New York Knicks 2025-26 NBA Season Lookahead

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 What is up, Felsico's Omdamp Valley coming at you with my certified fan tabulous co-est,

spk_0 Mr. Grant Hughes, and as we roll out another 2025-2026 NBA season look ahead, we are joined

spk_0 by Andrew Claudio of Nix Film School to talk about the Charlotte Hornets.

spk_0 No, excuse me, sorry.

spk_0 We're gonna talk about the Nix, which means we get to talk to GMAC.

spk_0 I don't know who called you GMAC, but it's GMAC around these parts.

spk_0 Follow Andrew on the socials machine at Andrew Claudio underscore spelled exactly as it sounds

spk_0 and it's on the screen and it's in the podcast and YouTube description.

spk_0 Andrew, welcome back for year like five or six of you doing this.

spk_0 Thank you so much for coming back on. How are you doing?

spk_0 I'm good. It's good to be back. I got to meet Nuffa Valley.

spk_0 That text is you when you texted me about like it's time for the preview to do this show again,

spk_0 that my reaction to seeing your text on screen was like, I've been waiting for this text.

spk_0 I said to my wife, you know, I've been waiting for Felsico to text me about when we're gonna talk

spk_0 about the Nix and after years of you wanting the Nix to fire the head coach and you being on here

spk_0 to be like when are the Nix gonna get relatives. We're finally here to talk about the Nix having

spk_0 fired the coach that she wanted gone. So happy to be here and obviously I'm also happy

spk_0 that I finally get to do one with Grant as well.

spk_0 Well, Grant, I just very glad there. Are you taking notes about how you should be reacting when I

spk_0 text you about podcast? I'm sure that one. Every time every single time you text Dan,

spk_0 I turned to my wife and I say like, oh, I think I got it. I guess I hear from Dan again.

spk_0 It's a blast. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, this is this is fancy. I feel like I can't wait to get into

spk_0 this, especially with the tips of it all because I know Dan over the years you have advocated for

spk_0 some things with regards to tips than not everybody else has, but also because I talk to you so

spk_0 often, I know that there have been times where you've walked it back. So I'm just this, I don't

spk_0 know, we don't need to segue anything, right? We should just get into the first question, which

spk_0 is really Andrew, like, where do you land on the tips firing? It will let Dan say his piece,

spk_0 but do you think he did enough to get another year out of this? Or was it just time? And if so, why?

spk_0 Can the answer of both questions be yes? Like, I thought he did enough to get another year. I left

spk_0 the conference finals being like, that was a pretty horrific coaching performance by tips.

spk_0 I don't think it's even the reason they lost the conference finals, divine intervention and

spk_0 blowing a 14 point lead with two and a half minutes in game one is to me why they lost the conference

spk_0 finals. And like, I give him a ton of credit for why they be Boston. Like he had Mozilla going to

spk_0 hack a Mitch on mitra Robinson just to get their backup center out of the game. Like, I actually

spk_0 thought he'd jet on mind tricked him because the three point variance was going his way in the Celtic

spk_0 series. And I think all of those feelings, I'm expressing the maddening tendencies and principles

spk_0 that he holds true to. And then how they benefit you when you least expect them in situations where

spk_0 the margins are so tight are the tips conversation. Like that is the entire tips experience. And I

spk_0 think he's a really good coach. I think the further you get into the playoffs, his weaknesses

spk_0 are on full display. And it's that his inflexibility doesn't allow him to go to option C, option D,

spk_0 option E. And when you're going up against the coach like Carlisle, who's going to like Tony

spk_0 Bradley and Thomas Bryant and Ben Shepherd and guy 11, 12 and 13 on his bench. And he knows he can

spk_0 because he used the regular season to see how those guys can contribute. Whereas Tim's was like,

spk_0 I have my seven. And that's why I'm going to play during the regular season. He doesn't have that

spk_0 option. So I landed at the end of the season being like, how are you going to fire a guy that made

spk_0 it to the conference finals while also saying if they went a different direction because next year is

spk_0 the year, I would understand that I'd welcome it. And it's how I ended up reacting to the news.

spk_0 Like I understand that I welcome it. So I know you guys live. This was more of a day to day thing

spk_0 for you guys, but it's you're pulling me back to like the postseason and all the conversations we

spk_0 had about how like everything that's good about tips is also bad like from the rigidity to like

spk_0 there's like all of the speeches or bugs in a certain way because it's like, yeah, he doesn't go

spk_0 deep enough into the bench, but you guys know who's playing and you know how many minutes it's going

spk_0 to be in like there's something to be said for the just like the the hunker down and get after it

spk_0 of it all, but also it wears everybody out like all the positives were negatives. I think like

spk_0 did you this is sort of how I think as I think about it now distilled it was like

spk_0 how good is good enough for the nicks because and that's what you're saying like he gets to the

spk_0 conference finals. Maybe that's sort of a sub question here is like was there a coach on

spk_0 planet earth that would have gotten this roster farther had it been used differently last year.

spk_0 Also that that's a spoiler rest of the show. Yeah, it's literally the test case we're about to see

spk_0 with lip brown. I think the nicks will be better during the regular season this year. I think

spk_0 they'll be we'll learn more things they'll use the regular season for data collection and

spk_0 to see what an actual five out lineup looks like and to see what playing with more pace and to

spk_0 seeing what's what guy 11 12 and 13 like I mentioned, but the Pacers did last year like I think

spk_0 they'll be more flexible. I think there'll be a more creative plan in place other than just

spk_0 hitting the same button over and over again, even if the button is leading to some winning.

spk_0 I think the next will be much more entertaining and will look better on paper this year. They

spk_0 lose in the second round. It's technically not as good as last year and it's technically around

spk_0 earlier than they were eliminated the year before. It's why the unfairness of the job really was

spk_0 how I processed his firing the fact that you can get a team like the nicks that hasn't

spk_0 been to the conference finals in 25 seasons to the conference finals like dip thrown the Celtics.

spk_0 I know Tatum got hurt, but they were down nine about to go got to go down three one in game four

spk_0 when that happened. Again, I say they get to the next they get to the Pacers series and lose.

spk_0 And I said if they fired tips, I would understand it. It's just the nature of the business that

spk_0 if you wonder if a team has a next level to go to you want to fire the coach first and see if

spk_0 someone else can get them there. And then if that coach can't get them there, you don't go

spk_0 full mad ispia. Just keep hiring coaches until you eventually blow up the roster.

spk_0 I think if Mike Brown can't and this pivot into leaning more of an offensive mindset,

spk_0 if that doesn't get them there, then we'll see some roster shakeups next year. But I'm at the

spk_0 the point of I need to see if they're deployed differently. If this looks different. If it's

spk_0 more sustainable and I think that's more the motivation behind going on to a new coach.

spk_0 When you look at what Mike Brown is trying to implement and the buzz words, the stuff that he has

spk_0 said ever since coming where it's played with more pace, we've more three pointers, five out

spk_0 lineups using using talent, Brunson off the ball, using Carl and he turns as a playmaker.

spk_0 Of all of the things he wants to incorporate, this would be a twofold question. What do you view as

spk_0 sort of the most difficult thing for him to implement and what is the one that most intrigues you

spk_0 if they're the same thing? That's of course fine. Well, some of these principles they can

spk_0 flicked. If you're going five out, that means Cat is at the five. So your rim protection is

spk_0 going to be garbage. I saw it for 82 games last year and Cat played the majority of the

spk_0 majority, the entirety of last season. Then we got to the playoffs and they're switching against

spk_0 Robinson and the conference finals. You know how many possessions you might know this already,

spk_0 Dan? You know any possessions? Jalen Brunson, Mr. Robinson and Carl and Thetowns had played

spk_0 together before suddenly Cat became the starting center in game three of the conference finals. How

spk_0 many of they had played together in their lives before that? Wasn't it like 111 or something

spk_0 ridiculously low? No, that way less way less for not possession. Not possessions. Oh minutes minutes.

spk_0 Oh minutes. I'll say 40. The answer is 14. The answer is two. There you go. Like a couple

spk_0 out of bounds, possessions. Like it's basically what they did. They played the double bids with

spk_0 with Brunson, like barely in at all during the regular season. And I think Mitch is about to be

spk_0 the starter. So you're about to see a lot more of it during the regular season. I think the

spk_0 most difficult thing to and it's why I think we could get to the end of this year and come to

spk_0 the same conclusion that you did when you fired tips. It's that don't know how sustainable a defense

spk_0 you can actually create with both Jalen Brunson and Carl and Thetany Towns on the floor at all times.

spk_0 I do like some of the offensive principles that he's trying to creatively and still whether it be,

spk_0 like you said, Brunson off ball, taking more threes, running the offense through cat like a hub.

spk_0 Like cats not heart and Stein. So it's going to be so much more difficult to do that. I saw

spk_0 tips run the offense through like Randall at the nail or heart and Stein at the nail extended. And

spk_0 like you saw ways that the mix actually got creative with the right center. I just I think it's

spk_0 some of the complications with with running an offense through cat. So all of this to say the

spk_0 defense and a sustainable playoff defense in particular is the most difficult thing. I'm excited

spk_0 to see why of the offensive principles that he's going to install because I think that's why you

spk_0 win and got him is a focus now needs to put back on the the offense on this team and especially with

spk_0 a roster that they put together. So I do think we all agree that Robinson is the favorite to be the

spk_0 final starter for the season. Is that who you would start? Like is that the right answer? Because

spk_0 the word you mentioned before is conflict and this runs completely counter to the five out model.

spk_0 And I know you don't have to play the entire game like that. But if Josh Hard is coming off the

spk_0 bench, you presume he's going to punch a minute. And it was like 88% of townses and Brunson's

spk_0 minutes came with Josh Hart last year. That's not five out. I'd like Josh Hart's a really fun

spk_0 player, but that's not five out. And so I just don't which again, if you're concerned about the

spk_0 defense, then sure that makes some semblance of sense. But you might have again the worst of

spk_0 at the worst, but there's problem where we'll catch the five, but we're also not five out. And

spk_0 that's just like, okay, well, what are we? What's happening here? So I've been on record. I would

spk_0 start Deuce to regret. Yes. Oh, you guys, you guys just begin to reference. Yes, yes.

spk_0 It's not even I do have the same concerns that TIBS did and maybe other people have about the

spk_0 two small guards. I do have a concerns towards that. The numbers are just astronomical when Brunson's

spk_0 next to McBride and the 83 possessions we saw of Deuce in place of Josh Hart plus the starters.

spk_0 Like also astronomical. I just want to see it until it stops working. Like the data at a certain point

spk_0 is allowed to just be right for a while, even if it visually is like, oh, well, how am I going to

spk_0 protect against two small guards? And this is honestly one of the biggest bugaboo's with TIBS is

spk_0 like, he did this in manual quickly too, where two small guards is just such a principle. He's never

spk_0 going to instill and I guess more specifically abandoned. Like I believe in size more than anything.

spk_0 And it's why like RJ Barrett was playing over a manual quickly, even though one was more effective

spk_0 than the other. I would start Deuce. I don't think they're going to. I also think there's a lot

spk_0 of pros to Mitchell Robinson being the starter. You Mitch, I think if you get creative with staggering,

spk_0 could just be like an impactful six minutes at a time player. I thought that's what you saw in

spk_0 the playoffs. He comes in for six minutes, messes stuff up, like secures your defense, becomes

spk_0 the rim protector, the offensive rebound, like possession battle machine, and then you go to

spk_0 somebody else. So if you go six minutes at the beginning of each half with Mitch, then you go to

spk_0 your five out concepts. Then you bring, you go to Josh Hart and Mitch and you're leaning even

spk_0 further into the possession battle. Like you have multiple ways to do it. I'm less tied to the five out

spk_0 thing like with Deuce being the starting lineup than I am. I need to just see it. Like I need more

spk_0 than 83 possessions of season. How about like 15 a game? Like like four minutes a half. Why can I see

spk_0 five out in the first and second half? Which is to Dan's point is not what happens when either

spk_0 Mitchell Robinson or Josh Harder on the floor. So they should be partners in the second unit or

spk_0 taking advantage of second units. And I it's why I'm very curious how much we're going to see it

spk_0 this year. It feels like what what we're getting to here is is now we definitely it's going to be

spk_0 interesting to see what Mike Brown does like tactically like how does he increase the pace? How does he

spk_0 get the next to not be one of the slowest teams in the league to just get into the first action?

spk_0 Like all that kind of stuff. But it feels like the real test of Mike Brown is going to be

spk_0 based on what you guys are talking about. Like how effectively night to night can you use these

spk_0 different looks that you're going to have based on the situation because like there isn't a perfect

spk_0 one. Right. Like if you if cats the five then like you said the rim protections terrible. If he's

spk_0 the four you garden with a small like it just neutralizes what's great about him. Now you don't

spk_0 have any space you're less spacing. But like the point is these are all buttons that tips had

spk_0 available to push and didn't. And so just does Mike Brown push more buttons. It feels like it

spk_0 just like mess around a little bit. And I think what'd you say like it's a data collection season

spk_0 which I think that's really what this is right. It's not so much like can they play faster. It's

spk_0 just like can you use the what you have in more like creative ways I guess I'll go and step further

spk_0 like available buttons to tips last year right. I'm I'm almost positive Dan knows this. But like

spk_0 are you guys aware how many possessions the starting five that the next had last year how many

spk_0 they played together. It was by far the most yeah it was by far the most not by far the most by

spk_0 800 possessions. And it wasn't like a gangbusters starting five it was plus I'm going to to it now.

spk_0 So it played 800 now hold on. I had my notes better yesterday. It ended up being like when you

spk_0 included the playoffs they ended up being like dead even in point differential for the year. So

spk_0 so regular season they played 440 more than anybody else 1848 possessions that starting five played

spk_0 together finishes finished plus four which the 51st percentile according to clean the glass

spk_0 and like the playoffs they were a negative and you've really you really sorted you got to go from

spk_0 January 1st on at that point and teams had started to do this but it was really the thunder game on

spk_0 January 3rd that we saw it teams decided we're going to put a center on Josh Hart and put our

spk_0 our biggest wing on cat and that's just how we're going to guard the next for the rest of the

spk_0 season and it neutralized any of the gangbusters offense that we saw from the first two and a half

spk_0 months of the season and tips never adjusted he was just like I love Josh Hart everything he does

spk_0 is great I and to be clear I love Josh Hart a lot of the things he does is great I think on a

spk_0 team that has Hart and Stein or doesn't have Carl Anthony Towns I think I would start Josh Hart

spk_0 because I want the possession battle it's just that we saw it for two years whether it be the

spk_0 Cav series or the Sixers series you deflate teams by having three and four and five possessions

spk_0 every time on one side of the court and it's how you create open three point looks is off of

spk_0 offensive rebounds and if you want to play that way you can you can't play that way if you have

spk_0 Carl Anthony Towns on the floor and tips never adjusted at any point so let's see what we could do

spk_0 if we put a fifth shooter that teams are going to guard differently have cat matched up against

spk_0 the center which no center can really guard him we saw him one on one against Rudy Gobert in

spk_0 Minnesota and he went for 40 and 20 last year like I he didn't utilize cat the way he could be

spk_0 best utilized on offense and then if you have him as your center on defense it's like having him

spk_0 and without Rudy Gobert so I all these buttons you're right were available to him last year and he

spk_0 didn't push them which is why I was going into this season thinking I see to see it like can I see

spk_0 it and then it can play off time hopefully those same concerns we all have you know aren't as

spk_0 fully realized as they were in the Pacer series last year look the Josh Hart stuff is interesting

spk_0 because I think that one of the stronger cases to not start to make bride is that you don't

spk_0 necessarily want Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson playing together all that much the date on that

spk_0 last season was really bad and when you're talking about the nicks were out to go their offensive

spk_0 rating was in the toilet or close to it and their defense of rating was in the toilet when those

spk_0 two played together when you're talking about those like Josh Hart are not like a not relative

spk_0 non shooter he will shoot defenses don't care and then Mitchell Robinson an actual non shooter like

spk_0 yeah I guess there'd be benefits on the glass defensively but it speaks to I think how difficult

spk_0 of a fit Josh Hart can be for maybe the way that the nicks would want to play or what should be

spk_0 their core lineups and so I'm just curious as to where you land on that and then also just we have

spk_0 the injury news coming out of media day does seem like the back is fine coming out of that first

spk_0 preseason game but where do you see like him working with a finger splint outside of the shooting

spk_0 which is going to be if you begin with do you see that impacting like and or you worried about it

spk_0 impacting any area of his game whether it is the rebounding the rim pressure whatever so let's

spk_0 start here I actually do believe in the Josh Hart Mitch lineups in second units I think some of

spk_0 the the lineups that she saw that didn't work out the most again the playoffs they were a positive

spk_0 and it was largely second units that they were taking advantage of and it's why I like to clean

spk_0 the glass data for the postseason ends up being not as good as it was before they started playing

spk_0 together most of the pace your series all that to say I think you lean into tips ball when Josh

spk_0 Hart plays at Mitchell Robinson you go full possession battle you're putting your two best rebounders

spk_0 on the team and just I'll say like better than cat as a rebounder because I think Josh Hart gets to

spk_0 he doesn't get the 50 50 balls he gets to 80 20 balls he's like the best guard rebounder outside

spk_0 a rust that I've ever seen I think all the things you mentioned the the finger splints the

spk_0 I mean the back issue I'm not even that concerned about watching the game yesterday I think you

spk_0 would have went back in the game if I think they might have even said that so he got he got ejected

spk_0 because he threw the ball into their mouth he was upset and that he did he did a Josh he did a

spk_0 Josh just trying to just trying to give souvenirs and they're penalizing I think he was very

spk_0 nervous about the Yankee game later that night and just wanted to go take the rest of the game off

spk_0 if you see him on Saturday he might do it again because the Yankees play at four o'clock on Saturday

spk_0 and he wants to make sure he has they have his undivided attention I think the finger splint more

spk_0 than anything and the surgery he had in the offseason is even more of a reason why he can't be

spk_0 your starter because if he's already unwilling to shoot if he has five working fingers on each hand

spk_0 how much like is it going to translate on the court you're still like a very uh a shooter that

spk_0 hesitates more often than you should and I also wonder if having an injury or a sensitive

spk_0 digit of one of his hands takes away some of his aggression the ability to go get those rebounds

spk_0 does that go away are you avoiding contact because of that that injury so look I I need to I've

spk_0 talked so negatively about him I think the world of Josh Hart like he was a playoff hero and it's

spk_0 still a playoff hero we did this this countdown over at nicks film school of the top 25 nicks of

spk_0 the past 25 season and the man finished in the top nine and I had him as high as six like I think

spk_0 Josh Hart is outstanding I don't think he underperformed last year I think he was overexposed I think

spk_0 he's a 25 to yeah a 20 to 25 minute player that tips was playing 40 minutes and at the more you play

spk_0 him the more his weaknesses are on full display so I think if he goes back to that 20 to 25 minute

spk_0 change of pace guy I think you're looking at a very productive player and I think that's what he'll be

spk_0 this season I'm sure we'll get back to some of the bigger names we haven't really talked

spk_0 Brunson much for example we'll get there what just because this is kind of a more immediate I don't

spk_0 know piece of the puzzle so right now there's a bit of a roster crunch there's a couple some fairly

spk_0 decent size names that you know are in camp and it essentially you can you can put a finer point

spk_0 on this if if you want but like the nicks may need to dump somebody that's younger in order to

spk_0 onboard a couple of these veteran minimums to fit them on the roster talking about guys like Malcolm

spk_0 Brockton Landry-Shamit I can't remember who the third potential candidate is but it's a situation

spk_0 where they can't keep all these guys unless or can't keep two of them even unless maybe Tyler

spk_0 Colick goes maybe it's Pakum.de we can talk about like Duce McBride kind of getting thrown into

spk_0 this like who's going to go conversation like that feels more tied to contract status and like

spk_0 there's just no way that he's not going to be on this team. If you had to choose how this all

spk_0 shakes out from a you know into the roster perspective how would you go about it who do you think

spk_0 makes the most sense to keep from from the group that's sort of you know if you're right now.

spk_0 So I want to be clear it's like a top nine for me and then everything else what what

spk_0 respecting like what NBA players are and that this is a business and that these guys have jobs

spk_0 and livelihoods that I hope are not affected too much by me saying this everybody else is

spk_0 indispensable like I have a top seven really that made it to the conference finals last year. I like

spk_0 Malcolm Brockton I like Jordan Clarkson in theory I like Larry-Shamit in theory I like the kids

spk_0 have porty and Tyler Colick have had moments and Pakum.de is an unknown at the moment I assume

spk_0 Pakum.de is going to be the one that gets moved so you could keep the veterans onto

spk_0 minimums that can help contribute to your team this year. I've heard that they've been trying to

spk_0 move Tyler Colick but just makes too much and is already at the point in his basketball career

spk_0 it's going to be 24 years old there might already be 24 years old which in NBA years

spk_0 is just not much of a unknown like we kind of know what you are at this point in your basketball

spk_0 life. The doose stuff was interesting because I don't I agree with you Grant I don't think it's

spk_0 you're not a serious organization if you're trying to win a championship and you trade do some

spk_0 right in my opinion I think he just contributes to winning in his show to contribute to winning

spk_0 in the majority of his NBA career even when he like couldn't shoot in the beginning he was

spk_0 going into the rotation and being a lockdown defender as a small way jumpers from one footers.

spk_0 So I look I think it'll end up being Pakum.de. I think it's a game of musical chairs for the 8th

spk_0 9th 10th 11th spot and it's why again those two words data collection being what this season's

spk_0 all about for me like I want to see what Tyler Colick looks at in spots I want to see what like

spk_0 I'll have portee when Mitch doesn't play because he's not going to play back to back this year like

spk_0 what he looks at looks like as like a backup center like that there a lot of looks this team could

spk_0 give this season that allow us to learn come playoff time can I go to this in an important spot can

spk_0 I is this a sustainable thing that the seems to be working for a game let's see if it works for

spk_0 the next game I as far as the roster is concerned I think Pakum's going to be the the one that

spk_0 eventually gets dealt that Clarkson obviously that was the veteran name which inexplicably I couldn't

spk_0 remember because he's the one that seems most interesting like if you're talking about liking

spk_0 Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson on second units isn't I mean Clarkson probably doesn't have his

spk_0 fastball anymore I think he's 32 or 33 and we haven't seen him in a winning environment in a

spk_0 long time but like isn't he the guy that maybe you throw out there to run a second unit and he's

spk_0 like well I'll get you a couple shots like I don't know how good they'll be but if if you're built

spk_0 around Hart and Mitchell Robinson to go get those misses like that kind of makes some sense on paper

spk_0 right is he someone that nix fans are you I don't speak for everybody but like feels like he might

spk_0 be a piece that's maybe should be like viewed a little notch above brauged in or shamot well so

spk_0 I actually forgot the guy that I'm actually the most excited about offer the eighth man and that's

spk_0 Yabu sure and we'll talk about him in a second but I looked at the Jordan Clarkson signing the way

spk_0 I looked at the campaign signing last year like this is a minimum if we get anything of value

spk_0 out of him then it's a positive and the nix have just if they've needed bucket getters on the

spk_0 second unit pretty much since they traded the manual quickly they haven't had that

spk_0 and a guy that can create his own shot a guy that can create for others now very interesting

spk_0 first game first preseason game the joke on twitter I don't know if you guys play 2k at all but

spk_0 the what's that the NBA NBA 2k the video game the the A button I think is to pass on the Xbox and

spk_0 everybody was saying that Jordan Clarkson doesn't have an A button and the man just would step

spk_0 on the court regardless of shot clock or situation or even where the defense was and I was like I'm

spk_0 gonna get my shots up today and if some of those tendencies show during the regular season I don't

spk_0 think he's gonna play very long I reacted to the move in the moment that yes he could run your

spk_0 second unit offense I also think there's a world where if we just need a guy to go out and get some

spk_0 buckets on on an important game in a second unit I think he's he's a perfect spot for that and

spk_0 unlike the campaign situation if it doesn't work out they can pivot the nix were so bereft for

spk_0 depth and talent and it's tips so you're ready like aren't allowed to make a mistake or two

spk_0 that he was like all right you're a veteran I'm gonna put you in the rotation campaign here's

spk_0 five first half minutes I think will be more flexible with with that this year and what the

spk_0 standards are at least during the regular season so what intrigues you most about Kersh on

spk_0 Yabu Selly's fit we talked about a lot about five out right and we talked about how

spk_0 Josh being as small as he is may not allow them or may coach may be has a may has a taste is

spk_0 there like something not even a derelice from there but I know that you're kind of smaller but

spk_0 it also allows you to not have assuming he's on the court mckel bridges defend at the point

spk_0 of attack which seems like pretty awesome uh yes but I don't think Yabu can defend at the point

spk_0 of attack either I think bridges what better point of attack the where were you going with that

spk_0 I'm when you were talking about doose I thought you were saying you were reluctant to play

spk_0 yeah because the two small it was bringing us back to the starting lineup to score like playing

spk_0 doose with the starters but the reluctance of having two small guards and I'm like well you

spk_0 also then don't have mckel bridges like being guarding like guarding at the point of attack which

spk_0 is pretty dope preaching to the choir he becomes your best point of attack defender by default and

spk_0 then this whole wing stop thing that you built actually puts them on the wing like I it's the

spk_0 one hundred percent the well okay fifty percent the other incentive for why I would start doose he

spk_0 becomes a better point of attack defender and uh you put your wing back in the proper spot anyway

spk_0 uh I'm laughing that you thought I was talking about uh I was kind of confused because I don't think

spk_0 Yabu's gonna survive out there on on job or in yeah what I do think though is that Yabu next to

spk_0 cat could be a great pairing and then if if like Yabu's your your play in place of Mitch starter

spk_0 right then that's a five out lineup and that's something I can I can believe in that I can trust

spk_0 it's one of the looks you can go to um I think the biggest thing I again trying not to be completely

spk_0 disrespectful to NBA players who have accomplished way more uh from a basketball was there like an

spk_0 NBA player or for an office executive in your DM recently no I'm just a lot of

spk_0 I'm recognizing where I stand on the totem pole also shout out the game theory it people now

spk_0 listen to what I say more often so I need to make sure I'm not as disrespectful uh shout out to

spk_0 the city of Philadelphia who apparently had some people in their coaching staff knew who I was when

spk_0 I showed up the game theory regardless um Yabu's not precious to you like I could see a floor that

spk_0 actually can space the floor in 2025 in 2026 um can just do more things offensively and on a team

spk_0 that has carl and tony towns I think you need to lean into guys that can do more things offensively

spk_0 that will make like each other better like spacing is a thing gravity is a thing and the way you

spk_0 create more room for people to operate is by putting more space around them with guys who attract

spk_0 gravity I think Yabu will command more respect absolutely more respect than what I've been seeing

spk_0 over the past couple seasons so there are a lot of lineups whether he's like as a three uh as a

spk_0 five like you could go a lot of different ways with Yabu um then I'm intrigued for then to

spk_0 experiment with I really hope we don't see him at this three I just want to go that out there okay

spk_0 the lineup is cat Yabu and it'll be all right well that I would call Yabu before that that

spk_0 scenario like they're gonna help they get into changeable if you want to but the in that specific

spk_0 lineup like isn't Yabu and and no isn't and it'll be technically taller I think what you're

spk_0 doing is you were just take Yabu and put him on like the weakest defensive assignment at the like

spk_0 to three like to me it just wouldn't be uh I wouldn't use his Yabu at the at the three I guess

spk_0 you could argue he might operate on offense more like a three than I don't know will be but give

spk_0 him what we saw from OG by the end of last season I don't even think you could say that anymore so

spk_0 I'll go a step further it's like Yabu instead of Josh Hart in those Mitch uh cat lineups like

spk_0 then at least there's a floor spacer out there and then if you want you have your your five in

spk_0 your four covered and then he's still covering a three but at least you have some room protection

spk_0 I'm not even saying it's my favorite lineup is just one of the lineups they could go to because

spk_0 he's not a liability from a shooting standpoint we we got a we got a pivot from yabu this is a

spk_0 little more Yabu tell us a lot of Yabu sorry this is what happened that's sorry but no we haven't

spk_0 really touched on the brunson of it all and maybe partly that's because like he's just gonna be

spk_0 an MVP candidate and there's not a whole lot to really get into but to me it seems like a huge

spk_0 portion of the optimism or maybe like the expectation of of if not better different under mic

spk_0 brown hinges on brunson playing differently or being used differently and so I think there's

spk_0 kind of two core issues there that I'd like to get your take on the first is do you think brunson

spk_0 can you know be used effectively off the ball in all these different ways so that I was joked with

spk_0 Dan like am I a during image of Nick's offense after a point last year was brunson pounding the

spk_0 dribble and looking for space for 15 seconds finding none giving the ball up and sprinting to go

spk_0 get it back so he could do it for another you know 10 9 seconds can he be used differently than that

spk_0 and then does he want to like he doesn't seem like this type of player but does he want to be

spk_0 used differently than that like if it's sort of like once a player's on the ball at just a

spk_0 ridiculous usage rate sometimes it's hard to like throttle that back so can he will he and then

spk_0 assuming all that is like okay with everybody do the nicks have the surrounding personnel

spk_0 to make the brunson off ball different looks effective which is to say are there

spk_0 enough other playmakers to like make use of him as as a decoy as a catch and shoot guy as a guy

spk_0 coming off screen so multi-pronged question but just sort of make sense of the brunson side of

spk_0 this under Mike Brown so I'll say this the heliocentric brunson offense was effective two years ago

spk_0 when Randall went down when Julius Randall dislocated his shoulder um it's what turned him into a

spk_0 top five MVP candidate you know I thought last year going to the year we didn't know how to

spk_0 the Randall was going to be we didn't know um what the team like they traded from Mikhail

spk_0 Bridges at the beginning of the summer and you thought okay that's their move right

spk_0 right before training camp they traded for cat and they never really had a chance to develop any

spk_0 chemistry or synergy and you saw some of it over the first half of the year but this is what I'm

spk_0 talking about by around January when teams started to guard cat differently the pivot was like

spk_0 let's go back to what worked last year and catch just became a floor space air which is not how you

spk_0 use cat but it's also how Brunson gets to be clutch player of the year um the can he play that way

spk_0 is is a very big yes for me because Julius Randall made all NBA two seasons ago and go look at

spk_0 Jalen Brunson's catch and shoot three point numbers like that's a lot of the success that

spk_0 Randall and Brunson had together was that that Randall attracts a double team finds uh Brunson on

spk_0 the wing or in the corner and he's just getting more and more catch and shoot threes and that

spk_0 like element had disappeared but last year when they were just learning all how to play together

spk_0 the does he want to of it all I think is a crunch time question for me because I think it

spk_0 I think he can for the first like segmented first 43 minutes of a game uh crunch time is Brunson time

spk_0 and it has been for the past three years it's also been very successful right you know like you

spk_0 don't become the clutch player of the year for for no reason but I do agree like the one

spk_0 to not to make this an anti-josh heart segment again one of those frustrating stats that I remember

spk_0 from last season is the crunch time feel goal attempts number one was Brunson by a large margin

spk_0 number two was Josh Hart had more feel goal attempts than Carl Anthony towns and crunch time

spk_0 it's because the other three can go are we allowed the curse on here oh yeah okay the other three

spk_0 can go fuck off and go like space the floor and then we're gonna have the Villanova pick and roll

spk_0 and have Josh come bring the center into the action and then either they double Brunson and then

spk_0 hearts available in the short roll which works uh or like they they just switch it and then it's

spk_0 Brunson against the center and like it led to some decent offense offense but like on nights it

spk_0 didn't work it's like you know you should probably try to get involved in the action Carl Anthony town

spk_0 this is all NBA players just standing on the wing watching all of this play out oh yeah the guy

spk_0 you treated five picks for in McEl British oh yeah the guy you gave two hundred and twelve million

spk_0 dollars to uh oj n and obi so that is one of the biggest challenges for Mike Brown is to create

spk_0 20 different looks for Brunson to go through and as the point guard then recognizing okay this

spk_0 isn't working it's not just me trying to create my own shot even though I want to make clear he's

spk_0 been very successful at just making something out of nothing the last three years it just should be

spk_0 the last resort play I liking it's a like Aaron Rogers in his prime was the best in my opinion at the

spk_0 play breaks down and it's the most successful play that we had that shouldn't be your offense

spk_0 but it's a nice card to pull if things go wrong got it you mentioned carl Anthony town's not

spk_0 being involved in enough of the crunch time action specifically Mike Brown sounds like he's going

spk_0 to make that a point of emphasis throughout the entire course of the game we've heard a lot about he

spk_0 will be using the handoff situations maybe we'll see some inverted pick and rolls that'd be pretty

spk_0 fun I'd kill to see more of those what does that look like though like kind of unlocking Carl Anthony

spk_0 towns as a playmaker and do you think that he has because look carl Anthony towns gets downhill I

spk_0 think we'll see more of that him turning a corner in Mike Brown's offense coming like out of those

spk_0 handoffs maybe more free throw attempts maybe more attempts at the rim is passing like when he's

spk_0 kind of live like live dribble getting downhill like it's not existing for the most part have one

spk_0 of the lowest pass out rates on drives last year where do you just land on what does unlocking

spk_0 carl Anthony towns as a playmaker ideally look like this season can I tell you my favorite play

spk_0 from this meaningless preseason game in Abu Dhabi yesterday please cat at the top of the key

spk_0 top of the three point line drives to the rim guy on his on his hip so he's not like he has a path

spk_0 center rotates over bridges kicks out to the three point line in the corner cat from last year

spk_0 takes that to the rim because he's he's a monster and can probably get contact probably get the

spk_0 shot in and probably get the bucket he passed out to the corner yesterday and actually hit bridges

spk_0 in for three and it went in apparently bridges change the shot again and it these are going to be

spk_0 more smoother and shout to Fred cats who noticed this it's like does bridges shot look better this

spk_0 year it's like I'm not doing any more content on doesn't make out bridges shot look like anything

spk_0 it went in that's what it looks like it went in more of those then I don't think you could run like

spk_0 the heart and sign offense I think you'd run the Randall offense through through cat I just don't

spk_0 think he's that could a passer in the sense of like has the same court vision that the other two

spk_0 do I think all of his abilities as a passer like from the three point line are because he's tall

spk_0 and like can see the floor better than anybody so like the obvious backdoor cut that you

spk_0 that you put in front of him he'll see but the guy is the guy's a scorer the guy is a rebounder

spk_0 the guy is a in an unstoppable force on offense that I recognize might leave some people more frustrated

spk_0 when he isn't and he's just he's a little more timid but the things he's really good at I don't

spk_0 think involve passing as much so it's little things like like you said driving kicks recognizing when

spk_0 when there's there's more movement on the court which I also think Mike Brown will institute

spk_0 just more movement in general and more cuts uh so yeah I'm I'm less I'm less like excited or

spk_0 intrigued by a cat hub on offense and more so just more opportunities in like short uh examples

spk_0 for him to create for others more what do you think about the bridges extension that was a good

spk_0 number I there was a weird stretch last year where I wonder if they were going to have to trade

spk_0 the guy they just traded five picks for and part of it was coming from bridges camp that like he's

spk_0 just not happy here and some of that was tips related for sure um I look I I was I was thought that when

spk_0 you traded for him he's eventually going to be extended to uh and I I don't buy too much into the

spk_0 like took up a cut because he took six million dollars less but when in this world the first and

spk_0 second aprons those six million dollars in space might actually come in Andy if you're looking

spk_0 for a minimum here or a mid a taxpayer mid-level here like it actually can't help at the end of the day

spk_0 it's just not it's not the Brunson sacrifice that's some no made it out to be well then and I have

spk_0 real group think a lot of the time but we both thought we were like missing something because there

spk_0 was some backlash to the the extension and I just anchored to like well if he is for agency he's

spk_0 getting way more than that or you're going to have to pay way more than that to beat the market to

spk_0 keep him and I kind of stopped the analysis there I don't know Daniel what were you going to say

spk_0 well he was just talking about the thin margins they're working like how that helps and it's their

spk_0 roster right now is proof with what they're trying to do to share in a second veteran minimum so

spk_0 I don't I'm not like dislocating my shoulder trying to pat him on the back for taking six million

spk_0 dollars less but in a way he took way more than six million dollars less because how do you hit

spk_0 the open market like I know some teams there's like 10 teams I could have cabs based next year some

spk_0 of that will win or down say what you will about McHale bridges and this salary makes him like the 51st

spk_0 highest paid player in the NBA is of right now when the extension kicks in that's he's probably

spk_0 like the 40 at the 50 best player in the NBA as of right now so that's right where I just I found

spk_0 the and really it was wasn't just one person but like John Hollager of the athletic quote who

spk_0 very much like he just was so against it I was just like I wish that that was shocked he signed it

spk_0 but when they traded for him I was like well they better hope he signs the extension otherwise

spk_0 you gave up control of five first round surrender control of all these first round picks and then

spk_0 you're gonna go pay to 100 plus million dollars for this guy so I thought the extension was actually

spk_0 a huge win for the next yeah I mean this was the outcome you hoped for when you traded for him

spk_0 right like this this is a best case I mean you'd like you would like to for him to have not

spk_0 face questions about a shot and all this other stuff this past season but like I don't know

spk_0 that I feel like that one got over thought Andrew on the court though whether it's Mike Brown

spk_0 related or just bridges you know kind of altering how he plays sort of individually where do you

spk_0 see the room for him to improve the most just but and you can completely not discuss shooting

spk_0 for him if you want to so I see on the dock my answer is in parentheses that I'm not allowed to say

spk_0 about say three oh just like I think on defense he is what he is at this point like top three

spk_0 defensive player the year makeup bridges isn't coming back I also as much as he's taken a step

spk_0 back on ball like at the point of attack when Brunson sprained his ankle last year and missed

spk_0 a month we saw a duet in the starting five and when do then got hurt we saw Delaan right in the

spk_0 starting five and you actually saw how you can use it's why I'll do it this time Dan to bring

spk_0 back why the duet smc bright starting five is so appealing as I saw what happens when you put

spk_0 duet at the point of attack and you put bridges on the wing what about you know at the point of

spk_0 attack well even better if yeah it's just point of attack it still puts bridges on the wing

spk_0 I think if bridges can be like five percent better at point of attack and it's it's better as a

spk_0 pick and roll defender because it's not cat in an endless drop into oblivion and it's mr.

spk_0 Robinson in a pick and roll coverage instead and he actually has a center that he can count on

spk_0 to protect the rim maybe he's more aggressive on defense I'm as far as offense is concerned

spk_0 the point of hiring Mike Brown is that the hope is that more people get to eat and maybe more

spk_0 being more engaged on offense getting more on ball reps the the other thing that happened during

spk_0 when Brunson was out for a month as we saw aninobi and bridges kind of have the offense run

spk_0 through them during stretches one of my favorite out the tips I don't know if this is like a

spk_0 specific tips thing but it seemed like they were calling a lot of plays for bridges in the playoffs

spk_0 in second units I go look at the beginning of the fourth quarter of the Boston game two

spk_0 or bridges scores 14 on answer points by himself and it's just like get us back into this game

spk_0 I'm just going to run everything through you and everybody else is just going to be setting screens

spk_0 in the second unit so like there are options for him on ball more on offense while recognizing

spk_0 he's going to need to shoot 36 37% from three for this offense to really reach its full potential

spk_0 so hopefully he gets back up to that and doesn't give us like three months of wondering if he

spk_0 changed his shooting form and as a result he's now RJ Barrett notice respect RJ please don't

spk_0 send your people at me in Canada you mentioned OG out of the OB and specifically the stretch that

spk_0 he had well Brunson was out last year how much do you read into that I mean like the foul rate

spk_0 went up the drives went up and then how do you just view his fit in the larger context of

spk_0 not just what Mike Brown is trying to implement but you mentioned it before this team is weird

spk_0 because I don't think they have an elite like second creator but they have a bunch of dudes that

spk_0 are good a lot of have plays on the ball for them and so you you say everybody needs to eat

spk_0 like how do you see ananobi fitting in is he like someone who could maybe when you're trying to

spk_0 juice the touches for bridges and towns is that someone who in the past like this goes back to

spk_0 his time in Toronto he has been the person that's fallen by the wayside is there a way to make sure

spk_0 that doesn't happen to him here especially again given what he showed during that time that Brunson

spk_0 was out I think if you ask ananobi uh that question it's different from reality of what he should

spk_0 be given um I think the fact that look that that stretch without Brunson as much as I I liked what

spk_0 I saw from bridges I like what I saw from ananobi some of its opponent dependent um they played

spk_0 some bad teams in there and both of them cooked during that stretch and then if I remember correctly

spk_0 to the schedule I'm trying not to be like specific about small sample sizes but they took care of

spk_0 the Miami Heat who were at that point in full tank mode they took care of another bad team

spk_0 and then they played the clippers and it's like that's quite Leonard now guarding you that's like a

spk_0 vizzoobots waiting for you at the rim that's Chris done you know like they have all these different

spk_0 ways to stop you and I think OG going downhill can be effective in certain moments when it's also

spk_0 like mixed in with like a pick and pop for cat and like a Brunson drive that attracts the defense

spk_0 and it's why having the the offense move more I think will create opportunities for these guys to

spk_0 cook and to eat more um I maintain that the best version of OG and ananobi is a guy taking 11 to 12

spk_0 shots a game and half of them were threes so I'm hoping that he's okay with that because I think

spk_0 it's a very valuable thing to have and you know I I'm hoping a more creative offense way like I

spk_0 think that this is maybe more of a subconscious thing but just touching the ball on a possession

spk_0 can also go a long way which I know might not seem like a lot to the the casual basketball fan

spk_0 but just having a chance to be like all right I got involved in the play this this wasn't just

spk_0 me standing around and like I said fucking off in the corner while these two villain over teammates

spk_0 play pick and roll with each other you know um we've we've talked to fair man about Josh Hart so I'm

spk_0 gonna I feel like we have a good sense there I want to talk about uh I mean partly because he said

spk_0 it and partly because it would be difficult for uh the reverse to be true there should be more

spk_0 minutes distributed to bench players the season under Mike Brown do you and maybe this is a little

spk_0 devil's advocate kind of question but like a lot of the guys that are expected to stop up those

spk_0 minutes have some questions or some uncertainties like you know Malcolm Braggden great name there's

spk_0 probably a reason that he's in camp on a maybe a minimum you know Clarkson Yabu Sela's track record

spk_0 is very short uh as an NBA player do you have any concerns that like maybe this idea of like well

spk_0 we're just gonna play more guys is not like a cure all just because some very few of these players

spk_0 are are given as like net positive contributors when they're out there I go back and forth um

spk_0 I want to be clear I want more guys to play in the regular season like the the course seven come

spk_0 playoff time being healthy is what matters to me and I I've actually like I've gotten into it with

spk_0 some people at next film school that like this is my case for Mitch being a bench player if you

spk_0 wanted to go that route that there's one series that I need Mitchell Robinson healthy for and it's

spk_0 that cab series if they make it to our conference finals and if that means putting them in bubble

spk_0 wrap and like sorry you don't get to be a defensive player that you're candidate or or the all defense

spk_0 candidate because you played 55 games but you're healthy against the team that still has nightmares

spk_0 of you getting offensive rebound after offensive rebound against them two years ago then that's fine

spk_0 and I think just the to the might should have turned this into a drinking game every time I say

spk_0 data collection it's what the regular season has to be about for me now as far as the day-to-day rotation

spk_0 as more specifically what you're asking um I the next had a bottom six net reading in the fourth quarter

spk_0 last year I'm not going to completely uh apply that to or or attribute that to tibbs and minutes

spk_0 and I largely was fine with playing your best players a lot I like watching the best players play

spk_0 I didn't think they had guys last year to go eight and nine and ten deep with um this year's different

spk_0 I think Yabu can play in a lineup a lot of lineups I think you know the guys you mentioned the veterans

spk_0 on this team at the very end and maybe a Tyler Colick or an areal hip-hop or the can play in certain

spk_0 lineups and more specifically I think you should find out this season what you have in in all of those

spk_0 guys so um a long way of saying like last year I thought guys did look very exhausted come

spk_0 fourth quarters and the data kind of backs that up this year let's see what like Michele bridges

spk_0 playing 37 minutes or 36 minutes or and a nobody playing 32 minutes or 33 minutes on average like

spk_0 if certain games he has to you got to extend your guys fine but I think you did the front office

spk_0 did a really good job given the the limited assets that they have to them um in actually giving

spk_0 Mike Brown some options and he seems very willing in the regular season to explore them yeah I think

spk_0 and the reason that's kind of a devil's advocate question is because whether those guys need to play

spk_0 fewer minutes or not we know McBride should be playing more than 24 or 25 and so get him to 30 and

spk_0 you can knock down you know one or two from a couple other guys and like you kind of have solved

spk_0 they're not solved that but you know what I mean like that's right that's what the working big

spk_0 to small approach to that that depth issue right who which youngster whether it's like a Mohammed

spk_0 Dior up com Doddy is it still Tyler Colick if you want to talk about one of the two way guys

spk_0 I do you like yourself some dink paint but like who who who who's like the youngster associated with

spk_0 this team that intrigues you the most long term right now I know I'm talking to the president of the

spk_0 Frank Neal Keena uh high fan club uh support group at this point um but I I gotta be honest because

spk_0 of how good the teammates I'm a net neutral on all of them like if you want me to pick one aerial

spk_0 reporti it seemed to be the one that showed the most promise the most NBA ready out of all of them I

spk_0 have some very big concerns about Tyler Colick as a shooter I have some even bigger concerns about

spk_0 Tyler Colick as a defender um as a pastor I think he he might be he might be the best pastor on

spk_0 the team to be honest already um I just don't know I just don't know how you necessarily um build

spk_0 an offense around a guy that teams don't respect as a shooter so um he could potentially get get

spk_0 better but as I mentioned how old he is at this point in his his career um it'd be difficult and

spk_0 the Diora and dinkpate and any of these other names that showed up at summer league and I had to

spk_0 to learn who they were um a Diora seems very athletic and I I I mean intrigued by his athleticism

spk_0 and how it could translate into the NBA this guy that it is non NBA career shot 27% from the field

spk_0 I believe and I think is that good I did not not not good um uh I I I'm intrigued by the the NBA

spk_0 roster not necessarily the potential NBA roster is my unfortunate answer to that question but this

spk_0 is this is the cool part about being a nix fan now is that we're past the point of ifs and hopes

spk_0 were actually at the point of some certainty which is just always a good thing

spk_0 from someone that didn't scrutinize the nix as much as either you guys can you give me the the

spk_0 thumbnail sketch of of Daudier and like why what was hoped for and what did not happen that

spk_0 haven't you seen his practice analytics great I'm just come on like I'll do remember is this time

spk_0 a year ago is like well of the of the rookie class like this is probably the one you're going to

spk_0 want to keep an eye not saying you guys said that but that was the impression I got I think it's

spk_0 you look at his build he's a six what is he six eight six seven and he's a wing and he's someone

spk_0 who in theory could handle the ball the hope was that his jumper would have been more bankable um

spk_0 than it was but then it has been in the NBA I think even in the first preseason game you saw that

spk_0 this is someone who's not completely unaware on the defensive end like I think that's probably where

spk_0 he stood out to me again that first game for the most part and I think also why you could make the

spk_0 case that he's the most important and this comes back to I know we're talking about the end of roster

spk_0 spots here but OG at an OB last year was just basically an anomaly with his availability and if

spk_0 something happens to him something happens to bridges this team doesn't have a ton of wings it's

spk_0 Josh Hart it's OG and it's mckel bridges like what are you doing if one of those guys needs to

spk_0 miss time like who were you turning to was in Landry shammett at the three to six right you could

spk_0 look you could down look I totally get that you can downsize and stuff but the theory of

spk_0 dotty a to me is so intriguing because it's okay like if you need an emergency wing you do not

spk_0 have it and like we already know that Josh Hart is dealing with the fingersplint injury and with

spk_0 the amount of time that he spends on the floor or go like making those hustle plays like that's

spk_0 someone who could feasibly miss time so it's very into the weeds were getting past the top maybe eight

spk_0 of the rotation eight on the rotation but first talented as they are at the top on the wings

spk_0 they're like that's it after that just it just seemed from a distance that it flipped quickly

spk_0 on daddy from my perspective I'm so what do we know about him because they didn't and this is

spk_0 I didn't weigh in on the tip stuff but like this is what I went back and forth on is that he should have

spk_0 let's use um Andrews to data collection like yeah dotty a should have been you should have done more

spk_0 I actually think the starting lineup hurt them here wow nice grant hold on that's why they pay me

spk_0 so much because the starting lineup was so rickety especially post January first you didn't find

spk_0 yourself in a lot of low leverage situations to where you could say yeah let's empty the bench but

spk_0 you also know that tips wasn't going to do it anyway everyone points to and they're right that game

spk_0 and Charlotte were my job for just pay me 47 minutes or some shit so but we don't know and so there's

spk_0 that intrigue there still but I don't mean to inflate his importance and I can tell I think that G-Mac

spk_0 disagrees with me here a little bit but like the wing rotation it can get very it there's a point

spk_0 where it could become very fragile because it seems like the nicks are placing a lot of stock in

spk_0 one we're going to play two bigs at once a lot maybe which okay fine to me that's why do you

spk_0 have carl lengthy towns as much than carl lengthy towns and yabu I get it five out there but it's also

spk_0 they don't have reserve wings on this team I guess Josh Hart as a reserve technically but beyond those

spk_0 three it gets a little fragile and so that's why someone who stands at dotty size I see him I'm like

spk_0 okay yeah like that's going to intrigue me so the only intrigue I have grant for dotty is that

spk_0 enough people have told me that they're tracking his shots in practice and as a result it's a lot

spk_0 of flashbacks to do smc bride how they were tracking his shots in practice and they're they're going

spk_0 in and when they're going in more consistently you're going to see it translate to the NBA um

spk_0 I I've been treated by that happening again potentially that dotty is just suddenly going to show

spk_0 up and be a 40% three point shooter because the nicks have a track record of it happening once that

spk_0 dooses shot had a hitch in it um worse than mckel bridges and then suddenly he showed up and was

spk_0 like a knockdown shooter that Dan and I were one to get it one day gonna opine should play over

spk_0 yabba sell even though yabba sell might be better at the point of attack um this is a great bit we're

spk_0 gonna use this all yeah yeah there's gonna be people who don't they're like they've never watched

spk_0 yabba sell and play a minute you mentioned an inobi in the anomaly of last year's health I do I do

spk_0 agree with that um you do have a very easy pivot um if you want to now it means Josh Hart becomes

spk_0 a starter or also could also mean uh uh uh doosebrick pride being a starter um Josh Hart has played

spk_0 at least 75 games the last three seasons mckel bridges hasn't missed the game since high school so

spk_0 I think built into the calculation with dotty is that nothing's gonna happen to them and uh and okay

spk_0 I know I'm an alarmist by trade uh uh I see that and it's well like those guys are do do do that's

spk_0 how I'm gonna think about it I see more of a trend that they have a track record of not missing games now

spk_0 Josh Hart I think is due for like as uh intense and fast paced and recluse he can be at times

spk_0 like I could see something happen in there mckel bridges goes out of his way literally to go

spk_0 out of people's way like you boy it goes backwards when he's like I've never seen a fade away layup

spk_0 until mckel bridges came into my life oh you never watched the Andreate in play this maybe

spk_0 one was like I see it's funny here but the fact that maybe that does everything for the layup the

spk_0 drive the the get to the rim the elevation and then suddenly a tilt back I did not know that was a

spk_0 thing that could happen until then um I think pico mdadiay may be something in the future because of

spk_0 what some people behind the scenes have said okay I'm at the point where I need people that can

spk_0 contribute to the 2025 26 nicks and while yes the first preseason game looked like he knew where he

spk_0 could be on defense uh look a bit of a mess on offense unfortunately and yeah those for some wide

spk_0 open threes that he missed over five from three and a couple of live ball turnovers like I just

spk_0 he's 20 like he's not supposed to be that uh ready to play especially when you play as little as

spk_0 last year to dance point um and I actually pushed back on there was no uh point of low leverage

spk_0 bronzer missed a month that whole month should have been about that a collection put Tyler

spk_0 Cole like in the rotation I'm not saying that there shouldn't have been data collection but it's

spk_0 sick so there's there's never such thing you need to run out of excuses yeah right up 40 in the

spk_0 conference five in the the the game six against the Celtics when they clenched and

spk_0 mazool has pulled all his starters in the mid-third quarter and tibz is like I need to get the lead

spk_0 just make sure it gets up to 50 like I I agree with you like all of those that in a live spread we don't

spk_0 know look if if that's true then uh tibz should go over to my friends over at I actually don't know if

spk_0 you have a sports book so I don't want to compete any uh should mention any conflicting sponsors

spk_0 regardless tibz if you if you have any tips the let's talk okay I might know some people

spk_0 Andrew are you ready to enter the cookie cutter slash lightning round

spk_0 let's do it. Crat you want to start us off here yeah what's the biggest need on this roster right now

spk_0 a championship now I'm kidding um biggest yellow roster right now is a defined backup point guard

spk_0 and that's interesting like even so what's out of sighting all these cards right to find backup

spk_0 point guard know who it is yeah like I don't know what you're saying like you want someone who's not

spk_0 on the roster they need to go out and get they I gotta be honest I'm so out on the transactional like

spk_0 they did oh they've done so much already as far as getting options that I think there's enough here

spk_0 until February for me to say whatever they need is probably already on the roster they just got

spk_0 to find it is Malcolm Brown in the backup point guard is Jordan Clarkson the backup point guard do

spk_0 you go to doose as a backup point guard and just be a little bigger next to sham it do you see if

spk_0 Tyler Colick can be your backup point guard in at at this point in his career so I got to run the

spk_0 second unit is really more what I'm saying and that's I think their biggest need because they just

spk_0 haven't had it since they traded a manual quickly what's something about the next strength weakness

spk_0 storyline whatever player development that's flying under the radar that you think deserves more

spk_0 attention um a healthy season of Mitchell Robinson if you want to talk about the biggest if like

spk_0 knocking on wood a healthy season of Mitchell Robinson could put him in conversations next off season

spk_0 that he becomes too expensive for the next though that might just be by default like a thing that's

spk_0 going to happen anyway because where they are against the second apron but I think a lot of nicks fans

spk_0 because of his descending salary uh have looked at Mitchell's a positive asset like when he comes back

spk_0 he'll be fine and he's so injury prone that like we'll always be able to keep Mitch but like I mentioned

spk_0 we we spent this summer doing the the top 25 nicks of the past 25 seasons it's crazy to think he's

spk_0 the longest 10 year Nick of the past 25 seasons the moment he starts playing this season like he becomes

spk_0 the longest 10 year Nick after Carmelo Anthony um that's a mellow plate seven he will be entering it

spk_0 to his eighth season is what I'm trying to say regardless um that this could be Mitchell Robinson's

spk_0 last year in an x-uniform I think is in in under the radar thing and who knows how it could potentially

spk_0 end as romantic as that could potentially be if the nicks get as as far as a lot of people think they

spk_0 could get to I will say what I think could both well for them is that there will be other bigs on

spk_0 the market next summer and so if this is just an issue they don't want to pay him mid-level money

spk_0 then like fine that's a different that's a financial conundrum but I would be pretty surprised if

spk_0 there's like any team that's making Mitchell Robinson even like their plan B or C yeah maybe

spk_0 the health is going to matter to me as far as if I'm another team looking at Mitchell Robinson I

spk_0 see what he is to see how impactful he is am I getting more than 30 games out of him yeah um more

spk_0 relevant this year than the last five uh let's discuss the 10 man rotation because there might

spk_0 actually be one which is really like there's seven yabba sale probably makes eight kind of non-negotiable

spk_0 so this is really a question about we've talked about starters you can reiterate there who you think

spk_0 should start and then who's nine and ten in of the guys left so this is mine or am I operating off

spk_0 of what I think the nicks will do however you want to answer it what would you be what would you my

spk_0 dink paint and of course garrison Matthews um forgot about yeah I love guys Matt Ryan but like the

spk_0 quarterback not the basketball player you need someone to fall down when he runs into screens a lot

spk_0 garrison yeah he's a superstar at that um I'm gonna answer it in reality and I'll go with uh what

spk_0 the nicks will do um well I think the nicks will do and so that's Brunson bridges and an ob cat

spk_0 and Mitch as starting five with douche josh heart yabba sally Jordan Clarkson

spk_0 um and then Malcolm bragged in as the the last the last starter with Landry shammyth being the next

spk_0 guy off the bench uh with the caveat that I think aerial up 40 if and when Mitch misses time will

spk_0 be the backup center that sounds about right I like shammy it way more than everybody else so I

spk_0 probably throw him in there but uh I understand the Clarkson and Brockton appeal of it all yeah this

spk_0 is this is to a large extent matchup dependent and I think especially with the nicks but what do you

spk_0 think will wind up being their most used crunch time unit this year last year starting five

spk_0 how do you feel about so nothing's gonna change like for just I I think there will be more options

spk_0 in crunch time but again josh heart for as frustrated as I can be on the offensive side of the ball

spk_0 his ability to secure the biggest rebound of your game let alone your season sometimes is

spk_0 an important thing it was less about ability and even performance with josh it was deployment it's

spk_0 the most anti-tips thing I could be here is that last year I don't think he was a good fit

spk_0 from a principal and a style standpoint for the collection of talent they have if mic brown can show

spk_0 more variety more creativity this just looks different and is not has a bigger margin for error

spk_0 than hopefully brunson saves us then I think those five can still be effective and I think

spk_0 potentially they will be this year and look as much as I want Mitch uh to play I want him nowhere near

spk_0 the core when teams can go to hack a mitch in crunch time like need up up three with however

spk_0 like three minutes left and the hack a mitch can be deployed um yet somewhere you mean for starting

spk_0 him too is that teams aren't in the pet like you're not the teams the nicks before they're in the

spk_0 bonus exactly now my hope is that like oh the dues McBride lineup is working and dosh heart

spk_0 what was it need to close I've decided right I've also decided because the data has also decided

spk_0 that it's working uh so yeah I'll say last year starting five if we accomplish nothing else is that

spk_0 you guys have firmly convinced me that do's needs to start and finish games uh so I'm this is

spk_0 this has been a journey for me I just want to see it that's all I just want to see it want to now

spk_0 that's the point yeah I'm I'm in yeah uh so any weird quirky unconventional lineups you think they

spk_0 may try or hope they will try uh you know like we're gonna see enough of y'all who just ending the

spk_0 point of it that's it's honestly what you're gonna do at the time besides that uh what what are you

spk_0 hoping to see I gotta be honest I had a joke planned for this and it's just we've already discussed

spk_0 it so much that it doesn't even land it's like yeah I got this crazy lineup ready so take last

spk_0 year starting five take Josh heart out and put douce make pride in boom I got crazy lineup right

spk_0 dibs um I think they can go to some very good defensive lineups without I mean it's literally

spk_0 the lineup we saw last year without cat without Brunson um and you go to Mitch you go to douce in their

spk_0 spots um I think there's a really good offensive lineup like Yabu at the five intrigues me like if

spk_0 a game Mitch doesn't play do you go Yabu and Annobi uh do sprig is Brunson and it's just like a

spk_0 a five out lineup but it's like the the diet uh Rico Cola whatever the the old soda that you get it

spk_0 at the dollar store used to be version of the Warriors death lineup right because it doesn't have

spk_0 anything to stop people on offense on defense um yeah there's there's some really creative offensive

spk_0 lineups they can go to with two small guards three small guards um I know Clarkson is like technically

spk_0 six seven but he profiles like a smaller guards or if you wanted to like Yabu at the five Josh

spk_0 heart at the four next to Clarkson and uh do some Brunson like that's a really good offensive lineup

spk_0 in my opinion. Clarkson six seven I thought it was six five and most my god so even that he's not

spk_0 six one like he doesn't he's not a small guard but he profiles like play a small guard yeah

spk_0 like Josh heart six six three on B ball ref six three so I was looking at his six seven yesterday

spk_0 well remember all that's what's up maybe six seven I just realized I did that man I didn't do

spk_0 that on purpose uh I would like to see Yabu at the five I would go like Yabu like in sort of

spk_0 the secondary units give me bridges and Annobi Yabu at the five with Shamit and Duce that's a line

spk_0 about like to say yeah I mean uh I mean for all the creative lineups that you could come up with

spk_0 believe me I didn't see them last year before we force you to make some predictions is there anything

spk_0 we haven't discussed about this team that you think needs to be talked about I think there's a

spk_0 play out conversation to be had about this team that I think we're about to have that I think

spk_0 will be the only thing missing from the conversation okay so then we will now force you to make a

spk_0 prediction uh this is more regular season I suppose about how many games do you have them winning

spk_0 and then where do you see them finishing in the east um this should come as to no surprise to

spk_0 anybody I think the nicks are going to the NBA finals this year um I think now paths are different

spk_0 every season this is a principal I personally believe in tips um like you can't just say hey they

spk_0 made the conference finals last year so the next step is like the the paces are gone because of

spk_0 aliburden and um like the south exit gone because of tadeum so clearly the nicks should be the one

spk_0 to go there right so I have no idea what our landau could potentially be as a hindrance to that

spk_0 I adlana is actually a team that scares me because they can do the thing that the nicks biggest

spk_0 weaknesses uh really well on its defending picking roles especially if they get any hint of help

spk_0 from uh porzingis uh but I think they have enough and there's enough guys there that are battle

spk_0 tested that you play enough playoff games together you you know how to get through certain situations

spk_0 that a lot of these younger teams just don't uh and when it comes to them versus Cleveland

spk_0 I like our guys better than their guys so don't know how else to say it I like uh the nicks ability

spk_0 to take advantage of the calves weakness weakness on the boards more so than their

spk_0 their ability to take advantage of the nicks biggest weaknesses in the picking our all so I haven't

spk_0 going to the finals I have 55 I believe is the number of wins that I predicted for the season are

spk_0 picked for the season so I have them hitting the over um with the caveat and this I'll wait for

spk_0 the for the the worry that could potentially come in a second but that's my that's my that's my

spk_0 that's my prediction for the season they're going to the finals they'll probably lose it and then

spk_0 um they'll they'll reassess in the offseason uh what were you saving the worry for that was you

spk_0 answered the prediction question before even like the additional prediction question before

spk_0 even got into it so what do you do off your chest the nightmare scenario the absolute nightmare

spk_0 scenario for me I mentioned the hawks nicks win 60 games it's the most fun any nicks fan has had

spk_0 watching a team since like since two years ago but like now it's a 60 win team it's not just like

spk_0 this tibs team that we all fell in love with because they tried harder than everybody else right like

spk_0 it's actually we're excited because they're winning every night they're going on 10 and 11 game

spk_0 winning streaks y'all offensive's great is great the vibes are immaculate brunson's a top five

spk_0 MVP candidate two guys are all NBA they sneak in with a third all star out no it'll be probably

spk_0 y'all boo afteries also in all defense candidate all defense first right um dooses they still

spk_0 do positions at be at the guard spot right like dooses winning the three point contest like and

spk_0 after seeing so much five out and then and it's like see didn't need tips you know we we got rid of

spk_0 them then they get to the playoffs they play the second round against the hawks and their biggest

spk_0 problem during the playoffs last year and a team can just pick on carl and thany towns pick on

spk_0 jalen brunson that's trea young getting downhill doing whatever he wants against the nicks and like

spk_0 bitch because of his injury history he's worn down come playoff time like a bad injury to mitch

spk_0 happens and trea young who i want to just on the record is 11 and 25 in his career against the

spk_0 nicks now actually gets to claim that he dominates the nicks for his career like want to be clear

spk_0 like eleven and twenty one eleven and twenty five whatever it is i know he has seven regular

spk_0 season wins against the nicks in his career but there's this one playoff series where Julius Randall

spk_0 and the house of cards that that nicks team was like collapsed and now he gets to claim like

spk_0 jones medicine square garden because of one playoff series and a in season tournament game that

spk_0 like nobody cared about now he actually has something to claim over the nicks and it's at the

spk_0 year that they won 60 games and this was supposed to be their year he eliminated them in the second

spk_0 round and that is my biggest worry that it's a team like that that can take advantage of the

spk_0 next biggest weekend weakness on defense uh... will exploit it for however many games in a playoff

spk_0 series and then it's a round earlier than they got eliminated last year which will bring the so

spk_0 why did you get rid of tibs conversation all the way back um... yeah so it's it's it's my nightmare

spk_0 to be completely honest it's a thing i've thought a lot about this offseason that if there's a way

spk_0 this season goes catastrophically wrong it's not even like they win 45 games and it's not that good

spk_0 it's there too good in the regular season to create any doubt and then come playoff times we don't

spk_0 even get the uh... matchup against the caps is as someone who's predicting them to make the NBA

spk_0 finals and knowing what the expectations are and what the front office i mean they said it in their

spk_0 press release but what it infers that you fired tibs and didn't even have the which is fine the guy

spk_0 picked out like mic brown was a one of many options they really believe that this is a championship

spk_0 roster is there any scenario there where this can be a progress isn't linear situation where it's

spk_0 oh they didn't make it as far as last year but we saw this happen and so like we are still

spk_0 encouraged by what's the or no you think that they kind of have to meet that bar i would say at

spk_0 least the eastern conference finals again and that again i'm asking you as someone who has them

spk_0 going to the NBA finals no there's no version where they lose there's no version where they lose

spk_0 anything but game seven of the conference finals or later that progress is that you could consider

spk_0 the season i don't know how i'm you know i'm trying to say i'm trying to say like it's a failure

spk_0 unless they get to game seven of the NBA conference finals like that's what they've created that is

spk_0 unfortunately the situation they've now created for their coaching staff their players their franchise

spk_0 and their fan base you told us getting further than you had then in the last 25 years wasn't good enough

spk_0 and it took again divine intervention from a team on a heater in crunch time that took the

spk_0 eventual champs to seven games and almost beat them in seven games like that wasn't good enough

spk_0 so if you don't get to that again it's not good enough just by your definition so there's no

spk_0 hey look we won 60 games like the scenario i'm painting we won 60 games and then lost in the second

spk_0 around but like we're we're still working at something it's a first year head coach no you told us

spk_0 getting to game six two wins away from the finals six wins away from a championship isn't good enough

spk_0 so next year you have to be better than that this was great g-back thank you so much for giving

spk_0 us a bunch of your time once again are you able to just tell our audience where they can find you

spk_0 and all the work that you're doing not only a kfs but elsewhere you could find me on twitter at

spk_0 Andrew Jake Lado underscore my burner is start to use uh 26 25 25 26 not yabu POA

spk_0 not yabu lockdown L-O-P-O-A L-D-P-O-A excuse me uh you can find me at nix film school on all

spk_0 socials we we got a lot of stuff going on on every social that you can follow as well as our

spk_0 youtube channel which is vastly growing um game theory with san vassini i'm doing a lot more stuff

spk_0 with them this season uh haven't talked about baseball that much throughout this conversation but

spk_0 i also have a met therapy a tiktok uh and twitter and instagram account where i just give my three

spk_0 minutes thoughts about the new york metz and boy do they make me check in for a lot of sessions

spk_0 with how they treat their fan base so those are all the places you could find me uh guys is always

spk_0 good to to make this week weekly yearly trip to the hardwood knocks and to talk about a basketball team

spk_0 that has uh kind of taken over my life over the past five years uh so it's good to be with you today

spk_0 thank you Andrew the feeling is is mutual and uh we know i don't always close these with with

spk_0 other teams but since you're here uh everybody really great with you subscribe to all those things

spk_0 apologies j 못ウotion shoutouts frank milockina

New York Knicks 2025-26 NBA Season Lookahead

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