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- [00:00]
Don La Greca
Hey sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows and
- [00:08]
Tim Legler
originals across every ESPN network and service.
- [00:11]
Don La Greca
And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional cost. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app.
- [00:25]
Tim Legler
It's all the ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now.
- [00:31]
Don La Greca
This is the Don Han at Rosenberg Podcast.
- [00:35]
Alan Hahn
That sounds like heaven to me.
- [00:36]
Don La Greca
Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.
- [00:44]
Alan Hahn
Game time is brought to you by Telemar Do Irish Whiskey. Because when it's game time, fellas, I like that.
- [00:54]
Peter Rosenberg
It's totally time.
- [00:55]
Alan Hahn
Mets start a series with the Nationals coverage immediately following us on 880 at 6:05 coverage of Spurs Thunder. That's on 1050 at 8:00 o', clock, game one of that series and the Yankees will be home for the Blue Jays. That game is at 7:05 Tullamore due the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish Whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullamore Dew, honey, during today's action. Glasses up to enjoying Tullamore do responsibly is our very own Tim Legler all over the NBA and he joins us here on Don Hahn and Rosenberg. How are you, sir?
- [01:27]
Tim Legler
I am doing wonderful, man. I mean, I mean in the Big Apple already. Very excited about this series.
- [01:32]
Alan Hahn
I know you're not supposed to think about breaks and things going your way, but it just feels like every day we talk about how things seem to be going the Knicks way. You know, they get the Cavs, I think, I think the better matchup they had to go seven. They got a short turnaround. It is amazing. It's just not only the way the Knicks are playing, but legs, but everything around them seems to be vibing like it could be their year, at least in the East.
- [01:59]
Tim Legler
Well, I think we have felt for a long time that those top four teams, when you look at Detroit, Boston, Cleveland and the Knicks, I've said it, I said it probably going back a couple of months. They were all capable, I felt like, of beating each other. I thought they were all capable of getting some combination of these matchups in the postseason. I didn't see this one coming. And I think when you talk about getting breaks, I think probably, you know, to start with the top of the list, the fact that you're a three seed and you didn't have to deal with the one or the two. They got taken care of for you. That is very unusual for that to happen and certainly fortuitous for the Knicks that now, you know, you go into this series, you know, Cleveland, Detroit go into that series, you go seven games and you don't know till last night. You didn't know pretty early last night, but you didn't know until last night where you were going to be, where the Knicks going to have to go on the road to start that series. Are they going to start out at home? And it's incredible the way this has all turned in their favor. So not only do they find the best version of themselves at exactly the time of year you need to. They also get these other breaks where you get top teams eliminated, where you don't have to see them and you don't have to go on the road first to start the conference final. So I agree with you. A lot of the path has been laid out very nicely for the Knicks legs.
- [03:16]
Alan Hahn
Is there.
- [03:16]
Peter Rosenberg
Was there any other version so far that could have gone any better for the Knicks?
- [03:23]
Tim Legler
What do you mean? Not sure I understand your question.
- [03:24]
Peter Rosenberg
Like, is there any sort of draw that could have been better or so far, has this basically been the ideal scenario to get them up to and maybe through the conference finals now couldn't
- [03:36]
Tim Legler
have gone any better. And even. Even honestly, you know, getting challenged to the extent you did in the Atlanta series and making them have to kind of rethink how they wanted to operate a little bit and unlock their offense to this degree. So even that challenge, I think, played out well for them. You get a Sixers team that had to go seven with Boston. So right off the bat, you come in, you kind of know how game one's going to go. And then just a lack of consistent availability of their guys at the highest level, there was no match for what the Knicks were bringing to the table. So, no, I don't know that it could have gone any better than it did. And then the last piece of it was, could you get, you know, the Cavs to knock off Detroit, a team that clearly handled the Knicks in the regular season. Although this. That's not this Knicks team, I understand that. But they did have great success against them, and that was going to give them confidence going in and they would have had home court. So that was the last piece of it. Can you get the Cavs to actually pull this off? And I think, you know, they win game five, the Game that we were on the call for, they win that game and now you think, okay, Cavs set it up, go home and close it out in six. When they didn't do it, I think most people expected to Pistons to win that game last night and shockingly they win it, the Cavs, without getting really anything out of Harden other than he played pretty well as far as breaking down the defense, but like you know, nine points, you know, over from the three point line. Like you don't think if you give me that stat line going in. I think all the Cavs are in trouble if that's what happens in a Game 7, they didn't even need anything out of Harden and they rather win that game going away. So no, it's gone about as well as it possibly could for this group. They even got rest, you know, they got a lot of rest and I think I'm always of the belief that rest is better than anything because there's no substitute. Nothing can replicate what fresh legs can.
- [05:21]
Don La Greca
So that's where I was going to go.
- [05:23]
Tim Legler
Them feeling as good as they can going in is a good thing.
- [05:25]
Don La Greca
Yeah, Legs, that's where I was going to go next with you. Was that the debate, of course about it? You're a team that's in rhythm. You figured out your offense and I mean they really, since they changed things with that offense in the middle of a playoff series, which, you know, have you ever seen a team do that before? And, and the fact that they ran off seven straight games and the offense was clicking. That's what I was going to ask you is, as a player, would there be a part of you because like Josh Hart keeps talking about how like we just want to play like we want to get to a game like this is too long. Um, how do you balance that of if you're Mike Brown, I gotta keep, keep these guys like keep this thing in rhythm versus the rest is good. Keeps OG on and OB available now, but that first quarter of game one tomorrow is going to be interesting to see if that offense still clicks the way it was clicking in that game four in Philadelphia. Right?
- [06:16]
Tim Legler
Yeah. No, listen, I hear you, but here's what I'm going to say, like the fresh legs component, there's just nothing like it for a basketball player when you feel that good and now you get to manage however you wanted to manage these last eight, nine days, however you wanted to do that. They could do it. They could. I'm sure they got some, some good work and they got some scrimmaging and they got that. But they. The main priority was preservation and making sure we're fresh with our wind and ready to go for game one. And then you sit back because here's the thing. But the nature of a seven game series, which is what the Cavs just had, by the nature of the fact that it went seven games, there was inconsistent rhythm the entire time for the Cavs. It's not like you sat back and you got all this rest while the other team you're about to play was just, you know, boat racing people. That's not a seven game series lends itself to. It lends itself to quarters of games, halves of games, entire games where you weren't in rhythm. So it's not like they're facing this buzz saw coming in that they had become. So for me, give me the rest. Particularly when it ended on such a note the way that it did. The end of that sterling series, where you're looking at this team going, how does anybody slow it down? And for me, that is the central question to this series. Can the Cavaliers effectively guard this team? Because what I just watched at the end of the Atlanta series, what I watched the Philadelphia series, was a team literally in perfect rhythm. And when you get the final piece, was getting Bridges unlocked. They got him unlocked and he's barely missed a shot since. That was the final piece because now there's this incredible balance throughout their lineup. You got the rest for og. He's coming back. Brunson's Brunson Towns, even though his shots and numbers came down a little bit, his inclusion is off the charts. I think the respect that he's getting, the way he probably feels about himself for all the credit he's getting, hasn't been higher since he's been a Nick. So like all of that's going for you right now. You have all that. Go ahead, shut it down for a week. No big deal. I don't think. I think. I think that they're better off with the rest because that other team just had to go through seven difficult games and now they get one day to talk about this, think about this, and show up in Madison Square Garden tomorrow night.
- [08:29]
Peter Rosenberg
Have you seen anything about this Knicks team legs that gives you any pause or concern whatsoever?
- [08:36]
Tim Legler
Listen, I don't think the Knicks are an elite defensive team and they're playing a team that is very capable of getting on roles offensively. Like the Cavaliers have a lot of firepower and I think that's clearly what separated them from Detroit. Not only do they have two dynamic Guards that can break you down. Even if Harden's not scoring, he is still a problem because he breaks down your defense. They've got two, two bigs that can hurt you in different ways. Offensively, they've got a of guys that you can run with motion, that can shoot the basketball off the ball. They got a guard in Mitchell who can just get going if you give him space and rhythm. He's a real problem. So this is a very good offensive team. They're a mediocre defensive team. So the Knicks, I wouldn't describe as elite defensively. I think their offense has been so good, it's made their defense better. But for me, yes, you can't say, hey, I wish this was, you know, a team that's playing as well as the Knicks were offensively, but then defend it at that level that OKC does and San Antonio does. Now, they can and they have at times, but they haven't been tested. They have not been tested with the two rounds that they played to the extent that you probably need to to know that about your defense. The Cavaliers are going to bring that out of the Knicks. They're going to have to be better defensively because this is a team that can get going offensively because they kind of check every box with what you want to have.
- [09:56]
Alan Hahn
Talking to Tim Legler here. Getting ready for Game 1, Knicks and the Cavs begins tomorrow. Madison Square Garden. Don on and Rosenberg. We were talking about it on Friday. I've always looked at the Cavs as kind of fugazi. Like, should I change my thought based on how they pick themselves off the mat against Detroit or was Detroit really not a for real? Number one. See, like, it's really difficult to analyze this Eastern Conference, but should we look at the Cavaliers differently?
- [10:23]
Tim Legler
It's so crazy because I'm sitting here looking at the Pistons and I obviously we've had to do a lot of post mortem on the Pistons today of different hits that I've done and stuff. And you're trying to wrap your head around the fact that this team won 60 games, was a 1 seed and was that limited offensively once Durin kind of was taken out of the equation. And now you're like, my gosh, look at this. You're like, well, wait a second, they did win 60, so there had to be something going on with this team. Defense on the glass, they run all that, but man, were they exposed with how little they could they could muster once Tobias Harris, well, dried up because he was playing at such a level. You know, eight straight 20 point games. When that stopped, their season basically was doomed because Duran couldn't figure it out. So I think for me, if you're looking at the Pistons now going okay, it's amazing that they did what they did with that roster they have and the challenges they have offensively.
- [11:14]
Peter Rosenberg
So.
- [11:14]
Tim Legler
So I agree with that a little bit about the Piston. With the Cavs, it's tough because there are some nights I watch them and they get clicking offensively to such an extent you're like, man, this is a really tough team to deal with. But I think the one component about them that has always sort of been in question and it still surfaces sometimes is just that, that mental and physical toughness. Do they have that? But you know what, they just showed a lot of it. To be able to do what they did yesterday, that's not, that's not an easy thing to pull off. Man. You think about going on the road for game seven is tough. It's been more recent success over the last decade. More teams have pulled that off to have a 60 win, number one seed, lose by 30 at home. The game seven, I mean, like that just doesn't happen. So the Cavaliers give them credit, man, they dusted themselves off the mat a couple times in that series. You know, down two zero, they go back and they win the two that they have to win. They win a tough road game in game five and then they go back and win another one in game seven. So they went back to back road games when they hadn't. So I do think they have answered the bell more than they were given credit for. So I do think there's a little bit more to them than a lot of people thought.
- [12:24]
Don La Greca
You know, that that was for, especially for Donovan Mitchell. That was one of those moments that he needed to have, right. To quiet the narrative. It's amazing. I saw it this morning. I think it's since 2017, the road team has won game seven. Like, like I think it's 17 and 18 is the record for the road team, which is crazy to think because it used to be like an 80% win percentage for game seven for home. Something definitely changed. But you mentioned though, it's a 30 point win. So three of the four series were closed out with 30 point wins.
- [12:56]
Alan Hahn
Legs.
- [12:57]
Tim Legler
Yeah.
- [12:58]
Don La Greca
And Oklahoma City won by five in theirs and their sweep. I don't know what to make of that, but have you seen ever seen anything like this in the playoffs? Is it that big of a, of a disparity in the good teams and the other teams, when you're seeing three closeout games in three series by 30 points or more, no, it's crazy.
- [13:17]
Tim Legler
And I'll tell you what else I do have a theory on. I think some of the things that have contributed to the fact that this has turned a little bit with these. These Game seven road team wins. I really believe part of it is because there's a. There's an increased level of scrutiny and pressure and consequences that come now with playing on these teams. Because how many more avenues come at you with criticism than ever before? And guys that are paying attention to social media and all that stuff, like you people are coming for you at a much greater degree. And the doors are open. If you take a peek, you're going to see stuff that could be. Could be, you know, raise the pressure for you internally as a player. And I think it makes it more difficult for that home team to close it out. I think guys start feeling it to a greater extent. That's why it's not as surprising now to see a road team go in and win a Game seven. Certainly don't expect them to get run out of the building the way that Detroit did. And I think that was just almost, like I said, that was almost a culmination of this. This hanging by a thread offense that they were operating, drying like Kate Cunningham below average yesterday. Jalen Duran wasn't good throughout the entire postseason. That didn't change yesterday. And then the key, Tobias Harris, like when that dried up and it was really this. It was game. It was the second half of game four. So they're up to one second half of game four. He did not have a field goal in that game. They lose, it goes to 2. 2. He went 8 for 32 the last three games. Wow, this guy could miss a shot for eight games. And now he's 8 for 32 to close the series. And that was the end of it. So for me, it was like that they were hanging by a thread. They got exposed and it all cold, collapsed in front of them. And Cleveland, with a team that they had give them credit because they had a lot of guys play well for them yesterday. They've got to be pretty confident now heading in. They sure they wish they had more time to prepare for the Knicks, but they got to feel pretty good about what they were just able to do. That's a confident group right now. And again, they are confident they're going to be able to do their thing offensively in this series. The biggest challenge is can they slow down what the Knicks have become. And that's the biggest challenge for any team now playing the Knicks. And I will say this, there is a different element to the Cavs defensively because of the two bigs. Their length, their mobility is a lot different than what Carl Anthony Towns have faced in terms of his passing ability in this coming series. You know, he's playing, he was throwing the ball over the top of a conglomerate. You know, he's basically the size of a small forward practically. He could see everything that they wanted to run on those baseline cuts and screens and all that. So everything was in front of him and be complete lack of mobility. Just didn't challenge and bowed at like not big enough, too overly aggressive with the fouling. This is different. These are two smart defenders. They can move, they can block your line of vision because they're long. Some of the things that were available to Cardinal Anthony Towns are going to be harder to come by as a passer in this series. I'm really looking forward to seeing that.
- [16:05]
Alan Hahn
No, it's amazing. Game ones are big, but especially for the Knicks. They've never won a best of seven series with home court and losing game one. And you saw how they were crippled last year by the way the Pacers won that game one at the Garden. Is that a message? Is that something Mike Brown's got to address going into this game?
- [16:23]
Tim Legler
I don't know that you talk about it or raise, raise it. I just think you just tell them from the beginning, listen, the tone has to be set in this game. Like they can't come off of a seven game series with a day off. Come in here and beat us in our building and set the tone for this series that were to be had in this building. Because think about it, this is how I would always feel as a coach. We don't have to win a road game. They do and they're not going to do it in this building. And they're certainly not going to do a game when we've got to come out, set the tone for how this is going to look like. Sharp, crisp pace up the floor early and then within our half court offense. Everything sharp to screening on point, the cuts to timing, everything sharp, sharp, sharp. Come out and make everybody wonder if having time off is going to hurt us. Put that to bed in the first quarter, come out, dominate them, get the crowd into the game, let's hold home court and let's get this thing done. That, that's kind of would be my message to my team.
- [17:19]
Don La Greca
How much does that game won last year that crazy bounce. Tyrese Halliburton, right? How that game turned so fast in the last two minutes. How much does having that in the recent memory of this team, how much is that even in the mind of a player going into this game, knowing how important game one is because of what happened only last year in the same exact place?
- [17:44]
Tim Legler
Well, only if the Knicks, you know, give a couple of those courtside seats out to Aaron Neesmith and Tyrese Halliburton and they're sitting there. Maybe, you know, maybe. Maybe that would be a little distracting
- [17:55]
Don La Greca
for those of you not Reggie Miller on the courtside too.
- [17:59]
Tim Legler
There you go. There you go. Like that might raise the specter. What the hell are those? It'd be like that. But Beavis and Bud had SNL look over your shoulder, like, what's going on? Like, that's what it would be like if you planted those two guys at mid court right across from the bed. So right short of that, no, I don't think. I don't think it's a factor whatsoever. This is going to. I think this is going to be a fun series because I do think. I think there's going to be. It won't be every night, but I do think there's going to be some shootouts. Like, I think it's going to be fun. Like some of these games, like, you know, teams you can just tell, like it's 23:19 at the end of the day, the first quarter. Like I, I think these could be some series where you get some back and forth with a lot of shot making. Would not surprise me one bit because I think both of these teams offensively can get there. The challenges, you know, guarding Brunson, obviously the problem you got, I think the two guys most equipped are going to be. Are going to be Dean Wade and Max Stru and they're different. Like, Strus will fight over the picks better. He doesn't have the length at the end of the shot for the mid range to contest. Wade can contest because he got better length, but he can't fight over the screens as well. There's going to be a mixture of those two guys on Brunson and then, you know, Mitchell, I saw it firsthand this year. I mean, he went nuts on the Knicks beginning of the year. You remember that game, he had like 20 in the third quarter. Like he can get going and get to such an extent, if you're not physical with him and he gets space and finds a rhythm, he's a real problem. So I just think it's gonna be fun, man. You got elite guard, play bigs on both sides, shooting benches. This is gonna be fun, man. I cannot wait. I'm so blessed and grateful to be able to sit in there calling all of these games.
- [19:30]
Alan Hahn
You got to go to place in New York when you're here.
- [19:34]
Tim Legler
In terms of what, restaurants? Yeah, a lot of times. Listen, it's. I'm coming to my colleague Mike Breen's town. Mike Breen is my zagat. Mike Breen makes the dinner reservation. So where Mike Breen tells me to go, that's where I typically go.
- [19:49]
Alan Hahn
And he's not going to let you because he's a lifelong New Yorker. He's not going to let you down.
- [19:53]
Don La Greca
Get a luncheon on Wednesday, Legs, let me know.
- [19:56]
Tim Legler
Hit me up, man. Hit me up.
- [19:57]
Don La Greca
Yeah, I got you.
- [19:58]
Alan Hahn
All right. That's Tim Legler. Thanks, man. We'll probably hopefully talk to him down the road as the Knicks continue this run through the playoffs. You know, it's so interesting coming from a former player like Tim, how you can get caught up in the pressure of a Game seven in your building. And it kind of reminded me, like, even though they got off to a great start, the Canadians in that Game six, the pomp and circumstance of Larry Robinson comes in and lights the torch and the building's up for grabs and there's thousands of people outside, you wonder, especially a young team, you know, can that affect you? And you listen, the Pistons were in the playoffs last year, but it was only one and done. Like, can the specter of being a one seed and being home in Game seven just overwhelm you? I guess it can.
- [20:40]
Peter Rosenberg
Well, and. And I would even, to make that relevant to this team right now, the Knicks have kind of become the de facto number one at this point. And can you now let the same thing affect you where it's like you're expected now? You're the home court advantage. Everyone in the league sort of thinks the Knicks are the toast of the East. You've got the best path you could ever have to a championship. Can you feel some level of pressure when that thing starts tomorrow that, oh, my God, we're supposed to do this? They've all. They've been better all year as a dog, it's true.
- [21:11]
Don La Greca
But it's also why, you know, remember they were the favorite against Atlanta, they were the favorite against the Sixers. So they. They were able to carry that. Right. Once. Once they felt good about themselves, but.
- [21:21]
Peter Rosenberg
Or once they became a dog. In the case of the first series Right. Like, once it looks like they might blow it, then I guess so.
- [21:27]
Don La Greca
But, but, but, like, that's why I asked Legs about the memory of last year's Game one and the fact that you're going to be in the same exact place back in the Garden as the, as the, the home court advantage team, the higher seed remaining, and the fact that you're there again and you remember Jalen Brunson back in October when asked about, you know, how much is the way you lost in the conference finals still staying with you, and he said, you can't think about it because you got a whole season to play. You got to just get back there. Well, they're back there now. So now it's almost like, okay, back where you started. Now how do you do it different? I wonder if that the urgency, despite having all this time off is in then the minute you walk out for warmups and look around and go, boy, it's been a whole year since we've been here, but it doesn't feel like it. Like, it's almost like yesterday when that stupid shot went straight up and straight down, and now we're down oh, one. So there might be that reminder of, oh, wait, we're back here. And remember when we gave the game away, we can't do that again.
- [22:30]
Alan Hahn
And that's what's so interesting for the Knicks right now because of the coaching change and when it happened last year, is that this is. This is really the start of their season, isn't it? Like, everything you've done up to now, you already did.
- [22:42]
Don La Greca
You're right.
- [22:42]
Alan Hahn
Now you're in the rarefied era of now. You're supposed to take the next step. So everybody wanted to fast forward to this moment, and now it's here.
- [22:50]
Don La Greca
Yeah.
- [22:51]
Peter Rosenberg
Go time.
- [22:52]
Don La Greca
Great point. Such a great point, Don. It does feel like that, right, that we were waiting all. I hate to use the, the Sunday Night Football thing, but we were waiting all year for May. Yeah, that's really what you are. You were waiting all year now for this. And now we can officially start where you left off, even though it feels
- [23:11]
Alan Hahn
like the coaching change was the right thing because of, you know, the way that they won those games. This is why you made it. So now we're going to see if Mike Brown can do what Tibbs couldn't do last year. And let's get them to the NBA Finals.
- [23:25]
Peter Rosenberg
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- [23:30]
Don La Greca
That's a ridiculous trade off.
- [23:32]
Peter Rosenberg
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- [23:54]
Don La Greca
Giveaway ends May 30th.
- [23:55]
Peter Rosenberg
Enter and find your closest Bucked Up@buckedupenergy.com Grab a Bucked up and feel like a million bucks Buster only here For
- [24:04]
Don La Greca
La Quinta by Wyndham Summer means travel. And for a lot of people that includes their four legged mvp.
- [24:10]
Tim Legler
Mine is a yellow lad named Quinny, but finding a hotel that actually welcomes
- [24:15]
Alan Hahn
pets can feel like striking out at
- [24:18]
Tim Legler
La Quinta by Wyndham, Pet friendly stays
- [24:20]
Don La Greca
are part of the game plan so you don't have to leave your best travel companion behind. You can bring them along for every
- [24:27]
Alan Hahn
inning of the trip because the road
- [24:29]
Don La Greca
is better when the whole team's together.
- [24:31]
Tim Legler
And when you book@laquinta.com you can earn Wyndham Rewards points on your qualified stays along the way.
- [24:37]
Don La Greca
Tonight La Quinta tomorrow you shine. Terms and conditions apply.
- [24:42]
Alan Hahn
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- [25:13]
Don La Greca
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
- [25:17]
Peter Rosenberg
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [25:18]
Don La Greca
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
- [25:26]
Alan Hahn
This is still we're workshopping this, but this is the Weekend Headlines. Oh yeah, some big news is coming on this front at 4:30 on Mondays, but we're just not ready yet to announce. But in the interim we do have the Weekend Headlines. And that's when myself, Alan and Peter will give you what we felt were maybe some of the more obscure things that might have happened that you might have missed over the weekend, personally or professionally. Right? Because sports or otherwise. I'm going to start personally because usually I'm on the air when this happens, but Happy Birthday to my mom. My mom turned 84 years old. We took her out to Biagio's over in Paramus, N.J. had a wonderful. We ate about three. So what do you call that?
- [26:11]
Peter Rosenberg
Lunch?
- [26:12]
Tim Legler
Late lunch.
- [26:13]
Alan Hahn
Late lunch.
- [26:13]
Peter Rosenberg
The late lunch. It's nothing. Let's be honest.
- [26:15]
Don La Greca
Three is too early for dinner, so.
- [26:17]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, but it was with a woman who's turning. He said, 80.
- [26:21]
Alan Hahn
84.
- [26:22]
Peter Rosenberg
84. So it's, you know, 3 o' clock's a nice early bird special.
- [26:25]
Don La Greca
There you go.
- [26:26]
Alan Hahn
So got to see my brother David and his family and got to hang out. So happy birthday to my mom. And it was literally yesterday.
- [26:34]
Peter Rosenberg
Any sort of big happenings from this event?
- [26:38]
Alan Hahn
Just that there's a wrestler, Mario Mancini, that wanted to talk Mets with my brother, thinking it was me.
- [26:47]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, that was. Don told me this before the show started. He came up to your brother, to Don's brother, and said, so, what's going on with my Mets? And Dave said, well, I don't know. I don't follow baseball. And the guy said, what do you mean? You talk about them every day. I said, I got bad news. He doesn't know who Dave Legreca is.
- [27:04]
Alan Hahn
Right.
- [27:05]
Peter Rosenberg
There's only Don Legreca. And he heard D&Legreca, and that was it.
- [27:10]
Alan Hahn
You can understand that common of a name.
- [27:12]
Peter Rosenberg
And you're a big local New York star.
- [27:14]
Alan Hahn
I appreciate that. And I guess maybe Mario is local. I don't know.
- [27:16]
Peter Rosenberg
I'm assuming so.
- [27:18]
Alan Hahn
So we do appreciate that. But I guess my thing, and I kind of touched on it before we went to break. Just an amazing Game six between the Canadiens and the Sabres, in which the Canadians scored in the first three shots out of three. One lead. Never scored again, lost seven three. So the Sabres have forced the game seven tonight, which you could see on ESPN 7:30 face off, which, by the way, what a break that is for the NHL. And then last night's game, Sevens on Prime. I mean, what are we doing? I know these things are done ahead of time, but the NBA had to cringe. Like, no offense to prime, but it's like they. And they had the. They had it all to themselves, right? No NHL. Last night, the only competition you had was. Was the baseball. And it really would have been a nice moment that I think a lot of people didn't even know where to find it, especially this early in the whole app thing. And I asked this to Peter Alan, I'll ask you how. How much. How many eyeballs has the NHL stolen from the NBA, where people have said, I'm going to go check what the NBA playoffs are doing I'm going to turn on tnt. And they get sucked into a hockey game because they didn't. They didn't know the rights changed. Right. Not everybody follows it like we do. Right. So they know I kind of casually follow basketball. But it's May, and this is when the playoffs are. I'm going to turn on, you know, ESPN or TNT and they could turn on ESPN and certainly catch a basketball game. But if you turn on tnt, you're not going to catch the NBA anymore. Right. So it's just.
- [28:46]
Don La Greca
I think it's true. I think you definitely have had that happen, especially when you don't know where to go if it's not on NBC and it's not on ABC or esp. And then you, you're like, well, basketball's always on tnt. No, there's a hockey game on. Oh, this looks interesting. And you just stay on it. And that's very possible. But yeah, it was something that everybody sort of winced when you didn't get two game sevens for Sunday because Sunday would have been one on prime, which I think that game would have been an earlier start. What might have been even an afternoon start if, if spurs Timberwolves went seven and because that one would have been the NBC 8 o' clock game from what I. What I believe. So now that you had one, it was a standalone. It was almost a rumor. Unless you were a true NBA fan who was looking for the game. I don't think a casual sports fan would have found it.
- [29:38]
Alan Hahn
And then by the time you, maybe you found it, you saw the score and just left it.
- [29:41]
Don La Greca
Yeah.
- [29:42]
Alan Hahn
So good. It would have been interesting to see what the numbers were, but it was just great. Just a lot of pomp and circumstance around that. Game 6 of Montreal and Sabres forced the Game 7. So I like Montreal tonight. I just think that. I think it puts a lot of pressure on the home team. Quick question, guys. Another question I have for you. I don't know the number, but apparently the NHL or the Buffalo Sabres have called the NHL and asked if they could wear their old throwback, the Buffalo head as the logo. The black and red and white, that's what they wore the last time they made it Dominic Hosick to the Stanley Cup Final. And so they asked the league, the league said, no, if you do it, you're fine.
- [30:28]
Don La Greca
Do it.
- [30:28]
Alan Hahn
What's the number where you say that's too much? I mean, how much can the fine really be? 50 grand.
- [30:36]
Don La Greca
What are they really finding you?
- [30:37]
Alan Hahn
Honestly, you know, if it's less than 100 grand. And it's something special to you. And you think it's a mojo that can help you get to this conference final, don't you pay it?
- [30:46]
Peter Rosenberg
Of course you pay. If you think it's actually that big a deal. I mean, if you sort of. Yo.
- [30:50]
Alan Hahn
Yo.
- [30:50]
Don La Greca
But I hear if you end up losing, like, if it goes with your prediction and they end up losing, it's not money well spent.
- [30:56]
Alan Hahn
No.
- [30:56]
Don La Greca
And also, if you win now, it turns into something. And all those jersey. People start buying those jerseys like crazy. It becomes a thing. And then guess what? You're going to want to wear it again.
- [31:05]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [31:05]
Don La Greca
Well, he's going to say, you can't. We're going to do it again.
- [31:08]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [31:08]
Peter Rosenberg
Then it could.
- [31:09]
Alan Hahn
Then it could start to add up if you're making a rum. But really.
- [31:11]
Don La Greca
But if it becomes a thing, though. Yeah, I say you do it.
- [31:15]
Alan Hahn
See, for me, I'm old enough to. I don't look at them as throwbacks because what they're wearing is what I remember.
- [31:20]
Tim Legler
Yeah, right.
- [31:21]
Don La Greca
The original.
- [31:21]
Alan Hahn
But there's a whole bunch of fans to remember. 99, remember that run with Dominic Hashik and all that, so. But it does put unusual pressure. Right. Because now if you pay it and you lose, but maybe you leave well enough alone. But they did ask and the league said no. Go ahead, try me. There is something to. All right, go ahead.
- [31:40]
Don La Greca
All right, let him do it.
- [31:42]
Alan Hahn
Pagula's got some money.
- [31:45]
Don La Greca
I think he could afford it.
- [31:46]
Alan Hahn
He might have 100 grand in his pocket.
- [31:48]
Peter Rosenberg
Well, I saw something this weekend that you may have blinked if you missed it.
- [31:52]
Alan Hahn
Okay.
- [31:52]
Peter Rosenberg
And that would be the Ronda Rousey.
- [31:53]
Alan Hahn
Gina Carano, was it. How 15? How long?
- [31:56]
Peter Rosenberg
15 feels like an hour. It was. It was. It was over in two seconds. Rousey went after they go down, throws a few punches, arm bar, fight over. However, that ended up not really being the big headline from the night. And what you may have missed if you. If you were not among the 27 million people.
- [32:14]
Alan Hahn
That's crazy.
- [32:15]
Peter Rosenberg
Who ended up watching Rousey Carano on Saturday night. Wow. Is that. MVP promotions, which is Jake Paul, Nikisa Bedarian and Netflix may have, you know, thrown themselves into the MMA world in a real way. And obviously, you know, Dana White and the powers that be at UFC took things seriously as Saturday night, they wanted to get a big piece of attention to announced Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon, which is now coming this summer. So they basically competed with the Netflix of it all by announcing Conor McGregor's return. So that kind of shows you how seriously they took the moment. But I have to say, guys, in watching the broadcast, Mauro Ranallo was play by play. Ariel Helwani was the interviewer in the ring after the fight, it did feel like a real potential competition out there if they were able to pull together big MMA names. Now, of course, this card, they were able to follow the formula of take huge former UFC stars who already built up sort of a list, MMA talents and put them on a card. You had Rousey and Carano. You had Francis Ngannou, you had Nate Diaz. All these big names are a part of the card. But in the end, guys, you gotta be pretty impressed with 27 million people tuning in to watch MMA.
- [33:37]
Alan Hahn
And it's worldwide.
- [33:38]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, I believe. I believe that's the worldwide number.
- [33:41]
Tim Legler
I don't.
- [33:41]
Don La Greca
I don't think game seven on prime got 27 million. No, that says a lot. No, that's a big deal.
- [33:48]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, no, it's pretty. It was pretty impressive stuff. What do you have, Alan?
- [33:51]
Don La Greca
First, personal. Cali had a hat trick on Friday with the boys, and then she had a Gordie Howe hat trick in the semifinal. Her first little skirmish, was it.
- [34:04]
Alan Hahn
Did she get a fighting major?
- [34:05]
Don La Greca
She. We got a roughing penalty, but she was pulled down. And then, like. Like, so she's trying to get up, and the kid won't let her up, so she gave him a whack, and it was just okay. I think she's 11. It was just funny for me to see her stick up for herself. Like, he, you know, like, he's kind of trying to be smarter a little bit. And she was like, get off me. And she gave him a pretty solid paw and knocked him down. I was like, okay. That a girl. So, you know, little proud dad stuff there. But I told her, let's. Let's not make this a thing, because you get a reputation, you know? But that was still a fun weekend for. I'm very, very proud of Cali and the team itself in general. Hank Levin, Hockey. The kids played really hard. The goalie was very good, and they got to the semifinal, which was nice. Meanwhile, the headline that I want to talk to you guys about is the headline out of Minnesota where the Timberwolves players, after being eliminated by the spurs and six, we're talking about moodiness on the team, and we all knew who they were talking about. And if you're a Knicks fan, you know what I'm saying? The one player who didn't do an exit interview with the media was Julius Randall and Randall had a God awful series. He averaged just 12 points a game, shot like 34%, struggled mightily. And when you hear the players like Nas Reed, who talks about, like, when you look at, you know, the other teams in the playoffs, they're playing for one another, excited to be on the floor with one another. You know, they're a team where they're selfless and that you're, you're excited for someone else having a big game.
- [35:42]
Tim Legler
It's.
- [35:42]
Don La Greca
If it's not your night, be excited for a teammate who's having a big game. And everybody in New York that, that, you know, has followed Randall just was nodding along, going, oh, yeah, we know this conversation. We know where this is going. And then in the next breath, Nas Reed, Rudy Gobert and several other Minnesota players were like, now that we're out, we're all in on Carl Infinite Towns and we're supporting him. We want to see him make this run. We want to see this happen. In fact, I think Naz Reed might try to get to a game or two. Anthony Edwards might as well because they all stayed close to him. And so we look back at that trade so many times and we've, there've been times where it's like, did the Knicks win or lose that trade? All depending on where in the timeline you want to look. Because Randall's had some big moments for the, for the Timberwolves, but now that he's reached this moment where everybody is saying he got moody when the trade rumors started happening involving Giannis and he was the name everybody was saying needs to go and keep an eye on that this offseason, because that's a real thing, Giannis and the Timberwolves. But it is amazing how now you're looking back and saying that trade the Knicks made, they've been to back to back conference finals. And let me remind people, this is the third straight conference finals appearance that Towns has made because his last year in Minnesota, they got there. So let's see where this goes from here. But a very interesting turn of events when it comes to the player you traded and the player you traded for and how now all of a sudden you're viewing this trade in a much different prism over the last couple of months and even the last couple of weeks. So watch what's happening in Minnesota. But it just caught my attention and it was a headline I thought shouldn't go under the radar of what's being said now about former Nick Julius Randall in Minnesota.
- [37:34]
Alan Hahn
Interesting stuff for sure. Yeah, they, they took them to six, but this looked like they're landlocked there. You know, when you're in the conference with the Thunder and now the spurs have become a thing, you just wonder if their windows, they felt like they flat out closed.
- [37:45]
Don La Greca
They need Randall.
- [37:47]
Alan Hahn
They really did.
- [37:48]
Don La Greca
And they thought they could have, they could have won that series if he just did more than make one basket. And then again, the moodiness thing, guys. Not. Not celebrating other people's success on your team.
- [38:01]
Alan Hahn
Not good.
- [38:01]
Don La Greca
That's. That's not good.
- [38:03]
Peter Rosenberg
The NFL schedule dropped and it's time to settle up. There's road trips to plan, hotels to book, tickets to split, tailgates to cover, scores to settle.
- [38:12]
Don La Greca
All the things for the season.
- [38:13]
Peter Rosenberg
But now when you send $10 or more to a friend with PayPal by May 28 you2 tickets to every home
- [38:20]
Alan Hahn
game of your favorite team.
- [38:21]
Peter Rosenberg
Yep, the whole season. Visit paypal.com P2P sweeps no purchase necessary. See website for details, including how to enter by mail. Brought to you by PayPal official peer to peer payment Sponsor of the NFL
- [38:33]
Don La Greca
I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo pre filled syringe, which contains fgar, Tigamund, Alpha and Hyaluronic. On a day's qvfc, it's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit vivgartmyway.com that's V Y V G-A-R-T myway.com and talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hytrulo brought to you by Argenics
- [39:04]
Alan Hahn
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- [40:13]
Don La Greca
Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.
- [40:16]
Peter Rosenberg
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [40:18]
Don La Greca
Catch this show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
- [40:26]
Alan Hahn
Subscribe to the ESPN New York. I keep doing that. I keep putting the dud.
- [40:30]
Peter Rosenberg
That does not there.
- [40:33]
Alan Hahn
What does it matter with me? Somebody else should do this read. I'm actually a.
- [40:36]
Don La Greca
No, you're fine.
- [40:37]
Peter Rosenberg
No, I agree. I agree. He shouldn't be doing this anymore.
- [40:40]
Alan Hahn
Hackadoodle do.
- [40:42]
Don La Greca
Shouldn't be doing this anymore.
- [40:44]
Peter Rosenberg
Subscribe to ESPN New York on YouTube.
- [40:46]
Don La Greca
You forgot the.
- [40:47]
Peter Rosenberg
Stream the full weekday lineup live. Watch complete replays or catch up fast. Can't miss highlights. Jump into the live chat, react real time and make your voice part of the show. Subscribe to ESPN New York on YouTube now. And stay locked so you never miss a moment.
- [41:01]
Alan Hahn
Say, that's professional.
- [41:02]
Peter Rosenberg
See that?
- [41:03]
Don La Greca
Yeah, he did that.
- [41:07]
Alan Hahn
Why?
- [41:07]
Don La Greca
That's.
- [41:08]
Alan Hahn
That's not good. It's dyslexia.
- [41:12]
Peter Rosenberg
I don't know what's going on with you.
- [41:13]
Alan Hahn
If you see the letters in different order. Like, what if you start adding words?
- [41:16]
Don La Greca
What is that? Adding words now? You know what?
- [41:17]
Alan Hahn
They have a word for it? Moron. And that's what I. I don't know if I.
- [41:21]
Don La Greca
Is that the clinical term?
- [41:22]
Alan Hahn
That's the thing.
- [41:23]
Peter Rosenberg
The clinical term is more.
- [41:24]
Alan Hahn
They have names for things and then just. You know what? You're just stupid. Is there something wrong with me? Like. Yeah, we analyzed you. We just.
- [41:30]
Tim Legler
Really.
- [41:30]
Alan Hahn
You just.
- [41:31]
Peter Rosenberg
We just realized you're not very bright.
- [41:32]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, that's.
- [41:33]
Peter Rosenberg
Listen, there's nothing happening.
- [41:34]
Alan Hahn
See this chart here? When we run out of room on the chart, that's when we just diagnose you.
- [41:40]
Peter Rosenberg
You're on the other. You're on the other side of the page, right?
- [41:42]
Alan Hahn
Let's go to a Joe and Monroe. You're on ESPN New York.
- [41:46]
Don La Greca
I like the rhyme there.
- [41:49]
Tim Legler
Hey, what's going on, guys? Alan, I heard the Julius Randall story as well. And not discounting it or saying that that's not a bad situation for him to put the team in or the locker room in by behaving in whatever way he did that made the players upset. But you said something. I think it was. Knicks fans know this conversation. And I think the Julius Randle slander that went on while he was here from a lot of fans and continues to this day, is unwarranted. And I think Julius Randle is such a huge part of where the Knicks are now and rebuilding, sort of that Eastern Conference play hard play, physical identity and the slander that he got about not playing defense or not being invested or whatever. I think in Minnesota, I'm sure that that's the case. I'm not sure. But regardless, that Julius Randall slander is, to me, still very upsetting because of how important he was and the type of player that, when I was watching that, I thought he was. I think it was always over the top, the hate that he got, and he's such a big part of my Knicks history.
- [43:21]
Don La Greca
I, I, yeah, I. Hate is a strong word. I don't think it was hate. It was more critical. It's just criticism. Criticism is always jumping from a place of hate. It comes from a place of like. Like when you started to see that happen, that part, I think, is what frustrated. Because it should have worked. It should have worked wonderfully. Everybody looks back to that January of 2024 and just Mar. Or 2024. Yeah, yeah. And just marvels about how much fun that team was. And Randle was a huge part of it. And that terrible injury that he suffered really affected him for the rest of the season. He didn't play in the playoffs, and they really missed him. But that, you know, that moment was the best of times when it comes to what they could have been with him and Brunson and everybody they had. But it doesn't mean that he doesn't have this reputation as somebody that is
- [44:12]
Alan Hahn
moody and listen, it doesn't.
- [44:13]
Don La Greca
It's a real thing. And for him, you know what? Like, don't. He's in his prime right now, and he's on a team that has gotten to the conference final a couple of years in a row. And the guys looked at him, you could tell, and no one named him by name, but what they were saying told you all you need to know about who they're talking about. Because in New York, while everybody else around the league's like, boy, moodiness, that's weird. You know, who is it on that team? We all know here in New York? We're like, yeah, yeah, unfortunately, that's Julius. And there was a time there was, you know, like, was this the right trade? And Because Townes was going through it here in the same sort of way. But one thing he never. Towns never does is he never shows you any of that type of Quote, unquote, jealousy or, you know, if I'm not getting the ball, then you're not going to get my, you know, my energy. He's been a different guy. And the fact that the Timberwolves players openly said how much they're rooting for Towns now that they've been knocked out, that says a lot, too.
- [45:17]
Alan Hahn
It does, for sure.
- [45:18]
Don La Greca
The only reason why I brought it up.
- [45:20]
Alan Hahn
But it is odd, too, when all criticism isn't hate. Those were good Nick teams, and it had been a long time since they had made the playoffs. And there they are winning a playoff round and that. And then you come to the realization that, you know, the coach and the star player not good enough. You make changes and, you know, so it's not aging well for him either. And where he went, they haven't been able to get over the hump either. It's. It's tough. But I can see a fan saying, hey, that was a pretty good team. That was a pretty good run. Let's acknowledge it. But they're certainly in a better place than they were back then. Spike and St. Pete, you're on ESPN, New York.
- [45:53]
Caller (Spike)
Hey, boys. Alan, I gotta tell you, I said Kenny would come up with a plan to take out Detroit. Blind squirrel finds a nut, I thought, and I don't like saying this, but I follow the officials. The previous Nick Color person who met with a tragic end to his life. I got to talk to him a few times and he always told me that Mark Davis shouldn't be a crew chief. And if you watch that game carefully, like you and I, you know, look at a game, he took the Pistons right out of that game. There must have been, what, 70 free throws. It was ridiculous. And everything was called. Also, Thompson's probably their most important player defensively. And yeah, he did 70 free throws or something like that. And he took all their, you know, the way they play volleyball and with a lot of energy. They certainly don't have the offensive, you know, ability to take out Cleveland. I'm happy for Kenny, who was an absolute star player at St. Anthony's in Huntington. But I'll tell you, I heard quite on an interview on another station, and he said he thought Detroit was listening, was done. He said he thought they just couldn't do it. And honestly, if you go by the matchup left, look, Donovan Mitchell's a great player. I'll wash out with him and Brunson. But the next three or four best players are on the Knicks. And here's one to make you guys all Smile. I think Kansas, Kansas City. I think San Antonio and Oklahoma City is a toss up and they're putting my friend Zach Zauber on the game. You know, we always come back to him because, look, he makes mistakes, too, but he's fair about it. That game was officiated in a horrible way last night, taking every edge away from the Pistons, notwithstanding. I don't think that. What's their names again? Jared Allen, who played for Kenny in Brooklyn. And what's the other kid? Mowbray and Moby. Are they going to get 35 points and then 20 rebounds again against the Knicks team? And Harden. Harden is the quintessential example. This is the fifth, seventh game he's crapped the bed.
- [48:27]
Don La Greca
That's exactly what I was going to say. Despite. Despite Harden's best efforts to tank the whole thing, the Cavs still found a way to win the game. And that's because Donovan Mitchell, what that, that was, that was probably his greatest playoff performance. And I don't care about big numbers he's put up in the past just the way he played in that game on the road. And I'll only add this part. I don't want to get into the officiating. I don't. I don't see it the way Spike sees it, that Mark Davis and crew took them out. I see it as. I thought the Pistons looked like they ran out of gas. I thought they looked tired and that that stood out the most. They really did. Just, they were run ragged, couldn't guard Donovan. And then all the switching was always a step late on the help, and the bigs just killed them every time they had to help. So I think they just again realized you can't win in the playoffs, or at least you can't go deep into the playoffs when you have one star and the Pistons have one star.
- [49:31]
Alan Hahn
Yeah.
- [49:32]
Don La Greca
And Kate Cunningham. And if you bottle him up and get the ball out of his hands or he has a bad night, which he looked tired, it's going to. It's going to show its face, and it really did in that game. So, I mean, at home, back to back years now, you lose a closeout game at home. That's tough.
- [49:49]
Alan Hahn
Yeah. Especially in the way that they lost last night. That game was not embarrassing.
- [49:53]
Peter Rosenberg
I just. I just feel good about the fact that, like, I think last we were having this conversation, I. I just wondered, like, is it possible we're going to look up. We don't, we don't know that Detroit is becoming this great team that people think they might be. And the same thing may be true of Cleveland.
- [50:08]
Don La Greca
Like, aren't, aren't they in a, Isn't Detroit in this precarious place right now? Because, you know, they've got to find a second star. That one false move.
- [50:18]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah.
- [50:18]
Alan Hahn
And you're gone.
- [50:19]
Peter Rosenberg
That's, that's the thing. We know the Knicks have been there before.
- [50:21]
Don La Greca
I mean, they're relying on, on, on Sasser and, and, and Dennis Jenkins. And again, Jenkins played great. I'm really happy for the former St. John's player, what he's become. But when, when you're like, you need them to make big shots in a game seven. Yeah, you've got some problems. They've got some tough decisions to make for the roster if they want to take a step with Cade. But one false move, that whole thing could come down. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know it's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.