Why Some Key Races Are Too Close To Call; Ukraine Strikes Back on 'Putin's Davos'

Summary

Here's the Scoop – NBC News

Episode: Why Some Key Races Are Too Close To Call; Ukraine Strikes Back on 'Putin's Davos'
Date: June 3, 2026
Host: Yazan Desugin
Guests: Steve Kornacki (NBC News Chief Data Analyst), Keir Simmons (NBC News Chief International Correspondent), Jonathan Macri (Knicks Film School Podcast)

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles the biggest political contests from the previous night’s primaries in California and Iowa, examining why several major races remain too close to call. It also features an on-the-ground report of Ukraine’s major drone strike on St. Petersburg, Russia, with context about the ongoing war and diplomatic efforts. The show closes with a special insider preview of the NBA Finals matchup between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, capturing the city’s excitement and the stakes involved.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Primary Election Results and Trends (00:12–08:23)

California Gubernatorial and Mayoral Races

• California’s All-Party Primary Explained:
  • All candidates, regardless of party, ran on the same ballot. The top two advance to the general election, possibly from the same party.
• Governor’s Race:
  • Three main candidates: Javier Becerra (Democrat, former Biden Cabinet secretary), Steve Hilton (top Republican), Tom Steyer (Democrat).
  • Becerra and Hilton are leading; Steyer trails in third.
  • Steve Kornacki: “The expectation is that those late arriving mail ballots ... are heavily, I mean, heavily Democratic, which means theoretically there’s room for Steyer.” (02:38)
  • Late-arriving ballots could still shift results due to California's allowance for mail ballots to arrive up to a week after Election Day.
• LA Mayor’s Race:
  • Incumbent Karen Bass leads, followed by former reality TV star Spencer Pratt; big gap to third place (Nithya Raman).
  • Bass and Pratt most likely to advance to the runoff, but late Democratic votes could, in theory, shift the outcome: “It’s an even steeper hill right now for Rahman.” (03:36)

Iowa GOP Primary: A Shift in Trump’s Influence

• Randy Feenstra (Trump-endorsed) lost to Zach Lane (aligned with the newer ‘Maha’—Make America Healthy Again—movement).
  • Steve Kornacki: "My own view ... is that the Trump endorsement ... is more potent when he is singling somebody out to oppose them." (05:00)
  • Trump’s endorsement for Feenstra came late—after 10,000 early votes had already been cast, which may have hurt Feenstra. Lane’s win seen as an early sign of a new GOP divide.

Broader 2026 Primary Trends

• Party Establishment vs Progressive Insurgency:
  • In competitive races (e.g., NJ 7th CD, Iowa Senate), party establishments secured their preferred centrist/moderate nominees.
  • Steve Kornacki: "In the non-competitive places in the general election, you’re seeing that energy there from the left in the Democratic party … But ... in those two battlegrounds ... the party establishment got its way." (06:37–08:23)
  • Progressive/left-wing wins tend to happen in safe Democratic strongholds (ex: NJ 12th CD, Adam Hammowi backed by a pro-Palestine super PAC).

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2. Ukraine’s Dramatic Drone Strike on St. Petersburg (10:13–16:49)

• Ukraine’s Long-Range Strike:

  • Over 600 miles into Russia, striking an oil export terminal in President Putin’s hometown—highly visible to St. Petersburg residents.
  • Keir Simmons: “We woke up this morning to black smoke across this historic city skyline … I’ve never been in a major city and seen a drone strike like this.” (11:10)
  • Russian authorities claim to have intercepted hundreds of drones, but significant damage and psychological impact remain.

• Residents’ Reactions:

  • Shock initially, but growing acclimatization to drone warfare: “The Russians are beginning to get used to this … for many, it’s really the defining experience of this war.” (11:10)

• Drones and Domestic War Production:

  • Ukraine has ramped up its own domestic drone development amid waning U.S. support.
  • Yazan Desugin: “…since the US has become less and less of a reliable ally, Ukraine has focused more on domestic weapons production …” (12:29)

• Russian Response and Diplomatic Significance:

  • Maria Zakharova (Russian Foreign Ministry): “This is her vocalizing, you’re seeing how they’re targeting our infrastructure … not been reporting ... on the way that civilians have been killed…” (13:07)
  • Strong signals of future retaliation, with the strikes perceived as a message to Putin ahead of a major economic forum ("Putin’s Davos").

• Putin’s Economic Forum: ‘Putin’s Davos’ and U.S. Role:

  • Minimal U.S. diplomatic presence at the St. Petersburg forum.
  • Keir Simmons: “Nothing much is happening is what it really tells us because it’s a very, very limited [U.S.] presence.” (14:56)
  • Ongoing war with Iran is affecting Russia’s battlefield situation—highlighting the Russia-Iran strategic drone partnership.

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3. NBA Finals Preview: Knicks vs. Spurs (18:40–23:20)

• Setting the Stage:

  • Host and guest highlight their New York Knicks bias.
  • The matchup is described as “David vs. Goliath”—Jalen Brunson (6'2") vs. Victor Wembanyama (7'4").

• Jonathan Macri’s Analysis:

  • “I don’t think there’s ever been a player who can impact a game defensively like [Wembanyama] does ... but … when [the Knicks] are playing right ... it is like a symphony on the basketball court.” (19:39)
  • Spurs are coming off a grueling series; Knicks are rested, but that hasn’t always been an advantage (referencing past series slow starts).

• Knicks’ Team Evolution and Mindset:

  • Learning from past mistakes (notably, almost losing momentum after a long break before the Cavs series): “They changed their approach. I think they probably spent a little bit more time on the practice court…” (21:10)
  • This Knicks squad assembled with championship intent, unlike '99’s underdog team.
  • Memorable Personal Recall: "I was in the building as a 16 year old when the spurs raised their first trophy. … This team was assembled with the intent on winning a title." (21:56)

• Prediction:

  • “Knicks in six. … That would mean that they would win at home in Madison Square Garden.” (22:36)
  • Acknowledges it’s a veteran Knicks team vs. younger Spurs: “I think this Knicks team is playing with a sense of purpose that they were very clearly not satisfied after they won the East.” (22:36)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Steve Kornacki on California’s slow counting (02:38):
  “It will be days, a trickle kind of over the course of days of these late arriving vote by mail ballots. They can come in up to a week after Election Day.”

• Kornacki on Trump’s diminishing influence (05:00):
  “The Trump endorsement or Trump involving himself in these Republican primaries, it’s more potent when he is singling somebody out to oppose them.”

• Kornacki on party control in key races (06:37):
  “…in those two battlegrounds, we talk about there Iowa as a state, potentially a Battleground in the 7th district of New Jersey, the party establishment got its way.”

• Keir Simmons on the shocks of war in St. Petersburg (11:10):
  “We woke up this morning to black smoke across this historic city skyline … I’ve never been in a major city and seen a drone strike like this.”

• Yazan Desugin on Ukraine’s self-reliance (12:29):
  “…since the US has become less and less of a reliable ally, Ukraine has focused more on domestic weapons production…”

• Maria Zakharova’s Russian warning relayed by Simmons (13:07):
  “You’re seeing how they’re targeting our infrastructure ... and then she goes on to say, you’ve not been reporting … on the way that civilians have been killed…”

• Jonathan Macri on Knicks’ evolution (21:56):
  “This team is different. This team was assembled with the intent on winning a title. I think they’re going to be ready for this.”

• Jonathan Macri’s Knicks prediction (22:36):
  “I’m going Knicks in six. For anybody who doesn’t know the rules, that would mean that they would win at home in Madison Square Garden ... it’s going to be a scene.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Primaries Breakdown with Steve Kornacki: 00:12 – 08:23
• Ukraine Drone Strike – On the Ground with Keir Simmons: 10:13 – 16:49
• NBA Finals Preview with Jonathan Macri: 18:40 – 23:20

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Summary Takeaways

• Several marquee 2026 primary races remain unresolved due to slow mail-in ballot counting, with party establishments tending to win in key swing districts while progressives gain ground in safe seats.
• Trump’s influence on the GOP base is nuanced and perhaps waning, depending significantly on timing and manner of endorsements.
• Ukraine struck deep inside Russia with a high-profile drone attack, signaling increasing confidence and capability despite shifting international support.
• Diplomatic stalemate persists on the Russia-Ukraine front, complicated by global distractions and evolving alliances (notably Russia-Iran).
• The NBA Finals preview captures the tension and optimism among Knicks fans as they head into a highly anticipated rematch with the Spurs.

This episode offers a brisk yet thorough deep-dive into politics, global conflict, and a taste of much-needed sports excitement, all with NBC’s trademark conversational and insightful delivery.

Transcript

[Jonathan Macri]

I think this Knicks team is playing with a sense of purpose that they were very clearly not satisfied after they won the East. And I think you're going to see that starting tonight in Game one.

[Yazan Desugin]

Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yazan Desugin. So the NBA Finals are starting tonight. We got the New York Knicks vs. The San Antonio Spurs. We have got Jonathan Macri, the dean of the Knicks film school, with us on who and what to watch. Plus, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones on President Vladimir Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg in response to Russian strikes. Our chief international correspondent Keir Simmons is going to tell us what that looks like on the ground there. But first, we are still getting the returns from last night's primaries, including some of the biggest races of 2026 so far. If we start in the state of California, there is the governor's race and who's going to replace Governor Gavin Newsom. And if a reality TV star from the hills should be the next mayor of Los Angeles, then we have Iowa, a battleground. And we're seeing President Trump's hold on the GOP potentially slipping. So is it going to be Maga or Maha in November? Then there's the big picture question. So as we look at the results coming in, what trends are we seeing as we get closer and closer to November? So for this, I'm going to bring in NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki, who is joining us once again in the studio. Hi, Steve.

[Steve Kornacki]

Yes. How you doing?

[Yazan Desugin]

Long night. But here you are.

[Jonathan Macri]

Here we are.

[Steve Kornacki]

And we don't have official call. It's the, the best kind of election night.

[Keir Simmons]

Right.

[Steve Kornacki]

We go through the whole thing and we say, well, we still don't know.

[Yazan Desugin]

So, and, and you know, listen, you were waiting for California. The results all did not come in. They're still trickling in as we speak. 3:00pm, 3:30pm I should say Eastern time here on Wednesday. One of the biggest races still up in the air and that is the governor. This was an all party primary and there was a huge field of candidates that were vying to replace Governor Gavin Newsom, who hit his term limit, who is leading the pack right now. And walk us through kind of what all party primary means.

[Steve Kornacki]

Yeah, look, I mean, they put everybody on the same ballot. Top two advanced to the general election, which will be held in November. That means it could be theoretically two candidates from the same party. That's happened in California before. Since they put the system in, there's three candidates right now kind of in the mix there. Javier Becerra, the former Biden Cabinet secretary, former congressman from Los Angeles, he's in the best shape. Clearly of the three of them, a Democrat, Steve Hilton, is the top performing Republican right now. And Hilton and Becerra are kind of closely bunched. One, two in the count right now.

[Yazan Desugin]

Got it.

[Steve Kornacki]

And then there's a gap in the third place candidates, the other Democrat, Tom Steyer, and the suspense right now. And this is where it's frustrating with California elections. Cause it takes them so darn long to count. The thing is, it will be days, a trickle kind of over the course of days of these late arriving vote by mail ballots. They can come in up to a week after Election Day. Wow. Wow. The expectation is that those late arriving mail ballots, this is what's almost always the case in California, is they're heavily, I mean, heavily Democratic, which means theoretically there's room for Steyer. If they're that Democratic, there could be room for Steyer to catch Hilton and get that other spot. So that would be Becerra versus Steyer in the runoff.

[Yazan Desugin]

All right, let's talk the LA Mayor's race, because we've been talking a lot about this. And you have the incumbent, Karen Bass, who is still in it. Then you have former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who is also in this thing right now. He, by the way, was from the hills. Then you have Nithya Raman as well. Walk us through what we are seeing there.

[Steve Kornacki]

Yeah, so again, there are a. There's a large number of outstanding votes here. But Karen Bass, the incumbent mayor, is clearly running in first right now in the returns. Spencer Pratt is running in second. And there is a pretty big gap there, a big gap between Pratt in second and Rahman in third. And again, this is one of those, you know, runoff situations. If nobody gets the outright majority and nobody's going to here, the top two are gonna advance. So it certainly looks like Bass is on her way. And again, it's a situation where the only thing that could change it now is if the late arriving vote by mail is so heavily Democratic that it would lift Rahman over Pratt for that second spot. But everything I was just saying about the steep hill that Steyer has to climb in the governor's race to make that happen. It's an even steeper hill right now for Rahman.

[Yazan Desugin]

Can we talk to Iowa? Cause that was actually a really big night for Iowa. I mean, I think a lot of people had their eyes on Iowa and it's now looking like a showdown between MAGA and mah. Until this moment, no Trump endorsed candidate actually lost out in this primary season. But we saw it last night. Randy Feenstra, right, He was endorsed by Donald Trump. He lost, he conceded to businessman Zach Lane, who had aligned himself with the Maha movement, Make America healthy again. For those that don't necessarily know that's in Iowa's Republican primary for governor, is this any evidence that the President's support is slipping?

[Steve Kornacki]

So I think it's a complicated question. I think we've talked about this before. My own view on this has been that the Trump endorsement or Trump involving himself in these Republican primaries, it's more potent when he is singling somebody out to oppose them. When he tells Republicans this is the traitor.

[Yazan Desugin]

Interesting. So not to support them, but to oppose them.

[Steve Kornacki]

Because in this race, this was not a situation where Trump came in for Feenstra and trashed Lane. And Lane as a candidate really strongly aligned himself with Trump, with maga, with the grassroots, with that sort of populist brand of conservatism. So we've seen situations like that where those kinds of candidates have performed fairly well, even if Trump opposes them. But the other interesting thing on it is this. The margin in that primary last night that Lane beat Feenstra by is about 1500 votes. It was super, super close. Okay. There were tens of that. More than 10,000 early VOT had already been cast last Friday when Donald Trump made the endorsement. It was a very late endorsement of Feenstra and a big chunk of votes had already been cast and the final margin was only 1500. There's a little bit of a what if here in my mind, Trump had come in a week earlier with that endorsement, before the early votes were cast. Is that, are there 1500 votes there for Feenstra? There could have been.

[Yazan Desugin]

What are some of the major trends that you have seen coming out of last night's primary as we look ahead to November? I mean, we've been compiling this thing. You and I have had these repeated conversations since the beginning of this primary season talking about some of the trends. So as we look at what happened last night, especially with some of these critical House races that could switch, you know, the power of the House one way or the other. What are you looking at? What did you see?

[Steve Kornacki]

Yeah, no, look, I, we just saw the setup. I think in a way, the most competitive races for the general election that we were seeing primaries for last night, I think the party establishments kind of got the candidates they wanted. So for instance, the night started in New Jersey, 7th congressional district. The Republican incumbent there is Tom Kane. This is a classic swing district. And the the Democrats, it was a landslide for their candidate Rebecca Bennett in the primary. The party establishment had kind of coalesced around her on the Senate side. Think about Democrats in Iowa. Democrats are saying they want to make Iowa put it in play this November. That is a very steep hill to climb. Iowa's a state that Donald Trump carried by double digits. But there were two candidates in the Democratic primary for Senate in Iowa. Josh Turek, a state legislator from western Iowa, calls himself a moderate. He represents in the state legislature, a district that Trump carried. He was running against somebody from literally the most lib state legislative district in the state. National party wanted Turek in that race and they got Turek in that race. He won that primary. There were other races last night that are not gonna be competitive in the general election where you saw that sort of left wing, that insurgency that we've been seeing in some other Democratic primaries come through. There was a race in New Jersey where Adam Hammowi won. It's a 12th congressional district, overwhelmingly Democratic district. He was backed by this new pro Palestine super pac and he won that primary. He won it pretty handily. So that's another. Seen this now twice in these Democratic primaries for House in New Jersey this year. These Democrats, really left wing Democrats, twice now have won and he's likely to be the next congressman there because it's such a Democratic district. So in the non competitive places in the general election, you're seeing that energy there from the left in the Democratic party. But in those two battlegrounds, we talk about there Iowa as a state, potentially a Battleground in the 7th district of New Jersey, the party establishment got its way.

[Yazan Desugin]

Steve Kornacki, thank you.

[Jonathan Macri]

You got it?

[Steve Kornacki]

Yes.

[Yazan Desugin]

All right. We are going to take a very quick break. And when we are back, a rare report from inside St. Petersburg where Ukraine sent drones deep into Russia. That's next. And also. Okay, so while you're waiting for us to come right back, why don't you go ahead and then just hit the subscribe button or share this episode with your friends. That's even better. We would love your support. I'll see you on the other side.

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[Steve Kornacki]

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[Jonathan Macri]

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[Yazan Desugin]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So on Tuesday, we talked about Russia's new wave of deadly attacks on Ukraine. Well, early this morning, Ukraine struck back. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that his country sent drones more than 600 miles to strike an oil export terminal in St. Petersburg. Russian authorities said several people were injured in these strikes. So how did Russia not see this coming? Are these strikes an escalation of the war? And what do they mean for potential peace talks? For this, I want to bring in Keir Simmons. He is our NBC News chief international correspondent and he's currently on the ground in St. Petersburg. Hi, Keir.

[Keir Simmons]

Hey there. How you doing?

[Yazan Desugin]

So tell me what you're seeing there. How have residents in St. Petersburg been reacting to the strikes? And, and can you actually see what has taken place? How visible are these drone strikes?

[Keir Simmons]

Really visible. And that's something that's incredibly striking about it, that we woke up this morning to black smoke across this historic city skyline. And St. Petersburg, as you know, is a city with a storied history that goes back to the Second World War. That is, it's a European city close to the border with Eastern Europe. So it is a place that has an impact when something happens. And something sure happened. I mean, I've got to say, you know, years of covering Russia, I've never been in a major city and seen a drone strike like this with it being we stood in the center of the town of the city and could see the smoke. And now there is a video on social media, on the Internet from locals of drones hitting oil facilities. The Ukrainians themselves released video. The Russian Ministry of Defense says that hundreds of Ukrainian drones were intercepted. But still, the Russians are beginning to get used to this, I would say. And I think for many, it's really the defining experience of this war.

[Yazan Desugin]

It's interesting, Kir, because on Tuesday, we actually spoke to a Ukrainian journalist on the ground there in Kiev, and he told us that since the US has become less and less of a reliable ally, Ukraine has focused more on domestic weapons production, which I feel as if we are seeing the fruits of that focus now with this latest strike in St. Petersburg. The Russians are saying they shot down more than 700 Ukrainian drones just in the last 24 hours.

[Keir Simmons]

Yeah.

[Yazan Desugin]

Do we know how Moscow is going to respond to this?

[Keir Simmons]

Well, we actually spoke to Maria Saharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, just in the past few hours, and her response was scathing. What she says is that this look, now you guys, you're here and you're seeing what Ukraine is doing. This is her vocalizing. You're seeing how they're targeting our infrastructure. And then she goes on to say, you've not been reporting, she says, on the way that they have, the way that civilians have been killed, she says, and there's a particular case that they keep going back to from the past few weeks of a strike inside Russian occupied Ukraine, eastern Ukraine. So the Russian response is vitriolic and they are promising vowing retaliation. There certainly will be a sense that this was an attempt to send a message to President Putin because St. Petersburg is the place where he grew up. It's where he began his politics. And he's on his way here for this big summit here, this big forum, and he will give a major speech on Friday.

[Yazan Desugin]

Well, let's talk about that because you are actually in St. Petersburg, not because of these drone strikes, but because of this economic forum that you talk about. Hence the reason why the Russian president is actually headed there. A US Delegation is also attending this forum. I mean, we haven't heard a lot about progression of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in quite some time. There have been dribbles, but not really anything significant. What is the US Presence there at this economic forum and Vladimir Putin's presence there at this economic forum days after these drone strikes? Tell us about the status of the future of these peace talks and where things are headed.

[Keir Simmons]

Well, that nothing Much is happening is what it really tells us because it's a very, very limited presence. And in fact, Maria Zakharova from the Foreign Ministry, the Russian Foreign Ministry, I actually asked her about the Iran war and what her thoughts were about the position the Trump administration is in with Iran. And she said, we want them to wrap that up and come back and focus here on negotiations here, kind of saying, where are they?

[Yazan Desugin]

If we talk about the war with Iran briefly, is that war benefiting Russia? Is it benefiting Russia on the battlefield? Because, you know, the world die. The world's attention has been turned elsewhere now.

[Keir Simmons]

Well, I was just thinking when you were talking about Ukraine's innovations when it comes to drones, that there's another country that has been innovative when it comes to drones, and that country is Iran. And Russia and Iran have now a strategic partnership. They signed it last year. And Iran, of course, as you know, has been supplying Russia with drones to fire on Ukraine. There's definitely an innovation happening in multiple places and crucially, not just America's allies, but also its adversaries. And I do think there's a real question now about that Iran, Russia relationship and where that goes. It certainly has been over a long time. Cautious, they haven't fully trusted each other. But it did change substantially after President Putin's full scale invasion of Ukraine because the Russians needed those Iranian drones. And now to what extent will Iran's use of drones, how will that experience be learned by the Russians and by others?

[Yazan Desugin]

Even Keir Simmons? As always, thank you.

[Keir Simmons]

You bet. It's a pleasure.

[Yazan Desugin]

Coming up in the extra scoop, the Knicks and the spurs are facing off in a Repeat of the 1999 NBA Finals. After the break, class is in session with the dean of the Nicks film school.

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[Yazan Desugin]

We are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So we are going to leave you with our extra scoop where we take you behind the scenes to give some of the flavor inside the stories that are driving the day. Tonight is a very big night. We are looking at game one of the NBA playoffs. You got the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. Obviously I will say gotta be forthcoming about this. As New Yorkers we are firmly fans of the New York Knicks here, I'm sorry Texas. So we're going to tap Jonathan Macri, he runs the Knicks Film School Podcast network to tell us what we need to know as we are watching the game tonight. Hey Jonathan, how you doing? People are calling this matchup the David versus Goliath and the Knicks star player Jalen Brunson is just 6 foot 2 while the Spurs Wemby right. We know how big he is. He's like what, 7 foot 4. Who's got the edge here?

[Jonathan Macri]

You know, I, I, I think it really is pretty close to a toss up series. Let me say this about Victor Weminyama. I, you know I've been watching basketball for over 30 years, have spoken who have been covering the sport for far longer than that. I don't think there's ever been a player who can impact a game defensively like this guy does because obviously he's very tall and he has a big reach but he also is very smart and he's always locked in. That said, the thing that makes this offense for the Knicks very special and why I think there's a lot of optimism around New York that they'll actually be able to pull this off is they have kind of, you know, they have a lot of very individually talented players. Jalen Brunson first among them. But this is a team that was put together together, you know, over the course of Several years. Specifically with the mindset of how could we get the most amount of basketball skill on the court at one time? And they really do. When they're playing right and they're, and they're hitting their mark, it is like a symphony on the basketball court. So for as much as Victor Wimanyama super special player and he impacts everything an offense does, I think the way the Knicks are operating, they'll be able to find holes and navigate the San Antonio defense.

[Yazan Desugin]

So here's, here's the other question because you look at what the spurs have just been through, right? They're on this. Coming off this brutal seven game stretch versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Knicks have been chilling, right, for the last week or so. They took the Cavs in four games in the Eastern Conference. How does that contribute to what we may be looking at tonight?

[Jonathan Macri]

Well, it's an interesting question because this was the exact same scenario that faced the Knicks going into that Cav series because they had swept their previous opponent in four games and had more than a week off. And they came came out against Cleveland and they found themselves down by 20 points in the fourth quarter. It took one of the all time legendary NBA comebacks to win that game. What we heard from the Knicks players and coaches going into this Finals is that they learn lessons from that prior experience and they change their approach. I think they probably spent a little bit more time on the practice court going into this Finals. So I have to think that's something that we'll see impact the series, especially game one tonight.

[Yazan Desugin]

Is this going to be a different story than 1999? The Knicks did not fare well.

[Jonathan Macri]

They did not fare well. And I could say that from firsthand experience. I was in the building as a 16 year old when the spurs raised their first trophy. First of five. And it was, you know, it was a very different situation because I think that Knicks team was an eighth seed. They were never expected to get anywhere close to the final. So when they made it through the Eastern Conference, I think in a way that was like their world championship. This team is different. This team was assembled with the intent on winning a title. I think they're going to be ready for this. I think it's going to be a different result.

[Yazan Desugin]

The series is the best of seven. Fill in the blank for me. Knicks in.

[Jonathan Macri]

I'm going. Knicks in six. For anybody who doesn't know the rules, that would mean that they would win at home in Madison Square Garden, which I don't know how. The island of Manhattan is not going to sink into the ocean. It's going to be a scene. Look, this is going to be a good series. I do think it's going to be a close series. If it went seven games, it wouldn't surprise me at all. But I am leaning on the Knicks. The fact that they are a veteran group, the fact that the spurs are a little younger. And I think this Knicks team is playing with a sense of purpose that they were very clearly not satisfied after they won the East. And I think you're going to see that starting tonight in Game one.

[Yazan Desugin]

Jonathan Macri, let's go, Knicks.

[Jonathan Macri]

Let's go, Knicks.

[Yazan Desugin]

Thank you. All right, that is going to do it for us. Here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasim Vasugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every week night straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid [e-mail] we'll see you tomorrow.

[Keir Simmons]

I'm Craig Melvin. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. I've always been a glass half full kind of guy, and now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way, too. Some really fascinating folks who shared their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and quite candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. And who knows, you might just come away with your own Glass Half Full.

[Steve Kornacki]

Search Glass Half Full with Craig Melvin From Today on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.