The Big Suey: The Process Off (feat. Nick Wright)
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Welcome to the Big Sui, presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan Levitard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys? I've done it. And now, here's the marching band to nowhere, Fat Face and the Habitual Liars.

This episode is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. Holy shit. This is happening all at once. Stugatz is coming into the room with the best Nick's feeling there's been in 25 years. Hello. This is very exciting. And Nick Wright is here. And we've got something to spring on him out of nowhere based on the last hour of the show.

I'm going to explain it to both of you at the same time because you're getting here. It's a process off, Nick. You've already won. Congratulations. You've won the debate sphere of television, radio. You can make a good argument. Congratulations. You're better than Stephen A. Smith. Not much of an accomplishment. Way to go, big guy. Way to go.

Wait, this is, no, no, you're making fun of Stephen A. Smith now because you're coming for his crown because, look. I haven't talked about Stephen A. Smith in quite some time. Yeah. But I understand, listen, I know you, Dan. I concede it to you. You know what gets engagement. You're like, ooh, media beef.

People love it. But what's the process all right? So just hear me out for a second because there's a lot we got to do in 20 minutes here. OK, you have rivalries with rivalries with Mina and Pablo. You think you're better than them. You are not yet better than them. But we are challenging you right now.

We are challenging you to a process off of last night's game, okay? Okay. Instead of debate television, we want to study the process, not the result, okay? The result is what the result is. The process off is you, me, us, and Stugatz arguing who had the better process last night. Amin, start the bidding.

Well, there's an interesting thing that happened. So I was talking to Tony a second ago and we were talking about, hey, in life, when you want to say this is a really easy task, right? How do people describe it, Tony? It's a layup. It's a layup. It's a layup. And unfortunately for the Boston Celtics, they don't see it that way. They see that the three pointer is basically what you're supposed to do. And therein lies a problem. You see, here, when you have bricks...

Bricks are bad. Not good. Layups. That's good, right? So the process of getting to the good means eschewing the bad. That's not the right answer. Hold on. I'm not done yet. So specifically, what ends up happening is any good process has to be cognizant of the context in which it exists. Meaning, if this thing isn't working...

We have to be able to balance the diet with things that might work and then come back. Amin is saying the Celtics need to change everything they're doing. They're going to keep shooting 25% from three. They didn't say that either, but thank you. Amin, Amin, Amin.

Mean just used three dollar words to be like shoot closer to the basket. It's a brilliant argument No one's ever heard of it I can I can I tell you listen the Knicks won the process because they were they started their process or

a full year ago and they have different goals in mind the celtics tried to build a team their process was to build a team to win a championship the knicks tried to build a team to beat the boston celtics and just like we saw last year when the defending champ in round two ran up against a team that was built with one specific purpose in mind how can we beat

that team and then they lost the first two games at home and then they ended up losing the series we are seeing a Knicks team whose process started with an OG Ananobi trade then a Mikhail Bridges trade then breaking up the Villanova core before they even got to play together for the Karl-Anthony Towns trade not because it gives them necessarily the best chance to win the championship but because he gives him the best chance to be able to guard and

defend and beat the Boston Celtics. So their process started way earlier and their process was different. So it wasn't about where people took shots last night. It was about how they constructed their rosters. And that's what we're seeing. That's not, that's not perimeter defense. Boston misses more shots. You missed 75 of those shots. Can I say something? They're all, they're all uncontested. Why do we fucking keep score?

I swear to God, man. No, man. In Dan's perfect sports world, wins and losses don't matter. Run and point differential matters. But everything.

But actually, he doesn't want run and point differential. He wants expected run and expected point differential. No, no, no. You know what? See the floor. See the floor. No, no, no. Hold on a second. Hold on. Hold on a second. Give me a break. Hold on a second. A lot of people talking here. Okay, yes. You've got a lot of – look, man, this is simple, Nick. Six plus feet away last night. I –

Listen to me. A defender six plus feet away. Al Horford, 0 for 8. Derek White, 5 for 15. Peyton Pritchard, 3 for 10. Jason Tatum, 0 for 2. They're a good shooting team. They're not going to keep shooting 25% on uncontested threes. Well, luckily, luckily for the New York Knicks, the games that played count.

And one of those, and this is why I don't dismiss, but I don't pray at the altar of these numbers the way you seem to. One of those uncontested threes was by Jason Tatum in the corner, up seven with seven minutes left when Jalen Brunson is the closest defender and he's laying on the ground and

Mr. Levitard?

Your rebuttal? I thought I wasn't supposed to speak. I thought he was having the process with you guys because... Well, he was arguing with you. Dan, here's the issue. Hold on. I'm sorry. As soon as you announced, you're going to do a process off, in my mind I was thinking, does Nick disagree with what I'm about to say here? Because I

I kind of think Nick is going to be on my side and the person who's arguing your point is just you and maybe Joe Mazzulla, who doesn't know what the hell he's doing, by the way. Maybe Joe Mazzulla might back you up, but nobody... Can I say something about Mazzulla? Please do. So, listen, I think Mazzulla is obviously a good coach. The fouling of Mitchell Robinson with two minutes and 45 seconds left in a quarter when your team has two team fouls,

so much worse than anything Mark Dagonal did two days ago that we he got dragged for the forcing your team when they are not in the bonus before the Knicks are not in the bonus or close in the bonus into the

bonus and getting no benefit out of it aside from the fact that you're going to get one offensive possession without Mitchell Robinson on the court, that is bad process. They fouled him twice, Nick. Twice. They fouled him twice and got zero free throws out of it and it wasn't like, well, there's eight minutes left in the quarter so now we're going to get six minutes of him off the court. But the other problem with this is

is, and I think this is pretty obvious, and this is what is to me frustrating about the Celtics at times. Their strategy is most sound if one were to believe that they are not typically the more talented, better, more well put together roster.

Like, adding this much variance and having it to be where you could find yourself down 0-2 when the Knicks haven't even played that well, that made sense when the 2017 Houston Rockets were trying to compete with the KD-Stef Warriors because it's like they are big.

better than us, we need to shake the snow globe. That shouldn't be how the Celtics feel. And that part is odd to me.

They are riverboat gamblers, Dan, and they're betting it all, every single possession. And at some point, you have to kind of adjust, not because I'm abandoning my philosophies, but because I need to mitigate risk on every possession as we have a lead, as we have this cushion, and as the game gets shorter and shorter. The more they eschew, I'll use that $3 word again, eschew, mitigating risk, the

The more they invite the variance that Nick is talking about, which is this thing goes sideways, a good team will make us pay for it. Okay, I'm going to go to both of you as basketball experts and answer this question for me. Couldn't say that to Pablo or Mina. Tell you that much right now is better than me. I'm just saying. Basketball experts. Just saying. Go ahead as you were. Surprised he called you that, to be honest. Well, yeah.

Is Joe Mazzulla a good coach? Yes. Yes, because good comes in a lot of different shades. Is he going to make a change that Jalen Brown is being quoted as saying, they're not going to make a change, we're just going to make our shots?

You guys are saying he's going to make changes, and I'm asking you, are you sure? I don't think it's about Missoula making the change. I think it's about Jason Tatum making the decision in real time. You can't guard me. I'm going to the basket, and it is not nothing to me that at the end of yesterday's game, you know what Jason Tatum did? Went to the basket.

And now one worked, one didn't, and so I...

Again, I don't think I disagree with you, Dan, as much as maybe it seems that I do, in that I do understand the idea behind the math being so overwhelming that in the long run, this is a sound strategy. But it is, Amin said riverboat gambler, and you guys know I am, I don't know, a semi-professional poker player. I play a lot of poker for real stakes. How much on riverboats?

And there are different... Answer his question. How much on riverboats? Well, riverboats, you know, Kansas City, Missouri, when I was growing up, you could only gamble on... Can I tell a quick story? I'll tell it anyway. Please. They made a law. They were like, hey, we need people to traverse the gorgeous Missouri River. So we need to make gambling legal on the river. So you would go on these riverboat cruises and...

you could gamble and then be they were like you know that rivers kind of dangerous so the boat probably shouldn't have to leave the dock and they're like okay but still you can only gamble on the boat and then they were like well you know what since the boat doesn't leave the dock what if we built giant hotels and then dredged the river to where one little tiny droplet of water touched the hotel can we call that a riverboat and they were like yes and because that can't see he's got six casinos and because of that I'm me but that's not the

So yes, I've gambled on a riverboat, but when you are playing high leverage poker, the math is the same hand one to when you're at the final table. But your risk tolerance changes greatly if you're smart and if you recognize, okay, in this spot, I can get all my chips in and I'm a 60/40 favorite.

That actually is something you don't want to do if you believe you're the best player at the table. You can say, "I will find a better spot." Yes, in the long run, this is profitable, but here in this moment, I'm going to fold because I actually don't want to give you, the inferior player, a 40% chance of beating me. And that's where the Celtics

allowing, I think, an inferior Knicks team to play the variance game is a mistake. It might not be a mistake.

if they were in the finals against Oklahoma City. If they're like, they're better than us, so we need to add this. They shouldn't need that in route to the final. - We've never seen a team miss this many threes in two games, and there's a randomness approaching in basketball that's going to change some of these gulfs between talent. If you're coached poorly, if you don't make the changes, it is a sea shift time in the NBA, players and play.

And we're right now watching with Boston and New York that Boston is saying, we've gotten better at this surgical thing. Barkley feared that this is what the Warriors would be. Out on the perimeter, just shoot 53s and the game's going to be ruined. That team's here. It won the championship. And what I'm saying to you guys is, if that team believes in what it is, not Tatum. Tatum doesn't have a moment as big as Brunson's last one in Detroit. Like,

Tatum doesn't have a moment yet, and this team is built for him to never need.

need it because they've surgically made a 7-3 guy that can play 40 feet away from the basket and when he's healthy and they take their threes they're going to club just about everyone except now Oklahoma City they're not going to change the way they play this is how they play this is getting way too intense I'm just thinking about processed meat that's all I can think of as you guys talk about the process Nick what's the first thing you think of when I say processed meat what's your favorite

Oh, I don't know. Probably like sandwich ham, like deli meat. Is that what you're talking about? Yeah. No, maybe a hot pocket. Oh, you're talking about that? Just anything processed. It could be anything. I mean, there's a lot of good processed meat. You trust it. This is where I'm not good on this show because I'm not whimsically funny like you. Pablo would be. Mina would not answer this question. Can I also tell you something just before...

I mean, you'll know this. Is it the transitive property that if A is greater than B and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C? Yes. Is that transitive property? Yes, it is. Okay.

By Dan's transitive property that he said, I'm better than Stephen A. Smith, but Pablo Torre is better than me. Therefore, by that property, Pablo Torre is better than Stephen A. Smith. And maybe this will help maybe quell whatever potential feud that Dan's trying to stoke between me and Stephen A. I am here to say Pablo Torre is not better than Stephen A. Smith. Yeah. Flatly. What? I'll take that to the bank. No. Flatly. No. Flatly.

What bank are you bringing that to? I mean, better at what? At sitting next to C-list celebrities at Knicks games? Maybe. No, it's credible journalist stuff, Nick. It's the thing that you will never have. No, you know this. You know this. Credible journalists have been looking down at you your entire career. You know this. Yeah. Yeah.

You know what? I agree. And then, and I, they have been publicly looking down at me and privately envious. And so, yeah, I agree. They, the, the, you're no, you're right. Who, who's more likely to win a Peabody, uh,

Pablo, who's more likely to not give a shit about it? The other people involved in the conversation. I mean, who wants to be a credible journalist? Honestly, I mean, in this day and age. So, I mean, I do think there's, listen, I think there is a big gulf. I think there's real value in, I don't know.

don't think anybody wants people to think they make things up or that they are a charlatan, right? But nobody in the people involved in this conversation, nobody thinks that. So it's like, hey, do I have credibility that people actually believe I'm telling the truth? Once you get to that, over that curb, then it is, do I want, you know,

who writes for the Atlantic to be like, hey, do you want to write a guest piece? And some folks care about that, and other folks are honest. So just to clarify here, you're saying Stephen A. Smith greater than Pablo, and by Dan's admission, you greater than Stephen A. Smith. No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying it. Dan says that. I did not admit that.

I think all Nick is saying is Stephen A is the greatest of all time. I'm just trying to put out the transitive properties here. We're not allowed to talk about the transitive property in Florida anymore. By Dan's logic, if you combine my logic and Dan's logic, yes, but that, as you know, I mean, it's not actually how the transitive property works. No, Stephen A is at the top of the mountain. I disagree. You're better than he is.

So, okay, even if you think that's correct, even if that's true, and I appreciate the compliment, he's still a top of the mountain. Like, even if you think there's a store out there, if you're like, man, I think...

I found this website that sells stuff. It's cheaper, faster, smarter than everything. It's the greatest thing I've ever seen. Amazon's still at the top of the mountain. So even that part, one is an opinion, the other is a fact. Okay, but I put Pablo and Mina above both of you. You think that... Well, you're wrong. Yeah, okay. But I put them both above you. Hold on, real quick. They're just better than you at this. Incredible journalists? They're better than you at this. They're better than you at this. Okay.

Okay. I'd like to apologize. Listen, Mina has a Mina has a pitch. I don't have Mina can do actual like I grinded the tape and here's what I saw. So she is certainly better than me at that specific thing. There is no doubt about it. I'm yet to find something that I actually think Pablo is better than me at even the stuff he does that I haven't done since I was, you know, trying to get

A's on term papers, I'm quite convinced. Give me 72 hours to prep and I'd be better at that. Like, no. Like, no, no, no, no, no. That I won't abide. I just, I won't abide that. And by the way, I like Pablo. But we gotta, you know, he started that podcast he did with me. He was like, the last time I saw you, do you remember what you said to me? And I was like, no. And he was like, you said that I was, meaning Pablo, you

you know, the second smartest person in sports media. And he seemed really bothered. And he was like, you don't remember that? I'm like, not only do I not remember that, I don't think I would have said that. And he's like, oh, because you wouldn't have said, you know, been that arrogant? I'm like, no. Because I don't think I could ever have you above three, as long as me and Bomani exist. Like, you're fighting for the bronze. And if I'm being honest, I'd have Mina in there well before. Again, listen.

It's a fun podcast. Good luck at the Peabody Award. Give me a break. Thank you, Nick. Appreciate it. You've got a hard out. Good talking to you. What just happened? See you guys. Bye.

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You know, when you celebrate 50 years of Miller Lite, I had to bring in a Miller Lite aficionado, Greg Cody. I mean, no one says Miller Lite like Greg Cody. When I think of me and you, I think of us on a golf course. Where else are we at? I mean, on a cruise ship, in my backyard. At the beach. At the beach is a good one. What do we always do? We hear that tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk.

Oh, yeah, yeah. And then what do we do? We toast. We clink. Nice little clink. The clink, whether it's the can or the bottle, there's something about the clink of the Miller Lite. Yeah, and it's not just how much we love it. It's the whole ritual of it. You know, the popping the top, the sound of that. The sound.

Yeah, that's great. Love it. Love it. From game nights to parties with friends or a special anniversary, celebrating important occasions means more with the coolest people in your life. Cheers to 50 years of Miller Lite, the great tasting light beer for people who love beer since 1975. Now's a perfect time to celebrate legendary stories with friends, family, and a great tasting light beer. It's Miller time.

the simple ingredients that malted barley for rich balanced toffee note flavors and that iconic golden color yes it's it's one everything about it is wonderful i can't think of anything

of anything bad. You're smiling. Ever since we started doing this ad read, you have just been smiling the entire time. I'm a Miller Lite guy. That kind of thing. Miller Lite, great taste, 96 calories. Go to MillerLite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

I know.

Yeah, which is interesting because I called Roy. I was a half hour behind Roy, and yet somehow I got here before Roy, but the express lane opened at the exact right time for me. Well, traffic made it so that we've been a failure as a regional little thing that cares about its hockey team in not addressing in any meaningful way that the defending champions in hockey are in trouble. Well, I mean.

They are in trouble. Series hasn't started yet. They are in trouble. Hockey's a funny, weird sport. It's hard to win, and the teams at the top are really good. We haven't gotten to it because Roy's in traffic. That's right. Chris, where are you on this? Oh, this is happening now. Okay, forgiveness here. I need to ask an apology of the audience. What? What's that? Oh, wow. It's our new segment. Is it entirely to smoke?

Is this a new segment? Are we using this to compete with all the smoke? We're using this to compete with everyone who's reporting on the papal selection, Dan. It's our very own Vatican expert, Billy Gill. All the smoke, entirety of the smoke. Certainly some of the smoke.

Billy Gill coming in on a day off. There has to be a Pope by now, right? Delivering the news. He wouldn't be here unless there was, I would imagine, because this segment, which was off to a rip-roaring start yesterday to compete with all the things All the Smoke is doing, even though All the Smoke is a partner. You know what's funny, Dan, is we thought it was a Wild Willie Wednesday feature, but guess what? Because we haven't had a Pope selected yet.

The show must go on, and so it will spill over to a Thursday and maybe perhaps even a Friday, and we'll keep going until a pope has been selected, unless...

We have an update here from the one and only Billy Gill. I've got a question. Why is Billy in a neck brace? Well, this was from yesterday. A couple of things happened yesterday, including, and this was Sam Morrell is a professional comedian. I'm sorry. Has no one informed you what happened yesterday, Tony? No, Dan. I have a four-month-old kid. Tony, so you don't know what happened yesterday? Okay, this is what happened yesterday. So this happened on our show that's getting cocky.

Billy Gill, who is very funny, admittedly very funny. I'm not. I will not. Man, Billy is...

the most popular member of the show with the people who really know what funny is. Do you guys want to know about the Pope or not? Yes, in a second. Hold on a second. Just give me a second. We're giving you your flowers. Just relax. Yeah, just please. We don't need anything from you right now. Dan, I've been on hold on the Zoom for 18 minutes, Dan. When I'm elected Pope of Meadowlark, things are going to change, Dan. Wait to see. You hear?

Okay, so you have been waiting. The Pope of Metal Ark. I love that title. David Sampson, you know, there's a job opening at Metal Ark, and David Sampson wants to be the Pope of Metal Ark, and we cannot allow him to be the Pope of Metal Ark. I think you have that power, Dan. No, well...

Yeah, Dan, we're running out of people to blame for not having the power. You know what? I think it's you. I understand. It seems to be at the moment, yes. But in matters of business, you guys may have noticed. Over my head. Wait to see. I mean, over my head.

The situation I have is Skipper's leaving and Samson wants the job. He wants to be the Pope of Meadowlark. You can say no. He's the only one, though, who wants that job. One of you want to do it. I'll be Pope. You want to be the Pope of Meadowlark? You want to handle the money? I can't have him do it. He'll fire me. Handle the money. I'm in. Yeah, that's the problem. That's why Skipper was here in the first place. Sports bang is back. All right, let's move on to the Pope. Nope, not going to do it yet.

Billy was waiting 18 minutes and I'm sorry about that. It's because a lot of things are happening at the same time, including Samson wants to be the Pope of Metal Art. We can't have that. I'm running a progressive company. It can't be Samson. What's more progressive than a Jewish Pope? He's got you there. So we've got this stinky Pope segment. I'm Jewish.

Yeah, we should put you in charge of this too. Oh, me too. We've got an update. We've got an update on the Pope, but I want to get to what Billy Gill did to you yesterday. To me? Listen to me. I'm listening. No, this Billy Gill yesterday tells Sam Morrell, a professional comedian, that he's not funny. As he's getting kicked out of the room, Sam Morrell is like, who's that guy? And you know what Billy says on his way out of the room? Because Billy's funny? Tony! Tony!

And so now the comedy world has seized on to our show in that corner of the room and Tony thinks he's funnier than comedy. That's what he left in his wake yesterday on you. Dan, the comedy world wants to kill Tony. That's exactly right. Different show though. Billy is here to give us a Pope update. I'm sorry you were waiting 18 minutes. It was a failure on my part. Thank you. Give us the update. Hey, Dan. Welcome to All the Smoke. My name is Billy Gill.

We have no new Pope yet. Back to you. Thanks, Billy.

Thank you, Billy. I appreciate the update. Finally, we get to Stugatz and things can stop getting in our way because I have failed today and I am sorry on behalf of... You didn't fail today. I was late to the show today. It's on me. You didn't fail. Okay, so look, but this has been... Poor Stugatz is very far away. Nothing is going to make him age more than him having to continue to make that drive in this traffic.

South Florida is under cars and water. We were never built for this size. Our bejeweled dumpster was just this little tiny thing in a spring break town that we covered in drug money, made a little brown, and now it pretends to be an international global city. It's a dumpster, poorly constructed, and too many of the New Yorkers and San Francisco people who have tons and tons of money and want to have guns and not taxes...

have flooded our infrastructure in a way that has sewage in the ocean. Yeah. Our buildings falling down and dropping into the sea. And we only have one lane on the highway. I mean, everyone is flowing into one lane that takes you to I-95. It's crazy. We weren't built for this, and Stugatz can no longer drive three hours to and from every day in traffic.

But he has done so today, gloriously, because this has to be the best the Knicks have felt in 25 years. Does anyone dispute this? I mean, you're here to give us historical perspective, but when it comes to fandom, that's the thing Stugatz has always been. And he didn't give up on this team, but...

But it hasn't been, like, you can only get beaten down for so many decades of Carmelo's our best player before something like this is something that just stirs open something that hasn't been there for 25 years. So, Stugatz, the show started in 2005, correct? Okay, so I'm going to try and recount all the positive things that have happened, right? Yep. 2005, let's see, nothing good. 2006, nothing good. 2007, nothing good.

Nothing good. 2008, you guys hired Mike D'Antoni. Right? 2009, not good, but playing a fun style. 2010, you sign Amari Stoudemire. He takes the picture outside of Madison Square Garden. What a first month. And the first month was amazing. Right? I got that right. And then 2010, moving into 2011...

The rumors about Carmelo Anthony start, and all of a sudden, wait a second. End of the season, we're going to have Carmelo and this great Knicks team that's up and coming. But Jim Dolan gets a little antsy, says, we've got to do the deal now. We can't wait. So he trades all the young guys, Raymond Felton, Timothy Mozgov, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, who was a big star, by the way. They loved him there.

And he gets Carmelo. Now, was that happiness for you or did you have a little pessimism at that point? Somehow he made that miserable because he gave up all the young talent the Knicks had to get Carmelo where he simply just had to wait until the end of the season and Carmelo was coming to the Knicks. All he had to do was wait. But the next season starts and it's...

And it's Carmelo and Amar Sadam. And it's not working quite well, right? Right? It's not working well. And the guys are like, well, Mike D'Antoni, I don't know if I fit his system because I want to hold and jab step. And Mike D'Antoni wants the ball moving and all that stuff. And then Carmelo gets hurt. And then there's a guy that comes in. He's like a 10-day guy. Oh.

And his name is Jeremy Lin. Give me the joy of Lin Sanity. That's the moment. That's the most joyous I've been as a Knick fan over the course of this show, to be honest with you. Until last year. Last year was a pretty joyous moment for me. Right. So Lin Sanity happens, and then they lose him in free. Well, he gets hurt, and he doesn't play because he's 50%, 65%. He's never 100%. He doesn't play in the playoffs. He ends up leaving in free agency. The next year, Mike D'Antoni gets fired. Mike Woodson takes over. And so then...

that year, is it 12-13 or 13-14, the Knicks are good again. Because they get Jason Kidd, and they get Rasheed Wallace, and they get all these old people who keep like metal world pieces on the team. They have all these vets, they go to the playoffs, they win a round, remember? They dressed in black in Boston because it's a funeral and all that stuff. And then they play the Heat in the second round, and then you say, oh, that's what really good looks like. And they get drummed in. And then it's bad again for perhaps

Maybe seven, eight years? Seven or eight years, yeah. But then, then, Jalen Brunson. Oh, wait, first of all, let's start here. Then we get a new Knicks front office, and they're going to games to scout out the competition. Everyone thinks they're looking at Donovan Mitchell, but really, they're looking at Jalen Brunson, who agrees to come for $90 million. Yes. And everyone said, wow, he's a nice player, but that's a little bit overpaying. But when he starts playing at Sugat...

This guy's pretty good. And the Knicks go to the playoffs and they win a round. And then they play the Heat and they didn't realize Jimmy Butler's hobbled and they couldn't attack him. And so then they lose that series. And then last year happens. That's the high point.

I would say that's the high point. You left out Phil Jackson, by the way. Oh, you know, I just kind of glossed all over that. And him not wanting to coach our team. 13 rings. So 10 days is what you guys are saying. Jeremy Lin, 10 days. 10 days, a month of Amari Stoudemire and 10 days of Jeremy Lin. So, but this is, so this is 10 days of Jeremy Lin. This right now is the same feeling of being,

It's higher, you're saying? A new high water mark, Dan. Oh, yeah, this is higher, Dan. Wait a minute. We're up 2-0 on the Celtics. We haven't played a home game yet. I mean, Saturday, 3-30, the Mecca is going to be out of hand. I can't wait. Dan, they might lose the next four games. But what I'm telling you right now. Doesn't matter. Right now, at this moment in history, the Knicks went into Boston and beat them twice in Boston while everybody in the world said the Celtics are going to drop them down.

drum their heads in, right? This point right now, like Sam Morell said the other day, he can look the junkies in the eye and tell them, your first high does not even compare to what I feel right now. WFAT!

You know, it's the first time the Knicks have won two road games in which they were down 20 points back-to-back nights. They did it. It's the first time the Knicks have started 5-0 on the road in the playoffs. The Knicks are legit good. And here's the funny thing. I was upset because last year I thought Dante DiVincenzo and I thought, you know, Hartenstein. The foreigner. The foreigner. Yeah.

He's from Ohio. The Italian? Delaware, wasn't it? I think Delaware, Ohio. That's a fight on me. But I was upset with those trades because I liked the core of the team. The fans fell in love with that team in particular. And so last year was a real high, and I was upset to see those two guys go. And they were replaced by Bridges and Carl Anthony Towns. And I asked myself, which was ridiculous at the time, are the Knicks better today than they were yesterday?

and the fact that I asked that question is absurd. Of course they're better than they were when they had DiVincenzo and Hartenstein. Well, hold on, though. Let's do some of the recent history here. But now there's pressure on the Knicks to win this series. They cannot collapse and lose this. Dan, I don't know if I like that. So this is what is beautiful about the present scenario when I tell you what do I want to feel during this series because I want to get through this story. Ooh.

Basketball is about the stories, the storylines, and if the games meet the moments, you will see history written and made. You will live it. You will understand how to tell your grandkids why Giannis only won one. And they won't understand the way they don't understand when the elder starts talking about Y2K. What a time. This moment in Knicks history, when I tell you what the fan base is presently doing, feeling, swelling in its heart, okay?

is so desperate to feel what Larry Johnson made them feel with that four-point play and not what Reggie Miller made them feel in those 12 seconds. The history of this franchise that is generational brings a story that

to Boston that is New York in basketball never gets to play in the sphere where the Celtics do historically the Knicks are a laughingstock

compared to the people who have dominated the last 25 years. 15 years ago when LeBron got here, I joked, singing, yelling, as soon as he got here, New York, welcome to another decade of irrelevance. A quarter century of Knicks fans have been muzzled down wanting to make the noise that they made when Larry Johnson hit that four in another century before Y2K.

Stugatz comes in here and he says, pathetically, 10 days of Jeremy Lin is what I got. And he still remembers it fantastically. Oh, it's great. Amari Stoudemire talked about him as an MVP for three minutes. Carmelo Anthony, a very popular Knick. Jalen Brunson just had a moment that Jason Tatum had not had to merely extinguish Detroit. Jalen Brunson has gone from the heart of...

We're Hartenstein and Hart, and he's our real Hart. This guy, Jalen Brunson, is better than anyone in the fourth quarter, and he's ours. We've got Reggie Miller now. Ha ha ha!

Spike Lee has Reggie Miller. Now, this is the best clutch player in the league. You fell in love with all of the Villanova stuff that we make the commercials out of, but this is how you get to stardom, kid. Can you beat Tatum in Madison Square Garden? Can you beat him? Well, he did it in Boston twice, but can you do it at home at the Mecca? No, no, no. Can't.

Yes, he did it in Boston twice and you knew he would. At the end of the game, he's going to get the foul shots. He's going to get the chance. Will Tatum? I don't know. We'll see. Is it going to be another fadeaway? We'll see. With your season on the line, Brunson goes back to the loudest New York and the most hopeful New York filled with Knicks fans who give you confetti when Carmelo wins a playoff game. Knicks fans...

who haven't seen a Knicks closeout playoff game since 1999. Those fans, Ben Stiller and Tracy Morgan, they've been shut up for 25 years. They want so badly to howl outside of the arena, and now Jalen Brunson brings them home. This is the

places where these like the history stuff gets written and you remember forever I saw Jalen Brunson become a star because I loved him when he had the Hartenstein theme and then they broke it up and they bought Kat and I don't like him and they bring Bridges and it's five first round picks but Brunson's my guy Brunson's the most beloved player right now in New

Nick's history. Tell me I'm wrong. No, you're 100% right. More beloved than Willis Reed, than Patrick Ewing, and I'll tell you right now, Jason Hart is entering the top five. He is. Josh Hart. Josh Hart, excuse me. Nick fans love Josh Hart. Jason Hart played for Syracuse. I know. Nick fans love Josh Hart. But right now, Jalen Brunson, I would say if you ask Nick fans today and they're prisoner of the moment, we're wrong because it should be Ewing, it should be Willis Reed. But if you ask them today, Jalen Brunson is the greatest Nick of all time.

Walt Frazier? No love for Walt Frazier? He should be there, too. Bernard King as well. Bernard King's good. Yeah, he might be the fifth best Knick player of all time. Loser. Loser. How about this? Did nothing but lose. How about this, Dugatz? The most popular athlete in New York City right now. More than Judge. More than Malik Neighbors? I don't know who's the next. Maybe Soto? Soto? Well, Soto, I don't know. He lost half the city. No, he's more than Judge.

Brunson is more than judge. More than judge. Brunson is clearly greater than, greater sign, greater than sign, greater than sign, Aaron Judge. Are you saying Brunson is the most popular athlete in New York right now? Bar none. I agree. Bar none. Yes. There's not a single, because Judge, here's the thing. Judge, Judge.

has that kind of stinker of a World Series that he's got to account for. Oh, man. And Brunson still hasn't failed in the play. They've lost, but it wasn't his fault. It's never been Brunson's fault because he always shows up. So wait a second. The comedy world is mad at me?