Hour 1: Knicks Lack Depth

Summary

Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – "Knicks Lack Depth" | Hour 1

Hosts:

• Don La Greca – ESPN New York and New Jersey legend
• Alan Hahn – Long-time sportswriter and New York Knick broadcaster
• Peter Rosenberg – Highly opinionated Hip Hop veteran and WWE personality

Release Date: January 7, 2025

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In this episode of "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg," the hosts dive deep into the current state of the New York Knicks, focusing on the team's lack of depth and its implications for the season. The discussion is rich with insights, debates, and listener interactions, providing a comprehensive analysis for Knicks fans and sports enthusiasts alike.

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2. Knicks' Recent Performance and Concerns

The conversation opens with a critique of the Knicks' recent games. Peter Rosenberg expresses his worries about the team's trajectory:

Peter Rosenberg [06:11]: "It's a good team. This is a good team. We saw them go toe to toe with the Thunder and the Celtics, but they ran out of gas."

Don La Greca echoes these sentiments, emphasizing that while the Knicks showed potential, their performance against strong teams like Oklahoma City raised red flags about their depth:

Don La Greca [06:31]: "Not so much losing three in a row because one of those losses was to Oklahoma City, the hottest team in the NBA. Last night bothered me."

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3. The Depth Dilemma

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the Knicks' lack of bench depth. Peter Rosenberg breaks down the issues stemming from the Carl Anthony Towns trade:

Peter Rosenberg [06:54]: "The lack of depth. They just don't have it. The Carl Anthony Towns deal took away from the depth of the team, which is going to rear its ugly head during these tough times."

Don La Greca concurs, noting that the trade has long-term implications:

Don La Greca [09:24]: "They are not a championship team yet. The depth issue is real, and it's something that will affect their playoff run."

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4. Coaching Strategy and Player Management

Tom Thibodeau's coaching style is scrutinized, particularly his tendency to play starters heavy minutes without utilizing depth effectively. Alan Hahn and Peter Rosenberg discuss whether this approach is sustainable:

Alan Hahn [16:26]: "You're realizing it's a mental thing though. They are getting into a mental slippage situation."

Don La Greca [16:48]: "Your team is now held to a different standard than previous Knick teams. We're nitpicking because we're holding them to a higher standard."

Peter Rosenberg highlights historical data on Thibodeau's coaching performance:

Peter Rosenberg [15:42]: "Tom Thibodeau has an insane winning record in the last 20 games of a season. His teams always have a strong finish."

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5. Comparisons to Other Teams and Broader NBA Context

The hosts compare the Knicks to other NBA teams facing similar depth challenges. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder are mentioned as benchmarks for depth and performance under pressure.

Peter Rosenberg [06:54]: "The Thunder did what you're supposed to do – make that push, get the momentum behind them."

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6. Listener Interactions and Perspectives

Throughout the episode, listeners call in to share their views, reinforcing the main discussion points. Key themes from the calls include:

• Trusting the Bench: Listeners question whether Thibodeau should trust and utilize the bench more effectively.

  Listener [17:21]: "Why not hook Porty over Sims? Sims looks lost. And the other thing is the lack of creativity coming out of timeouts."

• Player Health and Social Media: Concerns are raised about player injuries and their impact on team performance.

  Listener [42:58]: "Mitchell Robinson tweets about his ankle. Fans are impatient with him."

These interactions add depth to the analysis, highlighting the community's concerns and suggestions.

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7. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with a consensus that while the Knicks have shown potential, the lack of depth poses significant challenges for a championship run this season. The hosts remain cautiously optimistic, suggesting that with strategic adjustments and potential trades, the Knicks could overcome these hurdles.

Peter Rosenberg [17:43]: "If we are holding them to a higher standard, we need to address what’s lacking. Depth is essential."

Don La Greca [09:24]: "I am confident they will bounce back, but how deep into the spring is the question."

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Notable Quotes:

• Peter Rosenberg [06:11]: "It's a good team. This is a good team. We saw them go toe to toe with the Thunder and the Celtics, but they ran out of gas."

• Don La Greca [09:24]: "They are not a championship team yet. The depth issue is real, and it's something that will affect their playoff run."

• Peter Rosenberg [17:43]: "If we are holding them to a higher standard, we need to address what’s lacking. Depth is essential."

• Don La Greca [16:48]: "Your team is now held to a different standard than previous Knick teams. We're nitpicking because we're holding them to a higher standard."

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Final Takeaway

The Knicks are at a critical juncture where their ambition for a championship is being tested by the real challenges posed by insufficient depth. The insights from Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg underscore the need for strategic management, effective use of the bench, and perhaps roster adjustments to navigate the demanding NBA season ahead.

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For more in-depth analysis and updates, tune into future episodes of "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg" on 880 ESPN New York, the ESPN New York app, or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Alan Hahn]

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[Don La Greca]

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[Alan Hahn]

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[Don La Greca]

Don, one day you're not gonna play football anymore. And if there's a God up above, it'll be soon.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Han, huge. No, but big. Yeah. And Rosenberg.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Don La Greca]

This isn't North Dakota, this is New York.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is Don, Han and Rosenberg on 8 80, ESPN and the ESPN New York app.

[Alan Hahn]

Feels good, doesn't it?

[Don La Greca]

Listen, I.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We're late.

[Don La Greca]

I'm disgusted. I. I'm really disgusted. It's almost two after three. Who would always get up our. You know what? When we did the case show. I wanna break clock integrity. He ran long. He disrespected us.

[Alan Hahn]

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Don La Greca]

He ran long?

[Alan Hahn]

We've never. In all. I've been on the station in this time slot for nine years. I don't think I've ever started a show at 302.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I've never said something. Oh, actually, I used to do it at seven.

[Don La Greca]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Ironically, after your show, of course. 702 was what I used to say. 702 in the greatest city in the world. When I did the evening show.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, because they probably took two.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, because y'all got out late.

[Alan Hahn]

It was because.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, I wasn't making it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Apparently, it's a thing.

[Alan Hahn]

Apparently, there's a common denominator here.

[Don La Greca]

Well, I don't like it. I apologize. Not that I had anything to do with it, but I will apologize for the collective. Okay, but would the Yankees make a transaction he couldn't do in his two hours? He had to climb into our bed.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is arise a Yankee finally. Did that happen?

[Don La Greca]

Wow.

[Alan Hahn]

Day two.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Imagine if he's. If he's a Yankee. Do we do all arise? No.

[Don La Greca]

When they have the players. Yo, yo weekend, don't you think.

[Alan Hahn]

Listen, save that for John Sterling.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tell me somebody won't say that all arise. You know what I mean?

[Alan Hahn]

It's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It would have works, you know, it works.

[Alan Hahn]

Sterling's done, right?

[Don La Greca]

Well, don't say it like that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I wouldn't.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, But, I mean, it's over.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But that was announced.

[Alan Hahn]

So the. The last playoff run for Sterling was the end.

[Don La Greca]

I mean, anything's. It's very fluid. Who knows? But right now. So then I guess he's called his last Yankee game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Alan Hahn]

Then we probably won't hear all arise. But had he still had the job.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You think he's the guy that would do it?

[Alan Hahn]

Come on, Sterling.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You wouldn't get anybody else to do it.

[Alan Hahn]

People might say it, like, kind of cutesy at some point, but he would, like, have a. You know, Sterling would have been excited for it, visibly.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes. It just works with Aaron Judge. Obviously, he has the all rise and then it's all right.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, no, I. I knew where we were going.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Are you sure? Yeah. Felt like you didn't. I didn't think you were picking up a baseball split.

[Alan Hahn]

Even worse. Judge split.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's terrible.

[Don La Greca]

It was a bit of a misstep early on in his ESPN career, not knowing who Casey Stangle is. And it really set the tone. It was tough to get him very, very overrated. His, like, lack of baseball.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes, that was tough. The Casey Stengle thing, in retrospect, it didn't play great. And I, I get it now, but, you know, I guess it would have been like if you'd gone to do a show in the area I was from and someone had been like, who's Cal Ripken Sr. Or, you know, who's. What's. What's the. What's the best example?

[Don La Greca]

Oh, the best example. A Washington example.

[Alan Hahn]

No, what's. His face. The. The old Baltimore manager. Not Cal Ripken. The other old one, who I'm now forgetting again, which doesn't help my case again.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hold on.

[Don La Greca]

You know Earl Weaver?

[Alan Hahn]

Earl Weaver.

[Don La Greca]

You know what? That's a good.

[Alan Hahn]

It would have been Earl.

[Don La Greca]

Earl Weaver.

[Alan Hahn]

Who's Earl Weaver?

[Don La Greca]

Or you throw like, just a Washington legend, like Sammy Ball. Who's Sammy Ball?

[Alan Hahn]

Who's Casey? Single.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, do we still have Dexter Manley?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, well, no, Manley would have been more recent. That would have been even tougher. But who's. Yeah, that's a good one.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, anyways, here we are, guys. Here we are. 800-919-3776. By the way, the number and the lines are already starting to fill up. I've noticed that about this show is that if you don't really have to like. How did the buffet work, by the way? Because I missed most of it. Was it a good. That the buffet.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I. I can't be honest. I Don't know how I feel Again.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Once again, I'd rather you lie. I don't every me. Now, can I be honest? I'm gonna say rather you lie.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, so I'll lie. I'll lie.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was great.

[Alan Hahn]

It was great. No, I don't know if I'm on board. I don't want to cause a problem. It's only day two, Don, this is tough. You and I haven't discussed this.

[Don La Greca]

Okay, save it for the air.

[Alan Hahn]

I know. That's what we do. How do you feel about Alan with this whole buffet thing? I don't know if I like the buffet. Do I want it? Do I want.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Who doesn't like a buffet?

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I love a food buffet.

[Don La Greca]

I don't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sports buffet.

[Alan Hahn]

If you have a cheesy.

[Don La Greca]

If you have a. What's the. What's the food comp to having Richard in the food in the fall buffet?

[Alan Hahn]

That's.

[Don La Greca]

Or having Griffin. Like, I love Griffin.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So you're telling me it's a breakfast buffet and it's oatmeal and scrambled eggs. Is that what you're telling me?

[Don La Greca]

It's like salad.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There's no omelette station.

[Alan Hahn]

No, they.

[Peter Rosenberg]

There's no French toast. It's just omelets.

[Alan Hahn]

It went out at 8am and it's still sitting there at 2:30pm and it's oatmeal. Yeah, and it's oatmeal. It's bananas.

[Don La Greca]

Stripper buffet at about, like, 3:00am you know, they served it for lunch and then nobody bothered to change the pan.

[Alan Hahn]

But the Last Call Crew were tremendous. They did. We got. We.

[Don La Greca]

I like the Last Call Crew.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Alan Hahn]

Lcc.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So. Oh, I get it. So you're just gonna repackage. You're basically rebranding the buffet and calling it the Last Call Crew.

[Alan Hahn]

Hold on, hold on.

[Don La Greca]

Where did the buffet come from?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Sure. That's right, Peter. It's all your idea, and it's brilliant.

[Don La Greca]

Well, these need to be discussed during the meeting.

[Alan Hahn]

Listen, if he's gonna. If he's gonna take it, even if he's angry about it, just let him be angry.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We could have just learned the meeting.

[Don La Greca]

Instead of the graphic baby conversation that we had during our meeting today. Where placent.

[Alan Hahn]

Way too many times I gotta tell you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And blood.

[Alan Hahn]

And while I'm eating a salad with.

[Don La Greca]

Beets in it, for God's sake, the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Bottom of that bowl definitely looked like the floor of a delivery room. I'm just saying. Just leaving it out there in the meantime, I don't Think you'd ever hear.

[Alan Hahn]

Me say this, but can we talk sports?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right. You know it's bad when Peter wants to talk sports. Shall we? Last night at Madison Square Garden the Knicks had probably their worst game of the season. And they're in now their worst stretch of the season. Where are we right now, guys? When I say the Knicks have lost three in a row for the first time all year. But and we should be worried, it's.

[Don La Greca]

Not so much losing three in a row because one of those losses was to Oklahoma City is the hottest team in the NBA. Last night was a bit disturbing for the top scorers. For the Magic, not the lineup. Who were the knicks like a 12 point favorite in that game. That so forget about the three game losing streak that's going to happen. But last night bothered me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Didn't it bother you last night?

[Don La Greca]

I know you're playing without Cat, but their four top scorers are out.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Bothered is not the word I'd use. I was it like I said, I used the word worried. It caused me concern. What I saw last night caused me concern. Not about the season. This is a good team. This is a really good team. We all can acknowledge that. We saw that Friday night in Oklahoma City. They went toe to toe. You saw what the Thunder did to the Celtics, right? I mean they beat the crap out.

[Don La Greca]

Of them, but the Celtics don't have anything to prove.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, but what I'm saying is, is that that the Knicks showed you in that game they can go toe to toe. Did they run out of gas in that game? Yes. Then from there I feel like that game they emptied the tank. And then the next night against the Bulls, you saw they only had half a tank and by the second half they couldn't go anymore. And then this game was just got home. Been on the road a lot, you know. No Cat. Yes, but you just saw they just couldn't get it to the gear they needed to get it when they were up early in the game. And you thought, okay, they were about to blow this team out and then they couldn't get there. And the Magic just play so hard. So it doesn't worry me long term. It worries me short term. It also shows me they're at a place right now that I think a lot of fans are not going to like what I'm about to say. The Knicks are not a championship team yet. They're close. But those who want to believe they can win a championship this year, I hope I'm wrong. But they've got to prove to Me that they can endure what right now is starting to reveal itself, which is the lack of any depth. They just don't have it. And we knew this going into the season once they made the Carl Anthony Towns deal, which I think everybody now is. No backsies, nobody's going to change their mind. Oh, if I could do it over again, I wouldn't do that trade. You would do that trade now every day and twice on Sunday. Now that what you know now. But it did take away from the depth of your team. And it is something that is going to rear its ugly head during these types of years. The middle of the season, the dog days, Pat Riley, Cole, it's going to show. Now people want to blame the coach and say you should be playing more guys on the bench and you shouldn't be playing your starters that much. But the only thing I would ask is who the hell you playing. So my concern is this team might not have enough depth to make a run this year. It might take another year. The window is a two, three year kind of situation. So they might take a little more time for them to keep building up this roster to where we can definitely say this team can win a title. I just don't. I hope I'm wrong. I don't think it's this year.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, it doesn't feel like it's this year. And you know, you used the example of Boston and we see, we see it happen with a lot of the teams, whether it's load management or just not caring. They have nothing to prove. Yep, the Knicks still have something to prove. That's why I was disappointed. Even though nobody seemed to care about the in season tournament. That loss to Atlanta bothered me, bothered everybody. And last night's loss bothered me because I'm holding the Knicks to a little bit of a different standard than I think most Knick teams. I've held standard for sure, you know, but I think you, you throw a little cold water on it. But I think it's a reality as of January 7th, they are not a championship team. Now the good news is it's January 7th and we still have a deadline. And there's a lot of things that can. Injuries can happen to other teams. So nobody's saying they can't win a championship, but I certainly don't believe right now they're ready to. You were talking about Richard of Manhattan and he brought up, well, you, you don't need a big three. Look at the seasons that Cleveland's having, what Oklahoma City's having. I don't know if those teams are winning championships either. They're having great regular seasons. But let's see what ends up happening at the end of the day. And right now the Knicks do have something to prove. And there have been a few, whether you want to call it disturbing, worrying concerning games where you say, all right, let's pump the brakes on winning a championship and let's see what we can do about it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The standard thing is exactly right, what you said. I think we all went into the year wondering what they'd look like. And then they went on a run where they won. I can't remember now if it was. Was it 20 out of 24? They went on ridiculous run. They won nine in a row. They had a pocket of the season of 20 games where they won at least 17 of them. And they look like they. Yes, the schedule was softer, yes, but it was supposed to be bad teams. And they didn't just beat, they were blowing them out. So you started to see something come together. They had the best offense in the league, the second best three point shooting in the league. They were doing a lot of things that felt like this is one of the top teams in the league. Then the Thunder game, I called that game next to Mike Breen. I was courtside watching that game.

[Don La Greca]

That must have been cool.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was unbelievable.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, I mean, just a big game against the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

With a legend knowing in the last five minutes, shut your mouth and let him cook. And that's exactly what I did. I got just laid out. But that game, being on the floor, looking in the eyes of both teams, that was a playoff game. Like they were getting after it, like it was. You could see it, the determination in each one. They were getting the officials, they were getting on them. It was a really, really entertaining game. And it was the fourth quarter. The home team and of course bench players at home always play better. The Thunder did what you're supposed to do, which is make that push, get the momentum behind you, get the crowd behind them. This was no Orlando in Washington where everybody's chanting, let's go Knicks when they're on the road. This was a true, you know, crucible of a road game, but it was fun. And when that game was over, the Knicks were upset. They were mad, they were frustrated. But there was a part of, not the players but the entourage that was like, all right, like we got a squad. Like, we could see this. We were toe to toe with them. And then when you looked at everybody in the locker room, you said, how are they playing tomorrow night? So I feel like while we do want to point out that a game like last night should have been won by your bench and they got thoroughly outscored again off the bench, they get no production from anyone. That's where the problem comes in. And that's where you worry that now all these games coming up, they have the hardest strength of schedule remaining in the NBA. Can they keep this pace and not exhaust themselves to where you're just starting to run out of gas too soon?

[Alan Hahn]

So would you say then you can sort of, you can explain the OKC loss because hard fought toe to toe, they lose by 10 points. Again, you're drained. You lose the game to Chicago the next night, next one, first game back. Okay. Is it more than tomorrow at home against Toronto?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Must win that.

[Alan Hahn]

You got to win because then after that you have a problem. Now there's something.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Guess who's coming Friday. Oklahoma City.

[Alan Hahn]

Oklahoma City.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You get to see him again. You don't want to go into Oklahoma City on a four game losing streak tomorrow. Feels like. Although of course I know how you guys are with this with saying must win when it's not. But you know, it's the virtual must win. No, no, that's a team you're supposed to beat your home.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm not captain literal man.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I've heard you guys do this before with it's not a must win because.

[Don La Greca]

It doesn't limit season a semantics game. But I've heard you guys do this.

[Alan Hahn]

You got to win tomorrow, though. You got to win if you really.

[Don La Greca]

Fancy yourself as being a team moving in the right direction. And that's a game you absolutely have to have. And I'll go as far as to say, I think it's also a style points game too. Blow them out.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

You don't want one of those games where you're like, you know, winning in.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Overtime tooth and nail kind of thing.

[Don La Greca]

No, you want to take care of business, man. And that's what I've always respected about the Knicks is that they don't load management. They play hard every single night. Obviously that's the issue now because with the lack of depth, they probably exhaust themselves doing this. But I do appreciate that they keep every game close and they care about every game. They want to go out there and give the effort. And like I said, last night was disappointing. The Atlanta loss was disappointing. So I think they're going to bounce back now. Are you concerned about them defensively?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah. And that's something they have to fix. Pick and roll. They get exposed and again, Carl Anthony Towns is great, a lot of things, but that's one area he struggles. And they don't have any other sides. They have one seven footer, that's it. The other guy who's seven feet is Ariel Hokporty, who's a second round pick that is not ready to play a lot. He shows you signs, but this is a guy that you have him play a lot of G league games right now with the hopes that at the end of the season maybe he's then ready to give you some minutes off the bench, but you're not going to just throw him. Baptism by fire in some of these games.

[Don La Greca]

Does Mitchell Robinson solve all that?

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's your next one. Can they get him healthy and can he be on the court? Because if he can, that certainly will help you on that front.

[Don La Greca]

Because this is our team, man. I mean, this is. Your team is over. Baseball's not going to start now until we get to March. The Rangers have been a disappointment year. Islanders are in last place. You know, we really were expecting the Knicks to kind of carry us until pitchers and catchers. So there's a, there's a lot on them. I mean, this is, this is, this is our team right now. We'll see if the Rangers can turn it around. But right now this is the team that's supposed to get us through to the spring. And I was pretty kind. I'm confident they will, but how deep into the spring is the question.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, again, it all depends on where they are. Now. I will add one thing before we get to calls. Tom Thibodeau, historically with the Knicks, his teams have an insane winning record in the last 20 games of a season. He always has them playing their best. At the end of the year. They go through pockets, they go through adjustments. But by the end of the year, I believe his last 20 games of the previous four seasons, the winning percentage is.650. Wow, that's pretty impressive. So that's all the thing you can certainly bank on.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, it's certainly not a time to panic. You just don't want to see them get into a place where you lose today. It's not like the season's coming unglued. You just are realizing, oh, it's a mental thing though. They are getting into a mental slippage situation.

[Don La Greca]

And for any fans that are like, oh, we're nitpicking. Why are we being so negative? I'm sorry. Your team is now held to a different standard than previous Knick teams. Previous Knick teams You could say, oh, isn't this a great story. Look how well they're put. No, that's over. That ended last year. Now expectations are higher. So what do we do with teams that we think could win championships? We nitpick them. What's wrong with this team? Because we're holding them to a different standard. Time.

[Alan Hahn]

Do you guys remember when they were supposed to be a player or two away? They then got one of the best players in the league in Jalen Brunson and then they traded for Cat.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is the time.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, this is what it was.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, and the Bridges trade is now a fantastic trade. What they now are missing is what I think is the easy part. The pieces, the bench. Yeah, just get. They got campaign, haven't gotten it. You know, Landry Shammat is not, you know, not in there. You know, they're misduche. They need Robinson and they need McBride.

[Don La Greca]

And they had it early last year before the trade. Right. Look at the depth that they had.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, and it's hard to do. They've got to do it. And it might take another off season for them to get there. But still, as you said, Don, the standard is different now. Ask anybody in that locker room. They hold themselves to a higher standard. They weren't making excuses. Jalen Brunson told me, we don't say we're tired, we just don't say that. We could be.

[Don La Greca]

But we're not saying no.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like there's no excuses. And that's exactly what you want. All right, let's begin the calls. Let's go to Jimmy in Connecticut to start us off. Go ahead, Jimmy.

[D]

Hey guys, Loving the new show. So listen, I know a lot of Nick fans really complain. They are not complaining, but they question whether Tom Thibodeau should play his players so much at this point. I don't think that's the issue. In fact, I love that he doesn't use load management. The one thing I will say is that I think it's more the style of which he has them play basketball and he's done it his whole career as a coach. Don, this is a comparison I think you'll appreciate. I kind of look at the mix like the Carolina Hurricanes of the NBA because I, you know, Brenda Moore has them play that man on man system. It's very physically demanding and you know, and the Knicks play really hard pressing style of basketball, especially on the defensive end of the board. I just think, I think the Hurricanes end up being exhausted by the time they get to the playoffs. I hope the Knicks don't deal with the same thing, but it's a little concern I have because I think they just play such a demanding side that it's hard to maintain. Ready to get plus four rounds of playoffs. What do you guys think?

[Don La Greca]

No, especially when you're looking at a league where you are going up against teams in the playoffs that did have load management that didn't go all out during the course of the season. So you don't want to burn yourself out. See, that doesn't happen in the NHL. I think Carolina's got other issues. Not to get too deep in the weeds about Carolina, but for people that don't know Carolina's a team that perennial division winner up top among the best teams and can't seem to get out of the second round, that's their problem. I don't know if it's because of they work too hard. I just think that there's goaltending, there's certain issues they just can't get. Basically try to stay away from the Rangers because that's the team that seems to own them in the postseason. But the NBA is a sport where you've got teams. They're going to rest guys because they've got bigger fish to fry. And one thing I'll always compliment the Knicks on, but it's also their biggest issue is they don't take nights off. And that's why they always will have a better record than some because they play all out every single night. And unfortunately in this league that's a problem because not everybody does. Which means by the time you get to May, teams are going to be fresher than you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I will say this. Name me the team that won a championship because they had load management. Because those teams that do that never win. The Sixers never win. They never got a second round. Why their guys are always hurt, why they didn't build up the calluses to get through a season. That's what it's about. But again, I know right now when you start to see them wearing down and you know that the starters play the most minutes in the NBA, so it's the most great in the NBA. It is. It is something that the fans are always worried about and you don't want we're going to get tired.

[Don La Greca]

You make the. You make a good point about the load management.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's one aspect those teams never win. But.

[Don La Greca]

Right. But there are teams that maybe don't rest their players. But there's certain nights you see they're not giving depth is so valuable.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The Celtics. You know this, Peter. You're a Celtics fan. The Celtics issues two years ago, when they couldn't beat Miami, three years before that as well, when they couldn't get to the. They got to the finals that year. But then the issues has always been they didn't have enough depth. Now they got a bench. They got a good bet. Pritchard's probably going to win six man.

[Alan Hahn]

Of the Year, which is. It's crazy. His growth.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, right. And so there's not as much reliance on scoring from there. There's still top five. When it comes to scoring and starting fives. There's top five, but it's not as much of a reliance as it used to be. The Knicks have to get there. Can McBride become their Peyton Pritchard? It didn't take. It took Peyton Pritchard a couple of years to become for sure.

[Alan Hahn]

It's just. It's just ironic because the thing with the Knicks were they always had pieces. They needed the piece.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Alan Hahn]

Now they have a couple of the big, big pieces. But in the trade, they gave up some nice little pieces. Dante DiVincenzo. Maybe it was an overhyped thing, the way fans derailed because of the personal connection with him, but he was a great piece to have. There are things that they've lost there that they will need if they are going to go on a deep run.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's go to Mike in Queens. What's up, Mike?

[D]

Hey, guys. Thanks again. I do like Tom Thibodeau as a coach. I just want to, like, put this out there, but I think that he can get so much more out of his team if he trusts his bench. Porty Coleg, even Daddy is. You have to, like, give them the opportunity to grow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Mike. Mike. And you're. You say what a lot of fans say. And you know what they're doing right now with those three guys you just named? They're playing a lot of G League minutes right now. Do you know why they're doing that? To ramp them up so they can play minutes. Like, the problem is, is that you're first spending the first quarter of the season teaching them. Give them a couple of minutes in a game, see what they do, see how they react. Then you're trying to ramp them up so that you can put them in a rotation and play them. You can't just throw a guy out there and just say, go and have him figure it out. You'd rather make most of the mistakes playing in the G League and going over film with them and showing them things. So I'm telling you, I think the day's coming where you'll see more of Huckporty and Kolik. I don't know about Daddy. He's 19, you know, like. But I'm telling you, I think that's coming. It's just not what everybody wants to see, which is the immediate. Throw him in there and see what he does. You can't afford to do that when you're obsessed with winning and you want to win every game and you have a guy out there who might hurt you from winning. And then it affects him mentally because he sees a veteran locker room looking at him like, bud, really, your minutes killed us.

[D]

And like, I completely agree, but I mean, can you hopefully say that Thibodeau will be able to have a little bit more trust that he, like, had in McBride? We saw that he blossomed in that playoff. Do you think that he would be able to, like, later in the year is colic, maybe get 15 minutes, 18 minutes? Giving someone like Josh Hart some more rest because he's playing 48 minutes is imagine how much better and more productive he can be when he's got some more rest than knowing that he's got someone reliable behind him.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Mike, that's the best question, and that is exactly the question that we're all waiting to see how it to see the answer to, because it's a great question, is will he do it? Guys, this man is obsessed with winning to a point where if it's a 10 point game with two minutes to go and a back to back, he's leaving a starter zone because he feels like anything can happen. I'm never giving up on a chance to win. And so everybody's waiting to see if he's going to get to a point this season where he recognizes it and says, all right, I'm going to have to sacrifice a couple of games.

[Don La Greca]

Sometimes you got to lose the battle to win the war. But I admire that about him, though. You sit there, you watch a game, you're invested, you want to win that game. And I want that to benefit the team, not hurt him. Make your next move with American Express Business Platinum.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don La Greca]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don La Greca]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don La Greca]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

Built for business by American Express rated RP to M. You're listening to an ad for PC Game Pass. Want new games on day one, like Avowed or Football Manager 25? Say nothing if you're getting excited. Thought so. Did I mention legendary franchises like Diablo.

[Don La Greca]

And all for one low monthly price?

[Peter Rosenberg]

3 words. We got you. Learn [e-mail] PCGame Pass Some games reference coming soon. Game catalog varies by region and over time. Any questions? I'm just kidding. I can't hear you. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alan Hahn]

So Alan Hahn sends a text earlier today that spoke right to my soul. Don. He texts us at like, 8 in the morning. I was up early and says, it's Kenny Loggins birthday.

[Don La Greca]

Love Kenny Loggins.

[Alan Hahn]

And you know I adore the man, care deeply for him. And so we've committed to playing Kenny Loggins throughout the day. That, of course, I'm all right. The Caddyshack theme song.

[Don La Greca]

Many movie hits that he had.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, that's the thing about him is, like, his run of soundtrac, just. He's the soundtrack king.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I was, I gotta admit, a little hesitant when I sent that because I was worried about, like, some backlash.

[Alan Hahn]

You didn't know that I would say. I went to his last concert in New York by myself.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That blew my mind. And again, like, it's a. It's a little more appreciation that I have for you now.

[Alan Hahn]

So you didn't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, I didn't know.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wasn't expecting it. Was waiting for some kind of snide remark about old man music?

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But instead the recognition. And then. So I. Then I got real vulnerable, as you saw with the other text that I sent. I got real vulnerable because it was in a workout and I got. You know, when you. When you work out. I don't know if you know this, Peter.

[Alan Hahn]

No, not really.

[Peter Rosenberg]

When you work out. Don knows this.

[Alan Hahn]

He does. Recently, in the last couple years.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like the.

[Don La Greca]

The.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The endorphins, when they take over.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, sure.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You get all kinds of emotional, right?

[Alan Hahn]

Like, you feel everything, you get emotional.

[Don La Greca]

Emotional isn't the word. I mean, it might fire me up.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's. Emotion is not.

[Alan Hahn]

That is emotion.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is that not emotion?

[Don La Greca]

When I hear emotional, I start to think you're tearing up.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, emotions, everything. When you're emotional, you're fired up here.

[Don La Greca]

Gets me emotional.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It does.

[Don La Greca]

I think that you're getting.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm not saying that song. What I'm saying is there was a.

[Alan Hahn]

Song, and we're gonna play it later.

[Peter Rosenberg]

One of his great songs. We'll play it later, and when we play it later, I'll explain how I listen to it.

[Don La Greca]

The words.

[Peter Rosenberg]

When I work out, I get a little more focused, and words kind of like, speak to me while I'm doing whatever I'm doing and the music's playing. And because if it's a terrible song with terrible lyrics, I'm like, you know, alexa, next song.

[Alan Hahn]

Do you want to know why Allen Hahn is in such good shape?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because I get emotional.

[Alan Hahn]

Because he apparently working out gets him literally high. I mean, what he's describing, the music is what people would say. Like, I light up a joint, I sit back, I just hear the music. Different, bro. Yep, that's him on a treadmill.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I mean, I don't know about treadmill.

[Alan Hahn]

Whatever it is, you know, I don't.

[Don La Greca]

Control the music at the kickbox.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, You've got earbuds, don't you?

[Don La Greca]

No, no, because I gotta hear the trainers. Got to tell us what to do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You can't watch.

[Don La Greca]

It's a pain.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is it? All right.

[Don La Greca]

But if there is the rare moment, because it's. It's usually a lot of. I don't even know if it's hip hop, but it's just kind of like new music. But if for some reason it ends up being a song I like, like, I look at that as, like, all right, that's like three minutes gone from the hour workout, because I'm gonna cruise through these next three minutes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To me.

[Alan Hahn]

There you go.

[Don La Greca]

Now the soundtrack songs I'm all right for. From Caddyshack.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Love it.

[Don La Greca]

And of course, Dangerous.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, well, Foot loose scores.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don La Greca]

All right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I didn't like that one.

[Don La Greca]

Meet Me Halfway from Over the top. That's right.

[Alan Hahn]

Now that's when Allen said he gets emotional at the gym. He wasn't talking about Meet me Halfway. No, but what Don and I are picturing is because he says the words emotional, is that he was weeping on the elliptical listening to Meet Me Halfway. Meet me halfway across the sky, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You and I, Danger zone.

[Don La Greca]

And playing with the boys from Top Gun and Nobody's fool from Caddyshack 2.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Slept on, which is, by the way, right? Slept off.

[Alan Hahn]

That's a big slept on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Whoever does the follow up movie, like, when you do the sequel and soundtrack again, like, that's you and Frank Stallone.

[Alan Hahn]

Can you guys get Nobody's fool for Next time, Survivor maybe I want to hear nobody's. I got to tell you guys, I kind of sleep on nobody's fool. It's good in my jukebox at all times. I think you know this about me, Alan. I have a 1961 Rocco La Regis jukebox in my house. It's kind of like someone has an old car. I'm always tinkering with it and working on it and whatever the logins that I always have, there's a few different ones that rotate in the one song that we're going to play later.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is.

[Alan Hahn]

It is in there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Just fantastic song.

[Alan Hahn]

And then recent Heart to Heart is often in there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Very good song.

[Alan Hahn]

And then recently for the holidays, I put in. And this may be a little bit of a deep cut. I don't know. Don knows everything. I don't know about you. Celebrate Me Home.

[Don La Greca]

Maybe if I heard it is that.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't know. You're a little older than me. Was that like a big banger? I don't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was I just not on the road for 10 of the last 15 days?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, yeah, sure.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So during the holidays.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

First line is what? Home of the holidays.

[Alan Hahn]

Home of the holidays.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right, exactly that. Weep. Yes.

[Alan Hahn]

See?

[Peter Rosenberg]

See that one? That one will get me.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm gonna say this is the last thing on the subject to go even further without getting into too much detail, my long story, don't ask any questions about it, but my ex wife had my dog recently. I was not thrilled about this occurrence, but it happened. And he ended up going away for longer than I expected. When he came home, I literally played Celebrate Me Home as Bear came trotting through the living. And it was two days before the holidays. The house was full again. The air was warm, Bear was back, and I was tearing up to log ins.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Celebrate me Home.

[Alan Hahn]

So, guys, that's what you just listen.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tremendous.

[Alan Hahn]

Enjoy the day of Loggins hits.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, I want my favorite display at some point.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, you're welcome.

[Alan Hahn]

We got you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Good work today in my ear, but why don't you just tell us over the air, what'd you have? Well, we've got a report out of NFL Network. The Raiders have fired Antonio Pierce, who expected to keep the job. So that's interesting. So that makes six openings now, right? Am I correct with my math? We're bad at that. Six. And Shefty says every year. He generally says 6.5 jobs open per year over the last 20 years. That has been his metric. And by the way, it hit again. That's amazing. Every year. Six out of 32 teams are looking for a new job every year.

[Don La Greca]

So what happened? Was it just that they didn't get around to having the conversation until earlier today?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Probably.

[Don La Greca]

Now, they did close out the season pretty well, costing themselves a high draft pick, of course, because all the speculation was that they needed a quarterback, that they were going to get Sanders and then give his dad the head coaching.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Job, which would have been amazing.

[Don La Greca]

Now. Now that that's open and, you know, Sanders might say, listen, you know, Cleveland can select me. I'm not going.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Shador.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, Shador.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So Dion already said none of that's true.

[Don La Greca]

Well, I know it's not true whether he's picked. All right. But what if the Raiders hire Deion?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Deion also said he doesn't have any interest in coaching at pro and that he's locked in 10 toes down in Colorado.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know, he has said that publicly. He's made it very clear. I'm not saying. Of course money talks. We all know this opportunity talks.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. Deion's going to do what works for Deion. I will tell you this. Is there anything more perfect than the idea of prime time in Las Vegas? I mean, it is a marketing dream.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It is gonna be Hard Knocks. Hard Knocks. Very first.

[Alan Hahn]

It would be.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes, it would be.

[Alan Hahn]

There's not a better place for him to be the head coach. He is. So that city, it would be just right.

[Don La Greca]

And you're looking for an attention and division right now that, you know, the Chargers are a playoff team, Denver's a playoff team, Kansas City's, you know, juggernaut. Like, yes. But you talk about being relevant, to have him as the head coach and if they were able to work out a way to get his son to.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Be the quarterback, wow, what a story that would be.

[Don La Greca]

That would be an amazing story.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I thought Jerry Jones was going to go down that road. I thought that's for sure what Jerry Jones would want to do.

[Alan Hahn]

Very similar to what the Giant situation is. But the Giants job for Deion doesn't feel the same level of right to me. A division where you have to find a way to get it right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You said Deion Sanders in New York, you're like, all right, but how many here might not really go for that act? And, you know, it might be uncomfortable for him. You say him in Vegas, oh, he'll be eating out of his palm.

[Alan Hahn]

I would think so, too.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It'd be like a residency, you know, like, that's how they treat him. And every time they play in la we all know it's a home game. When the Raiders go play in LA against the Chargers, like they own that stadium. They are. I believe it goes usc, ucla, the Raiders, then the Rams when it comes to football popularity in la. But even I think there's another like a UFL team or something before the.

[Alan Hahn]

Chargers, ucsd, Santa Barbara.

[Don La Greca]

What's the soccer team? You know the LA Galaxy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, you mean football. That's football.

[Alan Hahn]

But you think even post Rams, Super Bowl.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Alan Hahn]

They haven't passed the Raiders.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, I've gotten that on. That's. That's because they are several la. Like.

[Don La Greca]

Also the thing about the Raiders is that it really never matters where they play. They've got fans all over the country. They do. So they went to Oakland, la, back to Oakland. It doesn't. It doesn't matter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But they took root in LA when they moved there and it just has never let go. It's in the culture.

[Alan Hahn]

Isn't that crazy? Because I think of them Oakland first, not la.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, of course.

[Alan Hahn]

But even though they went back and.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Forth my whole life, they just never really took hold of the ramp. Although the Rams do have the following now, as you said with the super bowl and everything else. But.

[Don La Greca]

But they pissed a lot of people off when they left and remember they were in Anaheim too. So that was a little kind of la. So yeah, it is really interesting.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't want to program the show. Do we have a guest next? We free.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We have the great Bob with shoes in four. That's at 4:00.

[Alan Hahn]

Next.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Next.

[Alan Hahn]

We should discuss. I got something from a listener I think we should discuss. What are we going to do with the playoff picks.

[Don La Greca]

I saw that. I'm on board.

[Alan Hahn]

We should start over. We should discuss what we're going to.

[Don La Greca]

Do because you know, I'm physically ill by what happened.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, we disgraced ourselves. What happened on the previous.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, you've already picked three of the games.

[Alan Hahn]

We've all picked our three point.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I was bullied into that pick.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, yeah, you did it.

[Alan Hahn]

It's too late now. So you guys down to discuss that though? Is there a future there for picks in the playoffs?

[Don La Greca]

Now if we say no, we look like bad guys.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So yeah, we absolutely have to.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's get into it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's discuss something on the table. All right, we'll do that. We got calls to get to 800 now. 93776. Bob was shoes and coming up at 4:00 with all kinds of stuff to talk about with him as well. But Right now, may I introduce you guys to an SUV where everything for every passenger feels just right. It's the all new 2025 Infiniti QX80. It's Infiniti's most luxurious full size three row SUV that's full of customizable and advanced features, such as this individual audio, by the way, like 20 plus speakers in this thing. Your kids get the aux and forget it. It's just going to bump. But the best part of this is that while the music is playing, it easily isolates calls or directions right to the driver's seat. So when you know dad, you gotta take a private call, you can keep your business personal. 64 customizable shades. You can set the interior to match your mood. Plus two rows of heated and cooled seats with the massage feature for the ultimate relaxation and luxury. That second row, like I got daughters, they sit in this thing, the seats are back, the massager's on, the heater's on. You never get. Are we there yet? Ever feeling parched or hungry? You can open up the front console cool box for an icy cold drink or snack. And that is perfect for those hot summer months that are eventually going to come our way. That's just a few of the many amazing and new features available on the all new Infiniti QX80. So how about you discover you just right. Visit infinityusa.com to learn more about the all new Infiniti QX80. Availability of features may vary by trim level, packaging and options. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alan Hahn]

He's so good, man.

[Peter Rosenberg]

For a movie that wasn't that good. This, the theme at least was great.

[Alan Hahn]

He's. He's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Back to the shack.

[Don La Greca]

I don't think my favorite will be played today.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wow. So we guess or you want to wait till we don't play and then you can. It's not.

[Alan Hahn]

It's not a Messina vehicle, is it?

[Don La Greca]

No.

[Alan Hahn]

It's not a Winnie the Pooh vehicle, is it?

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, that. That's. That's another one. That's a good him. But it is a duet with Stevie Nicks. Yes. Oh, how do you not play that.

[Don La Greca]

Whenever I call your friend?

[Peter Rosenberg]

How do you not play that?

[Don La Greca]

Because I don't think he's.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, that's. I, That's. It's not a top eight.

[Don La Greca]

Kenny Loggins.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The beginning. Yeah, the beginning with the.

[Alan Hahn]

It's. It's not a top 10.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was a.

[Don La Greca]

It was a monster head.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was it huge? I got to see anything with Stevie Nicks was big in the 80s.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I guess you're right. Wow.

[Don La Greca]

Yeah, I think it was. It's like late 70s. Like, that was late 70s.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, I thought that was it.

[Don La Greca]

I got to see where that had to be.

[Alan Hahn]

Definitely top 78, we're told.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, okay. Well, all right. Well, she was great. In two decades.

[Alan Hahn]

There you go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's get to more calls. Javier's in Queens. Javier, what's up, baby?

[D]

What's going on, guys? Already the show is incredible. And before I get to some Knicks, can I get into the. The Kenny Loggins of it all? Is that okay?

[Don La Greca]

No, please, absolutely do it.

[D]

This is. To me, this is. It is his best track. But I do want to point out his track with Thundercats, and I'm sure Peter is aware of that. He did with Michael McDonald's an incredible, like, kind of newer song.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, no, that's. That's so Thundercats. An awesome artist. Musician, modern artist, current artist. And I interviewed him a while ago. You can go find it on YouTube, whatever. And I asked him the story about doing a song with Loggins and McDonald. And he said, I think he was. I think he had Loggins over first, and they were working together. And then Loggins is talking. He's like, you know, I gotta talk to Mike about. He just keeps saying, Mike. And he's like, okay. And then he's like, honestly. He's like, honestly, I gotta have him just come over. Should I call him? And Thundercats, like, who are you talking about? And Loggins is like. And Loggins is like, Michael McDonald and Thundercats. Like, you want to have him come, too?

[Don La Greca]

And then Michael McDonald pulls up to his house.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's tremendous.

[Don La Greca]

And he's like, I'm sitting in a.

[Alan Hahn]

Room with Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. All right, what else you got, man?

[D]

Yeah, so there's a yacht rock documentary, hbo, that I don't know, I haven't downloaded.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I haven't seen it yet, but.

[D]

With the Knicks guys, did you pick. Listen, I love Mike Breen. Alan, I told you before you, Breen and Johnny Hoops are on my Mount Rushmore of New York basketball. Guys, I love Breen.

[Alan Hahn]

One of those.

[Peter Rosenberg]

One of those faces is not like the other. And that would be mine. I do not belong on that Mount Rushmore with those two.

[D]

That's how much props I give you. I've said that to you in the past.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I appreciate it.

[D]

But With Green. Did you guys pick up on Breen referring to curb your enthusiasm?

[Don La Greca]

Yes, as part of the introduction announcing today. That was tough.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He struggled. It happens.

[D]

You were there with him. Alan, I've been talking with you Knicks for a while. You should know this. I have no worries about the Knicks. The depth is tough. Like that's what cost them to get cat. But I think that's what the trade deadline is for. That's what you're saying. Like sending these guys to the G League. The two things I would say about this, and I'm a big fibs fan, is one, why not hook Porty over Sims? Like Sims looks lost. Like Sims looks bad. And the other thing about the only complaint that I have about him is like he just lacks a little creativity. Like when they come out of timeouts like those plays that are drawn up, it just seems like some teams are a little bit more creative.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And one thing I disagree with you on Alan, is disagree with you on that. That coming out of a timeouts, they're always very good. They're very good out of it.

[D]

Okay. Did manage Kawhi to get a championship. Louisiana obviously did it, but that was the one time where like load management and treating him different than the last team.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Did an injury. He had a legit injury. They weren't load managing him. He was injured. He had a bad knee. That's not load managing. That's managing an injury. No, I have heard, I have heard people do this and it is the spurs thing is. Oh, the spurs are the ones who created loads management. No, Pop did it as a defiant move towards the league and the broadcasters because the spurs were great. So they were always on national TV and they ended up playing an inordinate amount of back to backs because they play like a Wednesday night and then oh, you're on TNT again this week, Thursday night. And he was just getting tired of doing it. So he's like, my guys are constantly playing back to backs. See, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna arrest him on the second day, which is the TNT game. And you're gonna not gonna have us on as much because we're gonna make it. He wasn't doing it to rest guys. He was doing it to send a message. They called it that and then everybody else took off from it from there. So I, I don't, I'm not buying that. But still, I think I did. Guys, explain why Huck Porty doesn't play right now. Right. They are trying to ramp him up. Jim. They're not trying to throw him to the wolves. Okay, good. I'll just make sure I said that once before. Did say Manny and Flushing Manny.

[Alan Hahn]

Hey, Manny.

[D]

What's up, guys? Happy New Year's, all three of you.

[Alan Hahn]

Thanks, man. You, too.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Back at you.

[D]

Congratulations, by the way. And grab a new show, by the way. Listen, I wouldn't say I'm concerned, but I'm disappointed because you can see, you can say two of the three games that we lost, which should be winnable. I mean, I think my issue with the second half with Bill, you think about it, all those second halves, I felt the mixture to have more. Better ball movement and more, you know, more consistently on the defensive end. And also this. And now, you know, you follow this. You follow this team more than you do. Like, like. Like you. Like you said, Mr. Robinson just treat about. You know, about his ankle situations. They say, y'all know what everything is going on, but you don't know the real story. What are your thoughts of him treating that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But I'm trying to understand what you were asking me.

[Alan Hahn]

He tweeted what? Mitchell Robinson tweeted what?

[D]

Yeah, he tweets something about his ankle. You know, fans are patient, impatient of him. You know, that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That. Yeah. First of all, he reads way too much on social media, but that's what a lot of the young guys do. And he's too focused on what people are saying, which is, mitch, hurry up. You got to get back. We need you. Stuff like that. And I mean, no one wants to play more than him. I mean, I've again, I've been on the rope with the team. I see him in the gym, in the hotel every day. When I go in, he's there. He's working hard, so he wants to play. They are being careful because he's a big man with bad feet. And you know that history in the NBA. You have two surgeries. You don't want a third. And so they're being extra careful. They're making sure that he's stable, strong, lighter, so he can play and not have another injury that knocks him out of the lineup. And so I think he's trying. He can't say that, though. I want to play, they won't let me kind of thing. Like, he doesn't want to say that. So I think.

[Alan Hahn]

But he wants to appease the people who think he doesn't want to play, which I understand. And listen, let's be real. He is at a point now, during his Nick tenure, where this is a real thing. Him and not playing. So it's obviously part of his narrative, and no player wants that to be part of their narrative. I get it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. It gets to be a point where you're frustrated as much as the fans are. Rob in New Jersey. Hey, Rob.

[D]

Hey, gentlemen. How are you? Glad to hear you guys. And you guys sound great.

[Alan Hahn]

Thanks, man.

[D]

Yeah. Alan, I just wanted to know. I got a. I got a quick brain story. I want to ask you this question first, Alan. What's the one missing piece that the Knicks can add to their bench that, aside from Mitchell Robinson, will help add value to their bench and before the trade deadline? Before the trade deadline.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, the problem is, I don't think they're going to be able to do anything at the trade deadline of significance because they're so stuck with the payroll this year and the salary cap up against. What is the second apron? I don't have enough time to explain it, but basically it would lock them from doing any other move. So they have to be careful with what they do. So. But if we're playing fantasy, they really, really could use a, like, 6, 8 wing off the bench that can shoot threes and defend an athletic, like, they kind of need something like that. That's what I would say they're missing is, you know, like, that kind of a player.

[D]

Would that be the piece that you think gets them over the edge and.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, it depends on who it is, right? Like, it's just. It depends on who it is. You know, I can name a bunch of guys, but none of them are available. Everybody wants guys like that, but I think off the bench, that's what they're missing. Just one more athletic wing who can defend and shoot threes, give them a little bit of energy, preferably somebody, you know, that can get up and down the floor, that kind of thing. That's all.

[D]

Given what you've seen from the team, who is that guy? You think that you. If you could have him, who would you want?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Alan, DeAndre Hunter comes to mind. You know, players like that. Trey. Trey Murphy III down in New Orleans comes to mind. Like, guys like that.

[D]

Okay, all right, real quick, my brain story. When I was an intern at the other sports radio station, he saw me walking down the street one day because I believe in the morning show at that time, we all know who that was. And Breen said, hey, you need a ride to the train? And I'm like. He rolls out his window even further, I see who it is, and I go, this is Mike Green. I'm like, he's Asking me if I need a ride to the train a couple blocks away. But that tells you how nice a guy he really is. And he's about as genuine as a guy I've ever met in my life.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Did you get in the car?

[D]

I sure as hell did. It was a nice Mercedes Benz.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wow.

[D]

He was pimping back then.

[Don La Greca]

Oh, Mike.

[D]

Mike, don't go. Mike. Mike Rose. Mike Rose. Straw. He's a pimp.

[Don La Greca]

Well, I don't.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't know if I'd frame it like that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You don't think he's a pimp? No.

[Don La Greca]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You don't think. Thanks, Rob.

[Don La Greca]

No, there's an opposite of a pimp. It's Mike Breen.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I can see how his style. You'd be like, yo, no, Mike's a pimp. But, no, in terms of how he actually lives his life, I would think he's a little far from that. But he meant it as a great compliment.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is it kind of risky, though? You just randomly drive by somebody, hey, you need a ride to the train? Like, just for everybody to know. If you see me in my car and you're near a train station, I'm not giving you a ride if I don't know who you are. It's not happening.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, my. Especially if the person knew who I was and they were like, can I get a ride?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I gotta give my credit.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah. No chance. No chance.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don't. You ever done that, Pick up a hitchhiker?

[Don La Greca]

Well, no, I never picked up a hitchhiker.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, I mean, it's essentially what Mike Breen just did, but he picked up a hitchhiker.

[Don La Greca]

I've told the story. First ever Ranger game I did was in Philadelphia, and I'm with Frank Moretti, who was the producer at the time. I remember we walk out of the lobby to get into my car to drive over to the arena, and Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi are there, and Frank's like, you guys need a ride? And they said, yes, that's great. So they climbed in the backseat of my car, and I drove them to the arena. My first game I'm doing, I got two Rangers in the backseat.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tremendous.

[Don La Greca]

And all of a sudden, I got.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So nervous, like, what if you got into an accident?

[Don La Greca]

Yeah. And am I sure I'm going the right way?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Breaking news.

[Don La Greca]

What are you doing to me? On my way to my first game.

[Alan Hahn]

Which, by the way, as if you. Fast forward years, it's, like, wouldn't seem like a big thing. Everyone needs to get to the arena.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But in the moment, but in the.

[Alan Hahn]

Moment as your first game, and you can't even believe you get to be a part of it. And now you're responsible for players getting there.

[Don La Greca]

And the other guy used to work at Sports One with a guy named Chris Sergel. Right. Long island kid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I know the name.

[Alan Hahn]

Chris Circle.

[Don La Greca]

His dad, his brother.

[Alan Hahn]

His brother was a real jerk out here.

[Don La Greca]

He worked at Channel four. Yeah, yeah. He was covering the Knicks for us in Sportsville. Snowstorm, end of the game, blizzard outside. He gets in his car. John Starks is on the corner trying to hail a cab. He rolled the window down and said, do you need a ride? And Starks said, yeah. And he jumped in his car and he drove them all.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. There you go. Wow. Opportunities.

[Don La Greca]

You never know.

[Alan Hahn]

Let's not. Are we gonna start a whole hitchhiking segment? I don't really go.

[Don La Greca]

I don't know, because we could upset our producer.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don't. Definitely don't want to do that. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.