fox Sports Radio, Nixon far yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

(42:34):
yeah yeah. And people who may not even be Cavaliers
fans or anything having to do with them. No, he
just didn't. He wasn't wearing a Knick shirt, he yelled
at the guy. No. So it's it's that fandom that
ride the lightning. I'm a little jealous of it. I'm
also a bit scared of it at times here in
the Fox Sports Radio studios. But the improbable has happened.

(42:57):
Those people that had ninety five percent of the money
that was bet on the Knicks minus seven and a
half actually cashed their tickets and did so not sweating
at all. In over time, Go New York, Go New York.

(43:17):
Goat insanity. Now, before we get into this incredible comeback,
biggest comeback in Knick's history, biggest comeback in the NBA
playoffs in thirteen years, was a twenty two point lead
for the Cavaliers with under eight minutes to go in regulation.
Ready for my hot tak, thank go ahead. Kenny Atkinson should

(43:38):
be fired right now. The fact that James Harden was
isoed with Jalen Brunson, possession after possession aftersession. He can't
stay with him. You could have Jason kidds fire. Jason
Kidd could come and coach this team now. He could
have gotten the guy out of third deck that paid
that five to fifty one to sit in the nosebleeds
to coach better than he did down the stretch.

Speaker 5 (43:59):
How are you letting and get cooked? Repeatedly?

Speaker 1 (44:02):
When we started the show just an hour ago, at
this time, it was a twenty two point lead for
the Cleveland Cavaliers and on the other side of the glass,
Executive producer Justin Frossberg, Alex Tyshert technical wizard.

Speaker 5 (44:18):
Oh now he's a wizard.

Speaker 4 (44:19):
Well he always was a wizard. Oh okay, I've called
him a wizard. He wanted to open the show with
their own spin on game one. Now we're gonna let
you hear from an hour ago. This was what was
said an hour ago, at this time, one hour ago,
twenty two point lead, one hour ago.

Speaker 1 (44:37):
It is a twenty two point lead at this time
for the Cleveland Cavaliers Game one.

Speaker 4 (44:43):
And this is how he opened the show. But mainly
listen to how the last person to speak and what
they actually say. Go ahead on Nix for Nixon, for
nick In for nick In for Nixon. It's still the
third quarter. Quarter of the game. It's the third quarter. Okay,

(45:08):
save this. So when the Knicks come back and win,
we play at the beginning of next hour. So we're
never gonna playa beginning of the next hour.

Speaker 5 (45:16):
Go New York, Go, New York, Go Go.

Speaker 4 (45:19):
By the way, they were really positive until that last
sentence there. That was you praying and offering sacrifice? What
did you What did you do to Zoey? So did
you give way? Her college funded the basketball gods? I
saw the future beginning of next hour. We're gonna play
it back. I mean no, no, no, that that is
the dying man's lamentation. That's the gamblers. Please, Lord, I'll

(45:45):
never fall and cross you up again. Let me have
this one. Please. I know, Mike, Mike, I know things.
I see things.

Speaker 1 (45:52):
I knew the future an hour ago. I said, save
this when the Knicks win, We're playing it back in
an hour.

Speaker 4 (45:58):
Here we are.

Speaker 5 (46:02):
I mean they were cheering on the Knicks exactly.

Speaker 4 (46:05):
They were cheering on the nex. I mean that was positivity.
There was no sarcasm or snarking. H cheering on that.
I knew the future.

Speaker 5 (46:12):
There's only two of them, I mean, how loud can they?

Speaker 4 (46:13):
Jason, I want to thank you for encouraging your team
to win. Yeah, well I was.

Speaker 6 (46:17):
I felt like, you know, no, it's our fault that
they won, right, That's okay?

Speaker 1 (46:20):
Now, No that thank you, thank you, thank you for
all of your negativity because the Knicks won because of you.
Well that and also wow, and unbelievable fourth quarter or
really last half of a fourth quarter by the Knicks
and the Cavaliers just absolutely getting so tight, settling for
threes and winding up falling short against the Knicks in

(46:40):
Game one, And really, I don't know what you.

Speaker 4 (46:43):
Have left if you're the Cavaliers right.

Speaker 1 (46:44):
This is an exact one eighty of Game one of
the Eastern Conference Finals last year. The Knicks had the
big lead over the over the Pacers, and what happened.
Pacers kept hitting threes. Everybody in the team kept hitting threes,
and Halliburton hits that miracle three back of the rim
up straight down does the choke sign turns out to
not be a three, but they go to overtime, the
Pacers win, they win the series, they go to the

(47:06):
NBA Finals.

Speaker 4 (47:07):
This is this is what I was owed. I was
owed this karma flip. I feel like Ron bergerty, I
was owed this entire flip miss Corningstone, an entire one
to eighty from last year where it was the Knicks
down huge, I mean twenty two points with under eight
minutes left, and they come back and tied at the
end of regulation and just blow past the Cavaliers in

(47:29):
overtime one fifteen to one oh four. Jalen Brunson at
awful first three and a half quarters and then he
couldn't miss, and all of a sudden, Brunson just couldn't miss.
And the Knicks erase this deficit. And it's not like
they erased it all the way down and hey, they
hit a big shot that brings them all. No, this
was a tie game with about a minute plus left

(47:49):
to go, Like this is this is where the Knicks
erase that deficit in about six minutes. You know, twenty
twenty two point lead gets erase in about six minutes.
You tell me a team doesn't look like a team
of destiny WEMBA seeing three games, seeing three games, get
those Nick Spurs NBA Finals tickets ready, print him up. Yeah,
I got a lot of questions. I wish I was
in the uh the press throng throng. Yeah, none of

(48:11):
you get to talk. I've got nine questions for coach
before he gets to leave this dais coach Donovan Mitchell
dominated early. He had five shots total in the fourth
quarter and overtime. Riddle be that batman? H Where did
he go? Why did he disappear? Oh again?

Speaker 5 (48:28):
Why is James hard not Jalen Brunson? And watching him.

Speaker 4 (48:31):
Get cooked you could literally see, Uh it was it
was like, uh, Tom Hanks creating fire and castaway. It's
like his foot's on fire. He's moving past him so fast. Uh,
and just on and on and on. But that fourth
quarter was just absurd.

Speaker 9 (48:45):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (48:46):
You talked about settling for threes, settling for bad shots,
trying to run down possessions, but then coming away with
ill fadd and shots and and braakes. Going back the
other way. Nick's moving the ball effective. A lot of
spot up, wide open looks into the corners, even if
it came back out. But when they did put up

(49:06):
a three point shot, suddenly there's it's uncontested. So good
ball rotation. Maybe they were just pacing themselves. Maybe that's
all it was. Maybe they needed the smelling salts, Maybe
they needed the hatred of a full city and all
the nation, including those ninety five percent of the backers
that had them. But suddenly that fourth quarter was just

(49:28):
out of a different, different planet, a different universe.

Speaker 1 (49:33):
You want to know something that is, well, we always
give you something different, right, and we'll give you stuff
tonight that I'm sure you're gonna hear people say tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (49:41):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
You hear a lot of times that the game got
too long, right you hear that'll you hear that about
you have? Like the game got too long and a
team that had a league, whether it's football, basketball, baseball,
the game just got too long and whatever momentum you have,
whatever whatever you were doing that wasn't working, the other
team is able to gather themselves focus take advantage. Sometimes

(50:03):
the game gets too long. Well, this lead that the
Cavaliers built out the third quarter was long, Like it
took a long time to play that third quarter. They're
doing the hack of Mitchell Robinson, he's missing the free throws.
But that third quarter was.

Speaker 4 (50:16):
A long time, right, that was a long time, And
the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter, it
was a long time. There weren't points being scored. You
had guys, you had guys coming in, you had a
lot of substitutions. It just got long.

Speaker 1 (50:29):
Right, If you're watching this game at home, you feel like, yeah, boy,
you feel like you're looking going man. There was some
time where it felt like, okay, this game is just
kind of going along dribs and drafts. And when a
game gets long like that, that always favors the team
that's trying to come back because that invariably you get
a spark, you get some sort of couple of big
plays in a row. And the Knicks, honestly, they felt

(50:51):
it when they got it to fifteen, like you could
see Madison Square Garden come alive. At six and a
half minutes, when Brunson makes a three, the Cavaliers down
the other end, they get a layup to cut it
to fifteen, and you could see MSG just go absolutely bananas.
And that's what I thought, Oh, yeah, this game's not over.
This is the Cavaliers are gonna have to finish if

(51:12):
they're gonna win this game.

Speaker 4 (51:13):
And it was.

Speaker 1 (51:13):
You could see it. From when it was a fifteen
point lead. The Cavaliers started settling for threes. They were
getting down low the entire second half, and it wasn't difficult.
It was a couple of pay It was Mitchell with
either either Mitchell would penetrate and dish for a dunk
or an easy layup, or he would dish, and then
it was one pass later on to Mobiley or Allen

(51:34):
for an easy dunk or a layup. And that didn't happen.
They settled for threes and they kept You could tell
the mine said is just one, just give us one three.
If we just hit one three, we're gonna we'll be okay.
We'll get that lead back out to fifteen, back out
to twelve, and they couldn't and they just missed and
missed and missed, and I'm watching, I'm saying, this is
the exact opposite of what I watched a year ago
tonight in Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals with

(51:57):
the Pacers, watching the Pacers make every single three in
the Knicks not make a shot, Brunton with a big turnover,
they still met and it still comes all the way
down to the end you get the miracle shot by Haliburton.
This was the exact and total opposite of it. Man,
it was a magic carpet rode. It was just an
absolute magic.

Speaker 4 (52:13):
But just go back to the unwatchable, dismal first quarter
that we watched right twenty three sixteen Cavaliers just absolutely
disjointed and it's like, okay, maybe there was more to
this series and a hangover. And then the following two
quarters they go on a tear and we see a

(52:34):
completely different squad. And then you get back to the
fourth quarter, eighteen points scored and then over time all
of three. But you watch Donovan Mitchell have his way
early on James Harden not overwhelming, but made a couple
of plays defensively, was distributing the ball fairly well, finding

(52:55):
his way to the follow line a couple times eventually.
But you look at Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter
in overtime, and I'll show you the shot chart because
I've got him up for our fun and exciting uh.
I'll speak it out to our live audience nationwide here
and globally on the iHeartRadio app. One for five for Mitchell.

(53:15):
And then we look at Jalen Brunson's fourth quarter in overtime.
He goes eight of eight of ten, including seven makes
inside the paint. Right. He was only ela took one
three point shot that entire time. It seemed like he
was blitzing, but no, it was the drive and cooking
James Harden repeatedly. And then when he didn't take a shot,

(53:37):
he drew the double so wide open looks as you
talked about for shamit. We had the step back and
you and I watched it live when when Bridges hit
that big three, the twenty five foot step back, they
had called a fall and merrill that I think everybody
in attendants looked, goes, that was a foul.

Speaker 2 (53:55):
You get.

Speaker 4 (53:55):
You like the guys beat the hell out of each
other quite frequently here, and you call a loose ball
and then in the ensuing moments you get the big
three point shot and the garden just erupts. But for
Jalen Brunson, yeah, it was pacing. And we watched the
Cavaliers just go away from everything that had worked, as

(54:16):
if to say, all right, the game's done. It's like, no,
you have to finish the job. And I use the
football equivalents because we do that oftentimes watching a team
with a two score lead, maybe you know it's a
seventeen point lead, and all of a sudden we got
a game in the final two or three minutes because
they went away from what was working. It's like, you know,
you may not love your run game, but you know what,

(54:37):
it's a minute off the clock every time you do
it right. All of that, or call a swing pass,
you know you're eighty percent completion rate to your running
back out of the back, whatever it is. In this case,
you just went away from everything of working inside and
settling for bad jump shots, which yield what long rebounds

(54:57):
and breakout opportunities. And what we know from the calves
is well you can expose a little bit in transition,
and once again you had Mitchell in foul trouble for
the good part of the fourth quarter and even the
third quarter a bit. James Harden had finished with five files,
but all said, you watch the Knicks, just say, Okay,

(55:20):
we've got exposed the soft underbelly. Mitchell's not being aggressive anymore,
so let's attack, and Jalen Brunson was that guy once again,
forty four to eleven to close things out.