NEW-LOOK OFFENSE 😤 The keys to the Knicks’ turnaround in the playoffs 🔑 | Get Up

0:00 Knicks changed up their offense.

0:02 They are running it to at least some degree through their center,

0:05 and it has been incredibly effective.

0:07 Well, Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points, 10 assists last night,

0:10 but his assist rate has been increasingly higher over the last

0:13 several games because of how they've utilized him in the offense.

0:16 Here Here's something to think about last year.

0:18 Jalen Brunson last year,

0:19 you talk about 181 shots in the postseason last year, right?

0:24 Mhm.

0:23 Like 71% of those shots last year were off ISO plays.

0:28 Ooh.

0:28 Off ISO plays.

0:29 You guys know what I'm talking about, high P&R with the balls in his hands,

0:32 post-ups, or on the side where he's icing out.

0:35 This year, in the postseason,

0:36 you know how many percentage of his shots have been ISO ball?

0:38 51%.

0:40 It's dropped down 20%.

0:41 So, the ball's moving,

0:43 and it's moving because Karl Karl-Anthony

0:44 Towns is being activated within the offense.

0:47 So, I want to ask a question that was asked by a good friend of ours,

0:49 one that you know well,

0:51 who sent a text to Alan and Jay and me that I thought was really interesting.

0:54 I'm just going to read it to you because I

0:56 I get the text on that one, Alan?

0:57 Does he have your number?

0:58 Maybe.

0:59 I don't know.

0:59 I'm going to I'm going to put you on.

1:01 But, Dan Orlovsky just sent a text that said,

1:03 "My Knicks question, did they hold this offense intentionally for the playoffs?

1:07 Had they been building it in practice and unleashed it

1:09 in the playoffs so then teams have less time to study

1:12 and prepare for it?" I think he speaks for a lot

1:14 of people who are wondering that the NBA is a postseason league.

1:17 Right?

1:18 This is a playoff league.

1:19 The Knicks had more than enough to get through the regular season,

1:22 be where they needed to be, and then boom,

1:24 you go to the sneak attack once you get into the playoffs,

1:26 and they needed to unleash it when they went down 2-1 against Atlanta.

1:29 It's a good question.

1:30 That's a great question, but it's also very cute.

1:33 It's adorable because Because no.

1:36 AND I THEY WERE DOWN 2-1 to the Hawks in the first round.

1:38 You wouldn't have been down 2-1 if you already had this thing ready.

1:41 Well, THEY MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT THEY needed it to beat Atlanta.

1:44 So, it's a good question, but but it's cute.

1:46 One, we've been hanging out with Mike Brown all year Not hanging out,

1:48 but covering Mike Brown all year, and I think he would say,

1:49 "You give me too much credit if you think that I was

1:51 holding this to for the postseason." Because rolling with this group of guys,

1:55 they're not that type of guy, right?

1:57 Like whatever this system is, they need an opportunity to really get into it.

2:00 It was born out of necessity.

2:01 I do think Mike Brown would credit his coaching staff,

2:03 in particular Chris Gent, for looking at the matchups versus Atlanta.

2:07 And really, if you break this thing down to the bare bones, to me,

2:10 it was birthed out of trying to figure out how to avoid Jaylen

2:12 how to capitalize on creating mismatches

2:14 for the way Atlanta was guarding Jaylen Brunson.

2:16 Because when you looked at it in Atlanta, he went set the screen,

2:18 you put Atlanta in a difficult position in terms of how

2:21 they want to defend as him with Jaylen Brunson being the screener,

2:24 and then it blossoms from there.

2:26 Let me just build off that, Monica, is that what it started out was was

2:29 just simple pick-and-roll with Towns involved in the action.

2:33 That's what they did in the last week of the season,

2:35 and everybody's like, "Hey, this is working.

2:37 Why did it take so long?" That was working fine.

2:39 And then in the first three games in Atlanta,

2:41 Atlanta figured some things out, plus Towns getting foul trouble.

2:43 But then, what started to happen was instead of Brunson having the ball,

2:48 they gave it to Towns,

2:49 and he started passing the basketball,

2:51 and they realized it unlocked so many other things from the wings.

2:53 That's why OG Anunoby shoots 65% in the playoffs and averages 21 a game.

2:58 Mikal Bridges has come alive.

2:59 It has unlocked other players, and then the Steph Curry part for Brunson.

3:04 Brunson has figured out because of his high IQ as a player,

3:07 how to run off screens,

3:08 get open, and what you talked about, less ISO, more catch and shoot.

3:11 For Brunson, that has been what Quin Snyder said after the series,

3:16 it was pick your poison.

3:17 How do you stop it?

3:18 Can we simplify this for a second?

3:19 Just if you all cuz you guys obviously have been around that team a lot more.

3:23 Regardless of the whether the way it got there or not, it is here.

3:26 Hello.

3:26 Right?

3:27 And the fact that it is there compared to what you saw

3:29 last year with Tibs Tibs gets his team to a certain point,

3:32 then it feels like they sputter out.

3:33 This offense and this defense feels like

3:36 it's the best ever the Knicks have been.

3:38 We're talking about them winning a potential

3:40 championship now and competing against OKC.

3:42 we were all at this table last year together.

3:44 I don't know if you were with us, huh,

3:45 but I remember sitting across from you when they decided to move on from Tibs.

3:47 And Jay was like, "What in the world?" right?

3:49 But this to me has been the quintessential reason why you did that, right?

3:54 And whether you give the credit to Mike Brown or Mike who

3:56 has been very forthright about wanting this to be a collaborative opportunity,

4:00 the new staff, the old staff, whatever,

4:02 it has allowed this team to play deeper, to play more creative, and to me,

4:06 when I looked at some of these matchups during the regular season,

4:08 you were concerned because it felt like the only guys that could

4:10 get a basket for themselves off the bounce consistently were Jalen Brunson,

4:15 Karl Anthony Towns depending on the mood he was

4:16 in, and maybe you had Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench.

4:18 The movement because of the screens allowing guys to get

4:21 to their spots to have a step on their defender has changed everything.

4:24 I'm I'm thinking back, just to go back to Dan's text,

4:27 to the classic film Rocky II in which when they're fighting the rematch,

4:31 Rocky against Apollo Creed.

4:33 Remember he switches, he Rocky is a southpaw,

4:34 he's a lefty, and he switches to conventional.

4:36 And Apollo is a I mean a Mick is in the corner telling him,

4:40 "You got to switch it,

4:40 we got a plan." And he go, "I'm no tricks,

4:42 I ain't switching." And he say, "Well, we're switching.

4:43 We change it up." They held back the wrinkle,

4:45 and then he switches it in the middle, and he's fooling Apollo Creed.

4:48 I don't think that's so crazy.

4:49 I think And it happened in Philly.

4:51 They pulled out a wrinkle.

4:52 They have something that they've been holding

4:54 in their back pocket until they need it,

4:56 and they found themselves needing it, and now it's working.

4:58 I think it's a it's a reasonable question.

5:00 I'm not I'm not saying I know, you guys know, you're there every day.

5:03 I'm it's a reasonable question.

5:05 movie gets done, Greeny, that's the way we'll script it.

5:08 He had more time.

5:09 if not candid.

5:10 actually get more wrinkles in this.

5:11 This is working out nice,

5:13 and next year in training camp it's going to be even better.

5:15 That's him seeing, "Wow, we have something here,

5:18 and I can't wait to get to next season cuz it's going to be even better."

5:20 what helps you with that, Greeny, even if that is the case,

5:22 if that's happening in the Disney movie,

5:24 is the fact that you actually have a bench now that can continue that pace.

5:28 Think about what we were doing last year.

5:29 You saw how dog tired these guys were.

5:31 Now your bench has the pieces that continue to bleed into that pace.

5:36 And that means that if you lose O.G.

5:38 Anunoby for a short period of time last year, you're dead,

5:41 and this year they actually have people who can step in and pick it up.

5:44 That's the difference, and I love Thibs, okay?

5:46 I love him.

5:47 He worked here, he was on this show every day for I think two seasons.

5:50 Without him, they're not here.

5:52 I I I love them.

5:53 Without him, they're not here.

5:54 You have to give him his credit.

5:54 And he he he is a part of this, but the reality

5:57 is I've always said this about his teams.

5:59 His teams max out in the regular season

6:02 because he treats every game like it matters,

6:04 something I happen to respect because it should.

6:07 But, the reality is the NBA is a postseason sport.

6:10 You do hold something in advance.

6:12 You do make sure your guys are fresh,

6:14 and you play a deeper bench even if it means you don't win all

6:17 of the games you might in the regular

6:18 season because then when you get to playoff time,

6:20 you're not running it Your guys have not been run into the ground.

6:23 The Knicks are going to be as fresh when OKC will probably

6:26 be in the same situation assuming they close out their sweep tonight.

6:30 But, the Knicks are going to be ridiculously fresh

6:32 to get a week off at this point in the playoffs.

6:35 I mean, historically, it just doesn't happen very often.

6:38 That's why if you're Detroit, you look at tonight as we got to get You got

6:40 to get this game and get full control of that series.

6:43 Let's talk about that for a minute.

6:44 You said last Tuesday Yep.

6:46 this Knicks team looks like it's ready to win a championship.

6:49 They must be favored.

6:49 I haven't actually looked at this.

6:51 They have to be favored to win the East now.

6:53 I I They are Hambo is yelling.

6:54 Yes, they have to cuz the the other two teams still have to play out each other.

6:58 And And I mean, do they look ready?

6:59 Like all of my Nick fan friends are like, "But can we beat OKC?

7:02 Can we beat OKC?" Does this Nick team look good enough,

7:05 what they're doing right now, to win a championship?

7:08 1,000% I say once you get to the finals, anything can happen.

7:10 I still think OKC would be favored.

7:12 But still like they could put up a fighter's chance.

7:15 By the way, I know that we'll talk about this later,

7:17 but you know, you have Cleveland and you have Detroit.

7:19 If I'm the Knicks, I want Detroit.

7:22 Come on here.

7:23 You think they want Detroit?

7:24 I I'll say it.

7:25 I know me personally, I'm not sure about the Knicks.

7:26 I know Cade Cunningham Well, cuz Cade Cunningham is a Knicks killer.

7:30 Yeah, that is

7:31 And J.B.

7:31 Bickerstaff, we want all the smoke with that team all the time.

7:34 You haven't seen this version of us.

7:36 Okay, I want that back.

7:38 I want a chance to redeem myself.

7:39 Now, I'll take Cleveland or Detroit, doesn't really matter.

7:42 the less physical opponent.

7:44 Which is which would be Cleveland.

7:45 Which would be Cleveland.

7:46 Like you want that of course, but I mean when you watch this series,

7:50 you know, Detroit did everything to give that game away in game three,

7:52 but Detroit should come out of this series and then you're looking

7:55 forward to using your depth against their depth and seeing if they

7:58 You got to face the bully physical basketball.

8:00 You got to face the bully.

8:01 You got to face him.

8:02 I know we got to go.

8:02 Real quick, the one thing and we spent 10 minutes, whatever it was,

8:05 just talking about this team's offense and I think that's appropriate.

8:07 But don't forget how well they're defending.

8:09 And so I think to me, there's real reason behind wanting Detroit,

8:13 yeah, they're physical, but that's the group.

8:15 Right.

8:15 The the defensive piece of this too,

8:17 this team has unlocked something defensively, too.

8:19 Look, I mean, the Knicks and Pistons

8:20 played a very competitive first-round series last year.

8:23 It went six games, but if you if you think back to it,

8:26 it I mean, that was close.

8:27 That that was very close.

8:29 Pistons had a chance to win,

8:30 I think all but one of the games they wound up losing.

8:32 The Knicks won all three games that were played in Detroit.

8:35 That was a first-round series then.

8:36 It could be a conference final matchup now.

8:38 Came in Minnesota, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in game four,

8:42 looking to take a 3-1 lead, but here's their moment.

8:45 Early second quarter, that's Wembanyama and Naz Reid battling down low

8:50 and you're going to see Reid go down.

8:52 And now you're going to see why, if you haven't seen it yet.

8:55 It is a fairly vicious elbow right

8:58 to the chops from Wembanyama and here it comes.

9:03 Ooh.

9:04 Ooh.

9:04 And with the right elbow directly, squarely to the jaw,

9:08 Jay, they would call it a flagrant two and an ejection.

9:10 Is there any question this was the right call?

9:12 No, as soon as I saw the play on the plane

9:13 last night coming back from the NBA lottery in Chicago,

9:16 I said flagrant two, that's the right call.

9:18 He should have been ejected.

9:19 Reid is his lips, he's saying, "What does that mean?

9:22 Does that mean I'm ejected?" Answer is yes.

9:25 Victor, oui oui, monsieur.

9:26 It's all over for him early in the second quarter.

9:29 Then it turns into a great game now.

9:31 Timberwolves hold on to win 114-109.

9:35 We're tied at two games apiece afterwards.

9:37 Here's the Spurs coach.

9:40 Every single play on every single part of the floor,

9:43 people are trying to impose their physicality on him.

9:45 I get it.

9:46 We get it.

9:46 That's part of the game.

9:48 But, at some stage he's gotten chucked,

9:51 he's gotten pushed down in transition, running freely, all the stuff.

9:56 He doesn't complain one time.

9:59 We don't complain cuz we're just going to play.

10:00 We don't really give Excuse my language,

10:03 but at some stage he should be protected,

10:06 and if not, he's going to have to protect himself,

10:08 and unfortunately, stuff like that happens.

10:10 At some level, it's starting to get actually

10:13 disgusting just in terms of when he tries

10:16 to fight through things and be professional

10:20 and mature and deal with some of that stuff.

10:23 Um I'm glad he took matters into his own hands.

10:27 Again, not in terms of hitting Naz Reid.

10:29 I want to be very clear about that.

10:29 I'm glad Naz Reid was okay.

10:30 And I didn't want him to elbow him.

10:33 But, he's going to have to protect himself if they're not.

10:35 And I think it's disgusting.

10:37 Okay, so strong words from the coach.

10:39 There's a lot to dive into here.

10:40 Monica, I will start with this.

10:42 The coach has to defend his player.

10:44 Is there a defense for Wembanyama here in your mind?

10:47 Is Is there Does he have an argument?

10:49 Is Wembanyama just fed up with all of the No,

10:51 I can tell from your face already I should stop asking the question.

10:54 like what are you talking about, Mitch?

10:54 Cool.

10:55 That's what coaches are supposed to say, but get out of here.

10:56 No, I'm not buying any of that.

10:58 Here's the deal.

10:59 It's kind of like First of all, he broke the rule.

11:01 Like that was Put the picture of the play

11:03 in the definition of a flagrant foul, too.

11:05 Like there's nothing to discuss.

11:06 This is the nature of post season basketball.

11:09 Everything about this series to this point has been physical.

11:12 But, tell me if I'm wrong.

11:13 I don't think anybody else has gotten to this point.

11:15 No.

11:15 And so when I have said all season long,

11:16 and I may very well be proven wrong cuz the Spurs are great this post season,

11:19 that this group is inexperienced, that to me is a demonstration of that.

11:23 You said earlier when we talked about this, he

11:25 just looks like for one brief instant he snaps.

11:28 Yeah, and I I I take nothing away from him.

11:30 I He is not labeled a dirty player.

11:32 But, this is a human experience.

11:33 This is his first level of experience in this moment.

11:36 He snapped.

11:37 He threw an elbow.

11:37 You can't do that.

11:38 Bye.

11:38 This is what Minnesota does.

11:39 I mean, this is what Chris Finch and that defense,

11:42 they frustrated Jokic in the same way.

11:43 This is what they do.

11:44 This is how they win.

11:46 And you have to know that as a player.

11:48 So, Wemby has been celebrated and rightly so.

11:50 He has earned all of the things, all the praises we have given him.

11:53 This is his first ugly moment.

11:55 I don't remember anything else like this for him.

11:58 It's his first out of character moment.

12:00 So, we'll give it to him.

12:01 But he's got to understand that everything

12:03 that Mitch Johnson said that was happening to him,

12:05 yeah, that's the playoffs, man.

12:06 This is your first experience.

12:08 You're learning it.

12:09 He's got to grow from this.

12:10 I think he will, but they're in one right now.

12:13 Minnesota is giving them a series,

12:15 and he showed his frustration early in a game that they really needed to win.

12:18 For those of you who are not with us early in the show,

12:20 we had Brian Windhorst on.

12:21 He said he does not anticipate, certainly doesn't know for certain,

12:25 but does not expect that Wembanyama will

12:27 be suspended for game five, perhaps fine.

12:30 I think this is one of those things that it happens early in the second quarter.

12:34 So, he basically misses a game.

12:36 If that happens with 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter,

12:39 maybe we're looking at something a little bit different.

12:41 Reid is knocked out and can't play, and can't play in the rest of the series,

12:44 maybe it's something you think about as well.

12:46 But he did, to be clear.

12:46 He continued in the game and all the rest of that.

12:48 So, Jay, go.

12:50 It was the right call.

12:51 The flagrant two.

12:53 He got ejected.

12:55 But I am going to say this, and I

12:56 don't condone actions like that, but I I think,

12:59 you know, our society right now is in a very delicate,

13:03 sensitive, soft like place.

13:06 Okay?

13:07 And NBA playoffs sometimes is nasty.

13:10 And we're watching a 22-year-old who is a generational

13:14 talent get pushed around and beat up all the time,

13:17 and is trying to do things the right way.

13:19 But as we all know, so sometimes you have to come into your own mature self.

13:22 Now, I'm not saying that warrants an elbow to the face,

13:25 but like ask Shaq about some of the things Shaq has done.

13:28 Ask him the greatest player Ask Jordan did some nasty things too, y'all.

13:32 So I'm not condoning it, but like it it's

13:33 But you're saying this is a message sent You have to In some way or form,

13:37 you have to send some type of message back that you're just

13:40 not going to keep pushing me and punking me around all the time.

13:43 Wrong message.

13:44 It's okay.

13:45 Sometimes wrong message is the timing is poor and you learn from it,

13:48 but at some point I learned when I came down,

13:51 Shaq elbowed me one time, knocked me out.

13:53 I didn't go back down on no more.

13:54 It just sent a message.

13:55 I'm not saying it's right,

13:56 but there's something about owning your own space for a second.

14:01 Yes.

14:01 That's the wrong team.

14:02 That's the wrong guy.

14:04 Okay.

14:03 To me.

14:04 Because Naz Reid was asked about it postgame.

14:06 He said pain is nothing but weakness leaving the body.

14:08 Like I feel you and I agree.

14:09 Basketball is not always within the rules very neat.

14:12 So I feel you and I again, I'm not mad at Wemby.

14:14 You had to learn the lesson.

14:15 I don't know that that message landed

14:17 the way that you're talking about with that group.

14:19 All All I'm saying for It may not be for the group.

14:22 It may be for Wemby himself.

14:24 You know what I mean?

14:25 I'm not saying it's right.

14:25 I'm just At some point You just pointed out the the old and then

14:29 this sort of a position that doesn't exist anymore,

14:32 but there used to be the enforcer.

14:33 Like if anyone ever did that to Michael Jordan,

14:35 Charles Oakley would come over and on the next play down,

14:39 it would be Oakley who would wind up hitting

14:40 somebody with an elbow like that or a shoulder, whatever it might be.

14:43 And that message is sent a different way.

14:45 Those guys So it's a different thing as opposed to Wembanyama,

14:49 who now all of a sudden, he's thrown out of a game that winds up

14:52 going right down to the final seconds and now you're

14:55 2-2 and you're playing for your life and you're going

14:57 to be playing in a If you get out of this series,

14:59 you're playing an Oklahoma City team that's

15:00 going to be sitting and resting a week.

15:01 Is Minnesota also know, now we got him because he knows he can't do that again.

15:05 So now keep poking the bear even more.

15:08 Keep frustrating him even more.

15:10 They might have found something, that weakness you're looking for in Wembanyama.

15:13 The other side of that coin though is I'm

15:14 the Spurs probably went in the locker room and said,

15:16 we didn't have our big fella for two and a half quarters right there.

15:18 Like and we were right there.

15:19 So Well, their four guards played outstanding.

15:21 They don't get enough credit for how good they are.

15:23 Their four They are that good.

15:24 I mean, this team is that good.

15:26 They are a They are a a a a dynasty in the making, if you will.

15:29 The question is