After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

Getting to know yourself can be a lifelong process, especially since you're always growing and changing. Therapy is all about deepening that self-awareness, because sometimes you don't know what you really want until you talk things through. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive today to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Honestly, the economy got a little scary in 2022, and that could continue in 2023. It's okay to admit when money gets stressful, but what if you had an objective, relatable expert to help navigate the financial world? That's where NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast comes in. Smart Money hosts Sean Piles and Sarah Rathner talk with experts from NerdWallet's team of 100 money nerds to help you make smart financial decisions without the stress.

Subscribe to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast today. Cognizant of time and space and clock and situation and obviously has been in so many clutch moments. The ones where he scores and the ones where he sees his teammates come through. But on this Sunday, Steph Curry pulled a Chris Webber. Fortunately for Steph and the Warriors, it did not come back to bite them the way that it did for Chris Webber and the Michigan Wolverines, the Fab Five. For those of you who remember, man, what a run that team had. It was so much fun to watch. I remember watching it live. We have survived another big playoff weekend in April.

I hope that you enjoyed it. There's a ton to talk about between hoops and hockey. And not just hoops and hockey, but there was a Friday news dump in the NFL that resulted in some fairly serious suspensions for players who are once again caught gambling on football and otherwise. I am stunned that anyone would dare gamble, especially bet on football. After what Calvin Ridley just went through and the fact that he gambled what, fifteen hundred bucks? But he did place bets on football when he was away from the game.

Mindless. He's taken responsibility for it. But now we've got other players who do not heed that warning from the NFL and they get caught. And not one or two, but a handful of players.

The Lions being the team that is right in the center of this latest run of disciplinary action by the NFL. So I want to get into that a little bit as well. Also an interview with Trey Lance. Newspaper interview with Trey Lance that posed the question to him about a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. So that's interesting, too. Major League Baseball, a story that might make you cry, but it will absolutely make you smile. Really looking forward to diving in. Also, you're not going to believe what chased me on Sunday, my trading run. Oh, my gosh. I was doing a 90 minute trading run on Sunday afternoon, so took that time in between the two sets of playoff games.

And had to go 90 minutes because I'm two weeks out from my half marathon. It'll be on Sunday, May 7th. So we'll see. We'll see when I get up out of the chair halfway through this show. Actually, I'll be moving most of the time during these early breaks in the show. Got a lot of work to do. So I go to a side studio.

It's about 100 yards away. Anyway, some up and down. Maybe that will keep my muscles from getting tight. But in two weeks time, I generally don't run half marathons on Sundays because it's really hard to work afterwards. But I do have a half marathon exactly two weeks from today. So I had to get out and do a 90 minute training run. And the next weekend will be a two hour training run, which is the longest that I'll do before the 13.1 miles. Anyway, I have never had this happen before.

But you run a lot faster when you're getting chased. Oh, my gosh. Just wait. I even have a photo. We'll see. We'll see whether or not I feel like sharing the photo of my nemesis. But I did take a photo, which may have, in fact, been the reason that I got chased.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. I hope you had a good weekend. Man, it's not just the 90 minutes that I was running, which is eight and a half to nine miles.

I don't really keep track of the distance when I'm doing my training, but I didn't just run on Sunday. But over the weekend, oh, was the deep spring plunge into yard work. I had done some trimming and some some clearing out of my various flower beds earlier in the spring. But while I was away in Arizona and then on up to Syracuse last weekend for my second class, my neighborhood exploded in just a green kind of bomb went off in my neighborhood. Everything green, all the trees in bloom, all the flowers. In addition to the green, there's a yellow sheen everywhere because it's yellow season, as I call it.

Princess Leia, she was yellow until we had crazy thunderstorms and heavy rain come through all the way Saturday night into Sunday. But yeah, the yard that was really barely growing when I left for Arizona turned into a jungle in the span of a week. And so I had I just had to with the rain coming, I had to get the yard work done.

So I not only mowed both front and back, filling two big old bags of debris, but mowed front and back, fertilized front and back and also weeded front and back. And yeah, why is it that the weeds grow so much faster? And do you know, in the span of one night, there's dandelions everywhere again.

How in the world does that happen? If I sit outside overnight, do you think I can see the dandelions pop up? Because they obviously appeared overnight. So if I sit outside with a flashlight, can I see them pop up?

I should be able to, right? They're literally growing before my eyes if I sit outside. And then I could have one of those time elapsed videos. Except I'm telling you, they spring up overnight. I don't even know why I bother, well, I know why I bother mowing. But it's crazy to me because I mowed and not even 24 hours later, there's yellow dandelions all over the backyard.

That's just wrong. So hopefully the fertilizer will help. But in lieu of that, I'm going to have to get out there and mow again. And maybe plant some grass seed because there's some spots. But it's supposed to be down in the 30s, actually, a couple of overnights in my neighborhood.

So I'm not sure it's a good time to plant grass seed yet. Anyway, all that to say, many of you are also facing the same yard work conundrums. And I spent four hours doing yard work this weekend. A bunch of work too. Not only class prep for Monday.

My show will come from Syracuse on Monday night again. But obviously a lot of playoff action. Cooked chili. It felt like a good weekend for chili. I don't really know why. And then, as I say, the last, or not the last, but the big training run on Sunday in which I was chased.

It's just wrong. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, if you want to know what chased me. I'll tell you the story coming up a little bit later. And then also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence, we'll have a show question coming up here a little bit later this hour. And Matt Moore, our longtime friend and guest. In fact, his tenure on the show goes back 11 years now. He started with CBS Sports when we started the network. So he's remained one of our favorites in the world of the NBA. He is in Denver. He does the Locked on Nuggets podcast. But is a longtime NBA insider.

And so he will join us coming up after the top of next hour. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. It was pretty interesting to see Draymond Green come off the bench for the Golden State Warriors. This, to me, I'm not sure how you feel, this to me is the most entertaining, compelling series that we've got going on in the playoffs right now. You've got some other series that are close, maybe closer than they should be based on injuries.

That's something we'll definitely talk about with Matt because there are some very high-profile injuries. And there certainly are some surprises. For instance, if the Lakers continue to play the way they do and the Grizzlies continue to do nothing now that Ja Morant is back in the lineup, I think that's a big surprise. So we may end up with one or more. We'll see what happens in the Bucs-Heat series. We may end up with one or more lower seeds taking out higher seeds in these playoffs. A lot of that remains to be seen and still yet to be determined. But injuries are definitely playing a factor. Even as the 76ers move on, they do it in Game 4 against the Nets without Joel Embiid and wait until you hear what Doc Rivers had to say about Joel's status for the second round. So we've got a lot to talk about with Matt and to process.

But I would still say right now the best series, the most compelling series, the series that has been a tug of war in terms of momentum swings and just real drama. Thank you, Dre. Dramatic Dre.

Oh, I can't wait till his next podcast comes out. Kings and Warriors. And this is a game in which, once again, we did see a tug of war. We saw each team exert its, well, flex its muscles, exert its will and have this dominant stretch. Neither team led by more than 10. But the Warriors had a 10-point lead at the end of the third quarter after Klay Thompson buried a huge triple right at the buzzer.

Shea Center goes crazy. They've got their largest lead only to see the Kings turn around and take the lead back with a 20-5 run. To begin the fourth quarter, it was like the Warriors had petered out and didn't have any more of a run in them.

And so it was a good back and forth. De'Aaron Fox putting on a major show. Each team hit 14 triples. Each team shot within a few percentage points of 50% from the field. So the shot making in this game at Shea Center was incredible. Same exact number of rebounds.

No joke. Each team had 44 rebounds. Total turnovers were relatively close, although the Warriors gave up a few more points off turnovers. Exact same number of points in the paint. I mean, it's eerie.

Maybe it's uncanny. Uncanny how similar the stats are for each team. Each team had its leading scorer in the 30s making huge triples.

And so it's hard to find the difference between these two teams in this game if you didn't watch it. The Warriors nearly gave it away. They built a five-point lead in the final minute and nearly gave it away because Steph Curry pulls this Chris Webber move where he calls a timeout and they don't have one. So this was one heck of a game that came down to a single point and a shot at the buzzer for the Kings. But about that timeout, it happens with 40 seconds left. Steph Curry gets trapped across the court from his bench. Okay, so in that din, in that noise at the Shea Center, there's no way he's hearing his bench. So he gets trapped, he calls timeout, and then across the court, even if you didn't know the Warriors had already used their last timeout, which maybe you were following along and you recognized, the look on Steve Kerr's face. And then the reaction of the bench.

Oh no! And so yeah, Steph, as I say, leading the Warriors, getting a lot of pressure as he's bringing the ball up, but he's their best free throw shooter. So if they're going to foul, he wants to be able to head to the free throw line.

But he's also great handles. They're trying to protect this five-point lead, maybe run a little time off the clock, but he gets trapped. He ain't getting over half court, and so he calls a timeout, but uh-oh. I knew we challenged, but I didn't realize when we lost the challenge that we didn't have any timeouts left.

I know Coach mentioned he took the blame for it. I ain't going to lie, I thought it was the smartest play in the world. When I got the ball, I turned around, saw the trap, realized there was no real outlets instead of turning it over.

It's kind of the head he played, but it turned out not to be. I looked over at the bench and everybody was shaking their head. So it was an unfortunate situation in that respect, but good learning lesson. Thankfully we came away with the win, but good learning lesson on how important all those details are. We know it, but knowing timeouts, knowing the situation, it was just an unfortunate sequence right there.

One hundred percent my fault. I knew we didn't have any timeouts left. We took the challenge, and when the challenge was unsuccessful, as we were exiting the huddle, that's on me. I've got to remind the guys we're out of timeouts. I didn't say that, and so Steph wasn't aware.

So that's on me for not making that clear. And then on that play, we had all four of the other guys running to the other end, and they hit Steph in the backcourt. We didn't have a trail man. So we've got to handle the pressure better late game, make them take care of the ball, but the timeout is a hundred percent on me. It's a lot easier for Steph to make jokes after they win the game by one point, but this made it really close.

If you didn't see the end of the game, it's worth going back. And I actually haven't heard the Warriors play by play of it, but I can imagine Tim Roy and Tom Tolbert did note it and maybe had a similar reaction. But as I say, in the fourth quarter with 40 seconds to go, the Warriors are nursing a lead, a five-point lead. They've come up with just enough, a couple triples, some good rebounds. They, of course, still have a couple of turnovers. Turnovers will always be their nemesis.

But they're up 126-121. It's really funny because the rundown, the play-by-play, if you find it online, it says excess timeout, technical foul. That's how they score it, excess timeout, technical foul. So Malik Monks makes the free throw, which pulls the Kings within four. Then the Kings get the ball. And even after Harrison Barnes misses his, it was a long two, I believe, if I remember correctly, the Kings get the offensive rebound, and De'Aaron Fox buries a 29-foot triple.

He was a stud in this game. That brings the Kings within a point. Steph misses on the other end, so they try to run some time off the clock. They are successful in running about half the clock. There was like 28, 30 seconds to go. They run the clock to about halfway. But when Steph misses his pull-up, the Kings get the defensive rebound.

They have a timeout, and they're able to set up what is their final possession with a shot at stunning the Warriors because they're only trailing by a point. Fox dribbles at the logo, spins all right left. Hey football fans, Baldy here, and I'm doing something special for this year's NFL Draft. Jason Locke and Flor and I are hosting the 2023 Odyssey NFL Draft show. Join us on the first night of the draft talking with our local experts from across the Odyssey podcast throughout the country. And leading up to the draft, check out our podcast, In the Huddle. I'm giving you an inside scoop on the best prospects for your favorite team. And it all starts Thursday, April 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern until the first round ends only on the free Odyssey app.

Donate today at your local CSL Plasma Center and be rewarded for your generosity. Bunch of the Draymond pass over to Barnes. Barnes for three, no good, buzzer sounds. The Warriors escape for the win. Final score, Golden State 126, Sacramento 125. Inbounds pass goes to Fox in the backcourt. Fox, who has multiple game winners this year, advances. Here comes Curry trying to defend.

Fox wiggles his way right, swings to the wing. Harrison Barnes with a launch for three. It's no good. It came off the heel as time expires. And the Warriors have tied the playoff series at two games apiece. First you hear the call from Tim Roy on Warriors Radio, and then Gary Gerald, the iconic announcer for the Sacramento Kings. That was off the back iron, but what, if you don't see the play, what you may have missed is that Steph Curry is guarding De'Aaron Fox. He funnels De'Aaron. I mean, he plays really good defense, but funnels him right into the help of Draymond Green. And because Dray's defense and Steph's defense is blanketing De'Aaron, he really can't come up with any space.

Time's running out. He finds Harrison Barnes on the wing. Harrison's wide open. Now, I think it was Steph that went flying at him, was able to get loose and went flying at him after Fox gives up the ball. And Barnes was on line, but it was just a bit too long. And so for that reason, as much as Draymond Green comes off the bench, and we'll hear him talk about that, take note of who was in the game late. He is still the Warriors' best defender. Harrison Barnes had a real good look.

Great look. I mean, wide open. Process was good. You know, Fox obviously trusted me to take that shot and, you know, back rim it.

So, not in the next, but I feel confident where we are and where we are going. Yeah, De'Aaron Fox is the catalyst and the spark plug, but they definitely got contributions from other places, other players in this game. Now, the tough shooting night for Harrison Barnes maybe comes back to bite them in the rear, because he only goes one of six from beyond the arc, the former Warrior. But Keegan Murray had 23. De'Montez Sabonis is not playing as well as we've seen him, I think in large part due to the defense, but he was still in double figures. And then off the bench, Malik Monk and then Davion Mitchell, who's actually really out there for the defense on Steph, he's also in double figures. Very tight game. Very entertaining and enticing matchup. Coming up though, Draymond Green returns for game number four. The series is tied.

He has a terrible offensive game, but is in there at the end because of his defense and his ability to set up his teammates. Glad to have you with us. Thanks so much for hanging out.

Find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Hope you had a great weekend. Thanks for checking in, for starting your work week with us here on CBS Sports Radio.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, some humongous threes in this game and such a flair for the dramatic. I love the showmanship and the theater with the Warriors, especially the Splash Brothers, but it's not just them. Kavon Looney is a rebounding machine right now. The way they pass the ball with Draymond Green in the middle, he came off the bench, but as soon as he got on the court, he made an impact and he was out there in the end.

In terms of the defense, there isn't anyone better. And so it was a wrinkle, one that I wasn't expecting with the Warriors. How did it come about?

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Draymond actually suggested that he come off the bench in game number four instead of returning to the starting lineup. When I watch basketball, I'm studying, and I studied the game, and I saw what was working, you know. And we won, you know, so I'm a firm believer in if something isn't broke, you don't fix it. And, you know, our offense was rolling. We played good defensively, really good defensively. So I didn't want to come back and just shake things up because I'm back.

Like, that's not right. Jordan went out there. He played well. We played well. He earned it. You know, our team earned that. A lot of guys who, you know, I mean, 11 years in, you start to feel a sense of entitlement, you know, like that spot's yours and starting is yours. And I never want to reach that point in my career where I feel entitled to something.

But those guys don't fare well in the end. So I just wanted to do what I thought was best for this team, and it was good for us. He's a selfless player. Draymond's a winner, and he realized that last game we got great flow offensively with the four-guard lineup. And to stagger him in Lewin's minutes I think benefited us a lot because they play very similarly as far as running the offense, you know, with handoffs and screens and just a big-time adjustment by the coaching staff and complete unselfishness by Draymond that allows us to, you know, try and reach our goal.

That's why he's the champion he is. It was interesting to hear Malika Andrews postgame on ABC regurgitate Steph Curry's words back to him because she asked him about Draymond as well. Remember, it wasn't a press conference. I think it was practice sound, or maybe it was a presser, but it was their off day last week after Draymond had been suspended. And what we got from Steph was, oh, actually, you know what, it was following Game 3. I take that back, sorry.

It all blurs together now. Following Game 3, he was doing the interview on the NBA on TNT, and he said, they say Draymond has a reputation. Well, we have a reputation, too. Or they say Dray has a history. They say Draymond has a history.

We have a history, too, referring to their championship pedigree. Doesn't seem like anybody's angry at Draymond, though, of course, they'd rather have him than not have him. But what a move by Dray himself to suggest, hey, what you guys did in Game 3, the four-guard lineup, Kavon Looney is playing really well. Remember, he had the 20 rebounds matched his career high with 20 rebounds in Game 3.

And they played so well. Why not? Why not stick with it and get the boost with Draymond coming off the bench? So an interesting move, but I think a veteran move as well. Not every veteran would have done that or made that suggestion or felt like they were not losing their status or their position or their minutes.

And honestly, what was the first thought? Oh, that was actually Steve Kerr's choice, right? Draymond still getting punished, feeds into the narrative that the Warriors are ticked at Draymond for these outbursts that lead to penalties from the NBA.

Nah, none of that was the case. Now, Dray did miss a bunch of layups, I'll say that. He was only 3 of 14 from the floor, and he missed a bunch of point blank shots right at the rim. A left-handed layup, I don't even know how it didn't go in. He finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, though, plus 7 assists.

So nearly ends up with a triple-double, also a block and a steal in there, and then the defense on the final possession where De'Aaron Fox had no room to shoot. And Steve Kerr talks about his big man and how his bench appearance came about. He hadn't come off the bench in 10 years since before I was coaching. But he came to me immediately after game 3.

He drove back to the arena, I was in my office, and he walked in and he said, what do you think about me coming off the bench? And I had been thinking about it already because of the way Sacramento was guarding us and just getting another shooter on the floor. So we always collaborate.

The decisions we make are collaborative with our key players. So that was a collaboration, but Draymond offered it. And this is how we've approached a lot of playoff games. Doesn't sound like Steve Kerr's take to Draymond to me. No, it sounds like a pretty mature relationship.

Yeah, sometimes you've got to take the good with the bad. And Draymond was back to his yelling and his screaming. Did you see a couple of times he stared down De'Aaron Fox after the defense?

A couple of times with big challenges at the rim or against him onto Sabonis. He was just letting loose those guttural roars. Clown. Speaking of clowns, boy, did Dylan Brooks see the other shoe drop this weekend. I can't wait to talk about the LeBron James reaction, to be sure.

All right, you can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. We're going to get to the Eastern Conference with the Celtics and the Hawks putting up a ton of points. And the Knicks without their highly paid power forward in the game in the fourth quarter.

So was it injury or was it because they're better without him? Matt Moore at the top of the hour, too. Our phone number, 855-212-4227 on Twitter, ALawRadio.

Donate today at your local CSL Plasma Center and be rewarded for your generosity. And then also on our Facebook page. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Brogdon dribbles to the elbow, backs up. Okonwu chases him out there. Tatum for three, makes the shot. Big three for Jason Tatum.

He's got 21 tonight. Tatum head stores the basket. Tatum into the lane. Smart, makes the three, dribbles it off of Hunter's foot. Tatum chases it down before to shoot it. Tatum a deep three. He made it! He made it from the logo! Twelve point game.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Couple of huge Jason Tatum triples for the Boston Celtics down the stretch. But he was not alone in the Celtics surviving the Atlanta Hawks and their upset bid.

No, both Jason and Jaylen Brown have 31 points each. And actually, Tatum didn't shoot well. This was not a great offensive game for him.

It's just that he picks his poison. Marcus Smart had an incredible three. As he gets knocked down at the end of the third quarter, I believe, he finishes with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists. And so this really was the depth, the experience of that Celtics trio. And some of the other guys around them, certainly coming off the bench, they're able to put more points on the board than the Hawks. And honestly, that's what the series is now. The Hawks are putting a lot of points up. Including Game 3, in which they were able to beat the Celtics on their own court. On the Hawks' own court.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Kind of fun that Jaylen Brown is maskless. So no more who is that masked man. And Smart actually says that they didn't recognize the guy who was wearing number 7. We were looking for Jaylen.

Couldn't find him because he didn't have his mask on. And then I was like, where's he at? And then we see him in the corner and he gets the ball. And then obviously, you know, he makes those plays where he's driving with force. And he, you know, he throws it off the glass a couple times and makes some great plays. And we just knew at that moment, you know, it was a different J.B. And, you know, he's going to carry us and bring us home. Just the same approach to each and every game is just being locked in and having that edge and that chip on your shoulder to do whatever it takes.

You don't got to be pretty. You just got to get it done. Celtics Radio Network with the calls of those big threes late for Jason Tatum. But again, this was a total team effort.

There were contributions all around. And that's what makes the Celtics so dangerous is it's not just one guy who comes at you. It was everybody. Those guys turning it up. D. White picking up full court. You know, me, Rob Al getting rebounds. You know, everybody just, we was hungry to win.

And, you know, we was determined to leave Atlanta with a win. Rob Williams now coming off the bench. Fifteen rebounds off the bench in this game, which was huge.

So he has a double-double plus a handful of assists, a couple steals, a couple blocks. That's a guy that you can bring off the bench. And he's got starter experience. And so he can do, he can do a lot with that second unit. Also Malcolm Brogdon who is, did he win the sixth man of the year award? And he comes off the bench too. Played 23 minutes for the Celtics coming off their bench.

So that's a major advantage. Rob Brogdon obviously a ton of experience from his time with the Bucks. And so for the Celtics, well I don't love how much they're giving up offensively. In fact, the Hawks in this game shoot nearly 44%. They hit 14 triples. They're putting up a lot of points as well. Maybe getting the series back to Boston helps the Celts crack down on defense.

But at this point, it's just too much depth and too many options for Boston. Who now has a 3-1 lead over Atlanta. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. Also on our Facebook page. I did kind of let you know. Guess I was cheating. But I did it before the show started on Twitter.

On Facebook, I just put it up a couple of minutes ago. The wild animal that was chasing me while I was running. I mean this was scary. I thought I was going to get bit. Anyway, I promise to tell that story next hour. Matt Moore though at the top of the hour.

So we'll have to wait until after our NBA insider. That was what I did. When I realized I was getting chased. I didn't see it until he was right above my rear end.

Oh my gosh. That makes you run a heck of a lot faster. All of a sudden there's no fatigue whatsoever.

And I think I was already 40-45 minutes into my run at that point. No. No. I had a nice burst of energy. Alright, let's talk a little bit about the Cavaliers Knicks series. Which I think has taken an unexpected turn.

At least in the opinions of a lot of people who thought the Cavs would be the better team in the long term. Hart leads the break. Drives the lane to the rim. The runner.

Got it. Back foot against Allen. Hart flexing for the crowd. Time out Cleveland.

5'21 to go. Knicks 90. Cavs 81. And the Garden is rocking in game four. Barrett waiting. Left wing three. In and out. Hart the rebound. Pitching it out. Brunson fires the three.

Nails it. From straight on. Oh Jaylen Brunson with 29. Barrett backs it up by right. Four to shoot. Drives. Gets free.

Floater is good. 48.5 to go. Exclamation point for Barrett. Time out Cleveland. Knicks by 10.

100 to 90. They can smell a 3-1 series lead. Ed Cohen with the calls on Knicks radio man.

The Garden. Madison Square Garden was rocking. The roof was coming off in the late stages of this game. Now the Knicks actually built a 15 point lead earlier in the game but could not preserve it. They only scored 19 in the third quarter but if you watch Knicks basketball this year you know that they want to have these disappearing acts for their offense. But what they've done defensively against the stars in this series in the last two games forcing Darius Garland into a brutal shooting night in game three which was a runaway for New York and then Donovan Mitchell maybe not his worst playoff game of all time but pretty brutal. 5 of 18 from the field. He goes 0 for 4 from beyond the arc.

He only has 11 points and 5 assists and this is not why the Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell. Probably the second or third worst playoff game of my career. I didn't show up for my guys. Ultimately everybody did their job. We had our faults as a group but ultimately I didn't do what I was supposed to do. And you know I take that and I gotta just be better. Believe it or not I've had worst playoff games. So you know I've been here before it's just a matter of going out there and just trying to be better for my teammates.

Like I said you can ask you ask them to do so much. They did a great job you know and I didn't do it. I didn't show up for them. That's how many. I'm a little puzzled by the Cavaliers.

I know they don't have a lot of playoff experience which is maybe part of the reason why this has been a struggle for them. Excuse me I don't know why I just hiccuped. Whoopsie. They seem to come at the worst possible times. I never hiccup outside of the radio studio.

It must be something to do with the breath. Anyway. I had higher hopes for the Cavaliers. They made some major moves. Remember Donovan Mitchell was the object of the Knicks desire in the offseason. Instead they get Jalen Brunson and he has been a great revelation.

They surround him better. Except for maybe Julius Randle but we'll get to that. But the way that Jalen Brunson drives the Knicks a sense of urgency. Not only is he willing to step up and take the big shot which I think is something that maybe we didn't know about him until the playoffs last year. But he was obviously second fiddle to Luka Doncic.

And so he's expendable for some reason. And Jalen has come into this Knicks lineup with a purpose. I think really using what he learned in his first couple of years to become that quarterback on the basketball court.

Now something interesting. In this game Josh Hart moves into the starting lineup. You may remember that Josh and Jalen were teammates at Villanova.

And so they know each other extremely well. So Julius Randle was in the starting lineup but as a really tough game it falls then on guys like Jalen and Josh and RJ Barrett who's had some pretty impressive games. Maybe taking a few years for him to come into his own. Left college basketball after his freshman year if I remember correctly. And wasn't he the guy who was selected instead of Zion Williamson? Oh no he was third. Okay. But that same draft though right? Yeah. It was Zion, Ja and RJ. Okay I remembered it right. But he's playing really well as well.

Really well as well as well as well. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. RJ goes over six from beyond the arc in this game four but he finishes with 26 points. So maybe take some mid range jumpers. But yeah Jalen and Josh were critical down the stretch. Although Jalen is not celebrating.

He's like zip it. We've done nothing yet. Just keep focusing on one day at a time. There's nothing to celebrate. There's nothing to be truly happy about. So obviously we won tonight.

We're one step closer. It's harsh. It's a little harsh. What's going on with Julius Randall? He does not play in the fourth quarter really except for every time I saw him he was on the bench. And wasn't sweating. But Tom Thibodeau says it's not what you think. This is not about the team playing better without him.

He's given us everything that he has. A lot of guys probably wouldn't even be playing. So I knew with the quick turnaround it would probably impact him more than most players. He was out an extended amount of time.

So we got multiple days here before the next game. He'll get a chance to get some recovery time. But I think that's a big part of it. But the thing I love about him is he gives you everything he has.

He's done that to come back the way he did to be ready for game one. Credit to him. He's our horse. High praise from Tom Thibodeau.

That's not the way this is playing around the country though. 7 points for Julius Randall. Coach says he's still nursing an ankle injury but that he's given everything he's got. 27 minutes for him. He goes 3 of 10 from the floor. In a tight game he gets an offensive liability late. We'll talk about that and so much more with Matt Moore when he joins us just after the top of the hour. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. and be rewarded for your generosity.