Hour 2: P.J. Carlesimo

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:08)
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**SPEAKER_1** (0:10)
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**SPEAKER_3** (0:13)
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**SPEAKER_1** (0:15)
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**SPEAKER_4** (0:22)
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**SPEAKER_5** (0:29)
This is the Michael Kay Show podcast.

**Michael Kay** (0:32)
I gotta get more Kay.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:33)
Listen live weekdays at 1 on the Espn New York app and your smart speaker.

**Michael Kay** (0:39)
Welcome back to the show, game 2, game 2 of the NBA finals tonight. The Knicks are up one game to nothing.
And around the country, you can listen to it on Espn Radio. PJ. Carlesimo will be the analyst and he's nice enough because he's a Fordham guy to have some time for me right now to help break down the series. PJ how are you doing?

**P.J. Carlesimo** (1:02)
Excellent Michael, I appreciate it. Doris Burke and I are having a great time with Keste. I tell you, it's so good. I'm watching the replay and your buddy Breen, I can't even understand what he's saying. I mean, I know he's a Fordham guy, but it's so hard to listen to him. It's unbelievable.

**Michael Kay** (1:17)
Did you have him out the night before? Maybe that was a problem. I know you could be a bad influence.

**P.J. Carlesimo** (1:21)
He shot me down. I was going out with Coach Westhead. Paul Westhead's getting the Chuck Daly Award for lifetime achievement for the Coaches Association and Breeny blew me off, but a couple of the kids came in to see him, so I understand.

**Michael Kay** (1:34)
All right, so let's talk about that game one. You know, it's funny what Stephen Castle's saying. You know, we're the better team, we didn't even play that well, but PJ., the Knicks didn't play that well either until the fourth quarter. What did you get out of game one that you think is applicable toward game two?

**P.J. Carlesimo** (1:51)
Well, I think they're both right. I think neither team played as well as they're capable of playing. They both had something to do with that. Obviously, they're both so good defensively. But I think truly Mike Brown had no shortage of things. He could talk to the Knicks about and Mitch Johnson had that same laundry list to talk to the Spurs. So game one, to me, especially in the finals because you got two teams that don't know each other as well. Even though they played three times this year, Spurs have so many young guys, it's not like the first three rounds of the playoffs where teams really know each other. So I think that first game is always a feeling out game. The Knicks dominated the second half.
I mean, they had a lot of problems in the first half with Josh Hart and Foul Trouble and Jalen Brunson gets injured. So to be only down seven at the half and then just to come out and they really dominated the Spurs in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, the Spurs turned the ball over too much in the fourth quarter. Neither team shot the three very well at all, but San Antonio was terrible. They were two for 19 in the second half. So, and Wembee didn't have a good game. I thought that was one of Carl Anthony Towns most complete games ever that I've seen him play. I mean, he was efficient. He was strong going to the rim. He attacked Wembee. He defended him well. He rebounded. He blocked his shot. He wasn't laying on the floor for half of the game. He just really had an excellent game. And then at the end, OG comes alive in the fourth quarter. Josh Hart was magnificent. I don't know how you can get have one point in the second half, Michael. Josh had one point, 10 boards, three assists, four steals. You could also almost make the case as good as Jalen Brunson was closing the game and OG was in the fourth quarter. Josh was the best player on the floor in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks just dominated. They took it away from him. I mean, it's hard to imagine.
I'm literally watching the replay.
A couple of minutes ago, the Spurs are up 14 and appear to be in complete control of the game and the Knicks just didn't let it happen. It wasn't as dramatic as what happened in our Cleveland game one, but it was really impressive to see the Knicks stay the course. They got a big lift off their bench. So I mean, a lot of good things for New York, but I know a lot of things that Mike Brown hopes they can duplicate and play better tonight.