Caller (3:29)

So that was then.

Don La Greca (3:30)

You know, a lot has happened since then, like an Achilles injury. So I don't know if his feelings have changed, but I know at that particular time he was still very high on Aaron Rodgers. So, Don, I believe that offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, his, his staff, all that stuff, that's going to be important stuff for Aaron Glenn to figure out. But. But I still think the highest priority decision is going to be about what to do at quarterback. And is Aaron Rodgers part of the plan?

Alan Hahn (3:52)

All right, so what are you rooting for or what would you like to see if you're Aaron Glenn? Yeah, the one side I've got a future hall of Famer, that if I can figure out a way to protect him, who didn't have a poor end of the season and actually had some really decent stats overall, do I want to bring him back and have a chance to win right away? Well, one more kick at the can with Aaron Rodgers and, and have my first season with the jets be a spectacular one where we make the playoffs and take a lot of pressure off myself by having the success that several head coaches since Rex Ryan have failed to do. Or do you say, I hope Rogers goes and hope he retires, Let me bring in a new quarterback, a rookie and start over and maybe lessen the expectations in my first year so that I can make my mistakes, I can have my growing pains and not have to endure, you know, meaningful games in December where I'm going to be judged differently, fail, and then really set a negative tone. Maybe take a little pressure off by having a different quarterback, a young quarterback to tamp down the expectations a bit and give me a chance to get my sea legs. Where. Where do you think he's probably leaning? Where would you lean if you were in that situation?

Don La Greca (5:10)

I want to win, man. I want to win.

Alan Hahn (5:12)

Yeah.

Don La Greca (5:13)

So give me Rogers. Give me that one shot at it. Give me the guy that I know has been there, done that. Give me the guy that I know about because I've had to coach against him. I've seen him before. Like, I've watched. I. I know he never played. They never played against him, right? No, he didn't do that. But still, like, it's a guy that I certainly know. I need certainty at that position more than any. And if I don't have this guy, I have no certainty of quarterback. And we have seen in jets history the wasteland of, of coaches when they don't have the quarterback. And so I think that's what I'm rooting for. Because what you just said about take the pressure off, that comes next year, because it's not on Aaron Glenn, by the way. What is it? But not to sound like Seinfeld, what is it with all the errands here in New York, by the way?

Alan Hahn (5:56)

I know, right?

Don La Greca (5:57)

I mean, this is errands all over the place now. But if you have, if you have Rogers and you know he's 40 going on to 40, well, like, you have a guy, he's. He's not here for long, but it could work well and buy you time and you can get a lot out of that first year, the bang for your buck. But if it doesn't. And it's the same as last year where the first couple of weeks, it's a mess. He's just not the same. He can't run. He gets hit. Whatever it is that goes wrong, you can hit the reset button and you're like, all right. Like, it's almost like with Brian Dabo and the Giants. The first year was that bang for your buck right out of the gate, you got something out of Daniel Jones. So. But now you're not stuck with making that decision of, oh, you got to give Rogers an extension. Now, nobody in their right mind knows, nobody would put up a fight saying, yeah, give the 41 year old a five year extension or a three year extension. So for, for Aaron Glenn, it does buy you more. I think it buys you more time.

Alan Hahn (6:50)

Yeah, it's a great, great point, Alan. Because the reason that Shane and Dable are still here is because of 2022.

Don La Greca (6:56)

Yes.

Alan Hahn (6:58)

And otherwise they'd be gone. If they finished 7, 9 and 1, then they'd be out in, in the blink of an eye.

Don La Greca (7:03)

I think so.

Alan Hahn (7:04)

But because not only did he make the playoffs, won a playoff game. Coach of the year.

Don La Greca (7:10)

Right.

Alan Hahn (7:10)

And it did buy, obviously. Look, how many years am I at the end of the day it might be six or seven more years before they decide that maybe these aren't the guys. Yeah. So if I'm Glenn, I want to win. We'll see. Now listen, you can say, well, you want to win. You didn't win with Rogers last year. Yeah. Because I really believe. And again, I think Rogers made his share of mistakes. There were winnable games that, or at least the game was in his hands. You know the Minnesota game in London where you didn't come through that you threw a pick. But overall the stats were there. The defense didn't play well. And I just think they, they were poorly coached.

Don La Greca (7:47)

I think the first half of the season it was an offensive issue. The second half of the season it was a defensive issue. Would you say that's right, that's accurate. First half of the season the offense wasn't on track. It was not good. He was not good. You know, there were injuries with the line and different things that happen and they were not prepared for the season. But once they fired Salah, the bigger issues were the defense. As the offense started to figure themselves out, the defense became a bigger part of the problem. And that so they never, they were such an imbalanced thing. It's almost like for Glenn, he might be walking in like we never even brought this up. He might be walking in to a perfect situation where it's like, oh, you guys are so poorly organized. Like all I got to do is just get you organized. There's a lot of talent in this room.

Alan Hahn (8:30)

Well, here's what he should do. Now we're talking about the hypotheticals. Even if he thinks I want Rogers, here's what he does the first day he gets the job. After the press conference, the first thing that I would do is I would sit down and I would watch every game the jets played this year.

Don La Greca (8:50)

Oh, hell yeah.

Alan Hahn (8:50)

And I watched the all 22s and then I'd assess what would I have done with this team if I Were the head coach. Because that's what you look at, right? It's like, yes. Oh, look how poorly they did this, how poorly they did that. If I brought this guy in, if I brought that guy in, if I was in that situation that Salah was in, that Brick was in, I, I would have done it differently. They would have won this game. They would have won that game, and we would have had nine wins and we would be in the playoffs. If he thinks that, then, then you should petition to have Rogers come back. Bring the team back as presently constituted and your coaching expertise will get them over the hump. He may watch it and go, I can't do anything with this thing. This is a mess. You know, I, I got.

Don La Greca (9:34)

You're not taking the job. You're not.

Alan Hahn (9:35)

I don't. Now, I don't think, I don't think he would say that loud, but he might look at it and go, no, I think we need another. I don't think this. Look, this is more personnel than I thought it was.

Don La Greca (9:45)

Well, here's what I, I actually don't think it's. It's a major personnel issue. There's a couple of pieces, especially on the defense, which is where his eye will go. First, Javon Kinlaw was a bad. That was a bad move, right? You got nothing out of that. Michael Clemens had to play. He's not supposed to play as much as he did because Jermaine Johnson got hurt early in the season and they really, really missed him. Right. When it comes to pressure on the quarterback. But they couldn't stop the run. You know, again, Hassan Reddick gave you nothing. But they, they couldn't stop the run because they didn't have. They weren't big enough in the middle of the defensive line. They were bullied at the line of scrimmage. That is something that you wouldn't have expected out of a defense that for the previous two years were one of the best in the league. But because of some of the moves that they made that they had to make in some cases, didn't want to pay certain guys. They did not. You know, Al woods two years ago, before he got hurt, was a run stopper and then he got hurt. They were never the same when they lost him. Barto. Bart used to always say, they need more fat guys. They don't have enough big fat guys. So they need their, you know, they need a guy, the stout tackle that is just going to take up space and not let the run game dominate and just out physical. The offensive line and Put pressure in the middle of the line, which a lot of quarterbacks don't like it. Flush them out to your edges, which they are. They have talented edges when they're healthy. So I think for. For Aaron Glenn, he's going to see that and realize, okay, we got to move on from Kinlaw because that didn't work. We got to find ourselves a fat guy. You know, get. Give me my. This year's version, you know, whatever you can find of snacks. Harrison. Right. And you know, or what the Giants have in. In sexy Dexy. You get that. You get Jermaine Johnson healthy and you might get yourself back to where you were. This was one of the top defenses in the league, but they made a couple of bad decisions up front and it cost them, in my opinion. Maybe he fixes that. And then Rodgers has now got a year under his belt of back on the field, overcoming the injury. It's now in rear view, starting to feel more confident later in the year. Maybe sometimes these injuries coming back from something like this, especially at that age, takes longer than you thought. But by the end of the year, he started showing you that there's still something left in the tank. This could time up perfectly, perfectly for Aaron Glenn.

Alan Hahn (12:03)

Yeah, I thought they were poorly coached to now that if you've got the right guy, then he should be able to do something with his team. So if I'm Aaron Glenn, I want. I want to bring Rodgers back. I want to put the band back together here and see if they can make something happen. And then you make the playoffs, you do whatever you do, and that buys you the time. Now, there'll still be pressure, but obviously if Rodgers retires and you got to start over at quarterback, the expectations will be lower. But. But at least you'll say, hey, we know he can do the job. Look what he was able to do with his team that Sala couldn't do that all Brick couldn't do. So we got the right guy, and that's what you want. That's such a great point about the Giants because that saved Shane and Dable's job. That nine as fugazi as I thought the season was, and this is coming from a Giant fan, talked about it numerous times during the season and after some of the breaks, they caught some of the games that could have easily went sideways. And they won a playoff game because they got the matchup that they wanted. They matched up very well against Minnesota, won the game, and then got their heads handed back to them in Philadelphia. And it never got better. Like that was an invitation of what the next couple of years were going to be that day in Philadelphia in the divisional round. But it bought them an extra couple of years. And I think that's what Aaron Glenn is going to want, success in that first year. And you look at the history of the jets, not recent history, but if you look at the history of the jets, your jets, Todd Bowles first year, win 10 games, you know Eric Mangini's first year, you go to the playoffs, Rex Ryan's first year, go to the championship game, Herman Edwards, like they've got a history of first year coaches now they were so bad with their hire since then with Gase and with Salah didn't work out. But usually they have success that first season to the new coach. And maybe that'll happen here with Glenn.

Don La Greca (13:42)

800 now at 93776. Boy, a lot of people want to talk about this. Let's go to Dennis and center each to go with us next. Hey Dennis.

Caller (13:51)

Hey Alan. Hey Don. How's it going guys? Good. I want to just real quick, bullet points. First of all, I love Aaron Rodgers. He's my favorite player. So this is just me giving rapid points of why he needs to come back. So Don, you keep saying the early games that you know they could have won. The dude's 40 years old coming off an Achilles injury. I think it's more telling how he played at the end of the year more than the beginning. We know when you know the Achilles. Right. Allen years ago, especially NBA that used to be a career ender. Play 17 games. Yeah, so. And then I was telling Anthony the Giant, the jets were in a lot of these games. There was only maybe like three or four games that were really blowouts that they had no chance in, you know, and they were favored. Right. And almost half their games. I think if they don't bring him back, if they start Tyrod Taylor or Jameis Winston, they may win five games just like they did this year. But the games are going to be a lot worse. The team may quit like the Giants did. Right. At the end of the year. The giants were always 13 point underdogs. Peter would always say, oh, they're going to quit on the, you know, that's an indictment on Dable. They quit on the team. I think if you keep Aaron Rodgers and Alan, you said this a couple of weeks ago, all that outside noise that Aaron Rodgers says in the media, that doesn't go in the locker room, right. We have Breece Hall, Jermaine Johnson, they're on Twitter saying they want him back. So I think he has this locker room. I think if he's back, either they're competitive or they're bad again. And, you know, Aaron Glenn will be fine. I. I think he has to have Aaron Rodgers back as a quarterback now.

Don La Greca (15:17)

Would Aaron Rodgers come back if it's not Nathaniel Hackett? Dennis, that's the thing that I think everybody now is going to watch for. If you don't get the guy you want and we bring in an OC who's going to say, all right, Aaron, because I've said this too. They have got the guys that we have gotten to a point now with Rogers. We know there's something left in the tank, but we also know the guy from, you know, from 2021 is not there anymore. Like, he even that guy, never mind going back to 20, you know, 2010 and 11. But we're talking about now, can you just be Alex Smith? Can you just be like a highly intelligent game manager who understands that less is more and we got a running game that we think can dominate. Are you okay playing that role at this point in your career?

Caller (16:02)

Right? And I think he went out because you know what, when they demote, right, they either fight or demoted Hackett. But I think I especially at the end of the year, remember when Aaron was like, oh, I'll take a pay cut. I'll mentor a young quarterback. I think he really wants to play. And I think that, you know, he may originally want to Hackett, but I honestly think throughout the year, I think Aaron is going to realize, like, okay, I can't keep doing the way, you know, it used to be in Green Bay. I think, you know, if he really ran the show, Hackett would have stayed there. Right? So for them to fire demote Hackett the same week that Salah was let go, I think that showed Aaron, okay, I don't have as much power. And then at the end of the year he's playing better. So I think he's going to realize that. All right, let me see what Aaron Glenn. Let me see who the offensive coordinator he's going to bring in, you know, and, you know, he could, he could say, all right, I don't want to be here.

Don La Greca (16:48)

Right.

Caller (16:48)

That could obviously be an option. But I honestly think that he's going to sit down with Aaron Glenn and I think that he's going to be the quarterback of the jets next year and I'm going to make a prediction. They're going to win 12 plus games.

Don La Greca (16:57)

Wow, 12 plus. All right, Dennis on The record.

Alan Hahn (17:00)

That's a little silly.

Don La Greca (17:01)

No, I love it, I love it.

Alan Hahn (17:02)

No, listen, that's great.

Don La Greca (17:03)

Lock it in, Dennis.

Alan Hahn (17:04)

But 12, that's, that's, that's quite, that. Would that be quite the jump from 5 to 12?

Don La Greca (17:09)

I'll take it. Do you think A lot of interest. Yeah. But the one thing I just wanted to ask you, Don, is off of all of that, that he said, do you think that because Glenn had a career and like played in the league, you know, was a Pro Bowler, you know, well respected all that stuff, that Rogers would look at him differently than he would a Salah or anybody else that that really didn't put in. Or if either you didn't play in the league or you weren't like a dude in the league.

Alan Hahn (17:35)

I think that's in all sports. I think you're always going to have a certain level of respect higher for somebody that played, played the sport, especially played it at a high level because then you feel like you're communicating with somebody that's kind of been through it. So I think so. But listen, Aaron Rodgers has his hat in his hand at this point. I mean, there's not, he doesn't really have many options if he decides to come back and play. And then if he's going to be a Jet, most likely so and so he's going to have to try to make this work. You're right. The play calling was taken from Hackett. Word was it would have happened even if Salah had stayed. So it looks like he was cool with that because what other options did he have?

Don La Greca (18:12)

That's true.

Alan Hahn (18:13)

I understand he's coming off of Achilles, but let's not get too crazy about the way he played in the second half. I mean, the game against Jacksonville, they stink. Miami, older player excelling in Florida. Excellent. Not surprising, you know, but listen, I, I, I think he's the least of of the problems that the jets had. But there were winnable games that you would like to see Rogers play better. But we're all for him coming back. But let's not exaggerate it out to be that, that he didn't have some hand in this team winning five games. And as far as things creeping into the room, you know, Garrett Wilson still wants to get traded. So there were some negatives that crept into that room, whether it's Rogers, whether it's Woody, whatever. But let's not make it like it's that stable of a room when one of your star players isn't particularly happy and might want to go elsewhere. That's a problem that. I don't know, Glenn. Just being there is going to solve that.

Don La Greca (19:03)

That's a good point, too. We got to watch that part of it. And we'll see again if having a new voice and a new type of leadership and anything else is going to change what was going on in that locker room towards the end of the season.

Alan Hahn (19:15)

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Caller (19:39)

IPhone XS are later required.

Alan Hahn (19:41)

Charge time and actual results will vary.

Don La Greca (19:46)

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

Alan Hahn (19:49)

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

Don La Greca (19:51)

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

Alan Hahn (19:58)

God, I love this song.

Don La Greca (20:00)

What a great song.

Alan Hahn (20:05)

And I would do the falsetto when we would do the. The karaoke.

Don La Greca (20:09)

I would. I would duet this with you. I would even do, like. Like, you could be Loggins and I'll be Messina. Like, I'm just. I. I'm fine with background vocals. Coolsman.

Alan Hahn (20:19)

Oh, man. Whatever happened to Messina, right?

Don La Greca (20:22)

Oh, yeah. Who knows?

Alan Hahn (20:23)

Kenny Loggins?

Don La Greca (20:24)

I believe he turned into a really good hockey analyst. Right? Red light. Yeah.

Alan Hahn (20:28)

Nobody knew that that was his side hustle, right?

Don La Greca (20:33)

But no, I. I honestly would. I would be all in on doing something. Like, harmonizing would be great. Like, I'm into it. So when we do the Beach Bash. Let's go.

Alan Hahn (20:42)

Yeah, our Beach Bash. Our holiday parties are going to be kicked up to another level, another notch. You know, again, I was trying to watch the Knicks and I was working the Ranger game, so it was really hard. But, you know, my first instinct about the Knicks was that, come on, four points.

Don La Greca (20:55)

Really?

Alan Hahn (20:56)

I mean, come on. The Nets are kind of tanking. They're awful. And maybe they get pumped up to take on the Knicks and all that, but, you know, I don't know. It's not a loss. You got to win whatever games you can win, right? You're not throwing them back. But I do think that there are certain style points, and you're a little disappointed that they seem to struggle and almost lost to the Nets. But you. You alluded to it in the tease. Why doesn't Brunson get calls? Is Brunson Not a star. Like, I know we, we appreciate him here, here in New York, but is he not looked upon at that level among NBA officials?

Don La Greca (21:31)

I think, like, when I watch him talk to. He's got a great relationship with a lot of officials.

Alan Hahn (21:35)

Oh, I'm not saying that he's a bad guy.

Don La Greca (21:38)

Respect him.

Alan Hahn (21:39)

I don't like the star treatment, but obviously the NBA is very good at doing that. But not for Brunson.

Don La Greca (21:46)

Now, before anybody starts, you know, doing the whole, you know, Yankee boy thing with me, I'll be the first to tell you, you know, again, I. I have a good relationship with Jalen. I'm a big fan of him as a person, his family too. But I gotta push back a little on what Tibbs is saying. He's averaging seven free throw attempts a game. That's top 10 in the league. He gets calls. The night before he got 11 free throw attempts, he fouled out one of the best defenders in the league. He gets calls. There are times he gets hit and they miss the call. I don't think it's because they don't want to call a foul because it's Jalen Brunson. I think we are seeing some bad officiating on certain nights. You've seen certain crews, they have a lot more younger, newer officials. There are some veteran officials that I've seen. Sometimes they kind of roll their eye a little bit, like, oh, my God, you know, like the other night there were four coaches challenges. Two of them were on calls that, you know how they say, reverse the call? They don't even reverse the call. They just go, there's no foul on the play. Like, like we call the foul. There actually wasn't a foul. Like, it's amazing that that can happen. So the officiating, there are times it's also more difficult to officiate. So while I know that's the. That's the. Tibbs talked about it post game. He was frustrated because there is one play, 33 seconds to go. Knicks are trying to put this thing away. Brunson had a drive, a little. Runner clearly gets bumped by Keon Johnson. Clearly pushed off of his balance, right? Like, that's what they talk about, balance, getting to the basket, your lane, all that stuff. And while he is a strong guard who can take contact and actually doesn't shy away from it, you know, he can get knocked off this time. Clearly, that's a foul. They don't call it. The last two minute report just comes out at five o'clock every day from the night before on the last two minute report, it says that is an incorrect non call. He should have been at the free throw line, could have put the game away with 33 seconds to go. Now, he eventually got another foul call later on and then put the two free throws in that put the game away finally. But you know, again, I think what Tibbs is doing here is making sure that officials are aware that there are times he's getting hit and he's not getting the call. And whether you think, well, he's got enough fouls or I'm sending to the line too much, it doesn't matter. Fouls of fouls, a foul. The name I'll tell you about that, I think is a bigger deal that I've seen with my own eyes this year. Sitting courtside, calling games. Courtside as well. Call Anthony Towns. I've. He's shown me his hands, his wrists, his forearms. He gets hit a ton on drives to the basket. Now, I don't know if it is because officials aren't used to him driving as much as he does this year, because even Shaq said last night on the TNT broadcast that he's proud of Towns this year because he's, quote, playing like a real big man and not just standing outside shooting threes. Now, Towns earlier in his career played inside, but as we know in Minnesota, they got to go there. He didn't have to go inside. That's the guy I'd watch more than anything. Towns gets hit a ton and doesn't get the calls. That's when I don't understand why he's attacking the rim. He's doing everything you're supposed to do, aggressively driving to the basket. People are all over him and he rarely gets the call and it's very frustrating. So I think for Tom Thibodeau, last night was sort of a. Let me blow off some steam here, including two of his most important players and sending a message to the officia officials into the league that we've got, we send you clips, we show you that the hits are happening. We're not getting the calls. So seven free throw attempts per game for Brunson is top 10. He probably could be getting almost 10 a game. Giannis does. There's a couple other players who get like 8, 9 or 10 per game because they draw a lot of fouls. Shay, Gilgis, Alexander, who's also a guard, he goes to the line a ton as well. So I'm not going to say that the officials don't respect Brunson. I know they Do I think what's happened sometimes is you're just getting some inexperienced officials who aren't making calls that are there and then you're getting some veteran officials who understand the league wants a little more physicality allowed. They want to give the defense a chance and they aren't going to call every bit of contact driving to the basket. And if you drive 10 times in a game, I can't call a foul every time.

Alan Hahn (26:19)

Yeah, I think that's happened. It's a rare that you're that level of star and play that physical a basketball. So I do understand the, the conundrum that it is sometimes for officials, but I was really taken aback because I, I was, I was in the car listening to the postgame show and I'm like, wow, you know, he's really going after the officials and everything, so. But maybe it's just a way to get calls. But we're just get to the playoffs already with the Knicks. Like I, I feel that way like the Rangers. Rangers. You can't say that because they didn't. We were not sure they're going to make the playoffs.

Don La Greca (26:47)

Can I tell you something, Dog?

Alan Hahn (26:48)

But like the Nick, you know, they're going. So it's almost like I'm, I'm tired of like judging like it like gymnastics every single game.

Don La Greca (26:56)

The Yankees, when we get to July, right, it just starts to become that grind. Like they got off to such a great start. They had a great December and they've gone through what happens the lull. Every, every team has that one like little lull in a season. They're going through it right now. They're 6 and 6 in January. It has a lot to do with their three point shooting. Yes, their defense is question, you know, is under question. But they never were going to be a great defensive team without Mitchell Robinson. We knew this. So they've got to get him if they can. But the three point shooting's been the problem that's fallen off big time and it's now costing them some of these games. But do you know what happened last night when they won that game? They have 29 wins and 16 losses. Do you realize that they are closer to the Celtics in second place than they are to the Bucks in fourth? Yeah, like, you know how you. Like I, I've and I see it, I understand it because again, fans are about emotion. When you, when you see what's going on the last couple of weeks and you get a little nervous because wow, the, you know, the Thunder came into the garden and Smoked them and they've looked tired at times that the loss of Detroit is no longer a bad loss. When you look at what Detroit's been doing, Detroit is killing people. Right now they're over 500, which stopped the presses. When was the last time they were over 500? This late in the season.

Alan Hahn (28:08)

Right.

Don La Greca (28:09)

Like, there's, you know, that's a. That's now a legit game. That's a good team. But when you look at the standings and you say to yourself, hang on a second. They're closer to second than they are to fourth in the standings. They're third place right now. They still have a chance. They have three games against Boston still coming up the rest of the season. Boston has kind of gone through a lull, too. They could. Could get second place. The second seed. That. It's not out of the question. So they're still in play, you know, for a top seed in the east despite going through this low. So. And again, you know, the Mitchell Robinson of it all and the trade deadline. We'll see what they do. They're in a very, very good place. And so I get the. I think what you just said is how fans feel. There's an anxiety right now of. There's still, you know, a little. Little less than half a season to go, and it's not trending the way it was early in the season where I could feel good. Now you're nervous, but this team is still in a very, very good place when it comes to the standings.

Alan Hahn (29:13)

Yeah, they are. But, you know, it's. It's. You want to try to avoid having to play Boston. But it's interesting, right? Like, the way it's going, you might end up having to play Boston in the first round.

Don La Greca (29:23)

Well, who's it going to be, Boston or Cleveland? Cleveland's top seed right now. You're going to play one of them.

Alan Hahn (29:27)

I don't want the four top seeds advance. That's the way it's going to go, right?

Don La Greca (29:30)

Exactly. You're going to have to play them at some point. What does it matter?

Alan Hahn (29:34)

It. It kind of does.

Don La Greca (29:36)

Why?

Alan Hahn (29:38)

I think there is something about getting bounced in the second round again. I. I do think it's a.

Don La Greca (29:42)

Defending champs.

Alan Hahn (29:43)

I. I get it. But. Yeah, you're right, because it'll be. It'll be a sell there. But still, it's like we already been to this.

Don La Greca (29:51)

Maddening. But I've don. I've said this already. Am I crazy to say something like this? Bold at this point of the season. This is not A championship roster. It's a championship. Starting five, they're very, very close, but they're not there yet. Why? Because their bench is not good enough yet. You can't.

Alan Hahn (30:09)

Right.

Don La Greca (30:09)

Like you're seeing it and they have guys that are, they're, you know, again, McBride and, and you know, Payne has been good. Achua's giving you something like there's, there's, there's things there. That's why they're where they are. They're one of the top 10, top seven teams in the NBA. I'd even argue top five. That's how good they are. But when it comes to winning A championship, winning 16 playoff games, going through a run, you've got to have some depth, a little something extra. And it's like they're not there yet. They still got to build that last piece that puts them there, but they're, they're as close as they have been in over 20 years. That much I can say. It's not there yet.

Alan Hahn (30:48)

Yeah, no, I'm, I'm with you. But I think the fans and you're right, if it's the Celtics, it does change things a bit, but just like to get bounced in the second round again. But if it is against the Celtics, I mean, how can you, if it's.

Don La Greca (30:58)

A knockdown, drag out, seven game battle and you just couldn't get over the top for whatever reason and mainly because they have Peyton Pritchards and you don't.

Alan Hahn (31:06)

I know, but you know what? If for some reason, and I'm not saying it's going to happen, they do surpass Boston and do get home court, that kind of changes the perception just a bit.

Don La Greca (31:14)

But fair point.

Alan Hahn (31:14)

That's going to happen. Unless the Celtics just don't care about home court. But I don't, I don't think, I think they're professional enough to kind of get their act together when they need to and finish in second but not challenge Cleveland for the top spot. There's still time. But I do think that if they had home court against Boston, maybe the expectations change a bit.

Don La Greca (31:34)

Yeah, a little bit, I will say that. But I just, again, I look at, I look at where they are right now and I understand the anxiety that's kicking in for a lot of fans. And the schedule doesn't get any easier now. They get three days off. This is, this is a break that's. They haven't had. They've gone through an exhausting schedule. A lot of road games. They've been home a lot in January, but they've played some really tough teams. A couple of back to backs as well. Last night's win was nothing to sneeze at. It was ugly, but it showed you they couldn't shoot. They weren't getting calls. And instead of like melting down or letting go of the rope, this team has a mental toughness. I brought this up before Don. You know, there's a physical toughness that everybody looks for because it's tangible. You can see it. But mental toughness is different. That's a game that on a lot of occasions a team will just lose. You know, like the Nets played hard. Yes. The Nets aren't trying to win as an organization right now. That's, I think understood. Those players are playing hard. That coach Jordy Fernandez is a good coach, really good coach. He coaches them hard.

Alan Hahn (32:33)

They played hard and that's the one game that they're super engaged in. Yeah.

Don La Greca (32:38)

And then they're tired of losing to him. So, you know, Mikhail Bridges comes back, they don't even acknowledge him on the scoreboard. I thought that was funny. But the point is, is that that's a game that a lot of lesser teams lose. But Brunson scored eight points in the last couple minutes. He wouldn't let them lose. He had a bad game, but he wouldn't let them lose. Right. Towns wouldn't let them lose. He got every rebound possible. Josh Hart got a big rebound. OG Anunoby was all over Cam Johnson. They, they would not lose that game. Yeah, they kind of kicked it around. Yeah, they kind of tripped around and you know, we're getting outworked for the most part. But it almost. Look as I'm watching, as frustrating as it was, I just kept saying, look at these. These. They almost know like, ah, just, just hang around. We'll, we'll. When it, when it's never we'll win this, you know. And they did.

Alan Hahn (33:23)

I didn't think they were going to lose the game.

Don La Greca (33:25)

Yeah, that's the thing. So I took away from that like, okay, there's some toughness in this team, but you've got, so they got three days off. They play the King Saturday. Memphis was playing really well Monday, and then Jokic and the Nuggets come in on Wednesday and then LeBron and the Lakers start off the month of February. They come in. So you've got, you know, like they still got some tough ones coming up and I'm really curious to see two things. One, Mitchell Robinson's availability is. He hasn't practiced yet and we're still waiting for that word because if he can play, that changes a lot for them defensively. And then with the trade deadline February 6th coming up, do they have a move they can make? So we'll, we'll see with that. Now there is a move that's on the verge. We talked about a weird trade among of first round picks between the Jazz and the Suns. Is there something brewing for the Phoenix Suns and does it have to do with Jimmy Butler who by the way has just been suspended again by the Miami Heat? Something to keep an eye on with that so we can talk about that. We got calls to get to 800 now at 93776. A very busy show with you and Don has some more business for us with Lil Samwell.

Alan Hahn (34:32)

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Don La Greca (35:36)

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

Alan Hahn (35:40)

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

Don La Greca (35:41)

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. I mean there's again like there's certain voices, certain sounds like, like is it amazing? There's actually certain bands where you don't even have to hear the singer begin. It's and it could be a B side song. Now obviously this isn't one, but you just know who it is. Like unique sounds. U2, right? There's not a single U2 song that sounds anything like anything anybody else has ever done. They're just very unique. And obviously Bruce and E Street. Like, that's that very unique sound. So love that I was corrected, by the way, and properly. So that's why we love the listeners, because we want to make sure we're on points. Accountability is everything. But why did just reset. So born to run 1959, which coincidentally said, you're awesome. Love the new show, but have to point out one thing. I was at that World Series game at Citi Field when the fans serenaded Billy Joel. However, they knew he was there because he sang the national anthem before the game. I did not remember that part, but.

Alan Hahn (36:52)

I don't think it takes away from the moment.

Don La Greca (36:54)

Like, oh God, no. When he comes on the scoreboard. Everybody went nuts. Because he was singing too, right?

Alan Hahn (36:59)

He didn't have to sing it Now. I probably might have been prearranged, but still, it doesn't make it any less cool.

Don La Greca (37:07)

That was a thing, wasn't it? Singing Piano man at Citi Field. I thought that was cool.

Alan Hahn (37:10)

Well, they did they do it during the seventh inning stretch.

Don La Greca (37:13)

Yeah, that's what makes it. That's what makes it cool.

Alan Hahn (37:16)

And I love it too at the Garden because I'm sure they do it for the Nick games. I'm pretty sure they do. When I was doing the Play by Play for the Knicks, I thought, I remember seeing it.

Don La Greca (37:25)

Piano Man.

Alan Hahn (37:26)

No, just when they do the, the arena karaoke.

Don La Greca (37:30)

Oh, yes, they do do that.

Alan Hahn (37:31)

And when they do it for Piano man, it's, it's, it's pretty.

Don La Greca (37:34)

Yeah, yeah. Everybody sings along. Yeah, they do a lot of Motown in the Garden during Nick games and that. You get some good ones because you know, again, whoever does, whoever's doing it is smart enough to get into it. Then the whole crowd gets into it and they sing along. Hey, Everybody, it's Superbox Bonanza 6. Each qualifier will take home an ESPN prize pack and have a chance to win one of 10 Super Box prizes. So right now, be caller number. What do we say today? 4 4. Right. Because it's 31 was Aaron Glenn, but three and one. 4 4. Call number four right now. So get, get on it quick. 888-987. ESPN again, 888987, ESPN to select a box for the big game with a chance to win 250 in the first and third quarters, 500 at halftime, and a final score payout of a thousand dollars, all brought to you by Telemardu, Irish Whiskey and Slowman's Security. So staying on the NBA here real quick, Don, as we mentioned, Sham's report reporting that the Miami Heat are planning to suspend Jimmy Butler for two games. So that's two more games now. He missed a team flight, I guess today and he planned to, had plans to join the Heat tonight, but now Miami is going to keep him home for this two game road trip. So he decided not to join the flight. Thought he would just meet the team in town and they're like, no, you didn't make the flight. You suspended again. He is definitely getting traded. Where? I don't know. But you mentioned and other people did, the Utah Phoenix. I guess Anthony asked about this, right? The Jazz Suns trade of consolidating first round picks. The Suns sent a unconditional 2031 and they got three picks back. The Jazz have a ton of picks. This made sense for both teams. Why? As I said, for the Jazz, it's an unconditional pick. Years from now that's going to be valuable for the Suns. It gives him three picks that are tradable right now. And why is that important? Because the Suns, who are desperate right now because they, they put a big three together, that has not worked out. They are one of the teams being mentioned as a possible suitor to make a trade for Jimmy Butler. And that would be an interesting thing. You put Jimmy Butler with, with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant because Bradley, Bill, it has not worked out. That has been a disaster. But that could change things there. So maybe there's something to watch and the reason why that trade went down the way it did. So we'll see. But if you get him out of the East, I'm fine because he can be a pain, but I don't want to play him in a playoff series.

Alan Hahn (40:09)

You do not mess with Pat Riley.

Don La Greca (40:12)

And you're right about that. Do you like that? Do you like the fact that Riles kind of just told him, like, you're not going to tell me that you're getting traded. I'll let you know when I'm trading you.

Alan Hahn (40:22)

Exactly.

Don La Greca (40:23)

You know, he did the same thing with LeBron. Did you hear that story?

Alan Hahn (40:26)

No.

Don La Greca (40:26)

Why? LeBron's not with Miami. This is a true story. I've told this before. So, you know, they wanted to keep the big three together. They did not want to break that up. LeBron was going to be a free agent and going into that year, he had a lot of demands that he made about, like family. He wanted his mom to always have a courtside seat on the plane. There were like accommodations he wanted for his family that Pat Riley said there's no family on the charter it is players only. This is how we do it. And no one is getting preferential treatment. Everyone is treated equally. That's how we do it. And LeBron didn't like it. And so LeBron started using the leverage of, you know, I could just leave as a free agent. Maybe I want to go back to Cleveland. And Pat Riley looked at him and goes, fine, leave. This is the rules. If you don't want to abide by them, go on. And so that was a big risk because he left, won a championship, obviously, in Cleveland and Miami hasn't. You know, although they've been to a Finals with Butler, they have not really been the same as they were during the Big Three era. But that's Pat Riley basically saying, like, no one is going to control. We're not going to have player empowerment to that level where you're controlling our franchise. And it just kind of showed you that Pat Riley wasn't going to put up with it, even if it meant losing a player of that caliber.

Alan Hahn (41:42)

No, there's only so many executives that have that ability.

Don La Greca (41:45)

Yeah, that's true. And survive, right?

Alan Hahn (41:47)

Yeah. And. But. But, you know, give him credit. And then that. That's how he got LeBron, by throwing the rings on the table. And that's true, you know, and he could do it the other way, too.

Don La Greca (41:55)

Yeah. Thanks for listening to my Don, Han and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 88 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.