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Don Hahn
Don.
Peter Rosenberg
I had never seen holes like that before.
Don Hahn
Don.
Alan Hahn
I'm not comfortable touching it. I'm not. No.
Don Hahn
And Rosenberg.
Anthony
I'm not breastfeeding.
Peter Rosenberg
No, but I.
Alan Hahn
That's too bad.
Peter Rosenberg
This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.
Don Hahn
This is Don Han and Rosenberg.
Peter Rosenberg
The best threesome I've ever heard on
Don Hahn
ESPN New York and streaming live on YouTube.
Peter Rosenberg
302 of the big city. Don Hahn in Rosenberg on a Monday. Start of a new week, start of a new era. Don the major topic of conversation will be about a team that won't have any games for a while, right?
Alan Hahn
Sad.
Peter Rosenberg
They may not have a game all week, but they're going to be a major topic conversation. The Knicks for the second consecutive year have that rattle around in your brain a little bit amongst all the
Joe (Caller)
bong
Peter Rosenberg
resin that our listeners usually have. Well, we are, we are. The show of high is the Knicks to the final four two straight years. Last year we talked about. Oh my God, rarefied air. We hadn't been here since 1999. Well, guess what? Now they're making it routine. The Knicks in the conference final and sitting there waiting for the Pistons and the Cavs hopefully to just beat each other with clubs for seven games as tonight.
Alan Hahn
That's that game tonight. Now I mean you're Cavs.
Peter Rosenberg
Go Cavs.
Manny (Caller)
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
I know the reason. Just to force a game. Well, just to keep.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, just to keep it going.
Peter Rosenberg
Although I think everybody wants the Cavs. Right? If you got a choice, it all depends. I know it's all a bring on the best.
Alan Hahn
I, I think good.
Peter Rosenberg
I think the Cavs are the team
Anthony
you want, but the Cavs aren't like the Cats are a good team. I mean I don't think no one's an easy and also, I mean, I don't know, it depends what we're going to say because Detroit had the Knicks number All year long. But now we're saying this is a whole different team, so it doesn't even matter.
Alan Hahn
You know, that iron sharpens iron thing I said about the first round, that's out. Give me the easiest. Give me the path of.
Peter Rosenberg
I just don't know if we know now you want to go back to the final for the first time since 1990.
Anthony
I think whoever wins this series is the better team.
Peter Rosenberg
That's probably absolutely fair. It is fair, of course, you know, because we look at Cleveland as. Yeah, show me. Well, wouldn't they show you beating the Pistons and going to the conference final, that maybe this is a different Cavs name, It's a different Nick team.
Alan Hahn
Let me ask you this.
Peter Rosenberg
Yes.
Alan Hahn
Would you rather play a Pistons team that sees red when they see you and is out for revenge and it's very physical, or would you rather see James Harden in the playoffs?
Peter Rosenberg
Hey, you know what?
Alan Hahn
At this point, Al, knowing his history,
Peter Rosenberg
if I'm a Nick fan, I'm rooting for the team that's got the cheapest seats for me to go see games on the road.
Alan Hahn
I mean, then there's that part.
Anthony
Well, it ain't going to be. It ain't going to be what Philly was this weekend.
Alan Hahn
That was a perfect storm. Wasn't it a Friday, Sunday. And just we got the calls on Friday. And I'd love to hear from those of you that went down, whether it was Friday or Sunday.
Peter Rosenberg
You got a story, want to hear it?
Alan Hahn
We definitely want to hear from you because clearly a lot of you went down there, took over the building and really made it just miserable for the Sixers. And. And it was. It was just something special we've never seen. So please be part of that conversation today. We'd love to hear all the stories of you going down to Philly and just taking over that building. But like, what we've seen, though, this is seven consecutive games that they've won, which when you say, like, I've never seen this. We literally have never seen this before from a Knicks team in the playoffs. They have never done this. Seven straight wins in the postseason. They won. They clinched A series scoring 140 points in the first round, then they clinched A series scoring 144 points in the second round. Those are both the highest scoring games in Nick playoff history. This offense has been historic. Literally, their numbers offensively in the playoffs are on par with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That's it. No one else in the playoffs is doing what these two teams are doing offensively. And add to it the fact that the Knick defense has been a big part of the story, getting almost 20 points a game off turnovers, making you pay for every time you turn the ball over. And it's all, it's all based off of something that happened. Being down 2:1 in the first round and whatever that story is. And I'm hoping one day to be able to tell it in a great book about a championship season, but whatever happened in between games three and four, it's a completely different looking team. Brian Winhor said this morning on get up that he talked to some of the coaches in Atlanta after that series and those guys said that team we saw in the first three games was not the same team we saw in the last three games or four games. That's not the same team. And so that, that something changed. Mike Brown said we stumbled upon something with this offense which he's doing a little Colombo there, if you ask me.
Anthony
Which is meaning what? What do you mean?
Alan Hahn
Like, you know, like, don't give me credit, like, for coming up with some mastermind thing here. We just sort of tried something and it's really worked to perfection. I think he's doing a little Colombo there, but that's fine. But they, even as a team, while all the Nick fans were celebrating in Philadelphia, of course the players kind of like walked off the court and in the locker room there was this sense of like accomplishment, but sort of like, okay, well, we're back where we started last year because that's really what it is. Don, you said this and it's the best thing to say when you want to give perspective. Right now, the Knicks are halfway there. Yeah, this is not what you think. They're not on the verge of anything. All they did was get back to where they left off last year. Jalen Brunson said at the start of the season, you can't just fast forward to the conference finals. You got to go through a whole season. You've got to get to that point. You got to work your way back. Well, they're back now. And now the question is, are they ready to take that next step and get to the finals?
Peter Rosenberg
And that's what we're going to find out and that's what we're going to analyze all week long. Celebrate this. Nick fans. It's rarefied air and sometimes what it looks like is important. Yes, I know when to win and all that. But a seven game winning streak of the postseason, the most in franchise history, when they win games, the combined 196 point differential in the victories, the point differential in the negative in the two losses too. So there's history being made here. Now it's on. I don't mean to disrespect the opponent, I don't mean to disrespect the first two rounds of the playoffs, but it is what it is. If you're a contender, this is what contenders do. And now you get to the third round and now it's on. That's it. Whoever it is, whether it's Cleveland, whether it's Detroit, because whoever you play also went through two rounds of playoffs and now they're ready and they're sharpened and they're going to be ready for what is going to be, you know, a true battle. So, hey, would it be nice to just see this continue to roll and never lose again and sweep the conference finals, sweep the championship, win your first ring since 1973? Of course. It'd be terrific.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
And it feels like it's possible based on what we've seen, but we also know history, not just of the Knicks, but in sports. I go back to the 94 Rangers. They were a machine, won the President's Trophy. It took a grand total of nine games in the first two rounds. Swept the Islanders, beat the Capitals in five. All of a sudden you're down losing game one and overtime to the Devils. You got to win in double overtime in Game 7 and then play seven against Vancouver. Why? Because now you've got teams that also have won rounds that also fancy themselves as championship caliber teams. So this is all going to make you better at the end of the day. But it's, it's, it's going to be on and now we're going to be truly see the test. In recent vintage we've seen teams go this far. We saw the jets go to back to back championship games two or three years, the Rangers going to the conference final. The Mets were in the league championship series two years ago and look what happened. Right? So I think this team is better and equipped, but we're going to find out whether it's Cleveland or Detroit, we're going to find out.
Alan Hahn
You always talk about how teams have to go through the pain and you have to build up your calluses and you've got to be able to go. You have a group that goes on a couple of years and you go through the pains of the losing, losing in the second round and then getting to the conference final, losing there and feeling the pain of that and learning from it and coming Back and the front office giving that team an opportunity, a chance to stay together and keep trying, keep pushing through. They didn't make the Giannis trade in August. Didn't happen. They wanted to give this team a chance with a new head coach. And then even this season, the trials and tribulations of the year of winning the NBA cup, going through an 11 game skid, trying to find themselves with Carl Anthony Towns not really feeling part of the offense, a defense that fell off and then suddenly moved back up into the top five. It's just constant tailoring of this team to a point now where you want to see blitzing through the first two rounds the way they did. And I say it because even the two losses were by, you said it, one point each. And those losses you had to get like, figure something out there quickly. But since then, they are blitzing through teams. They've had a couple of close games, have been able to close out those games. That's important too. But all of that builds up the confidence in a team that now, when you do face the more formidable teams, the later you get, the deeper you get into the playoffs, the more you're, I think, mentally ready for it, the more you have that confidence that comes from demonstrated performance. And like we've been here before, is still something in the back of their minds. Whoever they play in the next round hasn't been there before. Right, Right.
Peter Rosenberg
So I do think recently there is
Alan Hahn
something about what you're seeing from the core of this team as the evolution of it from that first year, losing to Miami in the second round when they gave away the first game, losing in the conference finals last year when they gave away the first game, and learning from it, the urgency, what Mikhail Bridges called desperation. Right. When asked after winning Friday night to go up three, zero is what your mindset is going into the. Into game four. And he said 00 still played desperate. And I think that's kind of what I've seen from this team each game. Even when there was a push early in game three on Friday night, they kind of sustained it down 20 to eight and then little by little chipped away, made it a game. And by the second half, fourth quarter, they just, they were overwhelming the Sixers to take that win and then to start game four. Don't even give them life. Take them out right from the start. The knockout punch was thrown five minutes into the game.
Peter Rosenberg
It's crazy.
Alan Hahn
There's something about the mentality of this team, as a veteran group that's been through some wars that Kind of suggests that if there's ever a time to believe in the New York Knicks, the year is now to believe in them.
Anthony
My one thing I'd say you and I disagree with maybe slightly on it is I'm not a while. There's a lot of potential upside to OG Having time. Don. I don't know if they were to find out, let's say today that OG is fine. He's ready to go. Because yesterday was precautionary.
Peter Rosenberg
Huh?
Alan Hahn
Is that what he's. Day to day? That's what they said.
Anthony
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
So we didn't.
Anthony
We don't know that he was.
Peter Rosenberg
I wasn't shocked. He wasn't. Me neither.
Alan Hahn
Once they went up three, it was like. I don't know if they need to. Because the quick turnaround game at all.
Anthony
So let's pretend he's ready to go right now. And yesterday was kind of precautionary and they feel good. I know. I just don't know that I'm rooting for this next series to go as long as possible. Although there's not really a huge.
Alan Hahn
Tonight we'll decide it because if it's. If Cleveland wins again and now it's two. Two. Yeah. We're going.
Peter Rosenberg
I think we're going.
Alan Hahn
We're going to Friday 6. At least Friday. Which means game one I don't think would be Sunday. I don't think they'd make that quick of a turnaround. You'd have to wait till Tuesday the 19th.
Anthony
So if it ends for a game one. They went four one Detroit.
Alan Hahn
Yeah. If they're done Wednesday, like if they win tonight and then win at home Wednesday, we'll. We'll probably play on Sunday.
Anthony
You think Sunday?
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Anthony
All of this is to say a team who's doing something this special seven games in a row. I understand you can make an argument that time off will have benefits. I would argue against that. I think you want to keep playing no matter what the sport is. You name the sport with the exception of professional football, basically where they don't play in any sort of. With any sort of rhythm. I guys think you want to just keep playing. So I don't know that I love a week off for this team. Except for OG that's the only benefit. That's a big one.
Alan Hahn
And Hart and Towns and Mitch always
Anthony
could, you know, could always use a little time.
Alan Hahn
They all have something.
Anthony
But that wouldn't. But four days would be great for that.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Anthony
I just don't need. I don't need seven.
Peter Rosenberg
You're still you're still looking at seven's best case.
Anthony
No.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, yeah. Best case is seven days off, Sunday to Sunday. Yes.
Peter Rosenberg
Now you're looking at. Right now. It's going to be. It's going to be a week.
Alan Hahn
Now, let me give you a story. Mike Brown, coach, team.
Peter Rosenberg
All right, but just real, real quick, it depends on how you feel about this team. If you think this is just riding a magic carpet. Yeah, you want to get back to playing. But if they're that good, it shouldn't matter, right?
Anthony
Can't it always be a blend of both?
Peter Rosenberg
I'm going to give you both.
Alan Hahn
That's what I'm going to do here. I'm going to give you both. 2009, Mike Brown coached the Cavs. Cavs were a 66 win team. Molly Zerbak was on the team. He was telling his story. They mowed through the first two rounds, smoked. I forget the two teams, but just irrelevant. Mowed through them. They had 10 days off to the conference finals. They ended up playing the Orlando Magic, who upset Boston in the second round. And so they thought they'd be playing Boston. They ended up playing Orlando. Now the Lakers were going through the west, and the whole league was like, LeBron versus Kobe. We're going to get that Finals. Going to be great. And, well, I said that they spent that whole week scrimmaging because it's just sitting around like, what are we doing? Like, you just had to keep it, keep it going. They lost the first game to Orlando, who came in hot. They had one game too, because LeBron hit a buzzer beater. But the series already was messed up. They lost the series. And so it became Dwight Howard and the Magic vs Kobe and the Lakers, not the LeBron vs Kobe final you expected. And the feeling was that stretch messed up the Cavs, who were clearly the best team in the league and had the best player. That's one. Now, the other side of it is Mike Brown telling the story about stumbling upon this offense. And something that he said that caught my attention was, he's like, there's a lot of options to this that we just don't have time to get to. If we have a training camp, he's like, next year, there's so much more we can add to this offense when we have a training camp. And I'm thinking, if I'm Mike Brown and I got seven days and for at least three days, I don't know who I'm playing, maybe I put in some more stuff in this offense. Maybe I have My guys on the floor staying locked in on, hey, let's add these things and see how this looks and put this into our muscle memory because guess who hasn't seen that on film. Whoever we're going to play in the next round. And so how do you use these? 7 days is going to be the most important thing. And what did Mike Brown learn from 2009 that he can use right now?
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, the rest versus rust is a age old question that gets tale as old as time.
Alan Hahn
It really is.
Peter Rosenberg
And we could sit here and give examples on either side where it's helped, where it's hurt. I'm kind of leaning towards Peter where I know these players just going to be chomping at the bit the play. At some point it becomes too long and a week is too long because you never get that kind of time off ever. Right. I mean what's the longest break you get? Even the All Star break, even during
Alan Hahn
the All Star break is about 10 days.
Peter Rosenberg
Is it that long?
Anthony
No, no, no, it's a week. They play the, they'll play the last
Alan Hahn
game Thursday, maybe it's eight days. But they come back Friday.
Anthony
Last game's Thursday. They come back the following Friday.
Alan Hahn
Not everybody finishes Thursday, but. Yeah, right. But it's whatever it is, whatever your last game is, usually you get at least seven if not eight days in between.
Peter Rosenberg
But you've been playing pretty much every other day since then.
Alan Hahn
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
And it's rough. The other question, we'll get to your calls. 1-800-919-3776 because you were talking about them finding it. Did they find it or did they know where it was all along? Just decided to break it out now.
Alan Hahn
You know, it's funny, everybody's asking. Darryl Laski actually asked me that. He's like, were they just holding onto this? And Monica said, I think she might have talked to Mike Brown about it. And Monica said that he's like, you give me too much credit. And I say if they had this all along, why'd they wait till game four in the first round to try it? We've seen a lot of towns in Brunson action late in the regular season. And we're like, hey, it's about time they started doing this. And it looked good. But this is different with him as a playmaker with the ball, a passer, which is what he loves to do. Did you see the one play yesterday when he had the ball and, and he's looking for passes and he didn't realize there was nobody guarding him Right. And then he just stopped and goes, oh, wait. And he just shot a jumper. You know, there's nobody on him. He didn't realize it because he was too locked in on who can I get the ball to? And it says, somebody had to say, hey, Cat, you're the guy that's open. You're looking for the open man. You're the open man. So there's something different about what they're running and how they're using Brunson and the Wings that has created a nightmare for opponent opposing defenses to figure out. And then it makes it worse because Embiid can't move, and so he's sitting in drop coverage. And that's where Brunson just feasted on him because they just knew the bigs were not going to get out and defend.
Peter Rosenberg
It is so interesting how much of it just came together, or was it some gamesmanship? I don't know, but it's something comes together for a team and it's certainly come together for them, and it's been something to behold. It really has to just see this kind of dominance after we were having legitimate conversations and don't beat us up. Everybody was about, you know, should Mike Brown, you know, be let go? What's going to happen? Are we going to go after Giannis when they were down 2 1? I'll remember that Friday.
Alan Hahn
Oh, yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
It'll stick with me forever. If they end up winning a championship that Friday after they lost that game three, they're down two games to one. This isn't a championship team, right? What's the matter? The same old Knicks playing with their food, messing things up, and now they're in a dog fight against Atlanta. And even if they survive, good luck doing that the rest of the way. And they haven't lost a game since. Have not lost a game since.
Alan Hahn
And I don't know if I said this Friday, but I know I said it somewhere that I looked. Just be out of curiosity, Oklahoma City last year, they were down 2:1 in the second round, and they lost by 40 in a game in the playoffs last year. So there's times that the championship team doesn't look like a championship team, but yet you can find it and go on to win a championship. And so the idea that you can't do this and win a title is out the window. They found it at the right time, figured out at the right time, and their level, their energy, and it's just taking their game to another level and staying there. That's something that we've seen for seven straight games and it's very impressive. They're going to lose. You know they're going to lose. It's, it's, it's coming. It's not like they're going to run the table and win the title, but they, they have now already built in this sort of sense within the room of we can do this.
Peter Rosenberg
That's, that's the thing that's different about this team. I would almost guarantee at some point crisis is too strong, but at some point we'll be like, oh, I didn't see that coming. That's, there's going to be adversity. There just has to be.
Alan Hahn
Of course. And how do they answer?
Peter Rosenberg
How do they answer? And now you've got examples that they can answer. You know, they could, they couldn't do it after that terrible loss in Game 1 against Indiana last year. You know, they did bounce back in segments but obviously affected them the rest of the series as far as winning it is concerned.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
You know, now you got an example. Those two back to back losses against Atlanta and they have a loss since like you said, they're going to lose. There's going to be moments of doubt, there's going to be moments of what's going on here. Because it's hard to win a championship and it's even harder when a team is trying to end a streak. When you slay a dragon, the dragon does not go down easily.
Alan Hahn
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
The dragon does get a couple of swipes in. Just does you look at the history of all the teams that you know when the Cubs finally won their first World Series since 1908, it's a seven game series against the Indians. Right when the Rangers ended their 54 game streak. It's seven in double overtime. It's one last face off in game seven against the Canucks. Red Sox in the defensive zone when
Alan Hahn
they had to finally. Red Sox back from three. Oh hey.
Peter Rosenberg
They swept the Cardinals of the World Series down.
Alan Hahn
But by the time they got to that World Series they were on such a. Nobody was touching them. But it still took coming back from 3, 0 and winning a Game 7 the way they wanted. I hate to say it, but there's a little bit of that happening.
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Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Anthony
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Alan Hahn
Look, we know Philly sports fans do not need us to stand up for them. But I will say that was not about how Philly isn't a great sports town. That was about how Philly is a sports town. That when they look at something and say, that ain't it, I'm not going well, like you're not getting my support, you don't deserve it. The Flyers deserved it because they came. They came out of nowhere. There's no stars on that team. But. But they played their ass off. Sure, okay, they got pumped in a, in a sweep in the second round, whatever. But the fact is, is at least they gave you something and you could appreciate what's coming next. The process dead well that seems that's
Peter Rosenberg
what I love about it.
Alan Hahn
Anybody in Philly knows that. So that's why they were like beg me to buy your tickets. Stop it. I'm selling them. I'm making Some money. And you're going to have to hear it because your franchise needs to. Needs renovation.
Peter Rosenberg
This. This to me was. Was a punch to the gut of the tanking crowd. They were the. The poster boys of the process. Trust the process. They trusted the process. They did. And all they get out of it is a broken down superstar and can't get out of the second round. That's all they got. It didn't work, and now they're ticked off about it because they bought into it. They bought into the tank, celebrated. This is what they got.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
All right. So that. That's, to me, what makes this so grand, because you know how I feel about tanking. They try to take the easy way to a championship, and now they're no closer to it, and now they're an embarrassment to their own fan base. So you're right. It's the perfect storm. It was the weekend. Knick fans, they're passionate about their team. They love the place their team's at. And even after beating the Celtics, which you thought might have gotten them going, it didn't. Those first two games at the guard, especially game one, getting crushed and then not being able to win the game they should have in game two, kind of solidified this team's going nowhere. And you know what? I'm going to make some money off of it rather than waste my money and go see my team get killed for two games. And that's exactly what you saw in games three and four. Quickly, before the calls, the only local team I can think of, and if you think of anybody else, let me know. That slayed a dragon easily were the 86 giants. The giants hadn't won a championship in 30 years when 14 2. And they destroyed the 49ers. And they shut out the Redskins 17 nothing. And blew out the Broncos in the Super Bowl. Like, that's the only. Now, the Giants were down at the half of the super bowl, so I was a little nervous, although I still thought the Giants were gonna win the game. But I really. Outside of losing the first game to Dallas in the regular season, there was no doubt, like they just steamrolled their opponents.
Alan Hahn
Remember where they came from the year
Peter Rosenberg
before, they lost to the Bears in the divisional round.
Alan Hahn
So it was sort of like the. They were next up, but they were still slain.
Peter Rosenberg
30 years. 56 to 86.
Alan Hahn
I get it.
Peter Rosenberg
And they grew. Normally, when you slay a dragon, you're going to have some heartache. So far, the only Nick heartache was down 2:1 in the first round. Against Atlanta. And the way they answered that was seven consecutive wins and six of them in blowout fashion. And some historic blowouts. Like, you know, yesterday was just, wow,
Alan Hahn
they were up by 40.
Peter Rosenberg
Wow.
Alan Hahn
4.
Peter Rosenberg
Insane. Insane.
Anthony
In a closeout.
Alan Hahn
I mean, again, you go 9 for 10 or what was it, 8 for 11? Whatever it was in the first quarter, I stopped counting. When you start doing stuff like that, to start again like that is a knockout ball.
Peter Rosenberg
You see the shot? Oh, that's it.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
Like, before, it would arc down. I go, that's it. On the other side of. It's like, no, that's going to rim out. That's going to be an air ball. And it was just. It's not quite the closeout against Atlanta, which I don't think we'll ever see again.
Alan Hahn
Oh, God.
Peter Rosenberg
But damn close.
Alan Hahn
It was very close.
Peter Rosenberg
1-800-919-3776. Let's get to the busy phones. Let's start it off with Joe in the car. You're on, Don. Hannah, Rosenberg. What's up, man?
Manny (Caller)
Hey, guys.
Joe (Caller)
How's it going? Oh, I just want to chime in about, you know, the Knicks and something Don's mentioned earlier with the point differential. They're like +194 over the entire playoffs, which I think is absolutely absurd. And then also with Brunson, you know, having the Kobe mentality of jobs not finished yet. You know, when Alan said that, you know, they're just going about their business, it was like, Kobe on the podium. You know, why aren't you smiling?
Alan Hahn
Right?
Joe (Caller)
So, I mean, it was. I mean, it's. I'm a Knicks fan. I mean, I've been. You know, I was born in 85, so I saw the 90s teams and everything. But this is. This is different. Like, I like watching these playoffs is. Has been exhilarating and something that, like, I haven't seen, and I'm just reveling. So all those people that are like, oh, but we haven't got the championship yet, just like Don says all the time, just enjoy it. Enjoy this run, because it's historic. I mean, they're averaging 20 points a win in the playoffs.
Alan Hahn
That's.
Kevin (Caller)
That's absurd.
Alan Hahn
You know, it's.
Peter Rosenberg
It's interesting when you hear run, right? And I'm not mad at Joe for saying it, because any. It always feels like a run. You win seven straight run to me, almost, and maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't run kind of feel like, oh, it's unexpected. They're on a run, they're On a heater. Maybe this is the way it's just supposed to be.
Alan Hahn
20 points a game.
Peter Rosenberg
Like, you're like. Like. No, but you're. You're good. Listen, you're that good compared to who you play. I mean, obviously, who you play has a lot to do with it. I do not think the Knicks are going to blow out the Cavaliers or the Pistons the way they did Atlanta and Philadelphia.
Alan Hahn
I think they'll blow out the Cavaliers.
Anthony
You do?
Peter Rosenberg
I just don't expect the Cavaliers to get there. I just don't think it'll be. Maybe it would be. I don't know. But.
Alan Hahn
But I'm with you.
Peter Rosenberg
That's more of a reflection on just the cavalry. I don't think we'll see them anything.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, I don't think we'll see them.
Peter Rosenberg
That's why I think it's probably a mo.
Alan Hahn
1.4 points per game on average point differential. Largest of any team entering the conference finals since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams back in 1984. And the only team that's second on that list, the Thunder, currently.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah.
Alan Hahn
And they're 18.18.3.
Peter Rosenberg
And I don't think that's a coincidence, Alan, that those two are in the same year because there is. You know, we've talked about the NBA. There's a lot of very top notes right now. And. And there are some teams that. I don't think Atlanta is that great. Now, you did have the whole iron versus iron compared to who they could have played. Right. I mean, it was. It was Atlanta, Toronto. You were going to take Toronto over Atlanta because Atlanta was better. I don't think anybody beard Atlanta.
Alan Hahn
Remember, the Sixers were the other team. There were three of them, and all could have finished in that sixth spot. And it was. You don't want to see the Sixers. They've got Embiid healthy and they've got Paul George. And then Embiid had the appendectomy. What else is new? Always something. And then, of course, you know, the. That series with the Raptors and the Cavs went a lot longer than anybody thought it would go. And the Cavs wanted Detroit. That's why they stayed on that side of the bracket. So there's so much of that that you've got to get through in the early part of the playoffs.
Peter Rosenberg
Exactly.
Alan Hahn
To then, you know, let's. Let's sift it all the dirt.
Peter Rosenberg
Exactly. Let's get down to look at. You're looking for. You're looking for gold. You're mining for gold. And you're trying to get rid of all the. As Michael would say, the flotsam and Jetson to finally get to get rid of the flotsam that you have. But that's just how the Knicks shouldn't have to apologize for that. But that's. That's what you have, is that you have a lot of teams that are, you know, not that great, and they're taking advantage of it.
Alan Hahn
You're supposed to destroy. And they not play. Destroy. Destroyed them.
Peter Rosenberg
And also, I. I look at the Sixers coming back from three. One down, not a reflection on the Sixers were dangerous. Now, looking back, is that. You know what? The Knicks would have taken care of Boston, too.
Alan Hahn
Because, like, think about. I said this this morning. If you're Boston, are you not going? What the hell did we do? Because all they did was shoot threes. When the Knicks showed you that this Sixer team couldn't guard the paint, and then when they packed it in, that's when they buried the threes on them. Yeah, you should have just kept going to the rim.
Peter Rosenberg
And they were good. They weren't beating the Knicks.
Alan Hahn
You needed one more win. Brutal.
Peter Rosenberg
Let's go to Manny and Flushing. You're on. Donjon Rose. Man A.
Manny (Caller)
Hey, how y' all doing?
Peter Rosenberg
What's up?
Manny (Caller)
Good, good. Listen, you know, I think this is probably the best stress I've ever seen being a Knick fan in my 32 years in my life. I mean, listen, I was born two months after they lost to the Rockets, and I was five when they reached back to the finals where they lost to the spurs. And that lockout certain season, I had no idea they were the age until many years later. But, man, you know, I think, you know, we're having. We're having a. I think, you know, as a Knicks fan, this year has been a hell of a ride. I mean, I just don't want to go. I just don't want to stop. And by the way, I mean, let's save this about the Sixers team. I. I gotta be fair. I gotta be real. Jordan B. To me, he's no superstar. When you've been in the league for 12 years, you. You're winning MVP without is a conference final. That's disgraceful. It's like having a burger without the knee. That's how I feel about join.
Alan Hahn
Manny, you read this this morning off your script. I heard you on the morning show. This is literally the same thing you said this morning. You even did the burger and the meat thing. This is not. Call Philly radio with this. Manny, come on, man. We don't care about this. Like, this is not about that. And by the way, the 99 team, just to be clear, yes, they were in eighth seed. They went through that lockout season trying to figure out who they were. They found it against Miami, swept the second round. Sound familiar? Won six in a row. Then they had a brawl with the Pacers, ended up winning it. And that's how they got to the final. And it. So that's kind of what you're expecting.
Peter Rosenberg
You know, it's eerie because. And who would be waiting for them on all likelihood in the final? Oklahoma City. That has a Spurs vibe. Not just the whole small market thing, but also the dynasty that was the
Alan Hahn
first spurs championship versus this would be for the Thunder trying to go back to back. So a little true.
Peter Rosenberg
But.
Alan Hahn
But you're right, it does have that vibe.
Peter Rosenberg
But it's almost like when the. When the Patriots beat the Rams. It's like it was an upset, but history remembers it as the beginning of a dynasty. Right. You know, the spurs, we look back at, we knew the Spur, the Knicks were a dog in that series. But you know, the spurs were going to be what they ended up becoming. Now you look back at it and go, well, that was a dynasty spur team.
Alan Hahn
Yeah. But the argument, of course, Ewing doesn't hurt his. He had strained his calf late in that playoff run. He didn't play hardly, played in the second round, played sparingly against the Pacers and then didn't play at all in the final because he was shot. So if they have Ewing, they have some size against that front line, maybe they got a shot. But a healthy Ewing might have gotten them over the top, but it wasn't to be.
Anthony
But there is something about the overall aura with regard to this season that does feel like 94 and 99, the kind of team they'd be playing the way the Eastern Conference kind of is, they're getting their spot.
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
You just.
Anthony
But you just have to win.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, exactly.
Peter Rosenberg
Kevin in New Jersey, you're on espn. New York.
Kevin (Caller)
Hey guys. How are you guys doing today? Man, it is. So it's a great feeling to be a Knicks fan right now. And I'm a little nervous and everything, you know, talking with y' all about it because my joy is just exhilarating right now. And just to Alan, to refresh your memory a little bit on that 99 team, that Ewing that playing, we also didn't have Larry Johnson for I think game.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, he kept. He was hurting his back. Right.
Kevin (Caller)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And this is going to sound like a broken record, but I. So I've been a Nick fan Since. Since 93. I'm not gonna, you know, I'm gonna own up to that. I wasn't around, you know, during the Bushes days and everything like that. But 90, 94, that was when I first met my girlfriend, who's now my wife now. That 94 team went to the championship. We got married in 99. And it was during the Indiana Pacers series. That was game one. So you could tell what that day was. You know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I. But I was thinking about my wedding and everything, so. But we went to 99. This team right now, again, it's going to sound like a broken record, but this team is. It's just a different feel with this team. And I don't know what it is.
Alan Hahn
I'll tell you what it is. I'll tell you what it is. Clyde said it.
Don Hahn
Yeah.
Kevin (Caller)
And I had a question for you, Alan. So you finished, but I had a question.
Alan Hahn
I'm just going to. I'm just going to tell you. Clyde said it last night, and he doesn't ever say things like this so easily. He said, they remind me of my teams that won championships because of the passing, the basketball, the selfishness, selflessness, and the defensive tenacity. He said it's very reminiscent of his teams, and he rarely will give that kind of praise.
Kevin (Caller)
Okay, now, the question I have for you, Alan. And he's right. He's totally right. The question I have for you is the last game last year against Indiana when we were. When we were knocked out. Deuce McBride said a reporter asked him a question, and he said that we were exposed. What do you think he meant by that?
Alan Hahn
Depth.
Peter Rosenberg
And now they got depth.
Alan Hahn
Yeah, they just. They, they. They were. They wore out the Knicks. They were predictable offensively, and they didn't have any other answers.
Peter Rosenberg
And that might have led to why you have the coaching.
Alan Hahn
It's literally why. Yeah. It's literally why. Yeah. And then you could see it. Look, as much as I defended Tom Thibodeau, and I always will, because he got them here, but Mike Brown has shown you exactly why they made the coaching change. Because they spent the whole year making sure guys on the bench felt part of it, had opportunities to play. And when you needed to go to them, like a Landry Shammit. Right. Like an Alvarado. Like Deuce. Like, all these guys are ready to play. And that's Clarkson. Yeah.
Anthony
Everyone's a great Mikhail Bridges is now. I mean, it's crazy. You're seeing Bridges look like the best version of what they thought they were getting.
Alan Hahn
There's another second round for Bridges where all of a sudden you just stop talking about the draft picks you gave up for them and realize it was worth it, wasn't it, to get this far? But you're still only halfway there.
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Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Anthony
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Alan Hahn
They don't have a song, though. I gotta say that. You know, like, all these runs, they always have a song.
Anthony
Maybe that's the. Maybe that's the key.
Alan Hahn
They don't have a. I'm not even.
Anthony
There's not even a tremendous amount of Go New York, Go New York, go going on.
Alan Hahn
Honestly, the team itself, you're not getting anything.
Peter Rosenberg
Like, see, that's what I, I honestly,
Alan Hahn
they're not doing it.
Peter Rosenberg
I love it.
Alan Hahn
Because there's no goofy, kitschy stuff.
Joe (Caller)
Yeah.
Peter Rosenberg
There's no Grimace. There's no hockey to, you know, there's no stupid thing that all got us all going. Yeah. We were 25 and 5 since Hawk Tua throughout the first pitch.
Anthony
They're not even, they're not even big.
Peter Rosenberg
How about this? How about be good? How good will you do? Be well, run draft well. Make good trades, make good decisions. Don't wait for Grimace to throw out the first pitch.
Anthony
Yeah, but this is just because you hate your team.
Peter Rosenberg
I mean. No, I do. I honestly, because there are plenty of
Anthony
good times that I also have the silly things and they're still good. You root for the one team that if they do anything fun, it's the whole organization.
Peter Rosenberg
But no, I don't want to.
Anthony
I don't want to.
Peter Rosenberg
I don't want to lose focus. I don't want to talk about the wrong orange and blue here. I want to talk about the Knicks. But it is refreshing that it's a run that didn't have, you know, it all started when, you know, go Nicks, Amari, Stoudemire. Well, you know what I'm saying. Like, no, but. Well, no, that's.
Alan Hahn
That's.
Anthony
That's seven straight.
Peter Rosenberg
They don't even know seven straight.
Alan Hahn
Don't you dare.
Peter Rosenberg
Well, you got to ruin everything.
Anthony
I'm just telling you. Well, let me ask you a question, Jacob, Anthony, you guys are more in
Peter Rosenberg
touch than I am.
Anthony
How much of it is it. Is it a thing that gets thrown around on. In Nick's like online stuff?
Alan Hahn
Is it a thing or no about Stoud of mine?
Peter Rosenberg
Not really Ranchers in there. They're having. They're doing a whole other.
Anthony
Yeah, no, I meant this is just.
Peter Rosenberg
This is just something you do.
Anthony
I met Danhausen. Unless you can, your nickname for him is Stodm.
Peter Rosenberg
Don't even speak to doing the rest of the day.
Jacob (Caller)
I knew where you were going.
Anthony
All right, Anthony, Is it a thing or no?
Jacob (Caller)
It's a thing.
Anthony
Like among Knicks fans. Like, they enjoy it.
Peter Rosenberg
His fans are yo yos. I'm talking about. I'm telling you. Well, the second that a Knick refers to. No offense to him, he seems like he's a decent guy, right? I'm not a wrestling.
Anthony
But they're not.
Peter Rosenberg
But Dan housing seems like it's a
Alan Hahn
fun thing that's nowhere on the radar.
Peter Rosenberg
If all of a sudden I hear Josh Hart refer to him. The Knicks won't win.
Jacob (Caller)
The champ you've met. Well, you guys. You guys backlash. You guys missed post show backlash.
Peter Rosenberg
Yes, I miss it. I. I could do avoid.
Bucked Up Advertiser
Well, Peter was on the show.
Peter Rosenberg
That's how much I don't want to say. It's my brother has a channel I don't listen to. It's more of a statement about wrestling than you.
Anthony
But why is he doing this? He's lashing out at everyone.
Alan Hahn
Messing with you, man.
Anthony
He's lashing out at everyone.
Peter Rosenberg
Devil games. You sit down and watch. Not many. At least I would say zero is not many.
Alan Hahn
I put in some for you both.
Anthony
Go ahead, Anthony. Thank you.
Jacob (Caller)
You were saying anyway, on the backlash
Bucked Up Advertiser
post show, Peter, did someone do something
Anthony
on national television to promote their product?
Jacob (Caller)
Peter Rosenberg. The NBA on espn also put it out talking to Danhausen about his run with the Knicks.
Alan Hahn
And.
Jacob (Caller)
And Peter asked him if the curse it will continue to be lifted, that the Knicks will continue on. And he said yes, as long as he gets a courtside seat in between Kylie Jenner and Timothee Shyamalama Lama.
Peter Rosenberg
Don't do it.
Anthony
Timothy Shyamalan.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm telling you, don't do it. I know karma. I know juju.
Alan Hahn
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
That would be akin to when Timmy Trumpet was invited to Citi Field like that thing was also, remember? And then, oh, let's have Timmy Trumpet come and blow his little horn at Citi Field when Diaz comes into a non save situation. I think the Mets have lost every, literally every game since then. So. No, if Danhausen steps foot in the garden, they should drag him out by his short hair. I hate Timmy Trumpet and not because of Danhausen. Don't muck this thing up.
Anthony
But the thing is, they're not done. Just to be clear, though, they're not the Mets. No matter what they do, they're not gonna be the Mets.
Peter Rosenberg
No, no. But they can have fun. No, see, this is stuff.
Anthony
You don't say that they can have
Peter Rosenberg
fun then all of a sudden haven't won A championship since 73. Now they got it all figured out. No, could we just be careful? See, no, this is now you're doing Yo Yo. This is like fanboy Yo Yo's coming. This is the fraud in you trying to derail the whole thing.
Anthony
I'm not trying to derail the whole thing.
Peter Rosenberg
Am I wrong? I know you're not. Al.
Anthony
Where are my bets been?
Peter Rosenberg
Don't do it.
Anthony
Where are my bets been?
Alan Hahn
He's made some money.
Anthony
I'm. I do it. I, I, I literally almost froze my FanDuel account on Friday trying to get a bed in FL, which is illegal.
Peter Rosenberg
So they're gonna. We figured out.
Anthony
And Anthony owes me 50 smackers, so I bet on his account. But, But I made sure lunch you bought. I made sure I got the beta, though, because I'm not trying to do this.
Peter Rosenberg
I know you're not trying to.
Anthony
Baby was dressed up in her Brunson shirt yesterday.
Alan Hahn
Boom.
Peter Rosenberg
This is, this is. You're not doing it intentionally. This is all subconsciously. You're able to do this because you're not a real Nick fan. Sure, a real Nick fan would know not to do what you're doing, but they're.
Anthony
I'm just telling you saying you're also injecting. Alan, hear me out. Is he not injecting A little bit of Mets broken on this, like, just let it be.
Peter Rosenberg
You were that. You were the Mets five minutes ago.
Alan Hahn
This. This is.
Anthony
But they're not the Mets. They're their own kind of bad.
Alan Hahn
But you understand what he's saying?
Peter Rosenberg
Don't you understand? It was during Hawk 2. We all thought, oh, they're playing the Dodgers. That's the old Mets. That's done. We've got it all figured out. And then you didn't get it figured out. I'm saying don't be the Mets.
Alan Hahn
Right.
Peter Rosenberg
I hear you.
Alan Hahn
It's definitely the scars of being a Mets fan.
Peter Rosenberg
Scars of being a Knick fan.
Alan Hahn
He's standing there warning you. I'm telling you, I know where this will go. You can't. And that's why, again, this is the difference is Jalen Brunson. Because the bing bong was before Brunson. PB Bing bong.
Peter Rosenberg
That all.
Anthony
Was that Atlantis pre Brunson?
Alan Hahn
Oh, yes. This was the Atlanta Series.
Kevin (Caller)
That was.
Alan Hahn
Yep. Brando. That was the one win. And everybody went. Bing bong. Went crazy. And bing bong was a thing for.
Anthony
There hasn't been a thing. In the Brunson era. There hasn't been a thing.
Peter Rosenberg
I'm just saying, as much as you believe it to be true, and I'm believing it to be true, and Alan's believing it to be true, the witch is not dead. The bing bong. The witch is dead. I'll put the two together. That has not happened yet. Okay? There's only one way to kill the witch.
Alan Hahn
You gotta. You gotta. You gotta drive this stake through its heart.
Peter Rosenberg
The o' Brien house has to fall on the witch.
Alan Hahn
Right?
Peter Rosenberg
You know what I'm saying?
Alan Hahn
Yeah, no, I know exactly what you're saying. And that's the only way it gets done. But that's why I said what I said about how Brunson right now will not entertain any of that stuff. And I give the group credit. Here's a great example. Jeremy Sohan, after the. After game two, was walking off the court past the Sixers players, and he started running his mouth. And the Sixers players were like, what the hell are you doing? And then they started barking at him. And so after Game 3 Friday night, the Knicks get the win. Pull out that win on the road. That was a fairly close game until they broke it open. And the first thing Towns did. Towns, who's a guy that you might think might want to be goofy, have some fun. He grabs Sohan. He goes, get your ass to the locker room. Like you see him. Look at Sohan and point to the locker room like you off the court. None of this.
Peter Rosenberg
Don't do it.
Alan Hahn
It just shows you that they're in a different headspace right now. They don't want any of no reindeer games.
Peter Rosenberg
Don't do it.
Alan Hahn
None of the bing bong.
Anthony
Anthony Pusey just sent me $50. How do you like that?
Peter Rosenberg
That's nice on the Venmo.
Anthony
That's right. It's propped up.
Peter Rosenberg
And it's not just them. Listen, the Yankees remember what the judge with the New York New York after they beat the Red Sox in game one a few years ago. He was young. He didn't know any better. Don't mess. I'm just telling you. And this Knick team seems like they get it. Another thing that a team in this area didn't get. We'll get into them more your calls on the Knicks. We also have a different a new feature coming up at 4:30.
Alan Hahn
I'm excited.
Anthony
We have a new feature.
Peter Rosenberg
We have a new feature.
Anthony
A new Monday feature.
Peter Rosenberg
A new Monday feature.
Anthony
Wow.
Peter Rosenberg
We're toying with the name.
Anthony
All right.
Peter Rosenberg
We got to get your input.
Anthony
Okay.
Peter Rosenberg
Because you went pee peeing the potty and we didn't see you during the break.
Anthony
Yeah, it's just happened. I was like, when did this happen?
Peter Rosenberg
It just happened.
Anthony
See, I want to make a coffee.
Alan Hahn
We're still workshopping a name.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, we don't know because we. Everybody loves the nsa.
Alan Hahn
One thing I do know. Pee Pee in the Potty will not be the name.
Peter Rosenberg
Come on. PP in the Potty Monday.
Anthony
Everybody loves a little PP in the Potty Monday.
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah. We just don't have a name of a day with it with P. Otherwise it would work perfect.
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
Anthony
I don't want to know how to sausage is made, man.
Alan Hahn
I just want to know. It's good.
Don Hahn
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.
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Podcast Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Episode Theme: Knicks Historic Sweep and What Comes Next
The trio celebrates and analyzes the New York Knicks’ emphatic sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers—marking the team's second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Euphoria collides with realism as listeners and hosts explore what the run means, what’s changed for the team, and what remains to be proven. There’s a focus on team evolution, rest vs. rhythm heading into the next round, and the emotional and historical resonance for Knicks fans.
“The Knicks in the conference final and sitting there waiting for the Pistons and the Cavs hopefully to just beat each other with clubs…”
— Peter Rosenberg, 01:27
“We have never seen this before from a Knicks team in the playoffs. Seven straight wins…[their offense] has been historic.”
— Alan Hahn, 03:28
“Right now, the Knicks are halfway there…this is not what you think. They’re not on the verge of anything.”
— Alan Hahn, 05:43
“Would you rather play a Pistons team that sees red…or would you rather see James Harden in the playoffs?”
— Alan Hahn, 02:50
“This is different…watching these playoffs is… exhilarating and something that… I haven’t seen.”
— Joe (Caller), 28:45
“If there’s ever a time to believe in the New York Knicks, the year is now to believe in them.”
— Alan Hahn, 11:48
“They try to take the easy way to a championship, and now they’re no closer to it, and now they’re an embarrassment to their own fan base…this was a punch to the gut of the tanking crowd.”
— Peter Rosenberg, 25:22
“When you slay a dragon, the dragon does not go down easily.”
— Peter Rosenberg, 21:43
“There’s something about the mentality of this team…Kind of suggests that if there’s ever a time to believe in the New York Knicks, the year is now.”
— Alan Hahn, 11:48
The hosts encapsulate the mood among Knicks fans—a mix of joy, possibility, and the nervous energy that comes from a history of heartbreak and near-misses. This Knicks team, with a new mental edge and truly historic performance, appears poised to challenge for a title, but both on-court legacy and the long shadow of New York sports history suggest that only finishing the job will silence the doubts. The episode ends urging fans to enjoy this rare moment, while keeping eyes firmly on the ultimate prize.
For more discussion and fan reactions, tune in to Hour 2 or catch the podcast on demand.