Good Things Happen To Bad People And The Knicks Won

The Knicks beat the Spurs 4–1 to win their first NBA championship since 1973, and we give New York their credit while still keeping it real about what we saw. We debate what this title means for Jalen Brunson’s league-wide rank and the all-time Knicks legacy conversation.
• Game 5 recap and why Knicks experience shows up in key moments 
• How New York keeps erasing Spurs double-digit leads 
• The case for Jalen Brunson as a current top 10 player 
• All-time Knicks ranking debate with Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing 
• OG Anunoby’s Finals run and how high his impact really ranks 
• KAT’s Wembanyama matchup, fouls and overall value 
• Role-player shoutouts including Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson 
• Julius Randle’s role in making the Knicks a real destination again 
• Whether the Knicks should run it back and what roster tweaks make sense 
• What the East might look like next season and who can challenge New York 

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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Housekeeping

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What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Trey and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful

Knicks Win The Finals In Five

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day. Today we're gonna talk about the NBA finals between the Knicks and the Spurs. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Try and get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you wonder where you heard this, that's because you've been listening to me Monday through Friday on 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, we're gonna talk about the Knicks. Okay? It's gonna be a two-parter, so stay tuned. But the Knicks, off top, right? Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Like it's I'm really not trying to be a hater right now. It's still kind of tough to say. They did beat the Spurs 94 to 90 in game five to win the series in full game or four to one. Off top, right? You know, it's the first title since 1973. I'm kind of disappointed right now because I had a I did use a nice little joke, right? I had a nice little video that I really can't use no more for a while. Yeah, hopefully they don't win it again, so I can use it again, because it was a good one. I did like it. But I'm not gonna give excuses, right? Like, oh, the the teams that the Knicks beat were injured when injuries are part of the game. But even still, the Knicks definitely played phenomenal throughout the entire playoffs. So I gotta give them the credit. They love they do. It's crazy because the Knicks currently are in their prime years. They're like 28, 29, cats, 30. They were the more experienced team. And it showed, it showed. I stated that the Spurs, all they needed to do was, well, not all, because it's not like that's easy, but you gotta win the turnover battle, and then just win three out of the four quarters, bro. Because like when they did win, when that did happen, they ended up winning the game. And that's what they needed to do. Because this team was more experienced, right? And it was crazy because again, they always kept coming

Is Jalen Brunson Top 10

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back every single game. It's like the Spurs go up double digits, the next thing you know, boom, Knicks right back in it. And you gotta tip your cap to Jalen Brunson to the point that we got to ask ourselves, ladies and gentlemen, is Jalen Brunson an NBA top 10 player? Like a current, not all-time, a current NBA top 10 player. Let's think about it. So, you know, he did go to the finals in 2022 with the Mavs during the playoffs, and that matters too, because he that's really that's that's really when he ignited his career, right? Then you got he averaged 26 points, four rebounds, six assists in this playoffs. Like, like in this playoffs on 46, 35, 83 splits. That's not bad. 46 from the field, 35 from the three. That's not bad, especially given the fact that he's had a lot of pressure. Some elite, talented players guarding him at times. He's been to the MVP discussion. The closest he got was top five, but still, MVP discussion. And that's look, this part maybe it needs to be another video. Yeah, maybe it needs another be another video.

Ranking The Greatest Knicks Ever

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But I know one thing that can be discussed. Greatest all-time Nick. I don't have him quite at the greatest. Okay. We gotta remember. We gotta talk about Willis Reed. Finals MVP of two title teams, right? Like, he got two of them dangs. Plus, we got an MVP. I'm just saying, like, Willis is is packing, you know what I'm saying, like a lot of a lot of punches right now. He's throwing a lot of punches right now, you know what I'm saying? So again, I got Willis number one. Walt Fraser, number two, because he does have two titles. I understand he wasn't finals MVP, but still two of them things do matter, especially how he did perform during those two titles. But again, ladies and gentlemen, like, if you don't believe me, please look up what Walt Fraser did, because the man was a monster. I may have another discussion if Jalen Brunson wins two titles, because I mean Jalen Brunson does have a finals MVP and a championship. And keep in mind, he did that four seasons with the Knicks. But here's where I may be a little controversial, ladies and gentlemen. Patrick Ewing, I have as third greatest Knicks all time, right? Longevity and success, which is crazy because I know some people that know me are gonna say, oh, what about Braun and Jordan? Then I hear you. But this man played like 15 seasons with the Knicks. I just want to see a little bit closer by Jalen Brunson before I can go ahead and say, yeah, he surpassed Patrick Ewing. Because Patrick meant a lot on the offensive and defensive, and he really truly did anchor that team. Jalen Brunson has a lot of elite defensive players on his team. He doesn't anchor the defense. So again, I'm just saying, right? Oh, hear me out. Just hear me out. I need a little bit more time from Jalen. Just keep in mind, again, he has a finals MVP, a championship, something Patrick Young does not have, either one. So I get you. If you want to put him ahead of him, I hear you. I'm not gonna lose sleep out of it. I just want to see more seasons out of Jalen Brunson and more success. Preferably more seasons. Because again, it's the longevity piece for Patrick. And like, if Jalen can get to six, seven seasons, then I can hear the discussion of him surpassing Patrick Ewing just because, again, that finals MVP and that championship do matter. And I think we got to finish off with Earl DeParl Monroe as fifth, because again, won a championship, but you know, that was his third one. It's crazy when you think about it, and I may have to look back at this. This could be another discussion.

OG Anunoby Case And Role Players

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But I was thinking, is OG Ananobi the second best Nick on the team? And when I think about it, we could, I mean, the way how he played during these finals and playoffs, hey, we may have to ask, is he the fifth greatest Nick all time? Oh man, because look, buddy was snapping, bro. 21 points, five rebounds, one assist, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks on 53 from the field, 50 from the three-point line, and 87 from the free throw. Disgusting splits. Like that, like he that one out of every two threes he makes, and he's averaging 21. The man really could do no wrong, honestly, out there. And it's crazy because Carl Anthony Towns the most play, he's the highest paid player on the Knicks. Don't get me wrong, he did well, right? 13 points, 11 rebounds. He gave me some blocks. Well, a block. His problem was he had 4.6 fouls because he had to guard Wimby. Okay, and I do give him credit for at least going at Wimby, causing Wimby some problems at times, and giving it your all to against Wimby. Because again, there's a there's a there's a five-inch height difference between the two. Now, Kat got him on the weight right now, but again, that height really does matter. So I gotta I gotta tempt my cap to cat. And especially too, because he shot 49% from the field. I know Biggs are supposed to shoot 50%, but 49 ain't bad either, ladies and gentlemen. Rounds up to 50. So again, it won't too terrible. Ain't shot 100% from the free throw line. Can't be mad at that. Gotta give it, gotta show some love to Mikael Bridges. He played his role. He played his role, ladies and gentlemen. In the finals, he gave 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, 0.6 fields, 0.4 blocks, like 0.5 turnovers, maybe. And then he shot 47% from the field, 42 from the three. Free throws could have been better, Mikhail. 67. 67. But no, seriously. He played his role. And you can't ask for too much more than that. And it's crazy because Mikhail actually can be more important on the offensive end. Josh Hart did his normal thing. You got to tip your cap to players like Jose Alvarado and Mitchell Robinson. I talked about Mitchell Robinson not being able to guard Wimby. I can't quite say he guarded him, but he did okay. He did better than what I thought he was going to. I'm not gonna lie to you. I also thought Wimby was gonna be a little bit more downhillish against him, but again, Mitchell Robinson did his thing end of day. Like they had a lot of players that contributed. Hell, even Jeremy Sokan played. And keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, Jeremy Sokan would have got a ring regardless, because he played for both the Knicks and the Spurs this season. The Spurs waived him, Knicks signed him. Because they could use him, they could use the versatility. And they did, in fact, use him in the finals. Again, he would have gotten the finals, he would have gotten a ring with either team winning the NBA finals.

Julius Randle Credit And A GMU Shoutout

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We gotta give a tip of the cap to Julius Randle. This feels a little left. I know for some of y'all maybe listening, but I gotta make sure I throw this in here. Because he ignited this title run, but whether we want to believe this or not, because keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, Julius Randle helped this Knicks kind of re-emerge, right? You remember in, I want to say 2023, like that season, they were trying to get somebody, right? Or was it 2022? I'm trying to think. Or maybe was it 2020? Huh. Either way, I think it was, because they were trying to get Kyrie and Kevin Durant. And then Julius Randle ended up signing, and then he really kind of came onto the scene for the NBA, right? Getting NBA MVP considerations, clutch player of the year considerations, maybe not high clutch player of the year, but still clutch player of the year, I mean MVP considerations, most improved awards. Like he's he's averaging 25 and 24 in seasons. You know what I'm saying? Like he actually took the Knicks to the second round versus the Miami Heat. Like, ladies and gentlemen, Julius Randle, whether you want to admit it or not, really helped spark this Knicks team because that was the attraction for, well, part of the attraction for Jalen Brunson, because he at least knew that he could go somewhere and compete with this Knicks team. Because remember, like I said, Jalen Brunson went to the finals in 2022 with the Mavs, and then they weren't able to re-sign him, so blah. You go there to the Knicks. Cool. But Julius Randle helped make that Knicks team attractive, entertaining. So we gotta give a tip of Cap to Julius Randle. I also want to give a quick shout-out to Tyler Cullock, right? This is technically George Mason's first NBA, uh first player to get an NBA championship. So, you know, I do want to give a shout-out to Tyler Cullock right now. He didn't really play, but but it was on the roster. He was on the depth chart, you know what I'm saying? We gotta give a tip of the cap that matters. All right, 15 man. Hey, all 15 matter. I'm just saying. GMU, what? We on the

Should The Knicks Run It Back

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map. Now I know y'all been wondering should the Knicks run it back? Right? I mean, of course. How many really alterations do you really need? I guess. I mean, maybe if you get some other vets to come in, sure, possibly. I don't know. I mean, I'm really trying to figure out what they could actually use because again, they just won a quality championship. So I don't really think they need to do anything else but run it back. I mean, even Mike Brown, you gotta give a tip of the cap to, you know? Like, he he he did really well. Outformed expectations. Then don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong. I've I've said some things about Mike Brown before, right? Mike Brown is still like a quality coach. I'm I've I've never thought he was trash. I might have thought subpar at times. I might have thought he got dealt a bad hand. I liked him when he was on the Kings. I talked about him highly on the Kings. So again, you know, like, at least not I didn't talk about him trashly on the Kings. So again, I do think that the Knicks team should run it back. But will they run it back? I do have some question marks. I I will say that. I do question also if the Spurs return to the finals as well, too. That would be interesting, though. They return back to back. That could be a nice little hey. I do kind of like that. But the Knicks, I I do question, especially one, where does Giannis go? But I do question if they beat the Celtics, right? The Pistons, they may come back hungry. And they could actually acquire somebody. Who knows? We gotta wait and see, because that could be an interesting move as well, too, for them. The Hornets look interesting. What are the Hawks going to do? Will the Wizards be healthy? Like there's a lot of things that can factor in, but cohesion for this Knicks team helps them out. Also, hell, if Jalen Brunson keeps playing the way he was playing, Buddy was snapping. All right. Like, so I mean, I I I hey bro, couple 43 games, like some 30 games. Buddy is Buddy's pretty spectacular. Buddy is pretty spectacular. So if he keeps playing like that, it may be tough to beat this Knicks team because they have enough weapons at the forward position, at the guard position. The bigs, maybe that could be something that they look to expand upon because Kat and Mitchell Robinson, hell, if you can get somebody to play, start with Kat and move Kat to the power forward spot, that could be interesting too at times. I'm just saying, outside of Mitchell Robinson. I'm just saying there's some things maybe in the in the power forward to center position that you can look at. But that's the only thing I may consider for the Knicks. Because they got everything else that they need. They got additional playmakers. That works. But again, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not going to throw it out of the realm of possibility that the Knicks could run it back. And that would be just so disappointing. Because, I mean, look, the first championship already showed us and proved to us that good things really do happen to bad people. Like, I am really not the biggest fan of this Knicks team within the championship. Or I'm sorry, not even this Knicks team. I'm not mad at the Knicks team. It's the organization as a whole. That's really that's really it. But hey, congratulations again, Knicks, New York. Enjoy it for 365 days. And we'll be back to see who who wins it next season. But ladies and gentlemen, this is the conclusion to the Knicks championship. Uh stay tuned, because like I said, you know, I also got the Spurs talked about as well. So, but that does conclude the end

Fan Reactions And Closing Questions

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of the episode. So I'm curious, ladies and gentlemen, are you happy for the Knicks? Are you disgusted that the Knicks won? What do you think the Knicks should do next season? If anything, what do you think is the expectation of the Knicks? Yours, yours specifically. Meaning, will they win a championship? Will they miss the playoffs? Will they get in the first will they get out in the first round? Who are some teams that you think will beat them or can beat them? I'm curious about your thoughts. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Gil the Bucket. I hope you're all having a good one. Take care.