Episode 308
Knicks Fans Rejoice: A Championship After 53 Years
Host Andy Suekoff begins the show by welcoming Harris Richard of Knickerbocker Banner for an in-depth look at the New York Knicks' unforgettable 2026 NBA Championship run. They revisit the emotional highs and lows of the playoffs, from early doubts after a tough Game 3 loss to the Atlanta Hawks to the team's remarkable resilience that carried them to the title.
Andy and Harris discuss the Knicks' dramatic 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, reflecting on the electric atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden and what many fans consider one of the greatest moments in franchise history. Harris also shares his firsthand experiences attending key playoff games and watch parties, describing the excitement that swept through New York as the team's championship hopes grew.
The conversation highlights the evolution of key players, including Karl-Anthony Towns, whose leadership and impact became increasingly important throughout the postseason. They also examine the Knicks' defensive transformation into a tough, physical team that embodied the style of basketball New York fans have long embraced.
Andy and Harris wrap up by reflecting on what the championship means for the franchise, its loyal fan base, and the city itself. After decades of waiting, the Knicks' title brought unforgettable memories, renewed hope, and a championship celebration that united basketball fans across New York.
Takeaways:
- The New York Knicks achieved a historic comeback in the NBA Finals, overcoming a 29-point deficit against the Spurs, showcasing their resilience and teamwork.
- Fans played a crucial role during the Knicks' championship run, creating an electrifying atmosphere and supporting the team through thick and thin.
- Jalen Brunson's leadership and performance were pivotal, as he consistently stepped up in crucial moments, including hitting key shots during the Finals.
- The Knicks' journey to the championship was marked by significant improvements in defense, which transformed them into a formidable playoff team.
- This championship win broke a 53-year drought for the Knicks, bringing joy and relief to long-suffering fans and creating unforgettable memories in the process.
- The camaraderie and shared experiences among fans during watch parties highlighted the community aspect of supporting the Knicks throughout their playoff run.
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
Speaker A:Live from the WGBB studios in Merrick, New York, this is Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:What's good, everybody?
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker B:Coffee.
Speaker B:It's been a while since I've been here.
Speaker B:I actually had to make sure that my key worked to get into the building because I wasn't sure if it was going to or not.
Speaker B:Before we get started, we obviously want to give a shout out to my man Brian Graves behind the glass.
Speaker B:Brian, have you got the thumbs up?
Speaker B:I need that thumbs up before I start anything.
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Speaker B:We want to hear from you because we like to have fun here.
Speaker B:And we are going to have a really good show today as I'm joined today by Harris Richard from Knickerbocker Banner.
Speaker B:We had him on last year during the run to the Eastern Conference finals.
Speaker B:And now this year we get to talk about the world champion New York Knicks.
Speaker B:So, Harris, how are you?
Speaker C:Well, after you say world championship, how could I not be great?
Speaker C:Andy, I really appreciate you having me on.
Speaker C:You mentioned last year, but I mean, very surreal.
Speaker C:People have asked me how I, you know, feel about the run and the team and everything that's gone on.
Speaker C:Lucky to survive the parade.
Speaker C:I'm sure we'll get to that.
Speaker C: But the: Speaker C:We waited our whole lifetimes to say it.
Speaker C:It's an unbelievable feeling.
Speaker C:That's the best way I could describe it.
Speaker B:That seems totally fair.
Speaker B:And you know, we'll jump right into it.
Speaker B:You know, this is a team that went on one of the, one of the more memorable runs of NBA playoff history in recent memory.
Speaker B:Anyway, 16 3, including 151 in their last 16 after losing two in a row to Atlanta.
Speaker B:A plus minus, arguably one of the best in the NBA playoffs.
Speaker B:When you watched that team, was it something that you saw early on, like this is the team that can get there?
Speaker C:Well, I'll tell you this.
Speaker C:I, as I we talked about before the show, I'm always glass half full.
Speaker C:I'm always an optimistic person.
Speaker C:But even me, with the Game 3 loss to Atlanta There was a little concern that was setting in.
Speaker C:I remember being outside the Garden because I went to a watch party that night.
Speaker C:They had lost on the road.
Speaker C:And you're thinking to yourself, are we really going out Sad.
Speaker C:Are we really going to lose to the.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:I want to say inexperienced Atlanta Hawks?
Speaker C:I want to shout out McCollum, who sparked that run for the Knicks.
Speaker C:And I think if they didn't lose those two games by one in that fashion, we might not be having the conversation that we're having today.
Speaker C:But the adjustments that were made, and I want to shout out Cat and the collaboration with Brown and that and stuff that went down and all the things that they talk about now where, hey, let me play a little point forward, let me get a little bit more comfortable in the offense.
Speaker C:And they just started blitzing people.
Speaker C:You know, it went from, I don't know if we're going to survive this first round to I don't know if we're going to lose again.
Speaker C:That's a pretty dramatic turn of events there.
Speaker C:And again, shout out to Towns, because I think him being able to, you know, he had those triple doubles and the vision and the way he opened up their offense and everybody kind of just fell into place after that.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:It just, you know, they played at their highest level possible after losing two crushing games in a row where it was like, emotional.
Speaker C:In the Knicks locker, I remember a couple beat reporters saying that, like, wow, this Knick team is dejected.
Speaker C:How are they going to respond?
Speaker C:And I also want to point to a time in the season where they went 2 and 9.
Speaker C:I don't know if you recall that.
Speaker C:And everybody was calling for Mike Brown's head.
Speaker C:If they lose to the Nets during that stretch, could it be over for them?
Speaker C:And they responded with eight straight wins and they righted the ship.
Speaker C:And so that's kind of how I'm always going to remember and refer to this team as.
Speaker C:No matter what situation they get in, no matter if it's backs against the wall, what adversity, down 29, whatever it is, they're going to right the ship.
Speaker C:They're going to figure it out.
Speaker B:And to that Cat point, I remember one of the criticisms last year of him was that he would occasionally disappear games.
Speaker B:And we saw a very different version of Towns this year in the playoffs where he, like you said, he was more running the ball and things are running through him more so than Brunson.
Speaker B:And I think that's a really good leadership quality that, you know, he went to Mike Brown and Said, hey, let's, let's try this out.
Speaker C:Definitely.
Speaker C:I mean, he showed some great leadership qualities to second your point, but also something that I don't want to get lost in the shuffle here is Towns's defense.
Speaker C:I know he fouled out of the closing game, the clincher, but I thought there were many times there were blocks that he had where he's walling up, he's denying people at the rim, and I just thought it kind of clicked there at some point where he got a lot more comfortable.
Speaker C:I remember last year when they were eliminated.
Speaker C:The vision I have in my mind, his Towns backing up into the middle of the paint as they had trouble guarding the high pick and roll and the Pacers are shooting the lights out.
Speaker C:And this year, as much as the passing was great and he attacked the rim and wasn't afraid to be aggressive, I think about the defense, I think about his hands, I think about, you know, the plays that he was able to make to jumpstart them in transition.
Speaker C:So I didn't think I'd ever say this, but there were times where he was an elite rim protector.
Speaker C:Usually you reserve those compliments for Robinson and I thought Towns was just great on that end and everybody defensively, I mean, there were times, and it started in that, the end of that Atlanta series where, wow, this is swarming championship level defense that the Knicks are playing.
Speaker C:And Carl had a role in that.
Speaker B:Yeah, I remember watching, I think it was game four against, or game five against Atlanta and it was just like one, it was just one after another, just steal score, steal score, steal score.
Speaker B:And this is not the same team that we saw four days ago lose that, lose that, game three and they just, and then, then they just kept it going and continue to play that hard nosed basketball that like, I'm a hockey guy.
Speaker B: angers back in like the early: Speaker B:They would only score like one goal a game.
Speaker B:So that's a little different than this Knicks team that was scoring 125 points a game in the playoffs.
Speaker B:But that was a team that would do all that like nitty gritty work that, you know, lunch pail, blue collar kind of kind of team that I think really resonates with New Yorkers.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:There's no doubt about it.
Speaker C:And you know, obviously that start when you think about the Knicks Defense, you talk about an anobi at first, but because of his versatility.
Speaker C:But to me it was guys like Bridges and Hart, they took their perimeter defense and their intensity and once they made the adjustment on Hart, I know we're talking a lot about the first round.
Speaker C:We'll chronicle the playoffs as we go here.
Speaker C:But again, something that comes to mind in that Atlanta series, it feels like five months ago, by the way, is hard saying, you know what, C.J.
Speaker C:McComb's not beating us anymore.
Speaker C:You know, I'm taking this match up personally.
Speaker C:He's came out here, you know, he's toyed with us.
Speaker C:He stole game two at the Garden, then he has the game winning shot in game three.
Speaker C:I'm taking it, I'm taking this match up personally and I'm not letting this loose.
Speaker C:And you saw a lot of that and that, that became contagious for everybody.
Speaker C:And again, we could talk about the offense till we're blue in the face.
Speaker C:Not to be cliche, but we know we have to get stops down the stretch of games.
Speaker C:And what happened to this team as the light bulb went off was unbelievable to watch.
Speaker B:Yeah, we're talking with Harris Burchard from Knickerbocker Banner.
Speaker B:And you were in, you were in the building for a lot of this run like every other night on Instagram.
Speaker B:Like I've seen you, I'm seeing you walk into the garden and I'm like kind of jealous.
Speaker B:Like this look looked like just watching it on tv, it looked like it was a lot of fun regardless, win or lose, like obviously winning better but like either way it's just like it looked just fun to be in the building for a lot of that.
Speaker C:Well blessed.
Speaker C:I mean I want to also shout out my brother in law George because he's a season ticket holder and if I went on the second market I wouldn't be able to pay my rent at all.
Speaker C:So shout out to him for taking me to some of these games and the family discount, etc.
Speaker C:So I went to five in total of the 19, which was pretty outstanding.
Speaker C:And my favorite experience was being with my family on Mother's Day.
Speaker C:I mean there were better games than beating the Sixers by 40, but to look over and see my dad sitting with my nephews and the generations of our family and also my mom being with us on Mother's Day, that was a non negotiable as well.
Speaker C:She was coming and that building was 80% nick fan.
Speaker C:So the Sixers had quit.
Speaker C:It was a celebration right from the opening tip as The Knicks made 18 threes, if you remember that.
Speaker C:And it was incredible to watch.
Speaker C:And obviously we'll get to the other couple of exciting ones that I was in the building for.
Speaker C:But again, this run, this team to win nine straight on the road.
Speaker C:You mentioned the 15 out of 16, the dominating fashion to sweep two series in a row and then win the first two games in the NBA Finals.
Speaker C:I'm not sure we're ever going to see something like this ever again.
Speaker B:It'd be very hard pressed.
Speaker B:Like a team would have to go 160 to like, I don't even want to say come close to that because you know, it depends on how things go.
Speaker B:But like to your point, watching that, watching that game against Philadelphia and like, you know, we're New Yorkers, like Philly sports, they all suck.
Speaker B:We, we don't like them.
Speaker B:So like there's like, like there was that kind of cathartic feeling to just watching the Sixers get dog walked for a week straight and watching them just give up in real time.
Speaker B:And like you said, looking at the, looking at what?
Speaker B:Whatever they call.
Speaker B:I think, I don't know if it's still the Wells Fargo center or not.
Speaker C:See, hearing they're all in the same area, you know, it would never happen in New York.
Speaker C:All their arenas are in the same vicinity of each other.
Speaker B:It's actually really cool.
Speaker B:Like years ago I went to a Phillies game like looking like the link is right there.
Speaker B:I think it was still the, maybe the Wachovia center at that point.
Speaker B:And like they're all, all in that same area and it's like, oh, like that's actually like kind of smart.
Speaker B:But you know, watching the Knicks take, Knicks fans take over that, it's like that's really cool to see because that like that's something that if you told Knicks fan that 10 years ago, they'd probably be like, yeah, yeah, sure, that's not happening.
Speaker C:And I want to, I want to talk about the fans.
Speaker C:I'm glad you brought that up because another thing of note during this run was the traveling the fans did and their ability to take over arenas, whether that was Philadelphia, Cleveland and then San Antonio in the finals as Nick fans sense something special here.
Speaker C:They were on StubHub, Ticketmaster, and then you hear things that are coming out.
Speaker C:What other fan base is forcing, whether it's ownership to say, hey, we're limiting this or some of these things that came out.
Speaker C:I'm like, is that legal?
Speaker C:I just saw, I saw some things I didn't know if it was real, AI.
Speaker C:You never know what's real today.
Speaker C:So I'm like, hey, you could limit people if you want.
Speaker C:You could try whatever you're going to try to do.
Speaker C:Nick fans are going to show up in the groves, especially if they sense a title coming.
Speaker C:And that's what everybody got the idea.
Speaker C:Hey, this is not just another run.
Speaker C:This is a team that has a real chance here.
Speaker C:And the traveling and the way they showed up in packs.
Speaker C:And yes, there is some behavior.
Speaker C:This is what I also want to call out, too.
Speaker C:I don't condon any, that I don't get behind any of it.
Speaker C:I think there are some people that just don't know how to control themselves, which I don't.
Speaker C:I'm not.
Speaker C:Again, not defending in any way, stretch shape or form.
Speaker C:But that's not everybody that doesn't represent for a vast majority of the people that are just trying to have a good time and enjoy their basketball team.
Speaker C:And obviously the Knicks gave him a great show.
Speaker C:And again, just, that's, that's the vision.
Speaker C: back, remember that team from: Speaker C:And it's just the chance, it's the energy, it's the light that this team provided for New York City and all their loyalty, tremendous supporters.
Speaker B:When did you know that this team was different?
Speaker B:And I like their.
Speaker B:Like the run was possible.
Speaker C:Man, I'll say this.
Speaker C:When you're up 101 to 40 on somebody, that's usually a good sign, right?
Speaker B:I can't argue that.
Speaker C:I don't know if it was necessarily in that first round, but once they handled business in Philadelphia, and I'm glad you brought this up because I didn't want to forget to talk about what I thought was a overlooked turning point of the postseason, which when Adenoby went down at the end of game two, everybody was scared, rightfully so.
Speaker C:He was playing at an unbelievable level.
Speaker C:And he's very important to the team.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:No one can argue that.
Speaker C:And so when he hurt his hamstring, it was announced, all right, he's not going to play in game three.
Speaker C:What are we going to do?
Speaker C:They turn to shame it.
Speaker C:Who?
Speaker C:Through the first eight games, six against Atlanta and two against Philly, he averaged under two points a game.
Speaker C:It's hard to.
Speaker C:It's hard to imagine that and picture it because of how good he was for the next 11 games of the playoffs.
Speaker C:But through the first eight, you didn't see Landry Shamit much.
Speaker C:And when you did it was for five to seven minutes and then he'd go sit down for the rest of the game.
Speaker C:So I think that injury and unlocking Shamet to shoot well in Game 3 and 4 of Philly, then.
Speaker C:Then to see what he did versus Cleveland, which was tremendous.
Speaker C:And then as I said to you before the show he played in, I think it was either game one or two, the third most minutes on the Knicks in the finals.
Speaker C:It's just an amazing turnaround.
Speaker C:And I really don't think we would have seen that version of Shamet if not for Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia.
Speaker B:And I think that's also a testament to Mike Brown's working.
Speaker B:Of this roster where you don't see very many teams go nine deep, 10 deep, where the Knicks had that option with guys coming off the bench like a shame.
Speaker B:It like a Jose Alvarado, like Mitch would like.
Speaker B:Most teams would have like three of those guys.
Speaker B:Like the Knicks had five.
Speaker B:Like you could.
Speaker B:They were able to mix a match at will.
Speaker B:And that was something that you didn't see in previous seasons where previous staffs would kind of shorten their bench as the season wore on or just pretend like it didn't exist.
Speaker C:No question.
Speaker C:And staying ready, Right.
Speaker C:Something I talk about a lot, the professionalism of these guys where, all right, whether it's sham and I wasn't playing that much, now I'm ready to go.
Speaker C:I'm going to score 13 in this big game for us to go up three zero.
Speaker C:Whether it's Jordan Clarkson, who there were at times throughout the season where he could have pouted.
Speaker C:I'm a veteran.
Speaker C:I've won six man of the year.
Speaker C:I'm 32, 33 years old.
Speaker C:I've been around the block a few times.
Speaker C:What do you mean?
Speaker C:I'm not going to play for a month, right?
Speaker C:Where was a deuce McBride overcoming a shooting slump and still trying to give you something defensively.
Speaker C:Or it's Mitch Robinson.
Speaker C:I broke my pinky.
Speaker C:I'm still going to have an impact on this series.
Speaker C:And again, Jose Alvarado is somebody that is going to pop up when you think about this team because of his impact on a couple of the comebacks.
Speaker C:But does anybody represent this team better?
Speaker C:Not only that, he's from New York, right?
Speaker C:It doesn't matter.
Speaker C:I'm going to give you whatever I have in 12 minutes.
Speaker C:I'm undersized.
Speaker C:I'm going to battle.
Speaker C:I'm going to force some turnovers.
Speaker C:I'm going to make Big shots.
Speaker C:The bench was very refreshing.
Speaker C:And again, I don't want to knock what happened in the past.
Speaker C:I'm focusing on the fact that the Knicks called on people and they were ready to do their job.
Speaker C:And that's the testament of a champion.
Speaker C:And it starts at the top with Brunson and his leadership qualities.
Speaker C:And they were able to keep things together.
Speaker C:It was never finger pointing.
Speaker C:I'd always look at the press conferences of other teams compared to the Knicks.
Speaker C:I think that's a telltale of the things that are gone on here, not just this season, but in the past.
Speaker C:I think they've always had those qualities.
Speaker C:But this year it was magnified and they were able to get the job done because they were.
Speaker C:They weren't just the five starters, it was the other guys contributing to winning.
Speaker B:And like that, like one of those, one of the people, like, like I, like.
Speaker B:I remember they showed.
Speaker B:I think it was Alvarado's like middle school yearbook or something.
Speaker B:And he said, like, I like, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm going to be a pro.
Speaker B:I base myself on Chris Paul.
Speaker B:I think it's kind of funny that Alvarado got a ring before Chris Paul.
Speaker B:And you know, like that, like that, like, that's just kind of like one of those, like one of those attitudes that really will endear you to the New York Knicks fans.
Speaker B:And like, that's going to be somebody that maybe you're not gonna see his jersey running around New York all day long, but everybody's gonna remember that guy, definitely.
Speaker C:And the fact that he's from here, as you said, and the qualities that you mentioned something in the opening about blue collar lunch pail, like, does anybody fit that description better?
Speaker C:I think the miniature Josh Hart is something I refer to him as during the course of this run, because when the Knicks first got Josh, it was, wow.
Speaker C:This level of compete, know, competitiveness, you refer to it as jumps off your screen.
Speaker C:This guy wants to win more than other people do.
Speaker C:And the more guys you have like that around, it was a brilliant move that the Knicks made.
Speaker C:It felt inevitable.
Speaker C:When they started talking about it, Yabba selly obviously didn't work out for him.
Speaker C:They moved him to another for another piece and then they transferred that over to make the Alvarado trade a reality.
Speaker C:And again, I don't know if you.
Speaker C:It's hard.
Speaker C:It sounds funny to say this because of how great Brunson is and the other talent they have, but bench guys swing, can swing the series.
Speaker C:I mean, I know and I want to get into the game for story and, you know, maybe, maybe we will touch on that in just a little.
Speaker B:Bit, but we'll get, we'll get to that after the break.
Speaker C:But they don't win that game without him.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And that, that's fair to say.
Speaker C:Anybody that was watching the most historic comeback in NBA Finals history knows that if Alvarado doesn't come into that game and light the spark that we're singing a different tune.
Speaker B:We're talking with Harris, Richard from Knickerbocker Banner, where one of the things I definitely thought of and like, this has been a thing now with the Knicks for several years is that a lot of the core has been Villanova based, like with Brunson, with Hart, with Bridges, and before that, Dante Dimoncenzo.
Speaker B:And like, so, like, these were all guys.
Speaker B:And shout out to Jay Wright, by the way, where if they want to, if the Knicks want to give him a ring, I'm okay with that.
Speaker C:He's got enough.
Speaker B:That's true.
Speaker B:Never, never doubt him in March.
Speaker B:But one of the things that I, I forgot who said it, but watching, like, during the Knicks run, it was like, it was like they were, instead of playing a series, like they were playing one individual game that they couldn't lose.
Speaker B:So, like, that's why they, I forgot who said it was like, it's like going back to that March Madness mindset.
Speaker B:I was like, I, I can't lose.
Speaker B:I can't.
Speaker B:Like, it's one game and that's it.
Speaker B:Not, oh, you know, we lose, we have three more that we can, we can work with.
Speaker B:It's like, no, one one and over.
Speaker B:And I kind of thought it was like a very interesting mindset to take where, like, maybe that maybe there was something to that.
Speaker C:Well, what do you hear the Knicks talk about a lot when they were asked about, you're up 20 or you're up 3 0, or, you know, what's the mentality now?
Speaker C:And it sounds cliche and to some people is like, oh, come on, it's a little corny.
Speaker C:The human nature has to set.
Speaker C:And they were like, zero, zero.
Speaker C:They kept referring to that.
Speaker C:They kept saying that, zero, zero.
Speaker C:The team got locked in.
Speaker C:They flipped that switch.
Speaker C:And this is the first time I'm hearing the March Madness analogy made.
Speaker C:And it makes a lot of sense.
Speaker C:I give Jay Wright all the credit in the world.
Speaker C:That's not just.
Speaker C:I attended his basketball camp at Hofstra and then also attended his basketball camp at Villanova's sleepaway camp, too, as well.
Speaker C:But this is one of the best winners that there are.
Speaker C:Completely changed that program around.
Speaker C:Obviously won two national titles with this group.
Speaker C:And a lot of people said, well, you can't operate on the power of friendship.
Speaker C:And just because you won in college doesn't mean.
Speaker C:Well, to a certain extent, yes.
Speaker C:But what these three guys represent and I talked to you about before, professionalism, how they carry themselves, how they compete.
Speaker C:I mean, we talk about Bridges not missing a game in his career.
Speaker C:We talk about Hart's compete level and there might be a statue for Jalen Brunson.
Speaker C:So that that group.
Speaker C:And you know, obviously they'd want Dante around.
Speaker C:I know a lot of guys reached out to him and felt bad that.
Speaker B:He wasn't part of.
Speaker C:He was a casualty in the trade, but he was like that as well.
Speaker C:These guys are cut from that cloth where winning matters more than anything, and they're able to put their ego aside for the betterment of the group.
Speaker B:And that, like, that.
Speaker B:That was definitely something very really, like, really interesting to watch how like, they, like, everybody bought in.
Speaker B:And that was something we were talking about before the show.
Speaker B:Like, I kind of equated it to the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL.
Speaker B:While they didn't win the Stanley cup, they were.
Speaker B:They were fighting for a playoff spot.
Speaker B:They fired their head coach with five games left in the season.
Speaker B:Bring in and bring in a new guy and everybody buys in.
Speaker B:They get hot at the right time, they go and they dominate in the Western Conference playoffs and then take the Carolina Hurricanes six games.
Speaker B:Like that.
Speaker B:Like, when you have a team that buys in and everything clicks, it's just really amazing to watch that all kind of go in motion.
Speaker C:Yeah, no doubt about it.
Speaker C:And honestly, I want to also bring this up because it is something I made note of and want to bring light to is the Dolan speech.
Speaker C:I know he's not the.
Speaker C:That necessarily have the best reputation around New York City for all the things that have gone on with this within this organization.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:I just thought it was interesting how he addressed the team.
Speaker C:And it almost felt like somewhat of like a Hollywood speech of, like, when I first saw that, I thought it was actually AI.
Speaker C:Like, I didn't think that Dolan would talk to them about these values and these, you know, the 10 weeks and the principles and the.
Speaker C:And the things that are going to need to happen.
Speaker C:And you know what I will give him credit for because again, a lot of people that talk to him might not know him personally.
Speaker C:Let the basketball people be the basketball people and you can kind of take a step back and trust.
Speaker C:And, you know, they made the tough decision last year to move on from the head coach, but from everything that you see, they let the leaders lead, and he made points that made sense.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like, I watched that speech back and I said, you know what?
Speaker C:This is accurate.
Speaker C:You got to, you know, you can have.
Speaker C:You could have feelings about somebody and say, all right, I don't like this guy.
Speaker C:I don't like what he's done in the past.
Speaker C:But if the message was received and that was given a couple weeks before the postseason and it was on the money and guys were receptive to it and, you know, maybe had a good relationship, we don't know a lot of the things that people talk about.
Speaker C:We don't know what happens behind closed doors.
Speaker C:We don't know what Brunson's relationship is with him.
Speaker C:We don't know what his relationship is with the coaching staff now.
Speaker C:We don't know.
Speaker C:So a lot of things are speculation.
Speaker C:There's stories you hear that you're not, you know, therefore.
Speaker C:And maybe he had done some wrong in the past, but I just thought it was nice that he addressed the group.
Speaker C:And the roommates pod is the one that I guess released that I don't know if they were going to release it unless they won, so now we get to watch it.
Speaker C:But that was pretty cool to see.
Speaker C:And I'm glad that, you know, he actually, when he addressed the team, the fans, right after they had won it, where he said, sorry it took that long, that's probably the right thing to say in that situation, right?
Speaker B:I would think so.
Speaker B:Granted, the first thing I thought, what I saw him was like, wow, he really looks like Gilbert Gottfried now.
Speaker B:But for years it was, He's a meddler.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He sticks his nose where it doesn't belong.
Speaker B:He hires and fires people way too quickly, like, kind of like George Steinbrenner does and doesn't.
Speaker B:Doesn't let.
Speaker B:Let them cook.
Speaker B:What.
Speaker B:Not to sound super Gen Z cliche, but, yeah, that was one.
Speaker B:I. I will admit, hand up, I have to eat crow on this.
Speaker B:When they hired.
Speaker B:When he hired Leon Rose several years ago, I thought that was going to be an absolute failure.
Speaker B:Just like when the Mets hired Brody Van Wagenen as the general manager.
Speaker B:I didn't think it was going to work because an agent being a GM just didn't seem like something that was a really wise decision.
Speaker B:But Julian Rose's credit, he.
Speaker B:He did the thing.
Speaker B:He got the right people, got the right coaches, got the right personnel and it worked out.
Speaker B:So props to James Dolan.
Speaker B:And I know he's not listening, but there's a general manager for the other team you own that really needs to be fired.
Speaker C:Do that, because I know you want the Rangers to experience what the Knicks had just went through and was able to do for their fan base.
Speaker B:Yes, I'd be very happy.
Speaker B:Like, I would love to see a Rangers watch party outside the Garden.
Speaker B:Watching the clips from the watch parties throughout the entire play.
Speaker B:Not even, just, not even the finals, just the entirety of the run.
Speaker B:And seeing the people outside of MSG all just shouting news and seeing the parties in every neighborhood and all the streets packed like we were talking before the show.
Speaker B:No team unites the city the way the Knicks would because.
Speaker B:And not to, not to sound bad on the Nets, but not as many people care about them, this is, it is a Knicks city where there, where there is more of a distinctive break between the other teams in the other sports, where you have, you have generations of fans on both sides.
Speaker B:Where it really is the Knicks are nobody for basketball.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And you know what?
Speaker C:It's something I mentioned to you earlier.
Speaker C:Nothing really moves the needle like hoops here.
Speaker C:I mean, I'm not just because I'm a hoops head and I've loved the game forever, I want to try to take my bias out of it.
Speaker C:I know there was a great run for the Yankees when we were younger.
Speaker C:I know that the Giants won a couple Super Bowls when we were teenagers into our early college years.
Speaker C:I don't want to take away from the other professional sports in town, but less competition, right?
Speaker C:So you talk about the unite factor and then just the Mecca, right?
Speaker C:Like everybody hears about the Mecca and you thought, well, if it is the center of the basketball universe, we should probably win at some point.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like, we should probably play at a high enough level where people could understand why we're referring to it as that.
Speaker C:Talk about West 4th Rucker, just, you know, some of the movies and a basketball hoop at every corner.
Speaker C:And I've always referred to it as the heartbeat of the city.
Speaker C:And you don't need a lot to play.
Speaker C:Think about all the other equipment involved in, you know, all the other sports that are, that are popular and just roll the ball out.
Speaker C:And now everyone's practicing their Jalen Brunson, you know, step throughs and the kids that love the hoops and not having to see the LeBrons and Curry jersey that you had seen 10, 15 years ago.
Speaker C:You know, I work in basketball.
Speaker C:I train kids So I see a lot of what portraying now and the pride now that is in New York because of this team and the energy.
Speaker C:I, as I told you too, went to the Larry Johnson four point play game as a kid and all I could think about that week at school was that pop, that sound.
Speaker C:I covered my ears.
Speaker C:I was a young kid at the time and I said, this is amazing.
Speaker C:I'm addicted to this.
Speaker C:I was running around yelling the starting lineup.
Speaker C:So I heard Ward on here before Charlie Ward, Chris Childs, Allen, Houston, Sprewell can be.
Speaker C:I remember being eight or nine and just fascinated by that team that made the run.
Speaker C:And I do think it played a large role for me, at least in how much I started to love basketball because of the Knicks and because of Madison Square Garden.
Speaker C:I just for so many years, even though we still loved it, we couldn't recapture that feeling.
Speaker C:And Brunson brought it back obviously a few years ago, but now it's even exemplified that level of 99 because they actually finished the job.
Speaker C: But again, the: Speaker C:They were able to get the job done and it's going to inspire a generation of people.
Speaker B:That's really good stuff.
Speaker B:And we're going to have more with Harris when we come back because he was in the building for a lot of the big moments, including, oh, I don't know, the biggest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals.
Speaker B:So we're going to take a quick break.
Speaker B:When we come back, we're going to hear about that.
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker A:You're listening to Sports Talk New York.
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Speaker A:Sports talk, you're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgb.
Speaker A:And now back to the show.
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker B:I want to wish a happy father's Day to all the fathers out there.
Speaker B:You know, I think for the first time in like three years, we actually got like a really nice Father's Day so you could actually be outside and, and it didn't suck.
Speaker B:So, like, that definitely was definitely nice to, you know, spend, spend the day with my father.
Speaker B:And, you know, he was one, definitely one of the people I grew up watching sports with.
Speaker B:So always, you know, always good server.
Speaker B:I, I also think I have the Father's Day show like every single year.
Speaker B:I wound up chatting this one, so it kind of works out.
Speaker B:But we got, we got more with Harris Rashard from Knickerbocker Banner.
Speaker B:And one of the things that he was telling me for shows, like he was, you know, in the building for.
Speaker B:You said five out of the five of the home games.
Speaker C:Five, Four home games and one in Philly.
Speaker C:So five.
Speaker B:Oh, you went to one of the Phillies.
Speaker C:Yeah, so five.
Speaker C:Five out of the 19.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:All right, so let's talk about that a little bit.
Speaker B:You know, you were, you know, Nick, Nick, Nick's make it to the finals, you know, game one.
Speaker B:Like, first two games are in San Antonio.
Speaker B:I assume you were in the city for one of the watch parties in, like in or near the Garden?
Speaker C:Both.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I started going to a place called Diamantes after, you know, connecting with, you know, since doing the show on Knickerbocker Banter, you know, I've gotten more connected with the Knicks community and they've been really great.
Speaker C:I mean, there's so many die hard, you know, genuine people that, and I, I, I've, I've been on the record saying, if, you know, I Woke up at 6am and went to bed at 10 and it was nothing but talking hoops.
Speaker C:That's a quality day for me.
Speaker C:And I think just being around people that are like that and, and that share that same love for it, it's like you find, you know, not to sound cliche again, you find your people, right?
Speaker C:You find your people that you want to be around and experience these things with.
Speaker C:And I know you mentioned your dad before.
Speaker C:I wanted to close and maybe later on I'll get into what game five meant, you know, the clincher with him.
Speaker C:But yes, games one and two, I was in the city and the emotion after two, because game one was a great win, right?
Speaker C:You had the Knicks making a run.
Speaker C:They were up like eight or nine in the fourth.
Speaker C:Then the spurs closed it and then Brunson hit the three in the corner to give them a lead.
Speaker C:So some of these games blur together.
Speaker C:Like you just always felt like the Knicks made their run when they needed to make their run in the fourth quarter, but not after the Knicks had to overcome and you know, go, go uphill climb and get back into games.
Speaker C:But yeah, definitely watch the first two at Diamantes in the city and there wasn't much breathing room in there.
Speaker C:The bathroom line was probably about a quarter long, but it was so worth it.
Speaker C:Like I said, there's so many things and I told you I want to write about this and I will.
Speaker C:It's one of my goals to have that the project of the season.
Speaker C:But one of the things you look back on and it's the environments that this created and the friendships and you know, the moments of celebration for things that we haven't seen, right?
Speaker C:Like last time the Knicks were in the finals in 99, they lost in five games and they were down 20 right away.
Speaker C:So I remember being outside near the Garden after they went up 20 and there are grown men in their 50s weeping like, and I know that the job.
Speaker C:Listen, not everybody, not all the fans have to be Kobe Bryant, right?
Speaker C:Like, not everyone.
Speaker C:The players were stoic and Bridges had a great postgame interview after they won game two.
Speaker C:But some of the fans were starting to lose it because this was uncharted territory for them.
Speaker B:And you know, let's talk about for a second.
Speaker B:You know, you want to, you want to write, you want to write on the experiences of this season,.
Speaker A:Like, where.
Speaker B:Did the, where did the thought come from?
Speaker B:Was that something you figured you would do, like starting at the playoffs?
Speaker B:Or was that like something like from the beginning, like I want to, I want to write on this experience of the, of this season.
Speaker C:Well, I mentioned you getting more involved in the community with the Knicks and a lot of that had to do with Twitter.
Speaker C:And when you get, you know, you do radio and we love talking about this stuff.
Speaker C:And as my, as my life has gotten, you know, progressed here, the written word has excited me just as much as the spoken, which if you told 17 year old me that he would have looked at you like you were nuts.
Speaker C:When I was trying to get through with essays in high school and college.
Speaker C:So it's funny that that's where my life is at now, where in my 30s, I'm like, I can't wait to pick up a pen and describe what had happened or get on Twitter and describe what had happened.
Speaker C:But to start this season, I had, I had made the decision, hey, I don't know what this is going to look like, but I want to make sure that I document this.
Speaker C:The feeling the season was feeling special to start.
Speaker C:They had come off the Eastern Conference final.
Speaker C:The expectations were through the roof.
Speaker C:I had gotten the unbelievable opportunity that I still count my blessings about to interview Hahn.
Speaker C:Anytime I see him or talk to him, I thank him.
Speaker C:Alan Hahn for those not familiar, works for MSG and now get up and espn.
Speaker C:He's all over the place.
Speaker C:And then, and then to me, the bucket list interview, which was Mike Breen, so that goes without saying, is the voice of our generation who had some incredible calls.
Speaker C:And I reached out to him and let him know, hey, you know, goosebumps for their life isn't perfect, but there are perfect moments.
Speaker C:When he said that, I couldn't help but get emotional.
Speaker C:So when I started getting those interviews, then I took it to another level where after every game I did the write ups and tried to channel the, you know, some of the great beat writers that this Knicks team has shout out to Steve Popper, who was kind enough to be part of my program as well, who, who writes for Newsday.
Speaker C:And I told him not to make them feel old, but I used to have the Fruity Pebbles and Captain Crunch when I was 9 or 10 years old and flip through Newsday and say, let's get right to the back page and read about the Knicks.
Speaker C:So I've been inspired by a lot of people to not only podcast, not only jump on the IG lives, but to write.
Speaker C:And I think it also was a good way to separate yourself in this field of what I've been told is that the more skill you have, the better, the more you work on your craft, the better.
Speaker C:And so I started reading all these great people that were covering this team that were covering the game.
Speaker C:And then I kind of formulated into my own little style here, and I told you before the show as well, I started to test some things out.
Speaker C:Let me tell this story about, you know, someone I brought on the show.
Speaker C:Let me tell this story about my dad, or let me tell you how much I love the game and why.
Speaker C:And people responded well to it.
Speaker C:So it, it kind of lit a fire under me to kind of put the whole thing together and it ended in a championship.
Speaker C:So now everybody and their mother is going to, as I told you, be wanting to do something like this.
Speaker C:But for me, it's about experience.
Speaker C:It's about kind of getting my foot in the door.
Speaker C:And the emotion of this run is something I think that is hard to describe.
Speaker C:But I'LL try to do it.
Speaker B:Oh, for sure.
Speaker B:And like, so it's going to be like a lot of, like, first person account and, you know, like a lot of your recap of, like, as the months went on and the run built and built, where you and the rest of the fan base, like, okay, like, this is this, this is the.
Speaker B:This is the one.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I want to hear from people, too.
Speaker C:I love something I've said a lot of doing all this, that the beauty of this is in the watch parties and bringing people together.
Speaker C:It's the community, right.
Speaker C:It's the feel, it's the different perspective.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:We could argue without getting personal, right?
Speaker C:We could talk about the game.
Speaker C:So I'll be reaching out to fans, I'll be reaching out to people that follow my page.
Speaker C:As much as I do want to tell the story, I want to tell the story of we, not me.
Speaker C:Like, I, I believe in that.
Speaker C:So there's got to be pages dedicated to, hey, this is the kind of impact you had on my fandom.
Speaker C:Or this is a story I told when I was with this person.
Speaker C:Or.
Speaker C:And I could, I could write 30 pages today about my dad and on Father's Day and the impact he's made on me in my, you know, love of basketball and pursuit of dreams and goals.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:So I think having the balance.
Speaker C:I talked to someone about this the other day.
Speaker C:You don't want to overwhelm anybody with one thing.
Speaker C:So I don't want this to be, like, way too sentimental.
Speaker C:You're like, this is, this is.
Speaker C:Wait, what are we doing here?
Speaker C:Can we talk about the game a little bit?
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:So it's got, to me, it's got to be a balance, a little bit of everything.
Speaker C:Can you get a little game recap?
Speaker C:Can you talk a little bit about a Watch party?
Speaker C:Can you talk a little bit about an interview?
Speaker C:Can you talk a little about your relationship with this person?
Speaker C: t to tell the story about the: Speaker B:And you hosted, you hosted your own watch parties this year?
Speaker B:A couple times this season, fortunately.
Speaker B:Here are these.
Speaker B:I was working.
Speaker B:I wanted to go to the March one.
Speaker B:That was the big one.
Speaker B:And any pictures you Got from that.
Speaker B:That would be great visual aid for the pages that you discuss those.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And for those who don't know, because we naturally touch on this today, I think we touched on last time.
Speaker C:Obviously, we go to the same high school.
Speaker C:You're one year younger than me.
Speaker C:The great part about this Knicks run and giving a forum for it is that I did reconnect with a lot of people from my past.
Speaker C:And whether it was high school people, college people, people I used to work with, anybody.
Speaker C:Like, if it wasn't for the Knicks and this show, I'm not sure I would have spoken to those people.
Speaker C:It sounds kind of crazy, but I wasn't that close with them.
Speaker C:But then realizing our, you know, we shared this same passion, that we were able to connect again.
Speaker C:Next thing you know, you know, I'm having the watch parties.
Speaker C:I'm starting to group chats.
Speaker C:I'm.
Speaker C:It's just a way to.
Speaker C:And then, who knows?
Speaker C:You know, you meet your spouse at something, you know, oh, where'd we meet?
Speaker C:At Harris's watch party.
Speaker C:And then those people are now friends.
Speaker C:That one of the most rewarding things I could feel.
Speaker C:And then obviously, we'll get back to the Knicks at some point, when people that I introduced, like, send me a picture, like, oh, we're at the game.
Speaker C:I met up.
Speaker C:That makes me feel really good that those type of things are going on, because this thing started and there was so much of that throughout this run.
Speaker C:And the more the team won and the more that this thing built up, it was everybody.
Speaker C:All those emotions that came out and everybody that cared so much about it, all the stories.
Speaker C:I want to hear about that stuff, and I think a lot of people do.
Speaker C:And one of the best stories I'll ever be able to tell was the NBA Finals, Game four.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And let's get into it, because, like, I. I need to know you were.
Speaker B:Because, I don't know, Timothy Chalamet or Ben Stiller.
Speaker B:You know, Ben Stiller a little bit, but in passing.
Speaker B:In passing, yeah.
Speaker B:Like, you were the only one I know of that was in the building for game four.
Speaker B:And that was.
Speaker B:That's one of those, like, you watch that game, you watch that fourth quarter, and you're.
Speaker B:If you're watching it, like, okay, like something historic is happening here in the building.
Speaker B:It had to have been even more amplified, especially, you know, second half, where they start to chip away, chip away.
Speaker B:And then the last six minutes is just absolute chaos.
Speaker C:I went.
Speaker C:And by the way, there was a decision to be made on this Game, which I mentioned my brother in law before, and I wrote him a very nice Father's Day card today, not just because of this, but because he's a great guy.
Speaker C:And he said, harris, here's the final situation.
Speaker C:We can't do three, because, you know, the Knicks had three home games in that series if they needed six, but they didn't.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:So he goes, it's either four or six.
Speaker C:And the back of my mind, I'm thinking, the Knicks have been playing really well, but can they really win this series in four?
Speaker C:Probably not, right?
Speaker C:Maybe not even in five, which they ended up doing.
Speaker C:So my initial thought was it's either going to go six or seven.
Speaker C:Why not be at the potential clincher at the Garden?
Speaker C:How cool would that be, right?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker C:But he goes, nah, let's not risk it.
Speaker C:So I give him all the credit in the world for setting the stage for what was the best experience of my sports fandom to this point.
Speaker C:And it would be very impossible to top this, I think.
Speaker C:But so I give him again, he was the one that had us going to that one.
Speaker C:And when you're sitting there down at 27 and a half, and Wu Tang Clan comes on and it's one of the more dead halftime shows I've ever witnessed, I went on my live and I'll never forget this.
Speaker C:Instead of normally I have the point of view and I'm talking and I'm giving, you know, the, the rundown of the half and what we need to do better.
Speaker C:I decide, you know what, let me relax a little bit here.
Speaker C:You guys watch the halftime show.
Speaker C:The eight or 10 people that were on the live at that time, whoever wanted to think that this game wasn't over.
Speaker C:And I'll never forget, I don't remember what member of Wu Tang Method man, what, somebody said it.
Speaker C:Nixon 5.
Speaker C:He screamed it and everyone around was like, all right, whatever.
Speaker C:Then early in the third quarter, they go down 29.
Speaker C:And my phone was obviously, the general tone was negative.
Speaker C:A lot of, all right, good season.
Speaker C:We're, you know, two, two.
Speaker C:We lose all of our momentum.
Speaker C:All these thoughts are going through your mind.
Speaker C:And then I think Jalen Brunson, who said it after they had won game four, which what I told you was, I thought was one of the best quotes I've heard any professional athletes.
Speaker C:And I'm, hey, I'm going to think about this, but then I'm going to go do something about it.
Speaker C:And it embodied and represented everything you love about this Knicks team.
Speaker C:And I actually think It's a life lesson that you carry with you.
Speaker C:It has nothing to do with basketball, which is some people are going to wake up tomorrow, it's going to feel like they're down 29 the third quarter.
Speaker C:Whether it's a health reason, a relationship, a job situation, there's a lot of people that are going to put their backs against the wall.
Speaker C:And so as fans, back to the basketball part of it, what are we going to do?
Speaker C:There's nine minutes left in this third.
Speaker C:Are we really going out ugly?
Speaker C:And when it got to like 24, 25, I think Brunson hit a three or somebody hit a shot, it was like 23.
Speaker C:And you heard the let's go, Knicks chance.
Speaker C:I'm like, this crowd is just so desperate to get into this basketball game.
Speaker C:And you heard a scattering booze, but like, it was never anything consistent.
Speaker C:It was one or two people that were very frustrated with what was going on.
Speaker C:I think those were probably more directed at Wemby and all the stuff that he was trying to pull.
Speaker C:But it really was amazing that once the game got to 16, and I told you this before, the defense chance was as if it was a tie game.
Speaker C:And I thought the crowd was a plus plus.
Speaker C:And I'm not just saying that because I was there, but I was really encouraged.
Speaker C:And I told you before how much I was satisfied with the amount of traveling the fan base was doing.
Speaker C:And I think that as much as the team gets, you know, the 16 and 3 and they win, the fans did a lot of winning, too.
Speaker C:Not just because of the travel, because their performance in this historic comeback in the second half to a race 29.
Speaker C:Once it got to 16, it felt like everybody in the building was expecting a win.
Speaker C:Imagine that you're down 16 in the finals.
Speaker C:It's still the fourth quarter.
Speaker C:There's only about seven or eight minutes left.
Speaker C:And because they'd seen them do it before, side note, I was also at game one of the conference finals.
Speaker C:They overcame the 22 point game.
Speaker C:And you thought, I'll never see anything better than that.
Speaker C:And then this game said, hold my beer and here we go.
Speaker C:And it was just the fourth quarter of that game is the closest thing I think I've ever had to an out of body experience.
Speaker C:Where I'm at towards the top of the Garden, it's a pretty good seat, but I'm towards the top.
Speaker C:And I didn't sit down once in the fourth quarter.
Speaker C:I was in the aisle and I was sitting on top of the railing.
Speaker C:And when they Had a big play and it got down to like 12 on like a cat layup.
Speaker C:And then there was a three that happened.
Speaker C:I would go just hug a random person.
Speaker C:I'm like, is this.
Speaker C:Everyone kept looking at each other, like, really, Is this what we're about to experience?
Speaker C:We're really going to be here for this.
Speaker C:Where they.
Speaker C:Because if you win a game like this, I don't care.
Speaker C:That would have had to be a really veteran led group for them to overcome it, right?
Speaker C:Like, young teams don't overcome that.
Speaker C:They don't.
Speaker C:You know, you could have.
Speaker C:You could have been two, two.
Speaker C:Now it's about to be three one.
Speaker C:And I said, I didn't sit down.
Speaker C:I was up on the railing.
Speaker C:My defense, Chance was like, I was channeling something very deep on my defense.
Speaker C:Chance down the stretch, Brunson hits the three.
Speaker C:And I got chills on the Brunson three because now I'm like, all right, this is real.
Speaker C:It's a one point game and there's still enough time.
Speaker C:It's three minutes, two or three minutes left.
Speaker C:When you hit that shot, Hart misses the layup, you collapse, right?
Speaker C:You think maybe it's over.
Speaker C:And then obviously the OG tip.
Speaker C:And there's just so much to dissect and digest in that game.
Speaker C:It's happened.
Speaker C:It's one of those things where I don't want to.
Speaker C:I don't want to relate it to, like, tragedies in any way, because it was, it was the opposite of that.
Speaker C:We know there are certain moments that happen where it.
Speaker C:Even when you think about it and what was it a couple weeks ago at this point?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That game was played in like, the 10th or something.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:Yeah, like 11 days ago.
Speaker C:No way.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:Like, I have to go back.
Speaker C:I've never watched a game on YouTube highlights more than this one.
Speaker C:Just.
Speaker C:I want to make sure my brain knows that it was reality.
Speaker B:Oh, that's.
Speaker B:We were talking, like, I, I had.
Speaker B:I had work early the next morning, so I, I went to bed after halftime and I open up my phone, I think 6:30 in the morning.
Speaker B:I'm like, I think I need to get my eyes checked because this is the Knicks one.
Speaker B:And I'm like, they were down like 30.
Speaker B:Like, they're like, they're like, they didn't win this game.
Speaker B:And apparently they did.
Speaker B:And I, I've always heard, like, if something gets so loud that eventually it just sounds like silence.
Speaker B:Is that true?
Speaker C:Well, people asked me about, did the building shake?
Speaker C:I said, well, I was doing a lot of Shaking myself.
Speaker C:So I don't know what the building was doing.
Speaker C:It was deafening in there.
Speaker C:And the pop you said you watched on natural sound before the pop on the OG tip was Larry Johnson, 99esque.
Speaker B:I would have to agree with that.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker B:I hadn't heard anything that loud since.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:And so to be a part of that and to lose your mind because the Brunson shot goes up, and I want to touch on Breen for a second because he, he's just such an awesome human being and for him to be a part of this, and he waited his whole life to.
Speaker C:Because he did a radio call when the Knicks played in the finals in the 90s for him to be on TV for this.
Speaker C:And we were about to get the triple bang, right?
Speaker C:Brunson shot goes up.
Speaker B:We wanted it.
Speaker C:The Brunson shot goes up and we're about to get the triple rang from the hall of Fame broadcaster who again, has been so good to me and so down to earth.
Speaker C:I, I always refer to this as the Mike Breen rule.
Speaker C:If this guy is so accomplished and he's acting like this, what would be your excuse to not act like that?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:This is a very, very.
Speaker C:In terms of basketball wise, just, you want a kids call goat.
Speaker C:Whatever you want, whatever, whatever accolade you want to attach to Breen, he's one of the best to ever do it.
Speaker C:And so for someone that's done that and to act the way that he does, I go out of my way to mention that to him whenever I can, like.
Speaker C:And when he was on the show in October, I said, man, you don't know what you mean to people.
Speaker C:And the fact that you do it with the amount of class that you do it with and not to get sidetracked.
Speaker C:He's about to call the triple bang.
Speaker C:And then out of the heavens comes OG Anunoby to put together one of the most memorable individual plays.
Speaker C:And not just Knicks history, heck, basketball history.
Speaker C:The best part about this game is usually when I talk about the Knicks, I have to preface with like, I'm a big fan.
Speaker C:I, I don't want to be biased.
Speaker C:I don't want to use hyperbola.
Speaker C:You know, all those stuff goes out the window with this one.
Speaker C:You were down 29 the second half.
Speaker C:All this, best ever.
Speaker C:This, that it's in the conversation for everything.
Speaker B:And like watching that play over again, the basketball IQ of OG to notice that nobody is on him and to immediately cut from the baseline into, into the paint to get that Rebound because Wemby's not there because Brunson was being double teamed because when we came over and there's nobody on the inbounder and to have the, the smarts to know, okay, I have, I have free reign to go move here and to get any loose rebound he like even if he didn't do the tip and he was, he was probably still going to get that rebound and, and just put it back up because there was going to be nobody around him.
Speaker B:And to me that was one of the most, really one of the smartest plays of that entire run.
Speaker B:Because some players aren't going to think that you, that they're going to just hang out behind the three point line and then that ball goes wide, there's nobody there and time runs out.
Speaker C:Well, it's a heads up play from everybody involved.
Speaker C:The awareness of Brunson to they really wanted Wembley.
Speaker C:There was a lot of confusion with the Spurs.
Speaker C:If you watch there's a clip that came out of all their, the way they were communicating before that play.
Speaker C:All right, they didn't know.
Speaker C:All right, I'm going to go here, you're going to go to McKellar, I'm going to go to OG or who's going to go to Bro.
Speaker C:They just looked for a team that needed to stop to win a game and tie the series.
Speaker C:There's a little bit too much dysfunction going on from what, from what I saw before that play, OG runs free like you said and makes the tip and look like Cat was in decent rebounding position.
Speaker C:Once Wemby leaves the paint and once he left games like he played a lot of minutes in that series and it probably the wear and tear on his body being young and seven felt four or five that played an impact because anytime Luke Cornett was on the court and that's no disrespect to the former Nick, the paint felt very, very different.
Speaker C:It's very different when you're trying to rebound and get layups off and, and run your offense and Wendy Wemby is a freak of nature.
Speaker C:So when he was out of the pain and OG runs free and gets his hand on that ball and it falls in it's, it's euphoria like, like just thinking about it now I get like some of those that dopamine hit to my brain because you know, like I said glad that I was able to experience that.
Speaker C:My brother in law and I wanted to be able to segue that into what I did for game five which was with my dad happy Father's Day, like you said, a lot of people ask me, what do you want to do?
Speaker C:Do you want to go to the city?
Speaker C:Do you want this?
Speaker C:Once the Knicks got to three wins, unless I was going to go, I told you, I went to game.
Speaker C:Obviously, we're talking about going to game four.
Speaker C:So if they were up three, oh, I wouldn't have been able to watch it with him.
Speaker C:But once it was 3:1 and the game five was looming, that they could win a championship, there's not.
Speaker C:That's when all the parties stop.
Speaker C:You know what I'm saying?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's when.
Speaker C:All right, I know you guys are doing this.
Speaker C:I know you guys are doing that.
Speaker C:You know, my parents are now, you know, I'm not going to mention the numbers, but nobody's getting any younger.
Speaker C:Let's just leave it at that.
Speaker C:In terms of opportunities, the way I look at it in life, and the reason why this Nick title meant so much to so many people was obviously the drought, but obviously was the care.
Speaker C:But then, you know, some people get emotional because they know that certain family members aren't here to experience it.
Speaker C:So I made sure, hey, I don't know when we're going to get this chance again.
Speaker C:This is where there's not another place that I want to be.
Speaker C:But with, you know, my father, who again, took me to a lot of games growing up, he has the athlete background.
Speaker C:You know, it's something that we bonded over a lot when I was younger.
Speaker C:And again, this is something that I want to talk about, I want to tell stories about, because it just becomes bigger than the game at that point.
Speaker C:It becomes a something that you could bond over.
Speaker C:And that.
Speaker C:That hug that I remember for those giant Super Bowls as well, but that hug, there's nothing you could run around and scream outside the Garden, but that.
Speaker C:It's that hug.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:It's that moment with your loved ones after.
Speaker C:He knows the amount of time I spend with this, too, and he instilled that.
Speaker C:The work ethic, the passion for the sport.
Speaker C:So I was just glad we got that and we could talk about that for years to come, because he had been waiting a pretty long time.
Speaker C:Longer than me.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, like, that's one of the things like.
Speaker B:Like you watch the videos on.
Speaker B:On YouTube when a team wins a championship for the first time in a really long time, and you watch, like, people's grandparents just, you know, overcome with.
Speaker B:Because they were waiting so long.
Speaker B:I remember when.
Speaker B: Cubs won the world series in: Speaker B:And you know, very similar with the Knicks.
Speaker B:It had been 53 years.
Speaker B:Like really the people who remember seeing that are in their late 60s, early 70s.
Speaker B:And you know, for, for two entire generations of Knicks fans, it's really been lot of bad basketball.
Speaker B:And now all of that goes away because now they got to the top.
Speaker B:Like, I don't want to say it doesn't matter what happens in the next 20 years.
Speaker B:Obviously you would like to see them win more, but.
Speaker C:Yeah, greedy, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But you got the one and it's the one that's going to stay with, with you forever because of what went into it and that you did get to experience it with the people that you wanted to experience it with.
Speaker C:Well, I talk about this with my cousins a lot.
Speaker C:The dark cloud that hangs over some of these franchises.
Speaker C:We know that the Giants got a couple.
Speaker C:I'm a Giant, Nick met guy.
Speaker C:I know you're a hockey guy.
Speaker C:I'm not.
Speaker C:But that's a conversation for another day.
Speaker C:But we talk about the dark cloud and we talk about exorcisms, right?
Speaker C:Not real life ones, but sport ones.
Speaker C:And what was going on in the garden during this run where you get the Shamut bounce in game one of the conference finals and you get these comebacks and you got to get lucky sometimes too, right?
Speaker C:Like some of these bounces that roll in and roll out.
Speaker C:The Sam Merrill shot in game one also could have been a game winner.
Speaker C:And the Wemby game winner attempts and the free throws that you miss and you need to get a couple breaks here and there.
Speaker C:Not, that's not to take anything away from the run, but that has to happen.
Speaker C:And we've been on the wrong side of history far too long.
Speaker C:So it felt like such a relief to finally be the ones getting those bounces when it hadn't gone our way for so long.
Speaker B:Well, Harris, you know, we, we make, we made it an hour and I love having you.
Speaker B:We will absolutely do this again.
Speaker B:Gotta say again, shout out to my man Brian behind the glass, Paris from Nick Rock Banner.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker B:We will absolutely do this again.
Speaker B:When?
Speaker B:I can't wait for the book to come out.
Speaker B:When you finish it and, and publish it.
Speaker B:I will definitely have that.
Speaker B:I'm Andy Sukoff.
Speaker B:I don't know when I'll be on again.
Speaker B:Hopefully soon.
Speaker B:But until then, have a good one.
Speaker C:Appreciate it, man.
Speaker C:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management, or owners of wgb.
