Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic <\/p>\n
TNT commentator and former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy, the brother of ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, takes a timeout for some playoffs Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.<\/p>\n
Q: What are your thoughts on a Knicks-Pistons first-round series?<\/p>\n
A: The Pistons are good, and J.B. [Bickerstaff, coach] has done a fabulous job, and Cade Cunningham is maybe the most underrated star in the league. I think because of their lack of success last year and everything, it took people a while this year to realize they were for real, and I don\u2019t think that people are still giving him their credit, so they\u2019ve got a true star. They are really, really good at the defensive end. They rebound the heck out of the ball. Look, that team can match up with New York. I think that would be a tough series. I\u2019m not a great predictor, but I think the games in that series would be hard-fought. \u2026 I\u2019d probably take the Knicks in seven. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s that much separating those two teams. Actually, as far as the Knicks at full strength, I think that Detroit would scare me more if I were a Knick fan than Milwaukee or Indiana. Even though Indiana beat \u2019em last year, the Knicks weren\u2019t at full strength. Now if [Damian] Lillard is there, whole different ballgame. I\u2019d still take the Knicks, but now I think it would be a competitive series.<\/p>\n
Q: So there\u2019s no danger the Knicks would overlook the Pistons?<\/p>\n
A: I know this: Tom [Thibodeau] and his coaching staff aren\u2019t gonna overlook anybody. Tom never has. I think they\u2019ll have great respect for Detroit and what they\u2019ve done, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any doubt about that. And I think the Knicks have veteran guys who have been through battles, and they\u2019re mature. They understand that you respect everybody. There\u2019s no way you could look at that Detroit team \u2014 how well they\u2019ve played, how hard they play, how hard they compete \u2014 and think anything\u2019s gonna be easy. There\u2019s just no chance of that.<\/p>\n
Q: What makes Cunningham so special?<\/p>\n
A: It starts with his size, to me, as a guard. He\u2019s long, he\u2019s big. He gets half a step on you and drops that shoulder, you\u2019re gonna have a hard time recovering and getting back in front of him. He\u2019s a guy who uses change of pace very, very well, and he\u2019s just a smart guy with great court vision and his decision-making throughout his career has really vastly improved, both his shot selection, his pass selection. He just understands the game better as he\u2019s seen more of it. But I think it all starts with his ability as a big point guard. He\u2019s not a guy now you don\u2019t have to guard, he was when he came in the league. That gives him more chances to penetrate, obviously, because he\u2019s not a non-shooter like he was when he came into the league. And he\u2019s gotten better defensively in my opinion, too. He\u2019s shooting 35 percent from 3 on six attempts a game, he gets to the free throw line and makes free throws. His turnovers are still a little high, but he\u2019s a nine-assists guy. This guy\u2019s really, really good. And that point guard matchup will be something. Now, [Jalen] Brunson\u2019s not gonna guard Cade Cunningham, but just watching those two guys, to me, would be great in that series. I think KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns is] too much for them myself, I think that\u2019ll be the difference. I mean, they got some tough guys, I don\u2019t think they have anybody they can match with him.<\/p>\n
Q: How do the Knicks overcome the psychological barrier against the Celtics should they meet in the second round?<\/p>\n
A: It\u2019s hard for me to comment on that because I\u2019m not even sure that I buy the premise there\u2019s a psychological barrier. I think teams beat other teams consistently because they\u2019re better. The Celtics roster is a lot better than the Knicks roster, period. Their top nine guys \u2014 where\u2019s the weakness there? They\u2019re not only all good players, they\u2019re all two-way guys. There\u2019s nobody you can attack, there\u2019s nobody that you don\u2019t have to guard. If there\u2019s a psychological thing, it\u2019s not something that I would know about.<\/p>\n
Q: What kind of effect can Madison Square Garden have in a playoff series?<\/p>\n
A: It\u2019s not gonna have any more of an effect than Boston will have at home. That\u2019s another great home crowd. If we get into that second-round series, it\u2019s gonna be unbelievable. I don\u2019t think that Madison Square Garden is more of a home-court advantage than they have in Boston. The atmosphere in that series would be unbelievable at both places.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you get a sense for the love affair between fans and the Knicks?<\/p>\n
A: Well, they\u2019re passionate \u2026 love affair? I don\u2019t know. Love affair when they\u2019re playing well, and hate affair when they\u2019re not playing well. The Knicks fans and the Philly fans, they are \u2026 they\u2019re front-running fans. They\u2019re in love with their team when things are going well, but they\u2019ll boo their team off the floor when they\u2019re not playing well. That\u2019s not a crowd that\u2019s focused on lifting you up.<\/p>\n
Q: What things have to happen for the Knicks to beat the Celtics?<\/p>\n
A: They\u2019re gonna have to be better defensively. The Knicks have not been a great defensive team. They\u2019re gonna have to be very good, and I think against the Celtics, a lot of it comes down to individual defense, you\u2019ve gotta be able to play the ball and contain the ball because if you\u2019ve got to be bringing help on a consistent basis, their 3-point shooting is outstanding. New York can spread you out, break you down and shoot the 3 also, both are really dangerous teams. I think Boston\u2019s edge is I think they have better individual defenders, and I think they can do a better job of playing the ball one-on-one against New York than New York can against them. I think if New York\u2019s gonna win that series, they\u2019re gonna have to be able to play the ball better than they have for a good part of the year. \u2026 Both those teams, but the Knicks are always gonna be really well-coached defensively in how they want to play, but to me, against the Celtics, they\u2019re getting you in rotation on a consistent basis. You\u2019re gonna have a hard time beating them four times. You might run into a game or two where they don\u2019t shoot the 3 as well and they sorta shoot themselves out of it, but to try to get four wins if you can\u2019t contain the ball one-on-one, it\u2019s gonna be tough. \u2026 And then I think the Knicks have to be dominant on the boards against them. And the Celtics are a pretty good rebounding team, but I think the Knicks have the potential to really be bullies on the boards, and I think they\u2019re gonna have to, if they get to that, be able to take advantage there. I think the Celtics have a bench advantage, but I don\u2019t think that matters quite as much in a playoff series because Tom\u2019s gonna play his guys 45 minutes anyway. I would say those two areas for the Knicks: Can they guard the ball, which keeps you out of rotation and limits 3s, and can they significantly win the battle on the glass?<\/p>\n
Q: How much can a healthy Mitchell Robinson help in that area?<\/p>\n
A: He helps you a lot defensively and on the boards. But what he also does is he allows [Kristaps] Porzingis and [Al] Horford, when he\u2019s on the floor, they can stay around the basket, they don\u2019t spread you out. But what I like is Tom\u2019s got the flexibility to go back and forth depending on what you need at the time with the game. But if KAT\u2019s gotta guard a 4 man in their starting lineup, who\u2019s he guarding, [Jayson] Tatum or [Jaylen] Brown? Or Jrue Holiday? You get into tough matchups. So everything\u2019s a trade-off, and I think that\u2019s one of Boston\u2019s big advantages is they don\u2019t have to make those trade-offs. Their guys are all two-way guys. You\u2019re gonna have to guard \u2019em on the perimeter, and they\u2019re good against switches.<\/p>\n
Q: How competitive would that series be?<\/p>\n
A: I think it would be very hard-fought and competitive because I think that there\u2019s a lot of pride there. I think Brunson, [Josh] Hart, [Mikal] Bridges, [OG] Anunoby, those guys are great, great, competitors. We saw it a year ago. But I think in the end, Boston\u2019s just got a little too much. \u2026 It could be five [games], it could be seven, but I think the games\u2019ll be competitive. Tom\u2019s gonna have his team ready, they\u2019re gonna be super-prepared and locked in. Brunson, we saw it last year all the way through, you get the game on the line, that guy\u2019s as good to have as anybody in the league.<\/p>\n
Q: How would you expect Thibs to handle Tatum?<\/p>\n
A: You can only scheme so much. You can scheme against some of the stars in the league a little bit, and blitz pick-and-rolls, and run people at \u2019em and things like that. But when you have to bring a second defender to the ball on any kind of consistent basis against Boston, you\u2019re just vulnerable there. Their spacing is great, every single guy can make the 3. If you can\u2019t guard guys one-on-one, and if you\u2019re not versatile enough to switch a lot of pick-and-rolls and be able to contain the ball, then it\u2019s gonna get tough. The Knicks\u2019ll be really well prepared, but guarding Boston comes down to, can you guard the ball? They\u2019re not a great offensive rebounding team, they\u2019re not a great running team, they don\u2019t get to the free throw line a lot or anything, but you absolutely have to take care of all those areas. Your discipline in addition to your individual defense just has to be outstanding. And then at the other end, you\u2019ve got to be able to create the right matchups and mismatches, but it\u2019s hard because all of those guys can guard and they can guard all over the floor. The only roster close to theirs to me is Oklahoma City. I don\u2019t even think Cleveland\u2019s roster is close to Boston\u2019s in terms of their ability to have guys on the floor who can play both ends of the floor, and it\u2019s hard to catch any matchup disadvantages at any end.<\/p>\n
Q:. Who could be an X-factor for the Knicks in a series against the Celtics?<\/p>\n
A: I don\u2019t know about an X-factor. \u2026 Josh is gonna have to make some shots. If you\u2019re playing the Knicks, it\u2019s not a knock on Josh, but you gotta sell out on Brunson and Towns, and then Bridges and Anunoby are both playing really well, Josh is the guy you\u2019ve got to help off of and hope that he can\u2019t make you pay, you\u2019ve gotta keep him off the boards. And so if he\u2019s knocking down some shots, now they become more Boston-like in terms of your ability to guard \u2019em. And then how much they can use and get out of Mitchell Robinson I think\u2019ll be big for \u2019em. It\u2019s a tough series. It\u2019s not like Boston has just made one run, either. They\u2019re deep in the playoffs every single year. Those guys are really, really good. That is one of, if not the best-constructed rosters I\u2019ve ever seen in the league. Joe [Mazzulla, coach] sticks to his guns \u2014 people, \u201cAh they shoot too many 3s, they\u2019re too reliant on the 3,\u201d this and that. Joe believes in the way they play, the players believe in it, and it has worked. And they are tough to guard.<\/p>\n
Q: Describe the Knicks-Celtics rivalry?<\/p>\n
A: They\u2019re two of the iconic franchises in the league, those two and the Lakers, I think, are the three iconic franchises in the league. Boston\u2019s had far more success, but the rivalry is huge, and the passion for that series would be off the charts. If you\u2019re an NBA fan, there\u2019s no way you\u2019re not tuning in to every game of that series.<\/p>\n
Q: A Knicks-Cavaliers series?<\/p>\n
A: I think that the Cleveland backcourt defensively, even though they\u2019re decent, they\u2019re not at the level of Boston\u2019s guards, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Now, they\u2019re better offensively, but I think the Knicks have some matchups there that they can go at. I think that one would go right to the wire. I think as long as the Knicks\u2019 playoff run goes this year, you\u2019re gonna see a lot of competitive basketball. I think it\u2019ll be a lot of fun watching them.<\/p>\n
Q: What was your reaction when the Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns last October?<\/p>\n
A: I think the why they did it is they got more talent. He\u2019s one of the best offensive players in the game. He gives them incredible versatility. Can play both spots up front. Can play with Mitchell Robinson or at center by himself, they can stretch the floor out. He can score in the post, he\u2019s a great rebounder. \u2026 They just got more talent. That\u2019s not a knock on Julius Randle, but they got one of the best big guys in the NBA, so that\u2019s why they did it. Besides his scoring and what he does offensively, his rebounding has been incredible. They\u2019ve become one of the better offensive teams in the league when they have everybody. You put he and Brunson out there, that\u2019s a tough team to stop.<\/p>\n
Q: So he makes them a more dangerous team in the playoffs because of his talent and offensive capability?<\/p>\n
A: And his versatility, I think. Tom\u2019s now got a lot of options, depending on who they\u2019re playing or what the game situation is, to be able to play really big, or just a \u2014 they\u2019re never gonna be small because he\u2019s a big guy \u2014 or just a normal size lineup. They can get more defense on the floor, they can get a more offensive lineup on the floor. Because of his size and his shooting, and his ability to rebound the ball, so you\u2019re not giving up rebounding to get shooting on the floor, he just gives them great versatility. Tom can pretty much do whatever he wants to do now. He\u2019ll have an answer to almost everything. And then the attention that he draws just makes the game so much easier for everybody else. They\u2019re all better because of having him out there. As good as Julius is, Julius is more of an iso guy. He\u2019ll pass the ball, he\u2019s an unselfish guy, Julius Randle, but he\u2019s a ball stopper, and I\u2019m not trying to be negative on him because he\u2019s good, it\u2019s just the way he plays. Whereas Karl, he catches it and shoots it or he drives against a closeout or he moves the ball and gets to another pick-and-roll, so they just play, I think, at a different tempo, a different pace in their half-court offense with him.<\/p>\n
Q: How concerning is the Knicks\u2019 0-9 record against the Celtics, Cavs and Thunder, and 12-20 against winning teams?<\/p>\n
A: Part of that\u2019s injuries and things like that during the year, but still it\u2019s concerning. And look, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s that surprising. I think the Knicks are good, but the teams you just mentioned are better teams than they are, they have better rosters. \u2026 I think the Knicks are better than they were a year ago, I think Towns has helped them a lot, but I don\u2019t think they\u2019re at the level of Cleveland, Boston, OKC, I just don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Q: What was your feeling when the Knicks acquired Anunoby?<\/p>\n
A: I think that what the Knicks have understood, especially when it comes playoff time, it\u2019s not gonna come down to your ninth and 10th guys. Their main five guys are just vastly superior to what they had before those two trades, and I think both those trades make them a lot tougher. The Knicks were competitive last year in the playoffs, they\u2019re better now. Anunoby wasn\u2019t really healthy in the playoffs last year. They\u2019re a much bigger threat now. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve reached Boston\u2019s level, but they\u2019re a much bigger threat. Before those two trades, I don\u2019t think they were really gonna be a threat to go beyond the second round in any event. They just weren\u2019t that talented. Now they are.<\/p>\n
Q: The third trade was the Bridges trade.<\/p>\n
A: That one was, to me, a no-brainer. He got off to a slow start this year offensively and people were questioning things, but I think a guy like him, it took some time, he had gone from, \u201cOK, I\u2019m a role player in Phoenix to I\u2019m a primary scorer in Brooklyn,\u201d and now you come into a team that\u2019s gonna be built around Brunson, and it\u2019s a different role for him. It\u2019s gonna take some time to adjust, but he\u2019s ended up having a great year. Look, they\u2019ve done a tremendous job with their roster, and Tom\u2019s done a great job of fitting the pieces together. The combination of their front office and their coaching has been as good as any team in the league the way they\u2019ve put all that together.<\/p>\n
Q: What are your thoughts on Hart?<\/p>\n
A: I coached Josh in New Orleans. Josh is as tough and competitive as anybody in the league. He plays a lot bigger than his size, he is a great rebounder, he\u2019s one of the best open-court finishers in the NBA, and he\u2019s absolutely afraid of no one or any situation. I think he is one of the best competitors in the NBA. That guy\u2019s gonna step up and be at his best \u2014 my brother [Jeff] always said, especially going into playoff series, \u201cYou gotta be at your best when your best is needed,\u201d and that\u2019s who Josh is.<\/p>\n
Q: Are you stunned that Brunson has become a superstar?<\/p>\n
A: Yes. Yes. I don\u2019t know stunned, that might be a little strong, but surprised. I\u2019ll admit it, I thought he was really, really good in Dallas, and I thought the Knicks overpaid when they signed him. I thought they went too far. And as a matter of fact, they got one of the biggest bargains in the NBA. When you\u2019re talking about not only skills but somebody\u2019s competitive character, I\u2019m not sure you know that just from watching on the outside, but then you see what he\u2019s done as a lead guy. I\u2019m surprised by it, but I love it because he is the type of guy that I love to watch \u2014 tough, all about winning, he\u2019s not a numbers guy, he\u2019s gonna go out there every night. It\u2019s a great story.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you like about Thibs?<\/p>\n
A: He\u2019s been at it a long time, he\u2019s been through every situation, and he\u2019s been successful everywhere he\u2019s gone. He\u2019s evolved with the game in the style of play, but he has stuck to his principles as far as they\u2019re gonna be one of the best-prepared teams in the league every night. I think he has a great understanding of how to maximize the talents of his guys, he puts \u2019em in situations where they can be great. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s any coincidence that Julius Randle had great years playing for Thibs. And Jalen Brunson has taken off, OG Anunoby has taken off, Karl-Anthony Towns having the best year of his career. I think if you look back and you look at the emergence of Jimmy Butler in Chicago, if you look at Luol Deng, he\u2019s always been able to play to guys\u2019 strengths and maximize the abilities of people. He\u2019s starting to get a little more credit now, but always been a very underrated offensive coach. He\u2019s just a helluva basketball coach. He\u2019s a teacher, he knows what it takes to win games.<\/p>\n
Q: You won\u2019t be surprised if the Celtics repeat as NBA champs?<\/p>\n
A: No, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised at all. Unless they hit a real shooting slump, which is hard to do when you\u2019ve got eight different guys who can knock down 3s. Until somebody knocks \u2019em off, they\u2019re the team to beat. To me, the Celtics, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, I\u2019ll be interested to watch, certainly the Lakers and the Warriors have each looked like they can possibly contend. I think if any of those teams won it I wouldn\u2019t be surprised. Anybody else I would be a little surprised. New York would surprise me, Denver would surprise me, Houston would surprise me.<\/p>\n
Q: What would you say to the long-suffering Knicks fan as far as what they should expect from this team?<\/p>\n
A: You could make a case they should win a first-round series, but after that, let\u2019s face it, they\u2019re gonna be the underdogs. But I think Knicks fans should expect that they got a team that\u2019s gonna be competitive night in and night out in the playoffs, and I think you\u2019ll see that. This is a very, very competitive team, they\u2019re gonna be extremely well-prepared, they\u2019ve got two real stars, they got good complementary guys. I think they\u2019ve got some versatility with Mitchell Robinson. I mean, they\u2019re good, they\u2019re still not as talented as some of the teams ahead of \u2019em.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic TNT commentator and former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy, the brother of ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, takes a timeout for some playoffs Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. Q: What are your thoughts on a Knicks-Pistons first-round series? A: The Pistons are good,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":273520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-273519","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273521,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273519\/revisions\/273521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}