REACTION: Knicks’ HISTORIC Run To The NBA Finals

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective
Episode: REACTION: Knicks’ HISTORIC Run To The NBA Finals
Date: May 26, 2026
Host(s): Tim Bontemps, Ben McMahon (Brian Windhorst not present on this episode)

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Episode Overview

This special episode of The Hoop Collective celebrates and analyzes the New York Knicks stunning and historic sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals. Tim Bontemps (reporting live from Cleveland) and Ben McMahon (in New York) break down how the Knicks completed what the hosts repeatedly call “the best 11-game stretch in the history of the sport," reflect on the transformation of the team and franchise, and consider what this finals run means for New York fans and the NBA at large.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Knicks’ Unprecedented Dominance

• The Knicks defeated the Cavs in a 4-0 sweep, closing out Game 4 with a 37-point blowout.
• Over their last 11 games, the Knicks’ point differential is +262—a record over an 11-game stretch in both regular season and playoffs in NBA history (01:19–03:02).
  • Quote: “No team has ever won 11 games, had an 11-game span where they outscored their opponents by 262 points. … It’s the best 11 game stretch in the history of the sport.” – Ben McMahon [01:08]
• The Knicks have “demolished” every playoff opponent so far, often ending games by halftime.
• All three defeated opponents (Hawks, Sixers, Cavs) “gave up in the final game to staggering degrees.” [02:21–03:02]

2. Tactical and Roster Evolution

• Front office transformation: Leon Rose, Wes Wesley, Frank Zannon, Brock Ahler, Gerson Rosas, Walt Perrin (the scout), “inherited no players. … Now you look at the team, all they got is players. We have players everywhere.” – Tim Bontemps [07:15]
• Strategic shift: The offense is now run through Karl-Anthony Towns, not just by giving him the ball, but involving everyone in “movement off the ball,” which has increased both effectiveness and engagement on defense (10:08–11:36).
  • Not just pick-and-roll; the Knicks attack with dynamism and all five starters are threats.
• Player acquisition lauded: Jalen Brunson “maybe the greatest free agent signing in the history of the sport” (Shaq, LeBron-level impact) [08:00].
• Undervalued pickups (Josh Hart, O.G. Anunoby, Karl Towns, Mikal Bridges) and development of Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson are emphasized [08:00–09:15].

3. How the Cavs Collapsed

• Cavs’ transition defense was a disaster, allowing 26 fast-break points in the first half—a “season high for some teams” according to Bontemps [04:43].
  • Coach Kenny Atkinson said stopping the Knicks’ transition was “priority one”—Cleveland still gave up layups even after made baskets [04:24–05:36].
  • Quote: “It’s just a baseline play that you don’t get beat back after a made basket. One of the rewards for a made basket is you get to set your defense. … Come on.” – Tim Bontemps [05:26]
• Several notes of Cavs fans’ apathy and poor atmosphere in the arena. Knicks fans traveled in large numbers, creating more noise than locals [19:41–22:01].

4. Mindset, Chemistry, and Momentum

• Hosts marvel at how quickly the Knicks’ reputation changed: from “a disappointing team” a month ago, down 2-1 to Atlanta, to “utterly remarkable” dominance [09:15].
• Huge credit given to team chemistry—“Villanova boys” and the way new tactics have “unlocked their chemistry” [11:36].
• Bench contributions and deep rotation allow relentless pace.
• Knicks’ buy-in and focus: both in staying mentally sharp with large leads and resisting the urge to celebrate the job before the finals (“we got more to win…no champagne” – Karl Towns via Tim Bontemps [29:39])

5. Finals Outlook — Can the Knicks Win It All?

• NBA insiders and Vegas odds have the Knicks as underdogs in the finals—but not by much (“slight underdogs”) [14:28].
  • “You get to the NBA Finals and you’re sitting there like, that alone gives you a chance.” – Ben McMahon [15:16]
• Remark on how just 2 weeks ago, the general consensus was that the Western Conference finals was the “real finals”— now the Knicks are a legitimate threat.
• Madison Square Garden for Finals Game 3 will be “one of the coolest things I think you’ll ever experience” [15:40].
• “If you’re a Knick fan, why wouldn’t you believe you can go beat Oklahoma City or San Antonio, especially after this absolute knockdown drag-out slugfest these two [West] teams are going to have?” – Ben McMahon [22:58]

6. The Knicks’ Cultural Impact and Potential Legacy

• The hosts emphasize how deeply this resonates for New York: for lifelong fans, this is a holy grail achievement last seen in 1973—only rivaled by cursed teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, Browns, or Jets [26:04–28:36].
  • “Whoever wins a title with the Knicks will be a God here forever.” – Ben McMahon [27:32]
• A potential title would cement the current Knicks (Brunson, Towns, Hart, etc.) as beloved legends.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 01:08 | “No team has ever won 11 games, had an 11-game span where they outscored their opponents by 262 points. … It’s the best 11 game stretch in the history of the sport.” | Ben McMahon | | 03:11 | “They’re knocking these teams out, like, in the first quarter of these games.” | Tim Bontemps | | 04:24 | “Kenny actually came in this game saying we have to be better in transition … the Knicks have more fast break points in the first half of this game than in the first half of any playoff game in the last 30 years.” | Ben McMahon | | 05:26 | “It’s just a baseline play that you don’t get beat back after a made basket.” | Tim Bontemps | | 07:15 | “They had no players…Now you look at the team, all they got is players.” | Tim Bontemps | | 08:00 | “The Knicks have maybe the greatest free agent signing in the history of the sport. Jalen Brunson is in the conversation for that.” | Ben McMahon | | 15:16 | “If you get to the NBA Finals and you’re sitting there like that alone gives you a chance, you just…never know what’s going to happen over a seven game series.” | Ben McMahon | | 19:14 | “Mike Breen was talking a lot about the dark days of 2002-2020.” | Ben McMahon | | 22:58 | “Why wouldn’t you believe if you’re a Knick fan that you can go beat Oklahoma City or San Antonio, especially after this absolute knockdown, drag out slugfest these two teams are going to have?” | Ben McMahon | | 27:32 | “Whoever wins a title with the Knicks will be a God here forever.” | Ben McMahon | | 29:29 | “The Knicks could make the finals the next three years in a row. They’re not going to do it like this. This is a once in a lifetime month.” | Ben McMahon |

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Important Timestamps

• 00:45 – Bontemps opens; Knicks win in Cleveland, fans celebrating in NYC and on 7th Ave
• 01:19 – Ben McMahon details the historic 11-game run
• 04:24 – Cavs’ disastrous transition defense in Game 4, record fast break points
• 07:15 – Knicks’ front office overhaul and roster reconstruction
• 08:00 – Jalen Brunson’s franchise-changing impact discussed
• 10:08 – Strategic shift: offense running through Towns, elevated team chemistry
• 14:28 – Finals matchup preview, Knicks’ odds and national perception shift
• 19:14 – Reflecting on Mike Breen, Knicks’ long-suffering fans, energy in NYC
• 22:58 – Why Knicks fans should believe in a championship
• 27:32 – The cultural and historical weight of a Knicks title run
• 29:29 – Perspective: “Once in a lifetime” nature of this Knicks run

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Tone & Conclusion

Tone: The episode is lively, incredulous, reverent, and at times humorous—blending analytical rigor with authentic awe at what the Knicks are accomplishing.

Final thoughts: The hosts come away amazed at the Knicks’ run, thoughtful about what it means for New York and the NBA, and pragmatic about the upcoming Finals—while reminding everyone in and around the Knicks: celebrating this moment is deserved, because postseason runs like this come once in a lifetime.

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Summary prepared for those who haven't listened: This episode delivers comprehensive insight into the Knicks’ astonishing playoff dominance, the clear tactical and cultural changes propelling this run, and the new belief that, after 50 years, a Knicks title might really be at hand.

Transcript

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[Tim Bontemps]

Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Hoop Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA. More specifically talking about the New York Knicks beating the Cavs 40 in the Eastern Conference finals. I've just come back from Rocket arena where it all went down and the Knicks fans are partying in the streets as much as one can on a Monday night in Cleveland, Ohio. Joining me from New York City where they are partying in the streets I was just looking on X and seeing people climbing 7th Avenue street lamp posts is Tim Bontemps, not Ben McMahon.

[Ben McMahon]

We'll see if Ben McMahon is here in a couple weeks for the finals. But I mean what a what a remarkable month. I wrote about it for dot com and our takeaways file from tonight's game. And tonight is exactly a month since game four of the first round of the playoffs between the Hawks and the Knicks. And the Hawks were up to one. They'd won back to back one point games. The Knicks felt like they were on the ropes. Everybody in New York was mad at them. It felt like it was going to be another disappointing season for the Knicks. Felt a lot frankly like it's felt in Cleveland for the last month. And all that's happened since then is the Knicks have had the best 11 game stretch in the history of the sport over the last eight years differential. No team has ever won 11 games, had an 11 game span where they outscored their opponents by 262 points. Which is what the Knicks have done like. And that's in the regular season or the playoffs. It's not just in the playoffs. It's the best 11 game stretch in the history of the sport. And you can say, well the Knicks played a banged up Philly team and they played a not very good Atlanta team and they played this Cavs. That's fine.

[Tim Bontemps]

By the way, Stahole right there. I think Atlanta's not too bad. The only. The only team that put it.

[Ben McMahon]

That's right. But again, if you can, you can poke holes in their opponents, you can say they haven't played the Thunder or the Spur, whatever you want to say. The bottom line is the Knicks have taken the teams in front of them and absolutely demolished them to the point that all three of them gave up in the final game to staggering degrees.

[Tim Bontemps]

That is exactly correct.

[Ben McMahon]

It's remarkable to see what they're doing.

[Tim Bontemps]

They won by 37 points tonight. And their closeout win differential decreased.

[Ben McMahon]

Decreased. That's right. Went under 40, went down to 39.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, we've just never seen anything like. Honestly, we've never seen an 11 game stretch like this in the history of the sport. Think about that.

[Tim Bontemps]

And here's the thing. Like, they're knocking these teams out, like, in the first quarter of these games.

[Ben McMahon]

The first quarter, the game tonight was. I had somebody text me at the end of the first quarter, say, this game's over. And I was like, well, I don't know. And then four minutes in the second quarter, they're up by 25. I was like, all right, you were right. It's over.

[Tim Bontemps]

So in the third quarter, they. They. The Cavs, for, like a second. Got it. Got the lead down to 16.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

And they. And the Knicks actually called timeout. And I was like, I'm going to go to the bathroom right now. And I went to the bathroom, you know, and I saw some people out in the concourse, whatever. And I came back and it was like 28 again. Like, I was. I was gone for seven minutes, real time.

[Ben McMahon]

It's unbelievable.

[Tim Bontemps]

Happened.

[Ben McMahon]

It's unbelievable. I mean, they're. They're playing on such a string. They're all connected. I mean, what was crazy about this game in this series in particular? And it, you know, we have. We'll have time to talk about the Cavs. We'll probably talk more on our podcast for Wednesday when we really dissect what happened to them this season. And it was embarrassing how they just got roasted in transition in this game. I mean, Kenny actually came in this game saying we have to be better in transition. Right. Which they did. They were terrible in transitioning.

[Tim Bontemps]

Maybe this is an exact quote. He said something like, it's priority one.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, it was. It was their top priority coming into the game. And then the Knicks stats. Williams texted me with three and a half minutes to go in the first half and said the Knicks have more fast break points in the first half of this game than in the first half of any playoff game in the last 30 years.

[Tim Bontemps]

Bon Thomps. They had 26 fast break points in the first half. That would be a season high for some teams.

[Ben McMahon]

For some teams, 100%.

[Tim Bontemps]

Okay? 26 points.

[Ben McMahon]

Of a closeout playoff game. Of a closeout game in the playoffs.

[Tim Bontemps]

Listen, man. And they were scoring, okay? It's one thing if you're turning it over, because you know the Cavs, they've been known to turn it over. They were scoring after made baskets just

[Ben McMahon]

like they did the last game.

[Tim Bontemps]

It would be baskets.

[Ben McMahon]

It was unbelievable to see. And some of that's a credit to the Knicks and how hard they were playing and the pace they were playing with. And some of it's just pathetic from the Cavs, frankly. Like, it's one thing to lose. It's another thing to lose like that.

[Tim Bontemps]

You can't.

[Ben McMahon]

Come on.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's just. It's a baseline play that you don't get beat back after a made basket. One of the rewards for a made basket is you get to get back,

[Ben McMahon]

get to set your defense.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's, you know, and this.

[Ben McMahon]

Come on. And look, the Knicks were hot today. This wasn't even like game four against Philly when they literally started the game 12 for 13. And like, it was. They were like, on. Literally on fire, like an NBA jam. Like, the Knicks were hitting shots in this game, but the Cavs just were giving up open layups off of made baskets repeatedly.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, well, again, 13 baskets in transition in the first half. It doesn't really even matter what you shoot from. Three doesn't matter. And by the way, having said that, Landry Shamut is 11 of. Was 11 of 12 on threes in this series. Now, a lot of them were open, but, my God, not all of them, though. My God, I think the hottest I've ever seen a guy get in the playoffs was Danny Green, my colleague, our colleague at espn.

[Ben McMahon]

Dan was the ultimate hot and cold guy. When he got hot, he got as hot as. As anything. And when he would get cold, you would think he'd never made a shot in his life.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, Shamet was the former.

[Ben McMahon]

He certainly was.

[Tim Bontemps]

Anyway, I thought they had. You know, one of the things that is so evident of this Knicks team is since they. And I've talked to the Knicks coaches. Well, first off, I talked to a bunch of members of the Knicks front office tonight, both before and after the game. And, you know, when they got this job, when these. When these guys came in, when Leon Rose And Wes Wesley came in and they hired Frank Zannon and they hired Brock Ahler and they hired Gerson Rosas and Walt Perrin who I always name check because he's their lead scout. They had no players. Bontemps, this team had no players. And Dennis Randall.

[Ben McMahon]

That was it basically.

[Tim Bontemps]

Now you look at the team, all they got is players. We have players everywhere.

[Ben McMahon]

You know like there's a lot of talk, we're going to talk on the Wednesday pot about the draft lottery. I got a story coming up that's

[Tim Bontemps]

going to get passed this week.

[Ben McMahon]

What's going to get passed this week? And there's, you know, there's been some sturm and drawing over. Oh well how are you going to rebuild if you don't have a chance to get to the top of the draft? Well, look at the Knicks. The Knicks have maybe the greatest free aged signing in the history of the sport. Jalen Brunson is in the conversation for that. When you look at what he's done for this team, I mean he's not ahead of Shaq probably but you know, short of that, you look at what he's done here, you know, he's up there in the conversation with guys like Shaq and LeBron and these guys who change franchises. Jalen Brunson has completely transformed the Knicks franchise by leaving Dallas, deciding with the Knicks and every other guy. Josh Hart, O.J. anunoby, Carl Towns, Josh Hart, Bridges, the rest are starting lineups, trades. They signed Lancer Shamit off to scrap heap a couple years ago. He's become a terrific two way player, a guy who can really guard and is also a knockdown three point shooter. They draft us with bride in the second round. The second they traded Emmanuel Quickley. They signed him to one of the best contracts in the league. He's an excellent bench scorer and defender like Mitchell Robinson. It gives them a great compliment to Carl Town. So they draft pick that was another draft pick. But, but, but that's a, you know they drafted in the second round and developed them and resigned him and they've just built a really solid team that can play different ways, that can guard. It's got a lot of two way players that's tough minded, that's led by one of the most clutch players in the league and a guy who is rock solid as far as like everything you could ask for from a guy leading your team. And even still again, a month ago The Knicks were 85 games into the season and we're seeing as a disappointment and a frustrating team. And it's just the, the.

[Tim Bontemps]

The.

[Ben McMahon]

The. The last month is maybe the most unexpected month in the history of the sport. For them to rip off this stretch of play at this time of year and just throttle each of their opponents into absolute submission. I mean, it's honestly unlike anything we've ever really seen before. Like, there's teams that have had dominant runs through the playoffs, like the Sixers and 80.

[Tim Bontemps]

The warriors didn't beat teams like this. And I mean, the west was not that great back then. No, like, I mean, the top t. You know, some of the top team,

[Ben McMahon]

but it was no like the one the warriors went 16 and one. That was the dominant run through the playoffs. When The Sixers went 12 and 1 through the playoffs, that was a dominant run through the playoffs. Like there have been teams that have had dominant runs through the playoffs.

[Tim Bontemps]

Not like. But not.

[Ben McMahon]

But not like this.

[Tim Bontemps]

Like this.

[Ben McMahon]

Not like this. Not. Not having the greatest point differential over 11 games in the history of the entire 80 years of the NBA. I mean, it's just. It's utterly remarkable.

[Tim Bontemps]

So a couple of things. First off, I talked to some Knicks coaches and I was asking them about how this, how this happened. And really when they changed the offense to run through Towns, and it wasn't just give the ball to Carl Towns, um, it was also run action off the ball. So because you're taking Brunson off the ball and you're moving him with, you're moving him around and you're, you know, moving Ogn and Obi around and you're moving Mikhail Bridges around and you're moving Josh Hart around, and all of a sudden those guys who, you know, for the last year or so played pick and, you know, Cat would run pick and roll or Robinson would run pick and roll, and those guys would stand on the wing or at the elbow and wait to see if they got a shot. Now they're. Now they're moving around. Now they're catching the ball on the move, putting on the floor, distributing.

[Ben McMahon]

They love involved more.

[Tim Bontemps]

They love it.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

So that engages them at the defensive end where they're already were good defensively. They already had good defensive bones. I mean, Towns and Brunson are not good defensively, but they compete defensively and Towns rebounds, which is part of defense, finishing defense.

[Ben McMahon]

And the other three guys are damn good.

[Tim Bontemps]

And now they're involved. And so now when they get a defensive rebound or even if they go of a basket, they're tearing off to the other end because they want to get down there. Because they know they're going to be involved. They're not just running down the. Standing in the corner and maybe one out of six possessions, you know, getting a grenade.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, for sure.

[Tim Bontemps]

And so you may say, why does it take, you know, 80, 90% of the season for that to happen? I don't know why it didn't took 80% of the season, but it happened. And it's just totally. Not only has it unlocked their talent, it's unlocked their chemistry. Look, they already had bedrock chemistry, the Villanova boys and all that stuff, but it's unlocked their chemistry. And now you watch them play, and it's one giant, you know, party.

[Ben McMahon]

It's been a party for a month.

[Tim Bontemps]

Second half, and I know you did some of this. Honestly, I was totally checked out of the second half. I was not even watching the game. I was totally texting.

[Ben McMahon]

You were just devastated. As the Cavs corner, after a year of pushing it, it just imploded around you.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's not devastating because the Cavs were not competitive.

[Ben McMahon]

They were not competitive.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's like, well, I mean, what are you going to say?

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, by the way, we should just stop for a second. Let's just go back to eight minutes to go in the first quarter of game one. Like the Cavs. The Cavs sitting there 40 minutes into the series.

[Tim Bontemps]

Eight minutes in the fourth quarter.

[Ben McMahon]

Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Eight minutes ago in the fourth quarter of game one. The Cavs are sitting there 40 minutes into the series looking like they had a chance to really make this interesting. Because if the Cavs had won game one, there was already all the pressure on the Knicks, and it would have been two days of absolute panic in New York City. Like, oh, man, are the Cavs going to knock these guys off? Was this all a mirage? They just do this against not very good teams. What's going to happen? And that comeback and the Knicks winning that game again, it was just a rocket booster right back up to where they'd been. And it just was like, yep, all good. We were a little rusty after a week off. We had a rough start. We closed the game out. We

[Tim Bontemps]

looked a little off coming back,

[Ben McMahon]

and he, you know, he's thrown down dunks everywhere today. He looked great. But, yeah, it's.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's even.

[Ben McMahon]

That's crazy how. How things turn out. But anyway, you were saying second half of the game, you were texting people.

[Tim Bontemps]

So second half, I'm texting, like, you know, some head coaches, some GMs, some scouts, and I'm like, all Right. Brass tacks here. What do we think? And, you know, basically all of them, one or two were like, no, they're not beating the West. You forget about it. You know, the Cavs are a first round Western Conference team, blah, blah, blah. But for the most part, the answer that I was getting was, look, they're going to probably be the underdog, all right? But yes, absolutely, they can win. Basically, it was like, you know, probably at the start, you know, two weeks ago, people been like, eh, I don't know, that's, you know, maybe if somebody gets hurt.

[Ben McMahon]

Two weeks ago, let's just call it like it is. Two weeks ago, the Western Conference finals was 100% seen as the NBA Finals. Now, like, I checked in with my guy, Jeff Sherman at the Superbook in Vegas at the Westgate to see what the odds would be. I was like, am I right? The Knicks would be underdogs? He said, yeah. I mean, he sent me over what he thought the lines would be, and the Knicks would be underdogs to both teams, but not crazy underdogs, like slight underdogs. And yeah, I had the same conversation with people. I was like, can the Knicks win the series? I got like, yeah, of course they can win. Like, if a team is playing like this, with this level of confidence, I mean, look at the Indiana Pacers last year. They. That was not a team anybody thought was going to win the title when

[Tim Bontemps]

the playoffs started this way. There's way more optimism about the Knicks right now than there was about the Pacers. And they don't even know the opponent yet.

[Ben McMahon]

And they went seven games and you know, who knows what happens if Tyrese Halbert does get hurt, right? Like, they were right there with a chance to win the Finals. Of course the Knicks have a chance. Like, this is the thing. If you get to the NBA Finals and you're sitting there like that alone gives you a chance, you just. You never know what's going to happen over seven game series. And how are you going to tell me that a team playing like this, shooting the ball like this, playing with a connected energy like this, that's going to be playing, I mean, game three, two weeks from today at Madison Square Garden is going to be one of the coolest things I think you'll ever experience. Like, that place is going to be just an unbelievable scene.

[Ian Fitzsimmons]

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[Tim Bontemps]

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[Ben McMahon]

And it'll be very cool. By the way, for Mike, Breen, our friend, to get to call NBA Finals games with the Knicks in them. That's only something he's waited his entire life.

[Tim Bontemps]

He was a total pro. Of course, after the game there was, there was some hugs going around. That guy's called a lot of bad Knicks basketball.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, listen, it's not a coincidence of Mike Breen. I mean, both at the end of game three and the end of game four, when there was a lot of time to vamp, Mike Breen was talking a lot about the dark days of 2002-2020.

[Tim Bontemps]

Mike Green Cows fans had turned it off. Only the Knicks fans are watching.

[Ben McMahon]

Walk by Frazier, who was in the building and handing out trophies with Patrick Ewing, which is a cool touch. And Mike Breen called a lot of Knicks games with a lot of really bad teams. And you know, this team is not one of those teams.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, so I was, I was, I just sort of, you know, happened to be right next to Jim Dolan as he walked off the court tonight. And there was a lot of Knicks fans there. I mean, you know, I mentioned on the podcast the other day that I didn't feel that the. Of all the. Of all the Eastern Conference finals I've covered in Cleveland, there's been like six or seven, seven of them. This was the most recent. It was just. There was just no energy. In fact, outside today, we did NBA today out on the plaza, what will eventually I think should be the LeBron James Plaza, there was more people excited about the Guardians game. The guardians had won eight out of 10. Then there were excited to get in terms of Cleveland people. The people were excited to go in

[Ben McMahon]

were Knicks people, Knicks fans.

[Tim Bontemps]

And, you know, tickets were going for, you know, around 100. You get a good seat for 200 bucks.

[Ben McMahon]

And again, I. The Cavs fell into the same trap the Sixers did with this, the stupid crap with the fans. And it's just not a good look to be trying to box people out of seats. Like, I'm not trying to sit here as somebody who lives in New York being like, oh man, like, invade Knicks. The Knicks should invade small markets and it's cool or anything like that. I mean, I grew up near Buffalo. I know what it's like to live in a small market community where you're proud about your team, but at the same time, like, yeah, Knicks fans, it's cheap. The sad state of affairs is it's cheaper for a Knicks fan to drive to Cleveland and watch the game and drive home than.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's not just cheaper, it's outrageously cheaper.

[Ben McMahon]

Correct.

[Tim Bontemps]

You could you can fly and go

[Ben McMahon]

much and stay at a hotel and buy for a ticket and buy dinner and all that stuff. So, like, of course Knick fans are going to show up and watch them play.

[Tim Bontemps]

Like, yeah, there were several thousand Knick fans in the building.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

And it wasn't like 50, 50. I mean, there was. It was more Cavs fans, but the Cavs fans, I think were.

[Ben McMahon]

The Cavs fans made a lot less than 50% of the noise. It was very evident on the broadcast.

[Tim Bontemps]

And they didn't believe in this team at the end of the day.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, they didn't give a. They weren't. To be fair to the Cavs, f even today, they were not given anything to believe in. From basically the second the game started, Donovan Mitchell had a couple shots at the beginning and by the end of the first quarter it was already a 10 point game.

[Tim Bontemps]

Donovan tried to pour it out. He had 20 points in the first half. He tried. I respect the effort that he. That he gave. But anyway, the Knicks fans were not always the visiting team. When they win, do they take the trophy out on the court? Numerous times I've covered conference finals where the winning team will take the trophy, you know, in a back room. I had seen that happen a number of times, but there's so many Knicks fans. He took it on the court. So anyway, Jim Dolan was out there. He didn't partake in the trophy ceremony. He stood back and let Mike Brown and Jalen Brunson handle that, which I thought was, you know, interesting. You know, he was sort of humble in the moment, but as he was coming out, he was sending the message to every fan who was saying. He's like, we got four more. We got to get. We gotta.

[Ben McMahon]

We.

[Tim Bontemps]

We're not there. We're not done.

[Ben McMahon]

Listen, we've talked about this. Jim Dolan in January went on the radio and said the Knicks have to make the finals and should win them. Like, his message has been very clear from the jump. Like, he was not. They didn't. And again, they didn't fire Tom Thibodeau last year to win this series. Right. They fired Mike. They fired Tom Thibodeau and hired Mike Brown to win the title. I'm not saying that it will be some massive disappointment if the Knicks don't win. It's an incredible season regardless of what happens now. But they believe, especially after the last 11 games, why wouldn't. I mean, that's what I wrote about for Dot Com. Why wouldn't you believe if you were a Knick or why wouldn't you believe if you're a Knick fan that you can go beat Oklahoma City or San Antonio, especially after this absolute knockdown, drag out slug fest these two teams are going to have for the next, you know, whatever, three to five days before that series is over and see who's left standing after that series.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm betting more on five than three.

[Ben McMahon]

Right, exactly. And, and what did you say after game two? Like when we potted from the Garden Thursday night, your message was, if you guys are serious, get this sucker over with.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right.

[Ben McMahon]

Go to Cleveland, do what you did the last round, get yourself eight or nine days off and let these other two teams play Rock Em Sock and Robots for another week. Like it was critical again, especially as the underdog team going into the Finals. It was critical for the Knicks to get this thing over with, with everybody healthy and everybody available. And if they, you know, when I saw Donovan Mitchell got quoted after the game saying we didn't take care of business the first two rounds and we didn't give ourselves a chance. Whether that's true or not, like we talked about the other day, blowing that Game 4 against Toronto, blowing the Game 6 against Detroit, blowing Game 1 against the Knicks, that those are the games that you can't give away.

[Tim Bontemps]

Kenny Atkinson called up game six losses, the chance to close out both teams in game six. They lost both of them.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, like extra games in the playoffs are death. Like you, it's a hard road and you can't play more games. And the Knicks have. The Knicks have the Cavs wild.

[Tim Bontemps]

Complaining about the schedule. I heard a couple players in no time for that. And Kenny referenced it like he thought that there is some, you know, there's some unfairness in the schedule. I'm not sure the Western final started. The Western finals started first.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, like, by the way, there's no unfairness in the schedule. If you play back to back seven game series, guess what? You're going to be tired. That's how it works. Don't play back to back seven game series.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes, absolutely.

[Ben McMahon]

Come on, guys.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, well, we will definitely be talking about the Cavs. We'll see if there's any changes by Wednesday's pod. I'll just. We'll see. Leave it at that. And obviously we'll be talking about the Western Conference finals and who the Knicks will be playing, but an ode to the New York Knicks. You've been an east coaster most of your adult lifebound temps. You've seen a lot of bad Knicks teams. Remember it Was just a couple years ago, the Knicks made the playoffs for the first time in, like, a decade.

[Ben McMahon]

Look, I mean, the Knicks, I just about everybody I know in my life here is a huge Knick fan and have a lot of people who have been fans of the Knicks for 50, 60 years, basically back since, like, when they won the last time. Jeff.

[Tim Bontemps]

Many of them are neurotic.

[Ben McMahon]

Yes, incredibly so. Jeff Jacobs at caa, legendary agent Mike Wobon's agent, among others. He's been a. I mean, he's very close to Leon Rose. He's been a fan of the Knicks his whole life. Like, he's living and dying with every single game. You know, it's like. It's like we talked about the other day on the pod, the Knicks. When the Knicks are good here, there's nothing like the city in the spring when the Knicks are good. And the energy here is.

[Tim Bontemps]

If you say so. I've barely seen it.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, even in the moments I've been here when it's like, oh, the Knicks, like last year when the Knicks got to the conference finals, or the year when they had Carmelo and they got to the second round of the playoffs, it's like tastes of it, it's just. It's another level. And if the Knicks are able to win four more games and win the title somehow this year, like, this is basically the last holy grail thing left in American sports. It's like the Yankees won the World Series, the Red Sox won the World Series. You know, you could argue some other stuff.

[Tim Bontemps]

Cubs won the World Series.

[Ben McMahon]

Right? The Cubs won the World Series.

[Tim Bontemps]

Have the Browns made the Super Bowl? No.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, you could take it back. You could put, like, the jets and the Browns winning the super bowl and that kind of Brown.

[Tim Bontemps]

The jets won a Super bowl, but,

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, another one. It's been many, many, many, many years and many years of futility. But when you look at the. Just the. The breadth of fandom that the Knicks have, and, like, whoever win, I've said for years and years and years, whoever wins a title with the Knicks will be a God here forever. And, like, already, like, you see how the guys from the 90s are treated. Like, it's been very cool that the Knicks have had Patrick Ewing and John Starks and Larry Johnson and Alan Houston. I mean, Alan Houston's been in the front office for a long time, but it's been cool to have those guys around this run all the time. Latrell Sprewell, Kylie Jenner. Kylie Jenner and Timothy Chalamet. But like, this group, Jalen Brunson and Carl Towns and Josh Hart, all these guys are going to be sort of like that no matter what, 20 years from now. But if they're able to win four more games, like, I mean, they're just. They're going to be gods in New York. Like, it, it's, it's. It's hard to describe what a. What a parade down the canyon of heroes would be if the Knicks won. Like, it would be. It'd be an unbelievable scene.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, I will look forward to speaking with you in a couple of days here or a day or whatever it is. 24 hours.

[Ben McMahon]

I'll see you in a week.

[Tim Bontemps]

Thank you for Jackson. Thank you to Jackson for staying up late and putting it together. Thank you for watching this little special and listening to this little special short on the Knicks sweeping the calves. It was mercifully over because it wasn't very interesting. Usually you don't want a short series. It's like you spend this whole year setting it up and like, oh, my God, it's over. But when it's done like this, you can't help but be impressed. There's not much analysis to do other than to be impressed. So there you go. Yep. And the Knicks have earned it, and they deserve. They. And what I was telling the Knicks personnel tonight, not that they want to hear me, but it's so hard to win that you have to celebrate when you do.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, especially this run. I mean, this is. The Knicks could make the finals the next three years in a row. They're not going to do it like this. I mean, this is a once in a lifetime month. Like, you're just never going to see this again.

[Tim Bontemps]

I was, I was talking to Carl Townes a little bit afterwards, and he goes. I go, hey, man, you should. You should, you know, take it, take it from somebody who's been around for a while. You should celebrate this. And he's like, yeah. He goes. He goes, you know, we got more to win. You know, we got to focus. You know, no champagne. I go, yeah. I didn't say do champagne. I said you should celebrate. He's like, all right, well, the plane ride's probably going to be pretty fun,

[Ben McMahon]

and it ought to be.

[Tim Bontemps]

I imagine it will be. So it is probably happening right now. All right, thank you for watching. Listen to Hoop Collective. We'll talk to you very soon.

[Ben McMahon]

Goodbye, everybody.

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