FIRST TAKE | “Nightmares in New York.” – Stephen A. felt pain after Knicks lost to Pacers in Game 7

FIRST TAKE | “Nightmares in New York.” – Stephen A. felt pain after Knicks lost to Pacers in Game 7

the Pacers you’re such a hater Shannon had one of the greatest shooting halves in the 77e history of the NBA led by a balanced attack Indiana ended up shooting 67% for the game that’s the highest field goal percentage for a playoff game in NBA history now adding to New York’s woes nickar Jaylen Brunson left the game with a broken left hand here’s tibs and Brunson on the season as a coach you always measure okay what what does the group have and are we getting everything out of the group and the only thing you could ask for is everyone puts forth their best effort and we got that all year from these guys what goes along with that is peace of mind and knowing that you you did your best and so that’s all you could ask for and a lot of teams I think would have folded they didn’t like we took the hit with Mitch and then you know and you you add in Julius and uh and ogi you’re starting front line and then bogy goes out so that that and it was hit after hit but these guys never folded they kept fighting and so that’s all you could ask for I love the fact of how how we fought night in and night out and um uh I just I love this group of guys that we have and um just like I said before their mindset our mindset as a group is uh was strong some nights when we may have not had what people thought was a a team capable of winning our mindset pushes over that H did we win a championship did did we get close so no that’s just that’s my mindset that’s just how it is listen I know Brunson doesn’t want consolation prizes but seriously they overd delivered they exceeded expectations they were banged up and they did Do It All the Right Way led by their star there Jaylen Brunson but Shannon coming to you on this do you think game seven was more about the Pacers being dominant or just that the Knicks were hurt well I think if maybe if the combination but I’m going to say more the Pacers because legs what you and I talked about they’re looking to push the tempo they’ll take it out of the net or they’ll get it out the rim but one way or the other they’re going to push the tempo and how many times did you see the Knicks lay the ball up on one end and guess what the Pacers are laying up on the other end the Pacers Miss and then you get them hard shooting the three shooting the three on the other end you let a team score 39 and then score 31 and then score another 3 so after three quarters they already over a 100 so even if you do what the what the Wolves did to the Nuggets hold him to 14 points that’s still 115 in the game what’s the likelihood of you holding a team that scores 70 in the first half 31 in the third and somehow all of a sudden they could have got another 30 plus had they not called the dogs off if you let a team shoot I don’t care who you have out there if they 100% healthy you let a team shoot 67% from the floor which is an NBA record if you let a team shoot 54% from the three and they shoot more than 23s you’re losing Stephen A you’re losing that game and it was too easy for him if you look at cakam got really comfortable early Miles Turner got comfortable early and the one thing legs that you and I talked about when they lost game one Tyrese halberton needs to be a lot more aggressive when he’s aggressive they’re very diff ult team to beat and I kept saying go H go H go H and he went and stepen a and he went and McConnell oh TJ McConnell Molly I don’t know if you know this but that joker tougher than wet leather oh my goodness he came in there picking up 94 feet getting in the paint do I said oh my goodness I thought that was Steve Nash I thought it was Steve Nash I had to do a flashback I said is that Steve Nash or TJ McConnell but I couldn’t tell the difference Stephen A and the and the Pacers we going on Nap toown stand up stand up you know you know you know spent a lot of time I just I just I just I just want to say this I just want to say this I have grown to love my brother Shannon sha okay right I can’t stand that bastard sh sh or is it the other way around I love my man sh I can’t stand that bastard sh I swear you know this this really really wakes for I don’t want to hear this you know this this is ridiculous okay let let these are the Knicks that we’re talking about here in the damn infirmary okay just stop it don’t give me this stuff about any listen I came into the series talking about you can’t sleep on Indiana’s offense I came into the series recognizing how poer offense was this year only team in the entire NBA that shot 50% from the field I get that but I also know what the New York Knicks defense is particularly when OG anob has been in this lineup Tim and my line legs when I say they one of the top rated defenses in the NBA now let’s put this in this perspective we know that Tom tho is a great defensive mind and by the way I don’t want to hear no shade thrown on Tom tho who the hell else was he supposed to play I’ve been hard on him about him potentially running players into the ground in the past that is not applicable that is not applicable to this season every way you turn they had injuries look at that damn list right there OG banovic now Brunson Randle Mitchell Robinson I mean stop it just don’t don’t forget the heart with the abdominal strain okay is a dam infirmary now let’s put this in its proper perspective okay because these are things that don’t happen against the Tomo defense Tim LEL you’ve been covering the NBA for decades you know this stuff inside out when you see somebody shoot 76% against a Tom Fido defense it doesn’t happen 67% overall for the game 76.3% in the first half let me give you individual numbers sh Shay you know oh you get oh I’m going to get you I’m going to get you I swear I’m going to get you for this look at this right here here patience player n Smith 100% from the field in game seven 8 for8 neard 80% 8 for 10 TJ I like that I love TJ from the days in Philadelphia that’s SM I love TJ right 75% from the field six to eight he only missed two shots neard only missed two shots n Smith didn’t missed a shot at all Miles Turner 7even for 11 halberton 59% 10 of 17 also knocked down six of 12 threes and see yam at 53% okay notice that he had the percentile once OG goes down because they one and four in this series Once OG was hurt don’t give me this stuff about I I respect listen I respect the hell out of Rick Carlile as a champion I respect the hell out of Indiana Paces I told y’all it was something to be worried about okay but in the same breath I also like the fact that they listen as much as it hurts me I know it’s a better Eastern Conference Final series because I think Boston would have swept New York because of all the injuries okay if the New York Nicks were fully loaded that’s a different mad and tal the new y let me State this for the record no disrespect to the Indiana Paces props and congratulations to them if the Knicks were healthy they win this series in five in five okay with OG and anobi with Randall and Robinson out but OG and anobi in the New York Nicks still Clos this out in six games don’t they a one game three it might have been five don’t give me Indiana oh my Lord how prolific they were offensively that would not have been the case if these damn injuries weren’t the case but they were and that’s why if Joel embiid is healthy y’all not even there okay you could say that you could say that and you could say that and I feel you on that but remember Joel and beid was playing against the Knicks team without Randall and Robinson so we even they play whatever even don’t give that even stop it I love I love you I love you because anytime anytime somebody says starts a sentence with no disrespect intended they’re about to disrespect somebody come come on I’m not disrespecting that man I’m not the by saying by saying that’ be a five game series though I think it’s a little bit disrespect look at look at game three even if they were Health g i I think I think Indiana is a team that I think everybody should have been paying a little bit more attention to in the regular season we didn’t talk about them I talked about them quite a bit because I was so enamored with their offense because here’s here’s where they’re different than any team I watched all year and you kept talking about their shot making like throughout the playoffs you’re like I’m sitting home watching these guys shot miss it right exactly the reason I love their offense so much is because I think it’s the most decisive team in the NBA the ball is never dribbled without a purpose if they do put it on the floor it’s immediately get into action it’s going to lead to something directly but typically the ball is swung to a guy that immediately catches it and and gets downhill back into the paint another draw and kick opportunity or they shoot the basketball very little pounding of the ball unnecessarily very little eating up any of the shot clock with a ball that’s not going anywhere everything they do has a purpose and so I think these two things are connected the injuries are connected in that if you have all of those guys that were on that graphic playing defensively what the Knicks could have presented to the Indiana Pacers with being able to contain the basketball better would have been totally different story you’re talking about they’re starting two guard they’re starting uh ogj anobi they’re starting power four and Julius Rand they’re starting center and rim protector Mitchell Robinson Ian those are three and their number one forward Off the Bench in bogdanovich who actually made a name for himself first in this league defending LeBron James in the playoffs back when he was in Indiana very good defensive player so it is you can’t just always say they’re mutually exclusive these things are connected the injuries did lead to the success of the Indiana Patriots offensively but having said it give all the credit to a team in a game seven on the road to look that relaxed that calm that poised and they fed off of each other’s confidence and Shannon you’re is 100% right halberton sets the stage when he looks like that early in the game let me give Halle Burton some props because I I had my man Juan and a few others texed me talk about they couldn’t stand Halle Burton remember I’m the guy that wanted the Nicks to draft halberton and they drafted Obby top and I was upset about that because I said you needed a point guard you should have drafted this kid what I love what I saw from Hal Burton yesterday he got that that set shot from three and you think that’s how he shoots all the time no he got a pull up jumper off the dribble he in in in in traffic he will Elevate and it’s not the same set shot that he launches from three which can be deceptive because you watch him shoot from three and you think that’s how he shoots all the time that’s not how he shoots all the time and then he’s in the garden and you got people heckling him I’m their court side you got people heckling him before the game and he’s talking it’s not like people accusing him of being a front runner that’s not true they were thinking that oh he talked when he had the lead or whatever no he was before the game we going to see we go he said I’m here watch and he he was telling people watch what I do to your boys today in game seven and then he went out there and did it so I got mad respect for him when you back up your talk I got to give I got to give respect what respect is do but we ain’t G to let sh Shay come on here on National Television you understand what I’m saying sitting there talking that nonsense acting like oh those injuries didn’t play a very significant role in the outcome when you damn well know they did a no time let that [Music] happen e for speee foreign spee speech spee speech speech spee for B for foree my [Music] spee for got speech speech make it little more time I speech speech fore spee fore [Music] make foreign for for speee [Music]

FIRST TAKE | “Nightmares in New York.” – Stephen A. felt pain after Knicks lost to Pacers in Game 7