What are your thoughts on how this game goes, Q Rich? What do you think is the pace of this entire thing?

Um, I'm excited, man.

I think it's gonna be a great game.

Um, I'm, I'm, um, it's gonna be interesting to see.

I wanna see how, you know, what, what, uh, what impact this crowd has on the, on the game because I, I know it's gonna be maniacal, and it's gonna be crazy.

And it could go either way, obviously.

I mean, I think obviously, you know, they gonna be there in support of their Knicks and ready to go crazy for them.

Say that

People are saying, you know, "Do you not sign Lu Dort? What do you do with this Case and Wallace extension?" What would you do i- if you were the OKC GM and you were trying to figure out how to beat Wemby and the Spurs going into the future?

I mean, you gotta...

I, I think, you know, he...

First of all, I'm nowhere near Sam Presti.

He's, he's probably gonna be goated as the general manager of all time, but I mean, I, I would never compare myself to that.

But if I'm him, you know, obviously you gotta evaluate everything that went on.

You gotta still take into accountability that those guys in, over there in Ok- Oklahoma City, they played without their second-best player basically the whole series, and, you know, basically, I mean, basically the whole play- whole season, and basically most of the playoffs.

What do you think's been the change to help take Carl to another level, to help take the Knicks to another level?

What are your thoughts on last night? How should we be judging this Oklahoma City team that just got smacked in game six as we look ahead to game seven? And, uh, where do you kinda sit with this Spurs team as a whole?

I mean, the Spurs are what I expected them to be.

They, they, they, they, they, they forced it to game seven.

I mean, this is what I thought this series would be, a six or a seven game series, so you know, we as fans get to enjoy a game seven.

But, uh, the, the, kinda like the tone of this, this, this series, the way it's gone, it feels like to me it's been...

It started to, you know, obviously the first four games were what they were, were.

Well, the first three, then it was home, away, home, away, home, away, just winning.

... does the Knicks team just because of how hot they've been have a chance to win, or is there a matchup that really tells the story of, yeah, the Knicks can certainly beat either the, either of the Western Conference teams?

Can you, like, put that into words for me? 'Cause it really is, like, as a fan, and I don't, I haven't watched much, but, like, there's a uniqueness of how they fit together and work.

Yeah.

I mean, you hear the guys talk about it, but if you, if you pay close attention, you can see it.

After the games, you hear J- Josh, Josh Hart saying how, how, how, how them, them as a team, they s- they selfless.

I mean, it's one thing to say those type of things, but you see them act out on those things.

Like, when Josh Hart in those first couple games didn't play a lot and he didn't do this and that, some guys you may see pout, throw a pity party for themselves.

You could see them, you could see their, their ...

Is it the biggest advantage in the NBA, MSG?

I have no idea when the last time they did that.

Yeah, I, I, I expect, uh, SGA to, to do pretty much what he did last game.

I mean, he, he's all, he said that all year long and last couple years, that he really reads the game and, and, and watches and, and, and sees what he needs to do and where he gets his, where he can fit in.

But I, I, I'm impressed by his poise and not forcing anything.

I do expect him to be a little more aggressive tonight trying to find, you know, trying to find more chances to go one on, one-on-one and, and do his thing because they need him to score more.

But, um, I still expect him to kinda start out, like, just letting the game flow.

And if, if his teammates are the open guys, using those guys.

Oh, yeah.

[laughs] Stones.

Uh, I mean by the, by the...

When you look at the regular season, I would say Detroit.

I mean, Detroit kind of owned them in the regular season, beat them by 31, 38, and 15.

So it was like regular sea- And I mean, I will say New York is playing a lot different now.

They're playing KAT at that top, at that high post, and he's being kind of a facilitator, taking the ball out of Brunson's hand a little bit and, and showing his versatility off the ball.

So I do feel like they're playing different and they're playing a lot better than they were in those, those times during the season.

What did you think about this, and how do you feel about tonight with the Spurs going back to Minnesota trying to close it out?

[laughs]

I think what Tyrese is trying to say, man, listen, if, if you look back, and I know Tyrese is a hi- hi- hi- is, is a historian of the game, so he would know this.

When you go back, go back to Magic, go back to Bird, go back to AI, go back to Michael, anybody who was the, who was, he's the leading, he's one of the leading scorers in the league, he's gonna be the MVP.

Whenever you that guy, from Paul Pierce to Vince Carter to T Mac, they get the calls.

I don't care what you wanna talk about.

You go back and look up the statistics and see.

Look at the leading scorers and the MVP guys, and look at how many more fouls they get called than anybody else in the league.

Are they the one seed that we've seen from the season if you were to follow them? And what are your thoughts on how they can continue throughout the rest of the playoffs?

And from your opinion, what has clicked for the Orlando Magic?

We have our full roster.

I mean, not the full, but I mean we got our...

You know, Franz is back, and Paolo is back, and then you got Bane.

I mean, you guys understand like I don't feel like the Magic were a true eight seed.

We, we came into the season with high hopes of being like a third or, or, or maybe higher seed, and that was the outlook until the injuries piled up.

And then, you know, it's tough to play without your top guns.

However-

Tell me about this squad and what you like about them, and, uh, how are their chances against Orlando to g- move on to take on the Detroit Pistons?

Hell yeah.

I mean, it's go- it's gonna be a, it's gonna be a hell of a game tomorrow night here, here in Orlando, and I mean, this team, this team Charlotte has been one of the most exciting and, um, fast playing, up-tempo teams this whole second half of the year.

They didn't have a great start, but they, they got their chemistry down.

They, they got everything, got their players back, and you're seeing it right now, man.

They, they are, if nothing else, they are extremely exciting.

They play super hard.

if you had the one sole choice to pick this year's MVP, who would you go with?

When did you guys know you guys was going to sign with the Jordan brand? Like, when did you guys know it was going to be as exclusive as it was, especially for y'all with the PEs early on, all of those things? Like, when did that happen?

So that's two parts.

So we like Jordan used to have his his flight school.

Jordan used to have a thing called Michael Jordan Flight School.

Every year it would be like from August 1st to the 10th.

It was like a two week deal.

And so what it was, it was like kids from all over the place and different ages.

So one, I was like, what was the story? How did that come to be? And then, you know, who were some of your favorite guests and what, what does the future hold for, for, I know you're, you're doing broadcasting and more pods, but I would love to hear what you got in store for the future.

But what do they do specifically for their teams?

I think they both lean in, lean into what their teams' identities are.

You know what I'm saying? Everybody says Joe Mazzulla's kinda like a madman with some of the stuff, some of the stuff he does.

But I think, you know, even with when you look at JB and the way the Pistons play, they, they play a, a...

They've taken on, like, I feel like the, uh, the characteristics of Detroit as a city, and getting back closer to, like, how the bad boys in the '04 team was.

And Bickerstaff leans into that.

Like you said, Tobias came over and said, "Hey, we not gonna talk to them.

Okay.

Is that, like, basically the problem in a nutshell? And is it fixable, you think? And has it always been an issue, in your eyes, Q?

I th- I think it's something that's kinda always been there.

And, um, I do believe it's fixable.

I don't, I'm not the guy that, that has got the answers for it, but I think, uh, I do think it can be fixed.

But, um, I think it's always been, been something that's always happened.

I think the difference between this year and, and probably most other years is that we've never had this many teams doing it at once.

And I think it, it, it's a combination.

So what, what is your opinion on the, the 65 game kinda stipulation for these guys for all NBA and awards and all that kind of stuff?

Uh, can you just explain to me, first of all, how someone can even do that in Tatum, and how impressive that is from a basketball standpoint? And then the other part of the question, uh, how is it not automatically gonna be Celtics versus Spurs in the NBA finals?

Uh, so, so what Tatum is doing from a, from a basketball player standpoint is, is incredible in my eyes, to be back this, this quick, uh, from that type of injury.

And then to be back in this type of a form as quick as he's gotten to this, like being able to put up these numbers and play these minutes and look this good doing it.

I, I expected him like, yeah, when he said he was coming back, I expected him to be back and, you know, kinda working his way back into getting to, to somewhat of a full strength.

But he's, he, he came back already far ahead of what I thought he could've been, and he's far exceeded what I, what I thought he could be doing.

I mean, the numbers, the rebounds and assists are crazy right now.

Like, you know what I'm saying? [laughs] Like, he's coming in and he's getting double-double after double-double.

[laughs]

Uh, when you watch it as a former NBA superstar, like, how do you feel, um, about just the way he plays? Now he, he's smart and he draws fouls, no doubt about it, but is it a little too much with how much skill he has, the way he goes about the game?

No, I don't.

I think the difference is just right now in this time, you got the generation where everybody has a voice.

So you got Twitter, you got social media, and you got everybody screaming different things.

And most of the people are, are people that are fans of the team that he's destroying every night.

So you gotta put that into context.

The man done scored...

in the league, though, and maybe part of this is all the reverence everyone has for Kobe, like, what was your take on Bam scoring 83 and how he got those 83 points?

Appreciate you.

You know, KG was previously number five.

Black came in and rewrote that.

But, like, so we was trying to get a deal, and, like, our agent-- I wasn't getting nothing.

I was getting offers for just apparel deals.

He was getting what, what our agent felt like was low-balled.

And then we was at, uh, we went to Jordan Camp, his flight school out in Santa Barbara-

Mm-hmm

Rudy!

And then what- what- what- what started happening after he did that, nobody was getting all of them first rounders.

And it was looking how like, how did Rudy get- you get Rudy for all of this, and you get such and such for all of that? That it wasn't going the same way.

They're not giving as much up, especially when these teams...

Like, when you get put in that pigeon hole, like a player come out and say, "Hey, (laughs) I want out."

Yeah.

So, I- I done learned my lesson.

Like I done seen Shaq get traded, you know what I'm saying? MJ left the Bulls.

What, what do you see LeBron's future? Do you think it's kind of much ado about nothing? He'll be a Laker when this season comes? Or, do you think it's actually a possibility that he moves on?

I think LeBron is a Laker.

I think he wouldn't have opted in if he didn't want to be a Laker.

I think, you know what I'm saying, he had all of the power to opt out and then to be a free agent and to go where he wanted to go.

So I think, I think he'll be a Laker.

But as far as, uh, what it says about Brook Lopez making that decision and Dorian Finney-Smith leaving, I think it says that there's uncertainty about what's going to happen as far as Luka and what's happening and, and just the, the look and feel of the team.

Because Dorian Finney-Smith is a guy who was there for half a season.

Uh, but how do you think a head coach that is a woman would work in the NBA? And do you think we're kind of probably, what, a few years out from that? Or do you think that could be any time now?

But in this case, what is your thoughts on both teams' perspectives of a game seven in Oklahoma City?

I mean, I agree.

I agree with, with, with, with TJ that anything could happen in this game seven.

This is why you, you know, if you in, if you was in OKC's situation, you wanted to try and end it last night, but clearly that didn't happen.

But I mean, if you OKC you do feel, y- I mean, they gotta feel some comfort going back to they, to they, uh, to they, to they home, to they home court where they play really well, they bounce back from games they lose really well.

They got all of those things.

But to me, game sevens, man, you throw all of the narratives out, and that was just, it- it's one game, man.

Um, do you think it'll be officiated like last night? And if it is, who do you think it favors?

(laughs)

Said something earlier that, that, that, you know, kinda stuck with me when you, you talked about how it feels more like OKC has started to im- im- impose their will these last couple games.

And then when you couple that with Tyrese not being all the way at 100%, not knowing what he's really gonna give and knowing how much he is the, the engine for this thing, I just think that OKC has hit a stretch where now they're playing so well.

And you got Jaylen Williams who showed up to the party and, and he's kicked the door through.

And I think the combination of SGA and Jaylen Williams playing the way he's playing with the support of, you know, the defense that Chet playing, and the champions from everybody else, I think it's too much at this point.

Is there anything from OKC similar to the Nuggets series where it's, "Hey, this is game six, we can come and close it out, it's the finals," but also, like, if, if we're down, you know, 20 with 10 minutes left in the fourth, we don't have to push it as hard 'cause we can go get it done in seven? Because I, I think they beat the Nuggets by, you know, 40 points in game seven in that series.

No, I, I, I think if OKC has any, any, any approach like that, any doubt, any thought in their mind like, "Hey, we don't have to push this while they lose this game," I don't think they're gonna be thinking like that.

And I, I do, I think that crowd will play a, a huge part and will impact the game and will give...

Scott Foster such a lightning rod？And what are your thoughts on officiating in the NBA as a whole？'Cause it feels like they can call that shit whenever they want。

Yeah、 I mean、 my、 my thoughts、 I mean、 I've always had...

You know、 I've gotten my fair share of technicals、 let me、 let me say that。I've gotten、 I've gotten ejected and tossed out of a few games、 I've gotten my technicals、 my flagrants、 and all of those things、 so I get it。But、 um、 for me、 man、 I think everything has such a mi- microscope on it f- for it to be foul play。I mean、 everything you、 you just spoke about how many players、 how many articles、 how many different people have talked about Scott Foster、 how he's a lightning rod。So to me、 I know how thorough the NBA is。I know they、 they cross their Ts and dot their Is。So when I look at everything、 I just got to say that he... uh、 when they do the reviews、 he comes out clean because he's one of the highest-graded officials、 he works the Finals every year and things like that。And those guys that、 that don't do well、 they don't get those privileges。They don't get to do All-Star games and playoff games and ultimately the final game。These are、 this is as big a deal for them to get to do these as it is for the teams。

So what do they need to do to kind of get him comfortable and get him going early tonight?

They need to get him some, some, some easy buckets, man.

They need to get him a live play or a layup at the rim.

Not...

Most of his shots, if you notice, stay as a 3-pointer or a 17, 18-footer.

(laughing) Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got you.

But no, the fact that, the fact that they... it's only one day in between, I mean, to me, the Pacers need to try to take advantage of that.

Like, you know what I'm saying? Go right back at it.

Get after them, get guys up into him, guys were pressuring him, making everything as difficult as possible for him.

And I think even like you said, they hadn't had those plays where if, if th- the Thunder score, they still get a quick run out.

They got those plays yesterday, the Thunder could score, then we right back, right back running back down y'all back and scoring.

So I think all of those things tied in with the crowd and the atmosphere, man, I think they really got a chance to try and break that streak tomorrow.

Are there big adjustments that can be made, like say if you're Oklahoma City, can they do like, I don't know, schematically or with your personnel, can you change much in the middle of a series that can, you know, hopefully turn the tide in their favor if they want it?

How do you feel about how Tyrese is handling the job that he has been put in, and how do you think he is doing with his Pacers team?

I, I kinda look at him like when I played for the Phoenix Suns in '05.

Steve Nash, it was the proverbial star that, that stirred the drink.

We had all of these guys that could score and everything, but if it wasn't for Steve distributing the ball and making things go the way it went, we weren't as good.

That's what these Pacers are.

If, if, if, if, if Halley isn't being the Halley the Great version of himself, they're gonna struggle because a lot of those guys rely on him to deliver the ball and set them up and to get them those shots.

And when you have a team like that is predicated off that, when they stop him, it kinda stunts everything else and they gotta go to plan B and figure things out.

How do we stop everybody else?" Or what is the mindset, you think, for that, stopping that offense?

Like, is that something you think he can do or should do or it's just who he is to be more of a facilitator, but like in, or in the finals, do you think he needs to look to be more of a scorer?

Uh, yeah, I agree that he does need to look to be more of a scorer because his team needs that.

But I think, I think, you know, the whole conversation around him is kind of taken out of context, man.

They, you can't ask somebody to be something they're not.

Yes, he has the ultimate clutch gene.

When, when they get into the clutch moment, we've seen him time and time again hit the game-winning shot or a, or a meaningful shot down the stretch, and he has that ability to do that.

But if you look at what he's done, he's averaging 18.6 points.Asking him to be this high-volume scorer, that's not who he's been.

... like myself, but are you looking at this as a bench game? And do you think, uh, now the Pacers have enough on the bench when you're looking at OKC and they're getting, you know, 40, 50 plus points from their bench?

But when did you start to feel like, "Oh, this is the Pacers series in this entire thing"?

Well, I mean, obviously after that game one, when they stole that away from them like that, that was the, that was the soul-snatcher.

So, I felt like that was the...

You know, right there, that was when I really said, "Uh-oh, they could really go get this thing." But I mean, as far as the other day, the last game, that first quarter, I could remember in the first or second quarter just l- watching the game and looking at the pace, and at one point, Stan Van Gundy said it.

He was like, "This pace and the way everything is going, this favors the Pacers." And, and I, and I felt that, and you saw what happened in that third quarter and the fourth quarter moving on.

They couldn't keep up with that pace, and I think, like Myles Turner said in one of their interviews, he was like, you know, th- their con... their togetherness, their continuity and the cohesiveness that they've developed over being and growing up together and having those guys together, I think that's, that's winning right now, man.

You gotta look at that with OKC and this team.

(laughs)

Good question.

... it's all in one.

The skills and the shot-make.

I mean, i- i- it's obvious, like, you, we replicate what we see.

So now they've been able to see all of these different things and they able to put it all together.

But the training has absolutely gone bonkers.

Like, these kids are getting trained at such a high level at a young age.

Uh, what can they do there to get those two guys going against OKC?