Final Thoughts on Knicks Game One

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The Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Celtics in game seven on Saturday night in Boston. You know, I gotta say this, and we'll get to breaking down the matchup and all it is . Even though to me, it was very hard as I'm watching this game seven the other night. It's very even though I know Philly is a tougher matchup than the Celtics are. I think the Knicks would have just destroyed Boston, especially with the injury to Tatum. Tatum didn't even play in game seven against the Sixers. Even though I think Philly is a tougher matchup for the Knicks than the Celtics are uh would have been, uh I I I just I can't root for the Boston Celtics. I mean, I'm sitting there watching this game. I want to see Philly win. I hate the Celtics. I mean it's a dip deep deep, you know, grained hatred going back sixty something years. I mean, I j I just can't stand them . So it was very hard for me, even though I know Philly's gonna be a much tougher matchup , you know, and Bede and Maxie, those two guys alone, uh can present are going to present a lot of problems for the Knicks. I mean, I see that coming up in this series, but I just could not root for the Boston Celtics. I just can't. I don't have it in my DNA to root for them. I hate them. I've hated them as much as any uh sports franchise in the history of sports franchises. So uh you know what else can I say? I was glad to see them go down in flames. They were kind of a fraud team all year anyway. And it just kinda shows you um you know what the regular season in the NBA means. It doesn't mean a hell of a lot. I gotta tell you. They won fifty-five whatever games. Uh, I think the Knicks would have beat them in five games if they would have played 'em. So who knows if Tatum would have played, whatever. But I I just could not root for the Boston Celtics, even though Philly's gonna be a much tougher matchup. And it is. I mean, I think this is a seven game series. It ain't the Knicks will win it. As I said before, if the Knicks don't win the championship now, when the hell are they winning it? Seriously. When when is this French? You know, it's been fifty-three years since they've won . If they don't win it now, what are they winning ? This is one of the best this this is probably the best starting lineup I've seen the Knicks have since the championship years. Really, since 1973, 1974. This is the best starting lineup they've had. Better than any of the starting lineups in the ewing years. Even though the ewing year, you know, and Patrick's teams went to two finals, this team has yet to get to one . But I really think this is it. If they don't win this year, when are they winning? Because what's going to happen to this team if they don't win? You're going to see more dismantling? Are they going to try to trade for, you know, make more deals? Are they're gonna try to trade for Giannis. I mean, I I don't know what they're gonna do. Are they gonna is Mike Brown gonna get fired if they don't make it at least to the finals this year? You know, so so many things are up in the air for the Knicks. And and this look, I think this is gonna be the toughest series they play. I really don't fear Detroit or Ca or Cleveland. Both of them had to go to seven games. You know, Detroit had to come back from three one and twenty two points down in game six at Orlando to be the magic team that, you know I mean how good were they? I mean you watching the magic ain't any good. Right ? So I mean and Cleveland is a fraud team to me. I don't care what they, you know, they had to go tooth and nail to beat the Raptors in seven. Um I think Detroit will probably win that series because I just think Cleveland is a complete fraud of a team. Detroit has the home court and would have the home court against the Knicks if they play him. But I I think this is going to be the toughest matchup the Knicks are gonna have. The Philadelphia seventy sixers. I don't think there's any doubt about it. And I and again, I'm gonna go back to what I said I've said forever . And and keep this in mind, Nick fans, you know, they gotta win tonight. Tonight is a must win game at the Garden. They have never won, and I'm gonna continue to say this. You could say this while this is a different group. Well, not really because they lost game one last year in the conference finals to the Indiana and they didn't win the series. It is a m ust win game tonight for the Knicks. They've never won a play off series when they lost game one at home. They have to win tonight. I I I no other way to say it. You know, they lose game two? Okay, fine. They got to win game one. Remember they lost game two against Atlanta and came back to win the series in a breeze in the last three games . And we all know about the historic beatdown they gave the Hawks in game six, right? You know, leading by sixty points at one point in the game. That ain't gonna happen in this series. You know, Tyrese Maxie is as tough a matchup for the Knicks as any player in the league. You know, and I fully expect uh Josh Hart to be c guarding him. You know, Josh the you know, you look back at the Atlanta series, that series really turned uh turned around with two for two reasons. Number one, Josh Hart started guarding CJ McCallum, who then after that was a complete non-factor in the last three games, and they started running the offense through Carl Anthony Towns. Now, it's going to be a little different, a little more difficult for him because you got a guy like Embiid. Now, one thing about Embiid, and we even saw it in game seven, he was hobbling around at the end of game seven against Boston, he was hobbling around in that game too. So you never know with him. I mean, he gets a hangnail and he's hurt. You know, he's always hurt and beat. So I mean you get you always got to factor, you know, his help into how this series plays out. But I I fully expect this to be a seven game series. Um I fully expect that it's you know the home court to me doesn't really mean that much. It means something tonight though, because the Knicks, like I said, have never won a game one, I've never lost a game one in home and won a series. So they need to win tonight. The new LinkedIn hiring pro can't undo your last hire. In your office because you couldn't find someone to fill it. So it just sat there costing you money with all its fancy ergonomic features . But LinkedIn Hiring Pro can make it easy to fill that seat with the right candidate. 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You know, if I was a Sixer fan, I would I would agree with that. You know, I want you know I want to see Philly fans in my building . But one of the issues is it's a lot easier if you're a Knicks fan and a lot cheaper, even Josh Hart mentioned this in a in a press conference the other day. It's a lot cheaper to go to Philly to see the Knicks play than go to the garden . And probably just as easy to get there. You know, it's a it's a two hour ride, but it's straight down a turnpike as opposed to having to, you know, fight your way through, you know, into into and through Manhattan. So , uh, you know, we'll see. We'll see how it plays out. Like I said, I think this is a seven-game series. I really do. I think it's gonna be a long series. Um, I think they're gonna have trouble with Maxie. We'll see. Josh Hart's gonna have to guard him. There's no doubt about it. I expect another big series out of Carl Anthony Towns. He probably won't get two triple doubles, but the way he's playing, why not? Obviously, Brunson's got to do his thing. One of the big advantages the Knicks have in this series is they're a lot deeper than Philadelphia. Philadelphia, you know, it's basically their starting five, the two big guys, this guy Edgecombe who's played well for them, you know, Kelly Ubre , these guys, you know, the Knicks have the Knicks are going nine deep right now. You know, you you've seen what Jordan Clarkson's been great in the playoffs so far. Uh Alvarado has done his thing. Obviously, Mitchell Robinson. Hopefully he won't get any more altercations like he did in game six against Atlanta. All right. Be nice if he made a foul shot as well. You know. You're going to get something from Mitchell Robinson here. You know, obviously Deuce McBride, who was a big factor coming off the ben ch? Um, you know, especially with the ineffectiveness for the most part of Mikhail Bridges, even though Bridges had that monster 24-point game in Game Six against the Hawks. So this is not going to be an easy series. I mean I there's no doubt about it. But like I said, one of the advantages will be there'll be a lot of Knicks fans in Philadelphia. I mean you wouldn't have seen any Knicks fans in Boston, I can tell you that. You know, they would that would have been the all Celtic fans there very very similar how the garden is gonna be, you know, ninety nine point nine percent Nick fans. You know, maybe there'll be a smattering of six of fans around, I don't think there'll be too many . So I expect the tough series. Uh remember the Knicks beat them two years ago in the first round and went six. Wasn't easy. Um remember Philadelphia actually won a game five at the Garden. Remember Maxie had a big game in that game, and then they came back and and closed him out in six and Ph illy. So I expect this to be a tough series, and I really believe this will be the toughest team the Knicks. This will be the biggest test for the Knicks on their way to the finals. I think they'll beat either Detroit or Cleveland, especially Cleveland, who I think is an absolute fraud. I think the Pistons beat them in probably six games. That's my call. Detroit and six in that Detroit Cleveland series. Uh I guess that s will start tomorrow. I'm assuming tomorrow in Detroit . So and of course the game tonight, eight o'clock on NBC. Tonight's NBC at eight o'clock. Wednesday, seven o'clock on ESPN. And then I think the game on Saturday, was it Friday or Saturday? I think it's Friday, is on Pri me Video. No. No, because I think game four is actually Mother's Day on Sunday. So hopefully that's a late that's a game at night. But anyway, we'll see how it plays out. Um but I I feel good about this team, man. I I'm telling you. I mean, like I said, if this team isn't winning an NBA title and forget just getting to the finals. You know, and I'm not believing me, I'm not paying a lot of attention to the West. Whoever comes out of the West comes out. You know, if it's San Antonio, if it's Oklahoma City, if it's the Lakers, if it's whoever. Doesn't matter to me. Whoever comes out, comes out. That's the bottom line. So I'm not I I'll worry about the West when when we get to the finals . But I feel good about this team, but it's going to be tough. And like I said, the Celtics would have been a better matchup for them. But you know what? If you're going to win a championship, you're going to have to beat the top teams in the league. And Detroit, even I mean excuse me, Philadelphia, even though they had to win that play in game just to get into the playoffs as a seventh seed, uh you know how good they are. And if Embiid is healthy, this is going to be a very, very tough series. And I'm picking the Knicks uh to win this series in seven. Like I said, they got the they got the better starting lineup, they're the better team, they're just better. They're just better. And Philadelphia does not have the depth that the Knicks have. You know, with the Knicks basically going nine deep uh under Mike Brown. So we'll see. We'll see how the series plays out. Game one tonight, later on at the Garden. And again, a must-win. I can't I can't emphasize it enough. You know, you have to win this game one tonight. And I'll say it again, and it's not emphasized enough in the media. Okay, media doesn't talk about this enough. The Knicks have never won a playoff series when they lost game one at home. So I look at this game one tonight as a game they have to have if they're gonna win this series against Philadelphia. And it's going to be very interesting and we'll see how it plays out. I expect a long series. Again, I picked Nixon six in game in round one. I was right. I'm picking the Nixon seven games here. I think it's going to be a tough series. I fully expect the Knicks will lose a game at home. I fully expect the Knicks will win a game in Philadelphia. But when all is said and done, I like the Knicks in seven. And again, a game they have to win tonight. I'll emphasize it one more time. I can't say it enough. They have never won a playoff series when they lost game one at home. So need to get this game tonight against the Sixers at the Gardens. Should be crazy. All the uh all the fraud celebrities will be sitting in the front row. And and and and really, maybe the smartest the most accurate statement that I have heard so far going into this series was came from Josh Hart and I love Josh Hart. Came from Josh Hart. It is cheaper to go to Philadelphia to see the Knicks play the Sixers and probably easier to get tickets too than it is to go to the garden. You know? A $300 seat at the garden is probably a hundred dollars in Philadelphia. Probably. So we'll see. We'll see what happens. I'm ready to go and pump up. I think I'll have Ewing on. I'm gonna go with Patrick. I'm gonna be in going like a rotation of the guys. So I'm I think we're into we're we're at Patrick tonight. So we'll I took Josh out. Yeah, I know you got Josh Hart out. My wife's got a bunch of Nick stuff too, which of course how could she not? But anyway, right. How could she not? Exactly. So she's ready to go. She's pumped up. She was working today on her golf swing. My wife let me just say this. One thing about my wife, and thank God she's into golf like she is. I love it. Here she is this morning. She's got something online here on her phone there, watching some girl give tips on on women golf swings for women. Right? How it is, you know, if you got big boobs, if you don't have big boobs , right? I mean that's unbelievable. How how what kind of shape is your body? I mean, you know, yeah, right, but you got a big ass . Most of the girls that hit the ball . I youf watch the women on the tour, most of them do have relatively large, big rear ends. And that's where they get that's where they get the power from, you know. So next time you're watching an LPGA event, check it out. Just you know, anyway. But my wife was all I'm telling you, my wife was all over it. My wife loves to practice I hate pra you know, I'm like Allen Iverson. Practice? What ? Just get me on the court, let's go. And that's probably one of the reasons why it took me twenty years just to get bad as I always say. You know? I mean there was a and I'm not too bad now. I mean I kinda I hold my own now, I hit the ball pretty good. It's all about you know, really it's all about the the short game. That's where it all it all comes down to now. Putting, which is, you know, go it comes and goes like the wind. You never know what you're getting on on the greens. But uh she was out there, you know, looking at uh you know, different ways to swing the club. What was your body type? Oh my God. She loves to practice. I hate to practice. I I don't have time for that. The only thing I really I at this stage of me as a golfer , the only thing I really feel that is worth practicing is putting. You know, everything else is kinda you know, at this stage, you know, like I said, I hit the ball pretty good, I'm pretty accurate off the T . It's all about the short game and really putting and you never know what you're gonna get uh day to day as far as putting goes. So we'll see what happens. But going back to the Knicks, Knicks and seven. And uh I I like I said, I'll say it one more time. If the Knicks aren't winning the championship this year, you tell me when when the hell are they ever going to win one? All right. But then go the Ode Pain Podcast. Uh let's get our sponsors in here. Manscaped. Been telling you about Manscaped for a long time. You know, you wanna use it, man. It's the best. 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Like I said, whatever your automotive needs are, Anita Discount tire, beautiful Rivervale, New Jersey on Westwood Avenue. And again, tell them Beningo sent you. Now, if you're a Met fan, you're happy. They took two out of three from the horrific Anaheim Angels in Anaheim. And now they' onlyre ten games under five hundred, twelve up and twenty-two down. How about how about the boy genius giving a vote of confidence to Carlos Mendoza, which I'm happy about? You know? I don't really play Mendoza. He had so he had a couple rough moments not challenging certain things here in this series against the Angels. And it meant it cost him the game the other night when he didn't challenge that play in the first inning where the Angels scored a run and the runner was thrown out at third base before the other runner crossed the plate. And it looked like it clearly he would have won the challenge. He didn't. I don't know why. And it was another play yesterday, even though the Mets won the game on a ground ball to the to the pitcher, right? Where he was having trouble. Actually I guess it was the first baseman. It was a ground ball to the first baseman. He was having trouble getting the ball out of his glove because it kind of got stuck in the webbing. And he wound up flipping the glove to the pitcher, and it looked like the runner, I forget who the runner was now, actually beat the throw. The ball looked like it like it bounced up and and he he uh got to the bag before he was out. I think it was Soto, it actually was Soto who was uh who that was. And I couldn't believe that Mendoza didn't change challenge that either. I didn't get that. It didn't really match one five to one. Amazingly enough, Mark Vientos had two home runs yesterday, two two run hom ers. Oh my God. And the Mets played, I thought, one of their best games of the year yesterday. Clay Holmes pitched. How good is Clay Holmes? Six and two thirds innings, one run. Clay Holmes is the ace of this staff. You could talk all you want about Nolan McLean. You could give me that till the Cows come home. The ace of the staff of the Mets is Clay Holmes. He was the best starting pitcher last year, and he's their best starting pitcher now. His ERA is like 1.69. He went six and two thirds yesterday, 99 pitches. You know, the the best thing that David Stearns has done was bring Clay Holmes in here from the Yankees and turn him into a starting pitcher from a reliever. And that has worked phenomenally. I I'll you know, I'll give credit where credit was do is due, even though I can't stand Stearns. We all know how I feel about him . And to this point I'm being proven right. Not that I want to be right. You know, if loving you is right, I don't want to be wrong. Or if loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right. Whatever the word is. You know that sort of. But whatever. That's the bottom line. And I gotta give Starms credit because Holmes has been great. He's their best pitcher. It's not even close. And yesterday I thought was one of the best games the Mets played all year. They played crisp defense, outstanding starting pitch ing. Terrific bullpen work yesterday. You know, Brooks Rayleigh getting the job done yesterday. No doubt about it. Luke Weaver as well. Big defense, great defensive plays. Melendez in left field made a really great play. Carson Bench made two big plays. He caught a ball at the top of the wall uh in right center field and then made that diving catch in the ninth inning. What a tremendous catched out was to take like a at least a a double way uh from the angel or whoever the angel hitter was, I forget who it was. Just a tremendous catch that he made. It might have been Soler down the right field line. Great catch, bench laying out to make the play. You also had a big double to drive in a run. He walked twice in the game. I love Bench. You know, isn't it funny that the guys that got the job done yesterday for the Mets were the two grown, grown Mets, Vientos and Bench? Huh? Where the hell is Marcus Simeon? Where's he? How about Bob ette? How's he doing right now? And how about Luis Robin? Oh, he's on the I. L. Oh, how about Luis? How about Polanco? Oh, he's on the I. L. Nice work. there, David Huh? What a joke. And and and obviously he should give Mendoza uh the uh uh uh the the bill, you know the although sometimes that vote of confidence is a is the kiss of debt . And again, if this team right now the ten games under five hundred, if this continues all year and they really spiral completely out of control, I doubt Mendoza's gonna make it through the season. I re I would be surprised. But let's see what happens from here. They're twelve and twenty two. Now they go to Colorado to play the Rockies. Rockies killed them. Remember they played the Rockies last week at City Field? They got swept in three games and scored what? Um they had that double header where they scored all of one run, and that was on a Tyrone Taylor Tyrone Taylor home run. Really ? Unbelievable. So they play the Rockies three. Um I was gonna say uh who's pitching today? I think Peterson's pitching today. Oh no, you know what they're doing today? They're going they're doing the opener today. Now I don't who the opener's gonna be. You know, the relief pitcher that'll pitch two winnings and then they're gonna come in with Peterson. Who's actually pitched better when they've done that? You know, when they put Peterson in in the middle of the games instead of starting them, he's actually pitched better. So they're gonna do they're gonna go with that again today. And the game was supposed to start at 840 Eastern. They've moved it up to five forty in the afternoon because it's supposed to snow in Colorado in Denver. Oh my god. Can you imagine sun? Here it is, May 4th. Snow? It's bad enough that yesterday was, you know, let's be real. Windy, it was cold. yesterday Yeah, it was like sixty degrees, but it felt about forty eight. Today's gonna be nice. Seventy something degrees today. Tomorrow's the day. I'm playing golf's gonna be eighty degrees tomorrow. And then of course on Wednesday, Thursday and Fri, day, it's gonna be in the 60s. It probably rain. Of course. Of course. Of course. I am so sick of the weather, I gotta tell you, really. You know, we get a couple nice days and then it's all crap again. But for these two days anyway, today and tomorrow are gonna be nice and I'm gonna play golf tomorrow. So uh you know, Terry and I'll be playing. So i it 's all good. But the Mets played three game series with Colorado and again they moved that starting time from eight forty to five forty because of the pending disastrous weather in uh Colorado. And let's see if the Mets can really do something now. Go on a little bit of a run here. You see where Ronnie Mauricio now he's out four to six weeks. He broke his fractured his thumb sliding into first base the other day. I you know, I really it's too bad because Mauricio was going to get a chance with Lindor out to really play short stop every day and I really wanted to finally get a good look to see what he is and you know, not gonna happen now. So anyway. So we'll see what happens. But uh, you know, it's been a day it's been a disaster so far for the Mets. And again, we can't thank the the genius himself, the boy genius, David Stearns. Can't thank him enough. Him and Steve Cohen for the brilliant job they have done with our disastrous dis,astrous baseball team. Oh my God. What else can you say? It really is. It really is painful. And then the Yankees continue to roll. They buried the they play him again. They're playing a four-game series with Bolton would have played him again tonight at the stadium. They won the first three. Ben Rice has been great. Kind of hurt himself yesterday. I guess uh there's some kind of a contusion in his left hand. We'll see. We'll see. They need him. His 12th home run yesterday. Him and Judge are going back and forth. Rice hit his 12th, and then Judge hit his 13th later on. Uh, as the Yankees just continue to kill it. What are they? 23 and 10, 23 and 1 1, whatever they are. The Yankees are the best team in the American League. It's not even close. The American League stinks. They're gonna run away with the division. Um and I fully expect to see the Yankees in a World Series. Of course. Now they gotta win. Now they you know the Yankees got to win. Aaron Judge's got to finally get his World Series. So he can, you know, put him in. Not that he's not already there, but again, when you when you look at Judge, unfortunately, he's on this team that's won twenty-seven World Championships, and all their great players have won multiple championshi ps, whether it's Ruth, whether it's Garrick, whether it's Joe D, whether it's Mickey, whether it's Jita, right on down the line these guys have all won. Yogi well Yogi won ten . You know, they have uh they have uh all these guys have won multiple world championships and that's the one thing that's eluded Aaron Judge so far. You know, outside of that, uh he's an all time great. I mean there's there's just uh there's no uh no getting away from it. So Yankees will play the Orioles again. Pete Alonso's had a pretty good weekend. He had a couple home runs. He had home run Friday, he had a home run Saturday. Unfortunately Saturday came up in a big spot with the bases loaded and grounded into a double pla y. Uh so he's out but he's hit okay this weekend, uh back uh back being in New York and you know, it pains me to watch him in an Oriole uniform. I I I you know there's no other way to say it. I mean this guy should have been a Met for li fe. But you know, when you have ownership like Steve Cohen who sold us nothing but a bill uh a bill of goods, a bill of crap, and you have the genius who, you know, supposedly grew up as a Met fan, give me a break, who was completely over his head as the general manager of this baseball team. You know, this is not Milwaukee anymore, David. Well, you won nothing anyway. I mean, you know, you know, he reminds me a little bit of Billy Bean. Everybody praise Billy Be an. Oh, they made a movie about when are they gonna make a movie about about David Stearns ? You know what they can you know what they can entitle? They can entitle it? They can ty entit they can entitle it The Good, the Bad and the Ugly part two . Can't you see Stearns like in a cowboy hat now ? Right? Like in a like in one of those cowboy hats as he's riding across the plains, right? Can't you see Stearns? Please