Knicks win 1st title since 1973 as the ‘BEST TEAM IN THE NBA’, What happened to Wemby & Spurs? | FTF

Here's Christian Pulisic on the ball now.Draws the double -team.Splits the double -team.Pulisic is trying to cut it.Marissa Pochettino.How can he get inside?

And this team has ever put together.This was a 20 -plus pass sequence.From about to see the game out, well, they're going to see it out with an exclamation point.Gio Reyna.

What a weekend of sports.And shout out to Gio Reyna.Your guy.I've only been talking about Gio for months.Yep.4 -1 USA.

That wasn't the only 4 -1 result, however.No, it wasn't.A little bit of a gentleman's sweep, as we like to call it, on First Things First.

Well, guys, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.The important thing is to learn your lesson.Oh.That man, I think he learned his lesson.

We're starting in San Antonio.The New York Knicks win their first title since 1973.Jalen Brunson goes for 45, almost half of the team's points.He wins finals MVP in New York legend status.It's the culmination of just an amazing playoff run.Since going down 2 -1 to the Hawks when Brew had the Knicks on death's door.

They go 15 -1, score 117 points, shoot almost 50 % from the field while holding their opponents to 100 points and only 42%.It's at least one of the most memorable playoffs.

If you remove the 51 -point win, it still is the all -time record for margin of victory in a playoffs.Wow.If you remove that 51 -point win.Yeah.Um, the way the Knicks did it was by, to put words to that graphic, being clearly, undeniably, the best team in the NBA for two months.And they did that by not letting individual goals cloud the big picture of what they're trying to do, by leaning on their bench in the regular season that allowed all of those guys to have moments in the postseason.

In the NBA Finals, the Knicks third leading fourth qua Shamick and their fourth l score was Jose Alvarado.Zach Lowe for that fact.never getting ahead of the series as far as seeintheir eyes.Like the down 3 -1, everyone on the Spurs knew they were going to win the title.Up 3 -1, no one on the Knicks would put that to words.

By never getting ahead of themselves within games, like, oh my God, we're down 3 -1.double digits.What are we going to do?It was we're down 16.Let's try to get it to 14.Let's try to get it 12.

And then most importantly, and I know we're going to spend a lot of time on him throughout the show.They did it by having an absolutely legendary playoff riser as their team captain.Jalen Brunson brew to me is in a Saint.I put him in a tier of Kawhi Leonard and the original Isaiah Thomas, guys who are not top 10 all -time even in the argument, but championship level in the critical moments can make an argument, oh, of everyone playing in this tournament this year, pick me.And he did it again.So that's how they won the title.

Yeah, I mean, a lot of what you said, I agree with.They were the smarter, the more experienced, the more poised, the better coached.Yeah, and this is critical.The most clutch team.That's how they did it.I mean this series like every game essentially had the same script.

Yes, like the Spurs jump out to this huge lead like young boys and then the Knicks just gradually but consistently walk them down and then to your point about Brunson when it was close late.I mean, he's the best clutch player in the league.He won the award, but he also is that It's not close.And so, I shouldn't say it's not close, but he did his thing.Didn't feel close.When it was close, yeah, I mean, shades of it.

been cut, but not this playoff series.If these two teams, as they are now, play five more games, Four of them will probably follow that same script.Spurs get out big, and then the Knicks just kind of walk them down.And now the Spurs should be different next year, maybe better next year.But this year, these two teams, that's what I think will happen.And the Knicks, to your point about the team basketball, It's interesting that their last two champions, their previous two in the 70s, were very team.

It was a team.Everybody was involved.A lot of passing, ball movement.But you had the guy in Frazier or Willis -Reed, but Walt Frazier in particular, who could take over when necessary.That game seven, 1970, when Willis -Reed limps out on the bad leg, Walt Frazier scored 36 points.And this team kind of, It's like since they got going, since game three against Atlanta, when they went on the 15 -1 run, they had the best of both worlds.

They had the team that had a lot of ball and player movement, and Cat kind of orchestrated the offense from up top.But then they had what's more prevalent now is the one dominant guy that could take over.And so they kind of played the ball movement, team movement for three quarters.And then in the fourth quarters, Brunson just took over.And so that was a big part of why they won.And as you said, I mean, Alvarado played a big role.

Shamit, you know, I mean, O .G.on the know, but guys that aren't heralded came up big.And finally, again, I've said it earlier.We might Brown.He has to get major credit.

He pushed all the right buttons.He's incredibly experienced because he's been an assistant all over in different types of coaching staff.He's been a head coach a very good one got to the finals before this and whether it was putting in Alvarado to go with Brunson at the end of game for when they had not played together at all, all all playoffs or whether it was he had a cat guarding Wimby, a lot of the series and cat did a great job.But everybody expected.Oh, Gianna, nobody to be the primary defender on him.So he just pushed all the right buttons and even throughout the season when he was building his team up for a moment like this Brunson.

This is a Brunson overall graphic on this postseason when the Knicks were leading versus when they were trailing or tie or tied when the The Knicks were leading, he shot 42 % and 30 % from the field.When they were trailing or tied, he went up to 51%.Amazing.Almost 44 % from three.The fourth quarter of game five, it felt like Wembley could get nothing and Brunson could get anything he wanted.

And a lot of that on Wembley.

Yeah.

So I don't think you can speak about the game he just played in glowing enough terms.I was lucky enough, last minute, Saturday, went down to San Antonio, I was there.The row I was sitting in happened to be all Knicks fans.The stadium was about 60 % Knicks fans, but the literal row I was in was just Knicks fans.And I cannot overstate the level of confidence d 10 in the fourth quarter d half, down 10 in the four Brunson went on an individ to tie the game.I have s show you some of those bu I have said for years, br

of in passing, but you've heard me say it a bunch, that I believe the greatest game Michael Jordan ever played was his final game with the Bulls.Listen, he had a 50 plus point finals games.He had the 63 as a kid in the playoffs.That Utah game when he scored 45 and wasn't super efficient, I think it's the greatest game he ever played because his team scored 87.He scored 45.There were no buckets to come by.

When the Knicks had 90 points, Jalen Brunson had 45.The only reason he didn't get half was because he wasn't the one getting fouled at the end of the game.And he scored 50.15 of 17 down the stretch for the Knicks, 15 of their 17 points.He scored 13 straight to turn a 73 -83 deficit into an 86 -85 lead.And here are his final three buckets of the season.

And they're all perfect for different reasons.The first one, oh, you're the greatest defensive player ever.OK, take a little bit of that to the ribs, a little herky -jerky, all of it.and just absolutely got one -on -one with a guy who was the first unanimous defensive player of the year.That cuts it to four.Then, when the unanimous defensive player of the year needs a rest with five minutes in the fourth quarter of the finals.

We could do another whole story on that.

He says, okay, well Luke Cornett, Cornett can test this.I'm going to, I don't know where he's going.Layup.And then a somehow like underrated moment.This is a minute left tie game of the finals freezes.Wimby.

Wimby doesn't get off the ground.Brunson somehow knows he that's the absolute closest he could get to the bucket and not face a contest.

And beat Cassell like that.

Or Castle.And soBrew, to win the finals, here are the guys who have scored 45 -ish points in a closeout game.We can show you the list.It's Giannis' legendary 50.Bullet Bob Pettit's 50.

Brunson, the Jordan game I talked about, and maybe the most famous game of Magic's career.The game without Kareem when he jumps center.Yep.You cannot overstate what a brilliant performance it is and how brilliant he was.

No, I second everything you said.I mean, and he, it's interesting because everybody talks about playing in New York, how hard it is.And he handles it to perfection.Oh yeah.And Al Harrington was here last week talking about the pressure of guys playing in New York, the back page, and Al even showed the back page where, I don't remember, it was the Daily News, where they said, no hero ball.So they're telling him don't do what he ended up doing to win this series for them.

And so I don't know if he saw the back page or not, but his mental toughness to go out there and not be swayed by public opinion, because I mean, he was clearly the MVP of the series by the time it ended.But going into that game, I think and an OB was a little bit ahead of him at one point cat.I was going to say after game two was og after game four and then and he just was the steady assassin and look the against this great defense.He was better than Shea the two -time MVP.He was better than Anthony Edwards in the second round of the playoffs.So you can't overstate how great he was in this series, especially in that game 5.

All right, more on the Knicks.We got the parade on Thursday.We'll have more on the Knicks throughout the show.We're going to talk about the Spurs.They get swept in a gentlemanly way.When we had 19 in this closeout game, only three in the fourth as believe it or not, San Antonio coughed up yet.

Another double -digit lead.All right, so they did lead for 72 % of the series.So what he's referring.

It's I'm going to give it to brew in a second about the bigger picture stuff.That quote right there, in my opinion, is utterly delusional.And I can't believe how many people agree with it.A horse that has an amazing opening kick and always gets caught at the line does not dominate that race.That is not.And what the spurs, if you dominate for 72%, but, but so, so I'm going to, and I'm not saying they dominate.

I'm just saying, I don't think the quote is great.So here does show the quarters.The Spurs dominated the first quarter of this series.Because of that, they had a lead consistently until the Knicks walked them down every time.That is not dominating most of the series.That is crushing in the first quarter.

But your 72 % thing, we can show you the numbers on that.It was the percent of time led.You're right, KW.They led 72 % of the time.You know what it reminded me of?And man, I remember how we reacted to Darvin Ham if he would have said that the Lakers dominated the Nuggets.

It's the same graphic.a different gentleman sweep when one team got walked down every single time.And if after the game, if after that, Anthony Davis had been like, we dominated them.

But Nick, that's not all he said.Be fair.That's not all he said.He said the ups and the downs.He didn't say we dominated them.I don't know how we lost this thing.

He said we had great ups and we had downs and the downs killed us.He said the margin for error was slim.I agree with I mean, I'm just saying to limit it to we dominated them.It's just unfair.

I mean, I think a lot of the I guess maybe I'm reacting that way because I think a lot of what The Spurs said during and then after the series, refused to give the Knicks credit or acknowledge that we've played this team seven times since December and lost six of them.If it was a best of 11, they would have, as gentlemen, swept us.And so that part irritates me. I get that.

The youth and inexperience.That's what it was.And when you Build those leads and keep losing them.That's youth in an experience.And that's why young teams led by young superstars, again, aside from Bill Walton, who was 24, played four years in college, three varsity.They don't, they, this happens to all of them.

It happened to Shaq and Shaq wasn't bad against a lot of them, but they got swept in a series that a lot of people thought they could have won.Yeah.And they were looking great in game one, similar to that game one was very similar to this series.Um, and so it just, that's what it was for Wimby.It is uncanny to me how similar this series was for him to a young LeBron.like they arguably the best player in the world even when LeBron in 07 went to the finals and certainly in 2011 arguably the best player in the world and struggles mightily in the finals and gets

exposed even though they're so great for their weaknesses.LeBron, it was 0 -7, the lack of a jump shot.Wimby, here's the lack of strength, lack of a post game.The immaturity and bad press conferences, or just things they done.In 2011, LeBron and Dwyane Wade, not just that, LeBron and Dwyane Wade up to one, laughing at Dirk Nowitzki, having a cold.All right, Wimby, the Nas Reed elbow, laughing at Jalen Brunson after he mushed his head into the ground, laughing at Mitchell Robinson.

up big in that game, then he has to eat it just like LeBron ate it when they're up to one.He has to eat it in that game, not just the series in that game.And so I think it's because they both were so ambitious and want it now.LeBron wanted to pass MJ or be better than MJ and he wanted it immediately.Wimby wants to be better than LeBron and MJ and he wants it immediately.And I don't know if that ambition and these high, you know, things you want lead to some of the immaturity, even people are criticizing for walking off him in the Spurs, walking off the court without shaking hands.

LeBron did that.No nine against Orlando, you know, so just very similar experiences for them.Now, LeBron learned from his and went on to obviously have a fantastic career.I think when Bill do the same, he certainly said he needs to learn, but that's that's the charge for him.

Now, I'm surprised you are.You took such offense to it.Because of how much they were up late.I I think it is a valid and I still thinkWemby's quote on if we just play normal basketball, we win.You're up 20 with 9 .30 to go in game four.

You're up 10 in the closeout game with eight minutes to go.It does feel like the Jalen Brunson avalanche is starting to come at you, but I think it's fair to say we had some high highs.

Yeah, so a couple things.First of all, you know what?I might have been too harsh there.In fact, I think they deserve something for all those leads.Listen, they led the most minutes.They were up 10 in every game.

They didn't quite get it done by winning the title, but maybe this'll be...So maybe I was too harsh.Let me ask you...Yeah, I might have been.

I want to ask you...Please.If you can put yourself in the shoes of an athlete, and you were in a series, and you built these huge leads every single game...Yep.and led for two -thirds of the series.Wouldn't you feel like...

Maybe I...And again, he admitted the downs, so it wasn't like he just left that out there.

So I can't really, to be honest, put myself in their shoes, so maybe I would.I think I was consistently put off by what I considered to be the disrespect to the Knicks and just the comments of, Yeah, if we play normal, we'll win.Everyone, you know, when asked the people, I, I didn't like before the game when he was asked what the mentality was and he's in the locker room, he said, everyone knows we're going to do it.And people, people defended that if, when the Knicks were up to jail and Brunson was asked, what's the feeling in the locker room?And he was like, everyone knows we're going to be champions.We'd have been shocked.

He would never have said that, even though of course that's how they want to be.But here's the other reason I am less moved by them getting out to early leads.It's it's there's a level of Ali rope -a -dope and they weren't the Knicks weren't playing possum.No, no, that's it.So, you know what?I shouldn't have said rope -a -dope, but there was a level of The Spurs, yeah, obviously punching themselves out.

Yeah.So I would just do want to show you for the series.When was Victor Wynn Mignogna good after rests his first quarter and third quarter?He was a dominant offensive player and no.Okay.So this is that's fine dust.

Leave this here for a second.Game five was the culmination.That first quarter and a half of Game 5, I thought the Spurs might have played the greatest defensive part of that, you know, quarter and a half I'd ever seen.And Wimby was all of it.And then he was gassed the rest of the game.And what you saw for the series was, first and third quarters, Wimby was super efficient for after, you know, got a little halftime rest and going into the game.

And as he wore down, he was not.And so the reason I think it's wrong, Brew, is if, I use the horse racing analogy, I'll use a race car, an Indy car analogy.They have that like push to pass thing, but you only have so much of it over the course of a race.I'm not impressed if a driver's like, I wanna lead the most laps, so I'm going to expend my whole tank in the first half of the race, and then every time get caught.It was so clear that they were not going to, I didn't think, Brew, it was just that they made rookie mistakes.I thought it was.

their best player did not have the energy to keep up if he could play at the level.He played early sitting at five minutes.

I mean, he rested during the four and that's what the Spurs got.Like I said, we've never seen a seven footer.play out on the floor all the time.Yeah, and we've never expected growing up.The bigger guys don't have the wind of the guards and so they got to figure out can he play like that and still have his stamina and to your point get him playing more minutes in the regular season too.So he can build up.

He says he's going to work on it.Can I brew?Can I ask you a question?

Gee whiz.I want you to look at this and tell me if you agree with it.Best player alive.from game one of the Western Governments finals until Saturday that that that his reign atop the league lasted about 25 days.

He would I thought he was the best player before that.Okay, but I'm saying didn't end if you want to say it's vacant.Yeah, that's fair.I wouldn't put another player ahead of him right now.

You wouldn't but you don't think Shea or Joker gets it back.

Oh get it back would be.Oh, I thought I think they could.

It's fake.I think I mean, it's a Well, he wasn't bad.He, in this, he obviously was outplayed by Robinson in the series, but it's the, but I could, I still stand by my statement from a week ago.

if you want to say it's vacant for the next few months, but you think he's going to next season if he does what he's supposed to do.Yep.He does what I think you'll do.He does what he said.He'll do and learn from this and work on his weaknesses.Bronson has a case for it right now.

Best player in the world.It can't be vacant.You can't just it can't be vacant.

If I just can we say 45.

So are we saying now that the winner the MVP of the finals is always the best player in the world.Not not always.

but I do think, hold on, I do think...It's a team game.I agree with that.I do think we're going to do Brunson more later.I do think, I agree with you, Brew, obviously the finals MVP is not always the best player in the world.I think Brunson's case would be deeper than that.

But to your point, and again, because, try to be helpful, I agree with you about what Wimby needs to do in the offseason.So we got one more.Off -season shopping list.Treadmill.Treadmill.Weight bench.

Rule book.We didn't even talk about the fact that had they won, he wouldn't be playing game six.And a little humble pie.That was getting rescinded.It didn't even get rescinded.It never even got called.

Oh, you're right.So then he would have been fine.I don't know.It's a lot of flagrant fouls.

Dax McCarty here to talk about Team USA.We thought USA would win.No one thought we would look this good.Scored seven minutes into the game.Balligan scored twice in the first half.And then Well, who's been talking about Gio Arena?

He needs to be on the squad.He comes in and scores one of the prettiest goals in the entire tournament to make it 4 -1.Here's Henri postgame.

I said I believe that that team can bring the crowd together.They just need to do it today.Not in friendly games, not when people were panicking, not even against Panama here.I know there was a nation league, a lot of people were talking.They need to be ready today.And I believe in what I see and I saw a great team today.

Team performance.I believe personally that they can go on the run.Let's see if they will do it.That doesn't mean you will go on the run.But now I'm sure a lot of people will believe that they can go on the run.

I am one of those people, Dax.Look at the bottom line here.53 touches in Paraguay's box.It's the tie for 8th most by any team in a World Cup game since 1966.So it is a bit of a historic possession game, at least.Did this win change anything?

your expectations for Team USA?

Yes, nice.Yes, it did.I thought quarterfinal run.Now I'm thinking semifinal run and anything could happen beyond that.This was.In the first half, the second best half, the U .

S.Men's National Team has ever played in a World Cup behind a dominant 3 -1 half they played in 2002 against the Portuguese National Team, who was one of the World Cup favorites back in that day.And it is also the second best result that we have ever had in the World Cup behind the famous Dos Acero, the only knockout round game we have ever won in a World Cup.We chatted a little bit last week on this show.And you asked me what's the most important thing for U .S.

Men's National Team going into this.The first 15 to 20 minutes of this game is going to say a lot about our team and about exactly what they are, what their intentions are to go into this tournament.And they completely broke Paraguay's will.to compete in that first half.Yeah, it was dominance from top to bottom attacking phase of play counter pressing defensively.They were excellent.

This is the best we've ever seen the US men's national team play under Mauricio Pochettino and One of the best games that we have seen them play in the World Cup.It was extremely fun to watch.I represented the U .S.Men's National Team on a handful of occasions.And the pride you feel when you play for the U .

S.Men's National Team or when you represent your country in something like that, nothing comes close to that.But I told you guys about my travel situation, trying to get back home.Watching that game by myself in my apartment, I had felt that same amount of pride in this team.Wow.Which I believe millions of Americans, whether you love soccer, whether you're a casual fan, I believe millions of Americans felt that same way.

And now the expectations are raised.That performance from the U .S.Men's National Team has been the best, most comprehensive performance of their entire World Cup existence.

No, it's one of the greatest games.I think it's a top three game we've ever had at the World Cup.

Without question.And so now, the bar is raised.Now the challenge is, how do you follow that up?350 million Americans, maybe 200, let's say 250 million love and watch sports.You have now engaged the casual fan.You have now engaged the country to be like, Oh, our eyebrows are raised.

We are going to tune in.And now how do you follow that up against Australia?

No, you're, you're exactly right.Like I've now, I'm watching that game and the us dominate and four one obviously is a route.Yep.It was a route, you know, sometimes it's not as bad as a score may indicate.This was that bad.If not worse actually and to see them do it against and I know Paraguay is not one of the top teams in the in the world, but they are very good defensive team.

They are a team that be Argentina and Brazil in route, you know, in qualifying for the World Cup.So they're not, you know, a lot of people thought this would be a defensive battle.Maybe one.Oh, yeah.And so to see our offense have that chemistry and just feel together and Polisic half of this game happened without Polisic to exactly and he was great in the first half.So yeah, it made me think Why not?

Are we contenders?Like, we really should be thinking contenders.

I had a takeaway.I was like, this team is playing more creatively, I thought was interesting.Fluidity.Freedom.So I saw this quote from staff, from Paul Carr.My old buddy Paul Carr, shout out to Paul Carr.

22 successful 1v1s.that were just beating guys.It just felt like we were just able to beat guys, most by any team in a World Cup since 2014.Is this a Pochettino thing that we're playing like fluid, we're playing like some back heels, a little bit like no -look touches.Is that a Pochettino thing or is that just the specialness?It just felt like a free, creative, game plan.

It's a Pochettino thing, giving the players the freedom in the attacking part of the field to interpret space and use their talent and their skill to be who they are.But I also think it is our best team being on the field.I'm like 95 % certain that was the first time that lineup had ever played together before.And yet you get that type of continuity in a World Cup game, the biggest game that most of these players have ever played in up to this point in their career.And it was a truly enthralling moment for all Americans for US soccer.So yeah, Mauricio Pochettino deserves a ton of credit, but so do the players.

The players deserve credit for executing a game plan in an absolute perfect fashion.That was the culmination of a perfect performance top to bottom.There are a few nits to pick in terms of Pulisic.We hope he's not injured.We hope that it's a minor calf.I think he picked up.

They're not too, they don't seem too worried.And then Tyler Adams, don't, don't pick up a needless yellow card, but 100 % that type of capped off by your boy Gio Reyna.Absolutely.It's not just the finish, the Travella, the outside of the foot.It's the buildup play felt like we were watching prime Spain.No.

Yeah.I mean, it started with eight passes, you know, on our back 26 passes.No, I'm right.Right.Say just before we even got to the three quarter mark of the field.But I. So this did.

I.I think that if you are rooting for the U .S.which most people watching probably are.This should very unemotionally change things.expectations.

Like their, if you just, their, their odds now of going on a real run went up significantly because this combined with the Turkey A loss means their odds of winning the group went up exponentially.They now are in a position I did not think was possible because of the goal differential combined with Turkey A's loss.If they beat Australia Friday, which they're favored to do, they all but lock up the group.Yes, there's scenario where Turkey wins both of theirs and wins by margin.That could be different.But if they beat Australia on Friday, then any result against Turkey locks up the group and probably a one goal loss is enough to win the group.

So what does that mean?What does winning the group means?It means in round it that in your first knockout round game, you're playing a team like Bosnia, Senegal, Algeria, Japan, not bad teams, but a team you will be favored against.And more importantly, because what I have targeted this whole time is can they make the quarters?Yeah, if you win the group, then in round in the round of 16, you're probably playing Belgium, which again is a top 10 team fringe of the top 10.That's a good team.

But it is not one of the absolute powerhouses that you would have to face elsewhere.Winning the group is the path to actually going on this type of run.And winning that game by the margin they did made it so they actually now have a bit of margin of error for the group stage against Turkey as long as they beat Australia.So I think I got nine shots.

I mean that's how I feel.And by the way winning the group is absolutely the expectation before the tournament.Now it is especially when you have a player like Weston McKinney who you can go down the list of the players who playedwell.It's all 11.And the subs came in, they did well.

Weston McKinney was so valuable, so important in the game.completely breaking Paragu were numerous times where midfield that did not re it resulted in chances cr such a key factor in the team being able to keep p in the attacking third, W cannot play him deeper.H to have freedom to interp out wide with Sergino Dest at his midfield for Paragu playing in midfield, I d are breaking through the lines.So there was so much confusion in that Paraguay team because of Weston McKinney, the runs out of midfield.This was Mauricio Pochettino at his absolute best, figuring out the strengths of his players, being able to use the strength of Weston McKinney to absolutely dominate that game.And you could go down the list.

Every player played well.If McKinney gets that type of level of performance in the next two or three games, group stage games, the U .S.Men's National Team will win both those games.