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- [00:01]
Don LaGreca
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- [00:31]
Alan Hahn
Don Peter, the most used sweat is at a buffet. And Rosenberg.
- [00:35]
Don LaGreca
I'll be honest, the one thing I miss about having an office is the taste of Steve Hart's nuts. This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.
- [00:42]
Alan Hahn
This is Don Hahn and Rosenberg. The best threesome I've ever heard on 880 ESPN and the ESPN New York app. Oh, Friday, a beautiful Friday in New York City. Don Legraff. Beautiful Friday. A little Don Hahn vehicle for you guys here today. Heavy Knicks playoff time. It feels like the play finally feels like playoff weather.
- [01:05]
Don LaGreca
Finally.
- [01:06]
Alan Hahn
Oh, what a day today. Glorious day today. And the Knicks begin their series tomorrow, Game one, six o'clock at the world's most famous arena. We got a big show today. Man, I'm glad you said it the.
- [01:17]
Don LaGreca
Way you said it because when you get a day like this, I think about playoff basketball and hockey because it takes me back to covering those sports at that time, you know, so, you know baseball, you know, obviously if you're a baseball fan, you think about that. But you know, the beginning of baseball isn't necessarily like days like this, but you get into the latter stages of April and the Knicks or the Rangers are about to embark on the playoffs and you're going to the game or you're covering the game like we would be. It's a day like this. That's what I think of.
- [01:51]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, I completely agree. Like, I used to remember the very early days of me as a beat writer when the Knicks, Knicks, when the Islanders finally made the playoffs in 2002 and I was driving to a play, it was an afternoon playoff game and like going down the Meadowbrook and just looking and seeing like, you know, like the bushes were no longer sticks, they had buds, they were flowering. You know what I mean? Like, it was like, wow, I'm covering something and it's like real, it's spring now. It's not the dead of winter anymore. Like you feel it. So.
- [02:19]
Don LaGreca
And I don't have to worry about it. And You, I guess, lucked out from the scheduling standpoint is like, please don't have a playoff game on Easter Sunday.
- [02:29]
Alan Hahn
Right. Yeah.
- [02:30]
Don LaGreca
Please do us, do me the favor that I can be with my family. And, you know, the Rangers did me the favor, I guess, of not even having to worry about that. And the Knicks are Saturday, Monday. So that worked out. So all good?
- [02:41]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, all very good. All very good. 800 now, 193776. So we'll get the calls rolling here early the day for us. We will certainly get into baseball, Mets and Yankees for sure. But we're going heavy. Knicks today, Bernard King, the great hall of Famer, you talk about Knicks, Pistons. There's no series that was more dramatic than that one back in 1984. And what he did, and it's always awesome to talk to him, not only about those days and the great stories he has to tell. But, Don, I mean, you talk about a basketball savant, what Bernard King sees and tells you what he sees because he goes to a lot of games, he's at the Garden a lot. He'll tell you what he feels about this team and its chances and what it would need to do to, to get through this series. But, I mean, look, Don, I was on get up this morning. I even did SportsCenter this morning. The perpetual question that keeps being asked of me and now we're going on a whole week now of this is, you know, is Tibbs on the hot seat? Is if the Knicks lose this series, could the Knicks make a change? Is that. And I keep trying to tell people, number one, three year extension. Number two, back to back 51 seasons for the first time in 30 years. Number three, Jalen Brunson. Those three things alone would tell me that while in New York, we always, every coach is on the hot seat. I just feel like this conversation has almost gotten out of hand because it's, it's not based in reality. It's based on hypothetical. And it's also based to me on something that started on Twitter, turned into where bloggers started feeding off of it. And some people in the media saw that and started making it something that could be real. When I'm telling you there's nothing real about it, not right now.
- [04:18]
Don LaGreca
There's a secret that it's not even a secret anymore, unless you haven't been paying attention to me about sports talk radio and, you know, shows like get up and First Take and any, any kind of platform where you have to have an opinion is if you want to do something, make sure you, you're gonna be right. If you're gonna have a hot take, try to err on the side of being right. If you go back to Colin Cowherd when he was on our station, he just made it a cottage industry. You can't win with Carmelo Anthony. Can't do it. You'll never win a championship with Carmelo Anthony. It's a good bet considering he was a Knick and the Knicks weren't close to winning a championship, so it wasn't much of a limb he was going out on. It sounded good. It sounded like a hot take. Well, he's guaranteeing you're never going to win with Carmelo, but you really broke it down. It's a safe bet Carmelo's never won outside of college and he's on a team that's not ready. So it's not really that hot of a take. You want to have a hot take. All the Knicks are in trouble. They're going to get bounced in the first round by the Pistons. Is, is, is Tibbs going to get fired if they don't get out of the first round? The reason that it's kind of a safe place to go, Allen, is because the Knicks are not going to win a championship. They're not ready. All right? They haven't been out of the second round since 2000 and Tibbs has never won a championship either. So it's kind of a safe place like, all right, let's, let's pick a series that, where there could be an upset and let's pick a series where the coach might be in a little bit of trouble if it happens. It's really, it's kind of lazy when you think about it all that, you know, the Knicks aren't going to win a championship. They could very easily get bounced in the first round. Let's create something here and you've tapped that down because you're close, you know.
- [06:02]
Alan Hahn
But nobody will listen to me.
- [06:03]
Don LaGreca
They won't listen because. And now it's built up enough momentum to where maybe it becomes a thing like a self fulfilling prophecy. But honestly, the clear cut thing is don't even bother analyzing it. They're not going to lose the series. Stop worrying. Knick fans, I understand this team has disappointed you. I understand they haven't had the regular season that you thought. But don't create the Pistons into something they're not and don't create the Knicks into something they're not. I don't think the Pistons are ready to win this series and I Don't think the Knicks are too good to lose it.
- [06:35]
Alan Hahn
That's exactly the way to put it. It's just as simple as that. It's not disrespect. You know, people do that too. Well, don't disrespect the Pistons. That's why when I made this pick earlier in the week and I said it on national TV as Nixon, Knicks are going to win this in five. That's what they're supposed to do. That's what. That's. When you look at it on just face value, this is not fan talk. This is not, oh, he works for msg. But just so everybody understands something. I love msg. They have been so good to me. I've worked there for well over a decade. As everybody knows, they don't pay me anywhere near what ESPN pays me. ESPN is my primary job. So this whole idea that he follows a script and he does what he's told, like, stop it. That. That's my primary goal, is to make this show great. That's my primary goal. So this whole notion that it's like this. Well, that's. Oh, you only say that because. No, I say it because that's what I see. And I've seen what this guy has done the moment he and Leon Rose. And it's not. If you don't want to believe me, believe people who cover the team that are supposed to be impartial, Right? The beat writers and how they feel. They're the same ones. These guys have been trying to beat this whole thing down to all the guys that are. You would think they would want this kind of stuff. Remember I told you about the back pages and how it works in. In tabloids. You would think they would want this. They would want to feed off this. They're even tamping this down. Like, this is ridiculous. So you don't want to listen to me, Fine. You don't want to listen to them, fine. You want to believe what Nick's Twitter and what some bloggers who are looking for content want to push out there and make a case? How about listen to your captain? How much do you love Jalen Brunson? All of you out there listening that are out there with your torches and pitchforks, who are almost rooting for the Knicks to lose this series. So you could be right. Listen to your captain when he was asked directly about the speculation about his coach and his job perhaps being in jeopardy over this series, Listen to Brunson.
- [08:25]
Don LaGreca
I mean, everyone's entitled to their own opinions. Like you said. I'm a big tip supporter. That's just who I am. That's what I'll be. What do you think it means for the success of this? I mean, it means a lot. I'll say individually, he's meant a lot to my career. I say he's meant a little bit or decent amount to cat with coaching cat in Minnesota and here. There's a lot of players who can say they've definitely benefited from Tom Mazo in his career, but I think as a team, we're always in a position where we can compete in the post season. I mean, since I've been here. And he's a very prepared individual, and so he's done a lot for my career. So I'm. I'm always going to be a supporter. Always. Even when he annoys me. Always.
- [09:13]
Alan Hahn
I know you hate that. I know you hate the giggles. But he. He did add that at the end. It kind of wasn't bad, though. Put some light on a subject that was getting kind of dark. And he was like, I can tell you privately that they all go, are you guys kidding me? Josh Hart? Josh Hart, who, you know is the guy with no filter. None. And when you ask him about his success since he's come to the Knicks and how, How. How is a guy like you, who never had a triple double in your life, have nine of them in one season, which is a franchise record. How. What has happened? And he said it's. It's Thomas Thibodeau. That's what he says. He says his full name. And he said it's. It's uni. Sometimes a player like me needs a. Needs a coach who can match his crazy. They love playing for him. This notion that they are miserable is. Is completely made up. It's fabricated. I don't. So you don't want to believe Jalen Brunson. Now, Don, you've covered sports for a long time. You've been in these situations in these, these press conferences when coaches are on a hot seat and they go to the star player and the star player can show support or they can say nothing but say a lot. Right? You know, when the star player is just kind of going like, yeah, yeah, we support him. Sure. You know, that's our coach. And, you know. But you can tell by the way they're saying it that they don't really believe it. Right. Like this happened.
- [10:33]
Don LaGreca
Yeah.
- [10:34]
Alan Hahn
Did you feel like Jalen Brunson was being disingenuous with that answer?
- [10:37]
Don LaGreca
He sounded completely genuine. And also he's. Jalen Brunson. All right? Bridges can complain about him. Really? Anybody on the team can complain about him. If Brunson doesn't want him gone, he's not gone. Leon Rose might get itchy if they lose in the first round and go, hmm, maybe we need to do something here. Or James Dolan can say, I would like to make a change, maybe. And if Brunson says, I don't think we should do it, they're going to go, okay, let's not do it. The discount that Brunson took, what he means to this franchise, that carries a ton of weight. And it works the other way, too. If Brunson didn't like him, then I would think he's definitely gone. But we know Brunson loves him. And by the way, the ESPN bet odds to make it out of the conference, the knicks are a 10 to 1 shot to go to the final. The pistons are an 80 to 1 shot. I mean, Vegas has laid it out that the Knicks are a heavy favorite. Anybody that analyzes this in real time knows how big a favorite. Now, I understand being nervous as a Knick fan because the Knicks make you nervous, but how much more evidence do you need that you're good? So don't, don't, don't create something that's not there. Don't be scared. There was an old phrase back in the Michael K Show that Joey Salvia wrote a song, don't be afraid to love again. Don Lagreca I'm telling Nick fans, don't be afraid to love again. Embrace it. So that love is probably going to drain from your system once they've taken on the Celtics. So right now, can you just enjoy the matchup?
- [12:07]
Alan Hahn
Right, Right. It's going to end in just. I said this last. Everybody got mad at me. I said, you know, the season's going to end in disappointment. You know that this has been a fun ride, but you know at some point going to end in disappointment. So you have to manage that disappointment and not overreact to it. And this year, for some reason, there's this sense that the team has underachieved, that they, they did not reach the heights that you expect a team like this to reach because of the trades that they made. But I'm like, I'm shaking my head. I'm thinking, no. The Phoenix Suns had a disappointing season. They have three guys that make a ton of money that have all been all Stars, and they were awful. They weren't just bad, they were awful to a point where they fired another coach. Three coaches in three years. Three coaches who are being paid not to coach. That's how bad things are. The Phoenix Suns are a disappointment. Right. When you talk about underachieving, there it is, the Philadelphia 76ers. You want to talk about a fan base that has every right to be furious about how the season went there. This. This is part of a build. I was arguing with somebody about it, where they were saying that this. I think, actually it was earlier today with Carlin, Carlin, Barton. Carlin had me on. And Carlin was like, you know, it is year five of a rebuild. I go, no, it's not. It's year one. There were three different rosters at this case. Well, he's been here for five years. That doesn't matter. This is the much different roster than last year. It's a. It's the third different iteration of the roster since the day he took over. And what has he done with all three of them? He's made the playoffs. Like, so what do you. Like? You have to give some things time, especially when you're trying to build out a bench. I am. I'm getting tired, Don, of feeling like I'm doing the Yankee boy thing here with the Knicks and defending Tom Thibodeau. But I have. I did feel like today, after I was done this morning, the amount of times on national television, I was asked about Tom Thibodeau's job, and I just kept saying to myself, is this really a thing now? To a point. We're talking about it nationally. It just. It doesn't make sense. And if I'm these players, and here's what, I'll leave it here, because you heard Jalen Brunson say it. He was asked about it, which means now he's aware this is a thing. But I can tell you, they all aware this is a thing. They're all aware of it. If you love him that much, play your ass off for him. Put this team away in four or five. Leave no doubt and walk into that second round knowing you're probably going to face the Celtics and then say to yourself, we'll put up the best fight we possibly can to take out a team that we've struggled to beat. But it is no more like bitching about your minutes or your role or how many shots you get. All that's gone because you really want trouble. Watch this thing blow up and everybody get what they want. It'll be a disaster. So there's a lot not riding on Tom Thibodeau. There's a lot riding on these players to play up to their potential, which they haven't really done over the last two months. I'll leave it there.
- [15:11]
Don LaGreca
Well, you've got. That's what the conundrum for me, and I know it's not the same people, but it's still the same fan base. You build up the expectations so high, and then you're the first to destroy them when they don't live up to your expectation. If you thought this team was built to win a championship going into this season, and you watched this season and you saw the injuries that they had to go through and you still believed that they were going to win a championship or they were going to go at least to the conference final, and now you're ready to fire everybody because they don't live up to your expectations. Of course, if they lose to the Pistons, it's a huge disappointment, but honestly, I don't even want to have that conversation. Is it really on the table or should we just ride with what we know? And that is they're a better team than Detroit and they should be able to win this series. Why are we. Why are we even entertaining the negative? We'll have that. Listen Monday, I'll be willing to have the conversation if they lose on. On Saturday. Fair. Yeah. You lose by 15 on Saturday.
- [16:10]
Alan Hahn
It looks like. If it looks like they were out, muscled, out, hustled all, you know, all that stuff. Like a couple of the games we saw where they couldn't close the deal late, whatever it was. If that's what Saturday looks like and we're Monday now, you're must win game two. And we're doing the show Monday afternoon leading into that game. I'm with you. The alarm will be ringing. I'm with you. No doubt about it. The first to admit it. But I still am not going to start the conversation with they need a new coach.
- [16:38]
Don LaGreca
No, but I'm just saying if you want to start to get nervous.
- [16:41]
Alan Hahn
Oh, nervous.
- [16:42]
Don LaGreca
And having a conversation, oh, my God, we might lose this series. I guess there's a scenario on tomorrow where you could feel that way because that building is going to be electric.
- [16:53]
Alan Hahn
Yep.
- [16:54]
Don LaGreca
You know, forget about what the fans are saying on social media or the phone calls we're going to take on this show. 1-800-919-3776 by the way, that building is going to be electric tomorrow. And the Pistons are all pumped and they're chatting. We're going to talk about that. Now, is that coming from a place of, you know, just being Overly excited confidence, I'm not sure. But that building is going to be unlike anything that any opponent felt during the course of the regular season. During the regular season, you get all the people that are from out of town. It's the place to be. But when you get into Madison Square Garden come playoff time, it's, it's a, it's a different feel.
- [17:36]
Alan Hahn
And Kate Cunningham, you know, is setting himself up and he's not really doing it that much. But Cade Cunningham right now, with the way this series is being portrayed, is walking into what you would expect Trey Young and Tyrese Halliburton and even Reggie Miller have walked into. That's what it's going to be. He's going to learn what life is like as the villain, where you are the target of every. They are on your case and he's going to hear about it. So you're going to face their defensive pressure and all the attention defensively, but you're also going to deal with the crucible that can be Madison Square Garden at playoff time. It's a different animal. And he's going to. So I'm going to read you a quote because we don't have the audio of this because this was in a, an interview that he did with some print people. Now, I've given you this stat. Full disclosure. His last four games at Madison Square Garden over the last two seasons, he's averaging over 30 a game. He's done quite well in the building. And he said, I've played in the Garden. I know what the Garden feels like. I'm going there with an open mind. I'm not shying away from anything. I'm not blocking out any possibilities. But at the same time, I've played there before, I've played the game before. I think I have everything it takes to do what I like to do on the court. So we'll see when we get there. I'm ready to go. It's different what you experienced during the regular season. A game in December, a random game in January. It's a lot different. Lot different this time. I'm curious to see how the crowd's going to be on Saturday night and.
- [19:12]
Don LaGreca
And if he can get through that the way we've seen other players. You know, Reggie Miller was an all time great, right? So he thrived on that. Some guys love because that I've, we've talked about it so many times before how sometimes the Garden works against the Knicks because on a second of back to backs or a long road trip where normally you Might not be at 100% mentally going into a building. The Garden gets you going. The Garden is a thing. The Knicks are used to it. Like, some guys come in, they might wilt, but there's other players. Like, you know, Kobe made it in industry, so did LeBron James, Michael Jordan. They come to the Garden, man, it's the Mecca. There's not another building like it in the NBA. They're all new, stale buildings. You know, those. The Chicago Stadium's gone, The Great Western Forum's gone. Madison Square Garden is still there. It's still.
- [19:56]
Alan Hahn
They called it the last living, breathing building, right? Kobe Bryant, famous quote that he said about the Garden.
- [20:02]
Don LaGreca
You know, we used to joke when the Rangers were having bad seasons. You know, are we going to. Are we going to interview the arena at the end of the game? Like, is it because MSG is a star, you know, and you look up at that ceiling, you know where you are when you step onto the court, and that brings out the best. And sometimes that hurts the Knicks, right? These guys, all of a sudden it's just a first round series becomes like your life. And so I give the Pistons credit for embracing the moment. But let's see when they step on that court. Don't. Don't tell me about some random game in December where you put 35 points up. This is the playoffs of Madison Square Garden. It's a different animal, man. And if he's prepared for it, he plays well. More on him. Good for good for him. But I think he's kind of speaking not out of turn, but with not a lot of information because the playoffs are much different.
- [20:50]
Alan Hahn
Wait till he feels the. Feels the floor move. Yeah, because that's one thing. I remember Phil Jackson telling that story during a timeout. Early years coach in Chicago, Knicks, Bulls playoff series. This was not like in the heyday. This was a little earlier, early 90s. And it was a time of the place was going crazy. And he turned to one of his assistants and he said, is the floor moving now? Remember he played at the Garden, he was on two championship teams. You would think he would know that feeling and that sound. And even he said he was a little caught off guard because he felt the floor moving. And I've been there, I've been on that floor. It does move. It's crazy, but it does.
- [21:32]
Don LaGreca
All fairness, it's not the way it was back in the day. Just because, you know, tickets are expensive, it's still corporate. I do think that the reimagining imagining of Madison Square Garden did Change maybe the acoustics just a tad, you know, because I do hear that, hey, it's great in the postseason, but it's not like it was 30, 40 years ago, but it's still in relation to the regular season. You're going to get that moment. The Garden crowd gets it. They, they, they will be on this Pistons team now over because, because they've heard the quotes. They know. They know the moment. They know when the crowd, when the team needs them. Like so they understand that. So, yeah, it may not have the energy when, you know, Jockeyman in 75 or when Willis Reed walked out onto the court.
- [22:15]
Alan Hahn
I get that.
- [22:17]
Don LaGreca
But still, in relation to some random game in November, to the postseason at Madison Square Garden, it is going to hit completely different.
- [22:26]
Alan Hahn
800 now with 93776. Nick is in Woodbridge. And you're going to start us off today, Nick.
- [22:34]
C
Hey, guys, thanks for taking the call. Don, I give you credit, man. You absolutely hit the nail on the head with this. Let's not make the Pistons into something that they're not, all right? It's a nice story. Cade Cunningham is probably going to be an all NBA player in the next couple years if he might land on a second or third all NBA team this year. But outside of Cade, man, I know Beasley can hit the three. I don't fear this Pistons team. And there's a reason that they were seated where they were. We got to start putting some respect on Jalen Brunson and what he's done in the playoffs. Man, it just feels like we just tend to forget that, like what he did last year was unbelievable. And it was a shame that everybody else around him and then eventually him ended up getting hurt. But I have no doubt that the Knicks team is going to roll through this series. If it goes six games, I think it'll be because. Because of that energy, that young energy from the Pistons and because of how physical they are. I don't worry about the Knicks in this one. I will tell you, Alan, I was in the game. I was in Boston when they played at TD Garden and that was. That was rough. So I will say, like, I'm with you 100%. Let's enjoy playoff basketball. Let's take care of business in the first round and stop with this talk about getting rid of Tibbs, man. It's just absolutely disrespectful. I don't know if people forgot what 20 years prior to Tibbs being here was like, but he's done a fantastic job. So I'm Pumped for this this weekend, guys. I appreciate the time. Let's go next.
- [23:59]
Alan Hahn
Thanks. I see Nick, that's how you started off. That's how we started off. So we got tons of calls, 800-93776 that we're going to get to Don and you, you, you hinted to it. I think we should let people in on what exactly is coming from Detroit when it comes to how they feel about this series and what they think and everything else. So you got to hear both sides of it. So you'll certainly do that again. Bernard King, the Hall of Famer's joining us at 5. We got lots more to get to. It is Fraud Friday. Oh, we take it we're getting emails on these, right?
- [24:27]
Don LaGreca
Yes, a lot of them apparently.
- [24:29]
Alan Hahn
Yeah. Reset. We I. It's awesome that we have. You want to again want to explain to everybody what what the Fraud Friday thing is all about?
- [24:37]
Don LaGreca
Well, you're gonna your email or you can call and not just during that segment. Maybe sprinkle throughout the show.
- [24:43]
Alan Hahn
Do it. But yeah, throughout the show.
- [24:44]
Don LaGreca
4:30 is when it, when it, when it all begins. And then you're gonna ask me if something you or your friend or your wife, is it fraudulent behavior. And I'm going to be the final say on whether it is. If, when you switch teams or this is a team that you root for when your team's out or you know, my son this or whatever, you're going to have some kind of conversation or question me and I'm going to be the ultimate judge. Hey, during our meeting, very fraudulent behavior from my fraud son Marco. But I'm going to give him a break because he's got eight months by eight. By eight he's going to have to make a determination on what baseball team.
- [25:20]
Alan Hahn
But I'll tell you what, I did get a sense of which way he's leaning.
- [25:23]
Don LaGreca
Oh, he's leaning.
- [25:24]
Alan Hahn
He's leaning.
- [25:26]
Don LaGreca
But Allen asked him whose favorite baseball team is. Mets, Yankees. But then Allen had a follow up because he's a great journalist. But are you leaning Yankees? And he said yes. So it was a leading question. But you did, you did get him to lean Yankees way. He said he's rooting for as many as 12 hockey teams. We're going to have to scale that dak a little bit.
- [25:45]
Alan Hahn
12 is a lot. Yeah.
- [25:47]
Don LaGreca
He got him to say he's rooting for the Knicks.
- [25:50]
Alan Hahn
Yep. He committed and he didn't add any other teams. Committed right. To the Knicks predicted they're going to win this first round series too yeah.
- [25:58]
Don LaGreca
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- [27:29]
Alan Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [27:33]
Don LaGreca
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [27:34]
Alan Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Johnny's I I am blown away already by some of the reactions here. Some of the I like it really does blow my mind how how mad people get mad they get about a simple fact. A little simple thing that you point out about a head coach that some people it's almost like their life's work. I swear this one guy tweets, you know he should be fired even if they lose. Even he said if they lose even in the second round he should get fired if it's the Eastern Conference finals.
- [28:21]
Don LaGreca
Well how do you have a logical conversation?
- [28:24]
Alan Hahn
This is utter madness. Like so you're you claim to be a Knicks fit. You are rooting against your freaking team right now. That's what you're doing. You want to be right so bad that you're you are secretly privately Rooting against your team. That's a sad place to be as a fan. Sad.
- [28:40]
Don LaGreca
All right. I could understand why. Maybe you didn't want him in the first place. Maybe this was not the hire you wanted.
- [28:48]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, he's not huggable. I get it. Not a huggable coach.
- [28:51]
Don LaGreca
What has he done that you want to preemptive fire him? Like he hasn't even happened yet, but, like, you want him gone now. He's. He's turned your organization around. He's made the Knicks relevant, and you're ready to pull the plug now because you decided out of nowhere all your eggs are going to be in this year's basket. Right? And obviously, when we had. Who do we have on earlier in the week? Kendrick Perk. When Perkins on about how he said that they did change this roster to beat Boston, but I never saw the memo that it was going to be immediate. I mean, there's always a little bit of a window. You know, the Rangers didn't win right away when they got Mark Messier. You know, sometimes it takes a little bit. The Heat didn't win. Right. When they got LeBron James. That was LeBron James. The big three, right, with Bosh. And they were going to come over, join Miami, and they end up losing to Dallas in the final. Like, so It's. It's year one of it. They changed the roster. It's year one. They haven't even lost yet. You're ready to fire him. Why? And who do you want to replace him with? Who do you know who is guaranteed to be better?
- [30:01]
Alan Hahn
So anybody that says Michael Malone, it's the same style off the same coaching tree. And I love Michael Malone. New York guy, he's got blood in the ground, terrific coach, won a championship, got a ring on his finger. But if you. If you think it's, like, going to be completely different, it's the same thing, same coach. But anyways, we got calls. 800 now at 93776. Let's talk to some more people. Let's go to. Let's go to Phil and Queens. Go ahead, Phil.
- [30:35]
C
Alan. Hey, nice talking to you guys. Don, I'm excited. I've been a nick fan since 1991.
- [30:43]
Don LaGreca
Okay.
- [30:43]
C
And Tom Thibodeau is the best coach I've seen since Pat Riley. I mean, Tom Thibodeau is a gym rat, so to speak. As a coach, he's always working, trying to find schemes. He holds his players accountable. He. He's a hardworking coach. And like you said, you fire him, who you Replacing him with. He's amazing. I love. Tom said it. And he's defensive minded and you know you need defense in the playoffs. Yeah.
- [31:17]
Alan Hahn
He runs his plays. You know what I mean? Phil, They've had a whole week ready for a series against a team that literally just has one. It's one guy that's really the center of their offense. One player. You're not playing against two superstars. You're not dealing with anything. You know, the Celtics are a different animal like that. That's a scary, dangerous team. The Cavs, like that's a lot to deal with. Right. There's certain teams. What, you know, it's. It's tough to guard this team, the Pistons. This is not some juggernaut. This is a really good young player in his first playoff experience against the experienced coach.
- [31:50]
Don LaGreca
I think Tom Thibodo.
- [31:52]
C
I think Tom Thibodeau can know the good schemes of doubling putting Mikhail and have OG come on the weak side to help on defense and have Mitch Robinson behind defending the rim.
- [32:04]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [32:04]
C
And pivotal is going to do that.
- [32:06]
Alan Hahn
Well, that's what you're hoping for. Thank you, Phil. I mean, again, that's what you expect. You have all this time to prepare. You have to feel like they should be prepared. Like Don said earlier, it's, it's not like a second game of back to back or you know, different circumstances. Mitchell Robinson, by the way, didn't play one game against the Pistons this season. Not one. So they have no idea. Like they haven't seen what that looks like. So it's, it's, it's different. And this is the playoffs and it's got to work. And I'll say it again, the players have to do their part. They have to step up. Caesar in Huntington. Caesar.
- [32:42]
C
Hey guys. Broad stuff. Friday it is. Oh my God. This talk about Tim being fired. Come on now. Tom Thibodeau isn't going anywhere. Let's, let's get something straight and let's, let's also. Han, you don't need to defend yourselves. Look, you, you do a great job. You don't need to defend yourself. I don't know what these guys are coming out from saying that. You know who I think should be playing for their job is Bridges. Bridges needs to show up in the playoffs. He needs to play like he was playing when, you know, Brunson wasn't around. And I think that's the X factor for the Knicks. I really do. I really think that he needs to show up and ball out in the playoffs. And this Absurd thing that, you know, let's think about the fact that, oh, yeah, the Knicks are going to win a championship. Let's be honest. All right. The Knicks don't have what it takes. I mean, we've seen what they've done with the one seeds, with the two seeds. I mean, you know, that's. That's my take. How do you feel about that?
- [33:39]
Alan Hahn
Bridges is going to be a guy that you definitely want to watch in the series. It's a good take. I mean, Don, can you think about, like, in the past, and it doesn't even have to be basketball, the Knicks. But doesn't it always feel like there's always the new guy that was the big. One of the big acquisitions, that in the playoffs, everybody's looking and saying, when are you going to have your moment? Like, okay, they did all this to get you. Like, Tino Martinez obviously had to have that home run and that home run sort of. All right, now you're a Yankee. Like. Like, it feel like, right. Like, it does feel like a lot of times that big acquisition that you. You made a strong move for, an aggressive move for. Who thought they would ever get Bridges out of Brooklyn? Nobody thought Brooklyn never going to trade him to the. They'd never do it. They. They had to pay a high price. They get them, and now it's okay. This has got to pay off. At some point, there's got to be a moment he has where it becomes, okay, this is your Knicks moment. This is your Yankee moment. And I'm wondering if, for Bridges, is it in this series?
- [34:41]
Don LaGreca
No, I think. I think it very well could be if. Because if it's in the Celtics series, then you might be winning that series. In baseball, it's just any time during the course of the year, like, at some point, Juan Soto is going to have his moment where he kind of officially, in the eyes of the fans, becomes a method. It's that Giambi home run in the rain against the Minnesota Twins. I always bring that up. That was his moment where he became a Yankee in the eyes of the fans. Baseball's different because you're not guaranteed to go to the playoffs. When you're acquired by a team that's expected to make a run, that moment can't come in the regular season. It can only come in the postseason. So there'll be a game. There'll be a moment where you're gonna be looking at him much different than you're looking at him now. I'm thinking most Knick fans are not really Looking at him joyously at this point. Matter of fact, they're probably betting that he's not going to be here next year. That could all change in this series.
- [35:32]
Alan Hahn
All it takes is that one series and it just suddenly. And that's why it's like everybody always wants to look, just the coaching or the coach or the star. You know, the whole idea that Brunson's got to carry him. No, like, this is why they got Mikhail Bridges for this time of year. This is why they got.
- [35:49]
Don LaGreca
Another guy that I look at, especially when it could be a physical series against Detroit, is Towns.
- [35:55]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [35:55]
Don LaGreca
Because that was the conversation about him when he came here. We know he can score, but is he going to be tough enough? And he. He might have to show a moment or two in this series that he in fact is tough. That was.
- [36:08]
Alan Hahn
That was the knock on him coming in and for most of the season, like you saw him play a physical, brand new one. You know, a lot of rebounding, a lot of taking it to the basket strong and all that stuff. But there was a back and forth. He and Malik Beasley were teammates in Minnesota and there was a little back and forth the last game. Beasley does a lot of preening and showing off. He makes it three and he'll start dancing. He has this little shimmy that he does. He did it at the Garden. He was jawing with a lot of Nick fans at a game. I don't know if it was the last game at the Garden or the first game at the Garden this season, but he. He got hot from three and he did a lot of talking and dancing and he. And at the last game in Detroit, he and Towns had like a. They kind of bumped, kind of stared each other down, something like that. So Beasley was asked about, you know, him and Carl Anthony Towns and you know, the two of them having that moment in the game and take a listen what he said about Cat.
- [37:03]
Don LaGreca
Don't worry about that. Yeah. You've been thinking about would you find teams testing you guys for and more as your reputation has grown as a good team? I don't see them sessing us. I think they are scared. So what they're doing is putting a defensive mechanism up to not be able to mess with bad voice. You detected that from that. That incident or whatever? I don't even know what incident you're talking about. That's how unsure I am about Cat.
- [37:27]
C
Okay.
- [37:28]
Alan Hahn
The least of my worries.
- [37:31]
Don LaGreca
Wow.
- [37:32]
Alan Hahn
How about him go, how about this? He's not the only one that's doing this whole, you know, bad boys, like they're going back to the Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, John Salley, Bill Laimbeer, you know, Dennis Rodman, like they're, they're, they're. Now you hearken back to that era. Of course you do, because those are the championship years, the back to back championships. That was a rough and tough team that everybody either loved or feared. And they're trying to reach back to that and that, that identity and reputation. But I mean that's a, that's a, that's a high mark to try to set for yourself, isn't it?
- [38:07]
Don LaGreca
I understand Fear.
- [38:09]
Alan Hahn
You think it's fear? You think teams fear you? No, easy, buddy.
- [38:14]
Don LaGreca
You're having to talk this tough because nobody, nobody would pay attention otherwise. Like now let's see if you can do it. Let's see if you can now walk the walk. Are you going to walk in there and are you going to, are you going to turtle up, are you going to play poorly and then have a bunch of excuses after because you've talked a good game? Let's see it. We're gonna find out tomorrow. Let's see it right away. They're chatty, man. For a team that has accomplished nothing, isn't it interesting? Nothing.
- [38:42]
Alan Hahn
But they've done that all year. Now to be fair, this is nothing new. They have been that team, you know, they, they, they do hard fouls, they've gotten into some altercations. You know, Isaiah Stewart, they call him Beef Stew, he's their backup center and he's all about it. Like he, he can't wait. Like he's so jumpy, that the slightest little bump you give him, he's knuckling up. He's from upstate Rochester. He's got a bit of an attitude. He does always talk about growing up. The, you know, the, he grew up being told about those great 90s Knicks teams, the toughness of them and all. That's whole, that's his whole thing. So you know that like when you see that that's what they're trying to do and they want to intimidate a Knicks team that everybody says is not as tough as last year's team. That's all they got. If you think about it's really all they got is that physical intimidation factor that they can win the series based on that.
- [39:38]
Don LaGreca
I'm not saying they're not and I'm not saying that it can't be something that can be a driving force for them. But the intimidation doesn't come from your words, you know, so be as tough as you want to be. Now show me. Because it's not going to matter how tough you talk unless you go out there and you execute and you do that and you build up that reputation. Everybody comes talking, everybody's chatty. But what does it matter? Matter of fact, you've even put maybe even more pressure on yourself because now I'm going to come in with a certain level of expectations on what I'm going to watch tomorrow at 6:00. So let's see if we see it.
- [40:13]
Alan Hahn
Let's also see what the officiating does too. You come in with a reputation that precedes you. Who's to say the officials aren't also like just hey, keep in mind this team, you know, they like to do a little something extra. Let's make sure this doesn't get out of hand. You call a tight game that doesn't. That doesn't bode well for them at all.
- [40:32]
Don LaGreca
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- [40:34]
Alan Hahn
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- [41:12]
Don LaGreca
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- [41:15]
Alan Hahn
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- [41:17]
Don LaGreca
It's time to give your yard a grow up.
- [41:20]
Alan Hahn
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- [41:32]
Don LaGreca
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- [42:02]
Alan Hahn
Thanks for Listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [42:05]
Don LaGreca
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [42:06]
Alan Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Whatever happened, old fashioned. Like, are the old songs about teams better? Like the best ones, like the. Obviously the Meet the Met song. This is a. The Knicks had a song back in the day. Like, they would make theme songs for the team, right?
- [42:31]
Don LaGreca
Well, the two things that I remember are the theme songs like this, right? Or when radio stations would take a hit and then change the words around to fit into whatever team was trying to compete for a championship.
- [42:46]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, I remember those two.
- [42:48]
Don LaGreca
I'm trying to think of a couple off that. There was one that I had in my head and I just lost it.
- [42:53]
Alan Hahn
Now you just get songs that teams just use. Like, again, Gloria was the St. Louis Blues. Like, one thing I want to remind people that, you know, they. They play. Get it right back to where we started from at Islander Games now, right? Maxine Nightingale. That was slap shot forever ago when Rick and I did our show together and then the Islanders were in a. In a playoff run. And I kept saying, let's play this song. Let's make it a thing. Let's make this their. Their song. And he hated it. He kept saying, stop. It's dumb. It's an old song. Nobody likes it. And I'm like, but it's a fun song. And it starts out with, like, great energy. It's cool. And so we just ended up dying. They didn't. They didn't go far that year, and it ended up going nowhere. And then a couple years later, all of a sudden, I'm hearing this song being played at Nassau Coliseum. Go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. Whose idea was this? So, I mean, I don't know if I inspired it. That's all I want to know is I inspired it. But it's pretty cool.
- [43:49]
Don LaGreca
The one that I could think of is, I think it was for the 88 Mets. So it didn't work because they lost to the Dodgers. Remember the song Roll with it, baby?
- [43:59]
Alan Hahn
Yeah. Oh, yeah, sure.
- [44:00]
Don LaGreca
It was like, roll with it, baby.
- [44:02]
Alan Hahn
Steve Winwood.
- [44:03]
Don LaGreca
Let's go, Mets. Roll. Really just, like, stupid, right? So, but the problem is now Peter's not here to just jump me, so I take advantage of. But everybody wants to be, like, so timely. And hip hop is so huge. And a lot of these hip hop artists are already sports fans, so then they create a song, and so they're not going to try to embarrass themselves. So they're not going to be hokey. So they're going to want to do something that's really going to be relevant, resonate with the fans, and it's really great and it's well produced. I kind of want the hokey.
- [44:40]
Alan Hahn
You want the Baja Men? Because that was embarrassing.
- [44:42]
Don LaGreca
That. No, that. That, that wasn't. And I told you, I think that was what lost the Mets, the 2000 World Series.
- [44:47]
Alan Hahn
I was there for that game, you.
- [44:49]
Don LaGreca
Know, I mean, we were like, what.
- [44:51]
Alan Hahn
The hell is this?
- [44:52]
Don LaGreca
I did shows with Steve Phillips and I told him, what were you thinking? He's like, well, it was a big song. The fans had him performing on the dugout. You're going up against the New York Yankees and all the retired numbers, and they've got Monument park, and it's game three of the World Series. The stupid Baja Men with a. With a. There are people with screwdrivers in their ears trying to get the ear worm out, and they're performing on the dugout. I'm like, Steve, come on, man. It was embarrassing. I would. I would constantly. I wouldn't let him up. It's like, you're killing me.
- [45:25]
Alan Hahn
And Is that the game?
- [45:26]
Don LaGreca
That.
- [45:27]
Alan Hahn
Isn't that the game Jeter let off with the home run?
- [45:28]
Don LaGreca
Yes.
- [45:30]
Alan Hahn
Just. Oh, how perfect was that? It was just so poetic.
- [45:34]
Don LaGreca
Like, what are you thinking? We're trying to get that image out, man. We're trying to just get people to think about how relevant we are as a baseball team. And you go out and get the worst song, the worst band. You call them a band, they perform on the dugout. But. But that's kind of like, you know. But give me like the. Let's go, Mads and Joe Piscopo's in the video. And it just. It's stupid. But you. You love how stupid it is, right?
- [45:59]
Alan Hahn
That was that whole let's go, Mets go like that whole thing, right? Yeah, yeah.
- [46:03]
Don LaGreca
You need the teamwork to make a dream work.
- [46:05]
Alan Hahn
Make the dream work. That's right. Let me give you a game time brought to you by Telemardu Irish Whiskey. Because, Donnie, when it's game time.
- [46:14]
Don LaGreca
It'S Tony time.
- [46:16]
Alan Hahn
I kind of like that one better. Grow. Mets, Cardinals coverage follows us right here on 880 at 6:30. That's right. So we'll take you right to 6:30 today. Yankees continue their series with the Rays at 7:05. Tell them or do the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab A Telemardu. Or try the new Telemurdo, honey. During tonight's action, glasses up to enjoying TeleMardu responsibly. Juan Soto, three for his last 29.
- [46:44]
Don LaGreca
Not good.
- [46:45]
Alan Hahn
Now, I saw like Dave Lennon of Newsday said, despite what anybody suggesting, there were no boos at Citi Field for him. There was no reaction that registered at all. But there was like, I guess people were trying to start this thing on social media that Soto was starting to hear the grumblings from Mets fans. I, I don't believe it. I don't think there was anything real at that. I don't think any Mets fan in their right mind would start doing that now. No, but you know, it's still this, this I think starting to become a look at me thing with some, either fake Mets fans or some people in the media.
- [47:21]
Don LaGreca
I, I, I listen, I gotta sit here and tell you that there aren't Met fans that are concerned and worried and are whack jobs who, who think they should release them and this was a mistake. I, I can't even speak to you. You're so insane. But I do think that there's a lot that comes from just Yankee fans pointing it out, Met fans getting defensive and it be, it just becomes a thing. It would become a thing anyway. Your newest acquisition is hitting under.250. He's only got two home runs. He hasn't homered at Citi Field. These are little things that are going to irk you. They're going to bother you. But need I remind you people, they won the game yesterday. They're 12 and seven. You know this guy's going to hit. So stop it. Somebody on, somebody on social media again, I don't even want to give their names because I think they're trolling, but they put him on the il like, like a, he needs a mental health time now to come on. Really?
- [48:14]
Alan Hahn
Yeah. That was actually trending, that tweet, you.
- [48:17]
Don LaGreca
Know, because that just, it's stupid. You know, who's, you know, he's probably disgusted with himself. He doesn't need to be booed. He doesn't need to look at social media. This is a professional hitter. That's not, that's going through it right now. Believe me. He doesn't need anybody to tell him that he's struggling.
- [48:32]
Alan Hahn
Of course not.
- [48:33]
Don LaGreca
It's killing him. Like any professional athlete. That's what matters. That's why he's as good as he is.
- [48:37]
Alan Hahn
And I hope no one. You know, I know you and I went back and forth about this stuff earlier in the week and the back page thing, but I hope you're not taking that as me saying, like, this is, like, it's not about Soto. This to me is about Star Wars. This is about icon versus Icon. This is King Kong versus Godzilla in New York City. That's what this is. And it's going to be all year. It's just starting now because Judge got off to a good start, and so there was not. So this is going to start to happen and this debate will continue. Who's better, Willie, Mickey or the Duke? Stake your claim, plant your flag. That's your guy, and defend him to the hilt. And each time someone has an uptick while the other guy's a downtick, that's going to happen. So there's going to come a time this season where judges in a slump and Soto's just mashing the ball. And the back pages are going to be reversed to what they are right now. It's just a real thing.
- [49:29]
Don LaGreca
But the problem is the Willie, Mickey and the Duke, they make a song out of it. It was kind of a good thing, but the Yankees won all the time. So really did it matter who was better?
- [49:40]
Alan Hahn
But I'm sure you heard this from. From your father and grandfather. Everything else, like I heard it from my mother and grandfather. That was a big deal. You had your guy. And the kids would argue in the playgrounds about who's better, of course. And that's what you love. I think that's the best thing about this sport. And it's important in New York and for baseball.
- [49:57]
Don LaGreca
But a lot of that conversation came from the fact that at the end of the day, the Yankees were going to win anyway. Right. I mean, the Giants won once with Willie, and that was when he was a kid in 54, you know, 55 or 51, if in 55 it was the Dodgers. But otherwise the Yankees won all the time. So as a Dodger fan or a Giant fan, all you had is we've got the better player. Yeah, but you know what? I'm kind of thinking longer view here to where. All right, let Judge be the better player. I think Judge is the better player. I want to win my first championship.
- [50:30]
Alan Hahn
You want the mess to be the better team.
- [50:31]
Don LaGreca
So I want the better team. And again, let the Yankees finish with a better record. But at the end of the day, I want to be in the position where I'm winning a trophy. So I'm happy that I'm 12 and 7. I'm battling for first place. I mean, do you think I'd be happy if the if soda was raking and they were 7 and 12?
- [50:48]
Alan Hahn
No, you'd be mad what's happening now. Yeah, you'd actually be blaming him again because they spent so much on this one guy that they couldn't afford to pay for anybody else. And now the roster's imbalanced. Think about it, right? It'd be worse, not better. 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, Alan and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.