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- [00:01]
Don LaGreca
Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate First. Like you know to check the Jumbotron first before attempting to eat a stack of Supreme Nachos in one bite. Now you're just a meme that everyone shares on game day. Checking first is smart, so check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Savings vary, subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates Northbrook, Illinois this is the Don.
- [00:29]
Peter Rosenberg
Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
- [00:31]
Alan Hahn
That sounds like heaven to me.
- [00:33]
Peter Rosenberg
Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers. All right, so Don, the Knicks last night as I have made enough of a case about the, the, the schedule, the amount of time they've been on the road, the fact that they came home for barely 36 hours, played a game and then went back out to the west again, all those things are all accurate. These are not excuses. They are real things that during a season you always have to recognize when you say what's wrong with the team and when you, you know that people ask that question all the time, like what's wrong with them? They were 20 games over 540 and 23rd what they have at that time the third best record or fourth best record in the NBA. And so there was this feeling like they are a good team. But we always are wondering what are they missing now it was they're not good enough to beat the Celtics, not good enough to beat the Cavs, not good enough to beat the Thunder. Okay, so maybe they're not a true championship team this week, this year, this season. But we know this is a good team that plays hard. Over the stretch of the last nine games that has not been the case consistently. They have lost Jalen Brunson, that's the heart and soul of the team. They clearly miss him on the court in certain situations. But you're also seeing things start to drop off little by little. And one of them that is obvious when you lose to a God awful Hornets team 115 to 98, that's embarrassing. You get out rebounded by 14, that's embarrassing. You let them shoot 47% from three when they're the third worst three point shooting team in the league. That's embarrassing. You're down 17 in the like but 14 in the second quarter I should say. And their bench had already put up 17 points off their bench. There's moments that you look at a Schedule. There's moments that you look at your team. There's moments you look at a game and you say, I got to dial back. And so, Don, I have been championing Tom Thibodeau since he got the job and everything he's done for this franchise. And I continue to believe he's the best coach they've had in 25 years, and he is the best choice to coach this team right now. There's nothing that's going to change my mind about that, but doesn't mean that there aren't times where criticism is fair. It was fair last night. Last night should have been a game that you recognize as a coach. My team is leaking oil right now. That. That performance in San Antonio was not based on talent. It was not based on. They don't care. It wasn't based on anything other than they don't have legs. They're shot right now. They're tired. It's catching up to them, and I gotta back off. I gotta give them a break. So how do you do it? You look at your bench. You look at veterans that you have on that bench that have been in the league for a couple of years that you brought in. You. You got a couple of young players on the bench, and you say, I'm gonna throw some raw meat on the court in the. In minutes, and I'm gonna see who's the hungry dog that wants to get it. Who is a guy that we weren't expecting that's just going to have himself a night because he wants to take advantage of it. I want to get in. I would. We're in. We land in Charlotte, we have a meeting, and I pull aside four guys off the bench that know they're not playing tonight. And I say, you know what, boys, we need you tonight. Which one of you is going to give me a reason to leave you out there? If you got it going, who's going to do it? So we give some of our guys a break. Who wants the opportunity tonight? And it's not like. Like. Like this. Who you're playing against, you're playing against Daquan Jeffries, who was a G leaguer for you last year. You're playing against Josh Green, a young player. LaMelo Ball doesn't guard anyone. Don, you could beat him off the dribble. I promise you right now. You could beat LaMelo Ball off the dribble. You're playing against a guy named Wendell Moore Jr. You're playing against a guy named Nick Smith Jr. You're playing against this is what you're doing. You can beat this team. And Tom Thibodeau had the opportunity to do that, but instead he stuck with what he sticks with every night. My. My rotation, which was one less because no Mitchell Robinson on the back to back, right? So it was an eight man rotation on the 16th day of 22 on the road. And that to me was a mistake. And so they got embarrassed. They lost. They were frustrated after this game. The quotes were coming out flying. Josh Hart annoyed at how his team's looking right now. They're questioning things and I feel like there was an opportunity to do that. And if you lost, at least you said, well, I. I got some guys a break instead. I think the pressure is starting to mount. There's frustration starting to mount. Some guys are in a slump and it's getting in their heads and this is the worst time of year to do that. They need a little bit of a break before they get into the intensity of the playoffs. And with 13 games to go, they've got to win at least seven of them to me to get the 50 wins and lock up that third seed. And they got to get Brunson back at some point. So I would say, as much as I like to blame players a lot of times for effort, I feel like this was a loss that the coach has to take. He has to accept this loss.
- [05:55]
Alan Hahn
I'm just trying to understand his end game. Is it just because I don't believe in this bench and I desperately want to win this game and I would ask him if that's the answer. Why. Why do you feel it's so desperate to win this game that you're willing to jeopardize the future of the team to win a game against Charlotte in March when it at least appears that you've got the three seed locked up? Is it just. Is it in his DNA? I'm sorry, I just got to win every game. I can't afford to lose any game. But he's. He's a veteran enough.
- [06:29]
Peter Rosenberg
He's just got an extension too. So it's not like he's worried about, like, you know what I mean? If I could understand it, if you're concerned about your stat. I got to get every win because I got to make sure that they give me an extension. He got the extension. He's locked in. The captain is his biggest supporter. You're not going anywhere as long Jalen Brunson is believing in you. Right? Like. Like there's. I don't understand what you're saying. Makes so much sense. What is the intent other than I want to win this game and I don't trust anybody else to win it other than my five starters and a couple of guys off the bench that I'll play a handful when you think.
- [07:05]
Don LaGreca
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- [08:13]
Unknown
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- [08:43]
Alan Hahn
Time for basketball and Uber Eats is dropping deals on game day favorites to keep you locked in on the action. Like when you're craving a buzzer beater but also buffalo wings or when an upset makes you want to ugly cry into a pizza. And right now, Uber Eats has game day deals from McDonald's, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Wendy's and hundreds more local favorites so you can keep your eyes on the ball and your hands on a hamburger. Order now only on Uber Eats. Product availability varies by region. See app for details like I guess everything. I'm always a big believer that if you don't have an answer, anything's on the table. There's no such thing as any bad answers when you don't have an answer. So is it just in his DNA? I just refuse to lose. Okay that's there, is it. Is he trying to send his message to his team? Like, hey, guys, you know it's on you Fight through it. If you're gonna win a championship, you're gonna have to learn how to mentally be tough. This was a test and you failed. You're gonna have to get better. All right, Is that on the table? Is it a question of. Is it a message to management? Hey, get me a better bench. I play guys off the bench if you got me a better bench. So was it a message to Leon Rose? Like, what is it? He's an intelligent, great head coach, experienced. If you could see it. If I could see it, how come he didn't see it? So what's his end game? So those are three off the top of my head I mentioned. Are they ridiculous? Is there any merit to any of those things? Is he sending a message to his players? Is he sending a message to management? What is it?
- [10:12]
Peter Rosenberg
The problem is, if you ask, I don't think he'll tell you, and that's the thing, but it just feels like he will just never relent on a game. And you love that. They don't load, manage, they don't sit players. This is what I mean, this schedule. On any other franchise, if you're in any other place, you're seeing guys sit out and they're calling it like, you know, a mild strain, they'll come up with a reason to sit a guy. And the league sometimes finds you for doing this. We've seen them do it. And sometimes the franchise, like, yeah, all right, we'll eat the fine. But because we're, you know, we need the long game here. We're trying to protect our guys and make sure that they have the proper rest. And this schedule, stupid. So the league's doing this to us. We're going to do this to the league. You're not going to get our star player in a. In a place that maybe they wanted to see him or on a national game, we're not going to do it. But the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau especially, they don't believe in that. Nope. We play our best. We play every night. And you're going to get exactly what is the opposite of load management. But unfortunately, in a night like last night, it makes you say, okay, you could play your guys, but if you. Once you saw that second quarter, that guys just didn't have it, don't you have to have that backup plan of. In the back of my mind, I knew if I didn't like the way I look, where my team looked right now, I might look down the bench and just bring in a couple of these vets and say, right, all right, you know, give me a reason to keep you in the game. And if they don't, that's on them. And they fail. And now I have to go back to my main guys, but give him a chance first. And that just never happened.
- [11:41]
Alan Hahn
It is. I just think that you don't get a medal for trying, but as Bill Parcells once said, you know, it's not like the, the Knicks are going to lose out on a championship, but they're going to give a medal to Tom Thibodeau for giving. Trying to win every game, you know, and not load managing. And that doesn't matter. You sometimes you got to adjust to what's happening in the rest of the league. And if the rest of the league is doing it all right, I admire the fact that you don't do it, but is it putting you at a disadvantage that all these teams are well rested, that once you get into the playoffs, they're not going to be spent? And I just think ultimately it's a combination of. It's just not in his DNA to take a knee ever, which I admire. And maybe it's also. Yeah, they're fatigued. Alan, you're right. But you know what? They've got to fight through it. If this team is ever going to learn how to win a championship. These are the things they have to learn to fight through. Championship teams exhausted, dragging will still find a way to beat the spurs and the Charlotte Hornets. And maybe we're not ready to do that. Maybe that was just a test and they failed. Let me see if my guys can fight through this. Let me see if these guys have. Are mentally tough to overcome adversity because the only way we're ever going to win a championship is if we learn how to do that. This is how you come back from 3, 1 down. This is how you come back with 10 points down with 4 minutes to play in a playoff game. Is it that, Allen? Is it just a. For not much to play for here down the stretch? Here is a, Here's a mental little test that I can throw at you to see are you ultimately ready to take that prize.
- [13:17]
Peter Rosenberg
That's. That's a whole other level of thinking that I would have never. Great.
- [13:21]
Alan Hahn
But that, but that's what the great ones do, right? Is that it's that little like mental chess that you play. Like Michael would always bring up like the three he's playing three dimensional chess and we're playing checkers.
- [13:32]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah. It's the off season when they're, they're going over the roster and it's like, you know, do you really want to trade that guy? And it's like, well, how did he look when we really needed him and Jalen's hurt or, or, you know, this guy's not going and I put him in, you know, I had him in there and we were trusting him to lead the way and he couldn't do it. Maybe we need to upgrade that spot.
- [13:49]
Alan Hahn
You know, it's.
- [13:50]
Peter Rosenberg
That's crazy.
- [13:50]
Alan Hahn
A very underrated movie we always talk about any given Sunday.
- [13:53]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah. Yep.
- [13:54]
Alan Hahn
And it's, it's raining whatever nationally televised game they're playing at. And the quarterback, the Jamie Foxx character is just getting beat up. And they go, the offensive line won't play for him, coach. And he's like, well, let him learn. Like, maybe that's like, hey, this is, I'm going to let him get beat up here so he can learn how.
- [14:16]
Peter Rosenberg
To play the position that he knows.
- [14:18]
Alan Hahn
Is this Tom Thibodeau saying, I want to beat my team up and let them learn what it's really going to take for this team to win a championship. And that's what coaches do when they have the player, when the players have their back, when management loves them, when they know they're not going to get fired. That you could do that and know it's not going to cost you your job.
- [14:38]
Peter Rosenberg
I don't know. Look, you're right. We got to figure it out. What is it? And you know, I thought it's just simply stubbornness and you're taking it to a level of no, maybe this is his way of kind of exposing things and see how guys respond and who, who he can trust and who he can't when it comes to these types of situations. And as they try to build this thing going forward, this is how you base your decisions.
- [15:03]
Alan Hahn
Because what has been the theme of every Nick conversation that we've had since we've been together is that they're, they're not ready yet. They're a year early. They're not. Maybe these are the things they're close to get them ready.
- [15:15]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah. Who knows? Or, or to decide whether or not this guy can be part of what we're trying to do going forward. We'll finish up some calls. 800 now and 93776. Stay with us. Don Juan Rosenberg.
- [15:28]
Unknown
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- [16:27]
Peter Rosenberg
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- [16:40]
Unknown
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- [17:21]
Alan Hahn
1, 2, 3 will that be cash or credit? Credit.
- [17:27]
Peter Rosenberg
4 Galaxy S25 Ultra the AI companion.
- [17:30]
Don LaGreca
The 20 does the heavy lifting so.
- [17:32]
Peter Rosenberg
You can do you get yours@samsung.com compatible with select apps. Requires Google Gemini account.
- [17:37]
Alan Hahn
Results may vary based on input. Check responses for accuracy.
- [17:41]
Peter Rosenberg
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [17:44]
Unknown
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [17:46]
Peter Rosenberg
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Oh it's a weekend baby and we got game time. Brought to you by Tully Mordue Irish Whiskey. Because when it's game time, it's Tully time. No pros in action tonight. You got March Madness, of course. Plenty of games to watch. 8th seed UConn will take on 9th seed Oklahoma in the west region. That's at 9:25. And then over the weekend, we got some stuff for you. You've got Rangers, Canucks. That's a one o'clock right. Puck drop, Don.
- [18:16]
Alan Hahn
That's right.
- [18:16]
Peter Rosenberg
And you get Sam Rosen. They celebrate his career, 40 years, his retirement. That'll be all going on at MSG. The Knicks then play after you got a double header at the Garden. The Knicks and the Wizards, can they put a stop to this madness and beat a bad team tomorrow night? You got that? So. And then St. John's of course, they'll play in the round two. That's a 240 tip off on CBS, it's Calipari versus Pitino. That's spicy. Arkansas St. John's tomorrow afternoon. So Tolomore Dew, the original triple distilled, triple blended, triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Telemore Dew or drive the new Tullamore Dew. Honey, during tonight's action, glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Duke responsibly. Let's grab some calls here before we call it a day. How about Jay and Newark? What's up, Jay?
- [19:03]
Caller
What's up, fellas? Two quick points on the mix from. You know, from what I look at, Josh Hart's interview was very candid, but he mentioned complaining to the refs. I think he's the most egregious doing that. So I would want him to look in the mirror and address that because I think he's too good a player.
- [19:24]
Peter Rosenberg
Yeah, Jay, he did say starting with me. He said starting with me. Did say that.
- [19:29]
Caller
Awesome. Great. Then that just. That just reinforces what I think about him anyway. I think he's a high character guy, but I really. I really wish he would not do that. It's really annoying and it's. It's beneath him as a basketball player. Okay, second point. And it goes to some of the things you said, Alan. I think it's not so much about mental toughness, but there's definitely some distractions in that locker room. From some other comments Josh had said about, you know, certain guys not embracing their roles or not or not being seen. First to the issue with Cat and Draymond and then Draymond running through in that last play when they played it, he just ran through the entire court and pretty much Laid the ball up with no. No one contesting. Then the hugging. The guy at the end again, Mikhail Bridges, one of the ones that gave him the biggest hug. A guy who had, you know, questioned the minutes that are being played. I think it's time for. Maybe they have, you know, the quote, unquote, closed room or closed door meeting and hash out some things because it doesn't seem like it's a team that's all on the same page. There might be some issues there. And at the end of the day, if, you know, if you're not. If you're not on the same page in that playoffs, it could be an early exit. So I'm hoping they can address those things. Thanks for taking the call.
- [20:39]
Peter Rosenberg
Thank you, Jay. Yeah, it's. It might be. There might be a need for that. And it does sometimes feel like. Is there a collective toughness, a collective, you know, a unity on this team that I thought I saw early in the season? But Jay. Jay's not. Jay's not terribly wrong there. Chris in New Jersey. Chris.
- [20:59]
Caller
How are you guys?
- [21:00]
Unknown
Don Allen.
- [21:01]
Caller
Always a pleasure talking to you, Allen. I watch every game. I see you every night. And we talked before. Listen, there's something wrong with this team. We know the concerns. But I'm going to tell you right now, with Thibodeau, you got Tyler Kolek on the bench. Tyler Kolik is no different than a Max Stru who got no playing time. Then they put him in. He's no different than any guy like that on an NBA team who can come off the bench, hit the three, and they play no defense. They're not tough. And even though Randall had his moments, Alan Randall gave you the edge that Cat does not give you. I'm not saying Cat. I'm not saying Randall's a more talented player. Sometimes talent doesn't matter. This is what you guys been talking about all day.
- [21:39]
Peter Rosenberg
Only thing I'll say, put colic in.
- [21:42]
Caller
Alan.
- [21:42]
Peter Rosenberg
Use your influence. I'll address. I'll address. Thank you. I have no influence on. When it comes to a player getting in a game, I can promise you that. We always fondly remember the good things about a player when they leave and forget the bad things. There were nights that Julius Randall's brain wasn't there. There were nights where he was not there, you know, like, mentally. So, like, let's not go too crazy with that. Granted, Towns, every night, giving you 25 and 15. Like, he's. Every night, he's getting buckets. So whether his defense is where it should Be at some moments we can debate Tyler Kolek. I would probably would have tried to get him some burn last night. And he's going to have some defensive issues. I think that's the hesitation with, with Tibbs is that you're afraid that he's going to get out there and he just can't guard at the point of attack. And. And teams will murder you if you have a weak point of attack defense. So that's something that is concerned. What was. Well, anyways, like players, we see them and we want to see them get opportunities, stuff like that. But there's always a reason why sometimes coaches protect a player. Want to take Richard real quick here?
- [22:47]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, why not?
- [22:47]
Peter Rosenberg
Richard in Manhattan. Hey, Richard.
- [22:49]
Caller
Hi, Don Allen. Donnie, you were right. You and Dan last night said St. John's wouldn't go off till 10:00. And you will. You guys were right. 10:00.
- [22:57]
Peter Rosenberg
It's amazing. I got to see most of that game and I covered a game last night. So.
- [23:01]
Caller
The Associated Press in the Post today wrote something I think is hilarious. They said Texas A and M sent Yale back to class. Fellas, who's the only school after they lost is going back to class, right? I mean, only Yale fellas. Sam Rosen, you know, we talk about Jim Gordon. Don't forget Don Cricket, Bob Wolf. These were underrated announcers. And I tell you, Sam, he didn't say it, but he probably wanted to follow in the footsteps of Lou Gehrig. You can't get more New York than Lou Gehrig. He went to Commerce high school on 42nd, ended up at Columbia, stayed in the Y, never went to the minor leagues. Sam went to the best high school in New York on 15th and 1st, Iverson, Great College, City College on 1 37th and Broadway and ends up working in Madison Square Garden. Now, I got it respectfully correct, Sam. He said that the Giant fans went to Hartford to watch the home games because they weren't televised. A little off. You went past Stamford, Connecticut and that was the cutoff line because the hotels would advertise, you know, we have the Giant games in along 95. So it wasn't as far up and as far as the Islanders and Rangers. Fellas, wouldn't it be ironic if the Islanders get in and the Rangers do not? Wow, guys, that would be.
- [24:25]
Alan Hahn
It is not impossible, man.
- [24:27]
Peter Rosenberg
Thank you, Richard.
- [24:28]
Alan Hahn
More games in hand. The same amount of games played as Montreal. So even passing the Rangers is not what it's about. It's about getting to Montreal. But don't be shocked, man. Do not be shocked.
- [24:39]
Peter Rosenberg
It's funny how the Rangers have dominated the Islanders and yet they could end up jumping over them. And it's, it's going to make the end and if this whole thing very, very interesting, of course. And you know, like the way the playoff structure and all that stuff, like, it does feel like it's never like no one just has it in hand. It is always going to be a down the stretch battle. Donnie Today is obviously March 21, but today is World Down Syndrome Day, and as you probably remember, my oldest sister Debbie, who we lost earlier this year, she had down syndrome. And it's personal obviously for me on that regard, but I just wanted to acknowledge it and just anybody that has a family member or anybody that has lived with it, you understand how special they are. So just wanted to remember my sister Debbie on World Down Syndrome Day. Have a great weekend, everybody. Donnie, I'll see you Monday, guys.
- [25:33]
Unknown
I want to talk to you about what Amazon Pickup could do for you. First and foremost, you might be thinking Amazon. I order from Amazon all the time. I'm watching prime video. Amazon's a daily part of my life. So what is Amazon Pickup? Well, Amazon Pickup allows you to send your orders to a secure pickup location that you can choose. So when delivered to your home or apartment isn't ideal. Packages can go directly to a convenient pickup location.
- [25:54]
Peter Rosenberg
Thanks for listening to my 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.
- [26:11]
Don LaGreca
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