The Daily Zeitgeist - MJGMB #165: Go New York, Go New York, Go with Dan Favale

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

Miles and Jack were pleased to be joined by Bleacher Report NBA writer and podcaster Dan Favale for today's conversation. The trio discussed the Knicks vs Celtics, Brunson's brilliance and plenty more from around the league!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart podcast. The Made for This Mountain podcast exists to empower listeners to rise above their inner struggles and face the mountain in front of them. So during Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional well-being and then climb that mountain. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify, the thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain. This is the struggle. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I think it's a sign of great mental health to acknowledge the dark wolf inside you. It's Mental Health Awareness Month. And on a recent episode of The One You Feed, Josh Radner from How I Met Your Mother joins us to talk about fame, self-acceptance, aging, and finding peace in discomfort. That is the mercy of time, that time, it is a healer. To hear this and more on healing, identity, and the wisdom of slowing down, open your free iHeart radio app, search one you feed, and listen now. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeart Media. On this week's episode of Math and Magic,

I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio. Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners. That's why I'm here now because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math and Magic,

stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Sam Mullins, and I've got a new podcast coming out called Go Boy, the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted.

He spent 24 of those years in jail. But when Roger Caron picked up a pen and paper, he went from an ex-con to a literary darling. From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to Go Boy on the iHeart Radio app app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da start spreading the news. Oh my God, he just turns drunk all of a sudden. Yeah, this cell thinks could be leaving today. Bum ba da da da.

Or tomorrow. listen to this. To you who you're Knicks. Yes, the Knicks are up 3-1 against the defending champions. Terrible injury for Jason Tatum though. Indiana continues what has been an impressive 6-week stretch. Nuggets, Thunder, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, real tough series, and we'll get into all of that and more with Leacher Sports Tampa Valley on today's episode.

I am Miles Gray. And I'm Jack O'Brien. And this is... And boosies! Over the double team. Oh! Very nice. Yes, another chance. Oh, look out. Another show time. What you got, yes.

Sorry, that was my alarm going off telling me to sing Miles and Jack Got Mad Boos. Geez, into my microphone. Turn on your, also make sure your alarm is off when you activate your Riz. Just don't activate it to out of nowhere on us. NBA writer for Bleach Report, host of the Hardwood Knocks NBA podcast, Dan Vavale. Great to have you on. Yeah. Knicks fan.

Oh yeah. Knicks fan much? Was it too hot on their own team going into this one? I mean, none of us are, right? I needed it. I needed it. I demanded it. I needed it. I demanded it. When I go out, the Celtics have to go out at all costs, so I was all in on the Knicks.

But not that I believed, I just desperately needed the Knicks to win. But Dan, where are you at? Where'd you start and where are you now? Because I heard you were not, you weren't really too hot on them right now. Yeah, you know, producer Barry reached out and asked if we could talk about this series when I was coming on. And my response to him was, was I don't think the next are still going to be playing by the time that I make this appearance. So you thought it was going to be a sweep. I thought it was going to be like a five game set or a sweep. Yeah, that's what I thought coming in. And I mean, consecutive 20 point comes back followed by a game three in which they fall back down by 20 plus again and actually lose. Game four was kind of like the eye-opener where it

feels like oh there might be something here because the Jason Tatum injury is catastrophic but the Knicks were gonna win that game anyway. Like they were in the league. Yeah the Knicks were gonna win. So that's that was the one that surprised me. The Knicks went up 2-0 to won the first two games in Boston coming home and were still underdogs and I agreed with that I was like Yeah, the Celtics are just gonna win the next four and I was wrong The Knicks are much tougher than I thought and the Celtics I think more flawed Yeah

That game three felt like kind of what we thought it would be or like well if they start making their threes then it's kind Of a different story and then when that happens, okay, so Maybe here But yeah, I mean it's Jason Tatum. So yeah, I was like, okay, so maybe here. Maybe here. But yeah, I mean, it's Jason Tatum. So yeah, it was his Achilles that he ruptured there. That's awful, awful, awful. In the midst of like the game where he was finally doing the thing that everybody was like, this is who he needs to be.

Right. His box score was wild. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He. Forty two, eight, four steals, two blocks. Yeah. Yeah. I'm so. But Jack, your theory now, you you're my theory now. Everybody's burying them, which is exactly the only way that you could get

everybody to agree the Celtics are cooked was this. Right. And I just feel like they are still extremely talented. They're still as talented, I think, as most of the most of the teams. I don't know. I just I could see them like putting together a run here. I don't know if they win it, but I could I could definitely see it. Yeah. A last gasp convulsion. If you. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if they win it, but I could definitely see it. Yeah. A last gasp convulsion, if you will. Yeah. I don't know. But Dan, do you think I'm crazy here? Now it seems like you've got some confidence. Oh, no, absolutely not. I think as a Knicks fan, you're always just waiting for the other shoe to

drop. I really do think though, when you look at the Celtics without Jason Tatum, they're still super talented. They're shallower, gets harder to initiate their offense. But if you told me that, if you told me they won the series, I'd be pretty surprised just being down three to one and then watching your best player go down the way he did has to be deflating. But if you told me there was a game seven,

I'm not saying I would predict it, but it just wouldn't surprise me. Like they're still super versatile, can do a lot of things defensively. And I think we had questions about their offense with Jason Tatum. So now the questions about their offense, I think, become more pronounced without him on the floor being able to hit those really difficult jumpers when their offense bogs down.

Right. Yeah. I will say like there was always like one of the only things that I had as a Celtics, you know, the hater was that I felt like they never fully, it never, they never felt like they were just like, and Tatum's our guy and now here he's going to like get us a bucket when we need it. And like, we just all rally behind him. Like even last year he wasn't the best player in the finals on their team. And it just like never felt like it fully came together. So like this, maybe this like clears some space in whatever the weird kind of electricity is of like team dynamics that

govern these sorts of things. I could just see something weird happening here. I'm not necessarily predicting it, but it wouldn't shock me. And it does feel like everyone's just like, well, they, if they weren't cooked before, they certainly are now. Like, I mean, I would, I would even say if they had won that game and Tatum doesn't get injured, the Knicks just win like that steel, put the Knicks up seven with a couple of minutes to go. Do you think the Celtics would still be favored? Cause they were favored after going down O2 in the first two games in Boston, like coming to Madison Square Garden, they were still favored.

Like, do you think down 3-1, going home, like wouldn't they still be favored? In game five, yes, I think for the series, no, but it probably would have been something super slight where it's like they're a plus 105 or something. Right, just so wild. It's unbelievable. Just enough.

Just enough. Man, I'm just jailed the Jalen Brunson of it all too. He's unbelievable. Man, so tough. So good. Man, imagine losing him for nothing. Nico's a genius. Nico. Not for nothing.

Not for nothing. Not for nothing. You didn't think this was all part of the plan? Come on, man. Oh, you didn't know? You knew exactly. Do we wanna talk about the draft real quick? Yeah. Because this actually gets into.

I mean, if you wanna get angry, then sure. This gets into my, a question that I have for you, Dan, because I'm a Sixers fan. The Sixers, woo! Woo-hoo-hoo! Thank goodness. I was Dar Sixers fan. The Sixers. Woo. Woo. Thank goodness. I was, I was Darryl Moore yesterday. Like I had my head on in my hands just like I couldn't look when they said the Sixers

lost their pick. That felt bad. The ESPN commentator accidentally said the Sixers lost their pick. So the Mavs obviously get Cooper flag, incredible. Now the trade makes sense somehow. If you just assume- The karmic scales have been balanced. Yeah, exactly.

If you assume like just that this, because they, if they kept Luca, they weren't gonna be in the lottery. So in a roundabout way, they did, this was part of the trade and they did just get Cooper flag. And suddenly, uh, it now makes sense for the first time since it happened. Um, I will say the Sixers are now in the third, the third spot and the projected pick for two and three are teammates.

And they're teammates who played on a team that did not make the NCAA tournament and were bad. And I have, as a Sixers fan, I have some questions here. I have some experience with this. I was, so we picked Markel Foltz, number one, ahead of Jason Tatum. His team had won 10 games the year, they were like 10 and 20 the year before

he was drafted by the Sixers. We picked Ben Simmons, his team was like 500, did not make the NCAA tournament. And both times, the Sixers just convinced themselves, that doesn't really mean anything. These guys are like super talented. I went, I was like, does it not mean anything? So I went to Reddit to be like, whoa,

who are the players who have played on teams that were bad and who were like on bad college teams who went on to be like great NBA players. And the like most relevant thread was one from eight years ago when Markel Fultz was drafted and people were like, Oh, I'll tell you who was Ben Simmons. He's, he's a superstar and he was on a bet. So that didn't quite work out.. But even when a star comes from a bad team, they usually elevate them. Steph on Davidson, CJ McCullough,

even one of the answers in the thread was Dame. But Weber State was 21 and 10 and 15 and one in conference play, like his last year, one of his last years. And so I don't know who is the comp where it's like, this person couldn't get their college team to win games and then they went on to be an amazing NBA player. Like it just, that bothers me too much.

And that, and plus it's two of them, number two and three. Like, I just feel like we're leaving something out. And that, that's like even the Jalen Brunson thing like rings in my head too, because he was a player coming out who was, you know, not the right size, like didn't have all those like intangibles and like the things that people look for at the combine.

And he was vastly, vastly underrated who was like, you know, a leader on a team that won championships. Like that it's just like, I don't love the idea of picking one of the Rutgers guys personally. But Dan, what do you think? Dan Blewett I never thought about it in that context. I think it's probably a fair concern to have, especially when you're drafting that high. And if it's two guys who are considered these cornerstone type pieces, you kind of wonder where,

like Joellen Bede and Andrew Wiggins played together and like they weren't the most intuitive fit and that team found ways to win games anyway. So that's an interesting theory that I hadn't given. And like Bede also was like just learning to play basketball. Right. Like, like he was like, wait, do I, so I have to dribble it, right? I can't just like spite that's volleyball.

Sorry. I, yeah, sometimes I forget. Like he was new to the game when he was like playing at Kansas and still like, yeah, they, they could win games, you know, like it's just to not, to have the two second and third best players and not make the NCAA tournament is wild to me. I mean, LeBron's college team didn't make

the NCAA tournament. Yeah, that's true. I was gonna say, either the Kobe's, so. That's true, but those are really good points, guys. I was gonna say, I was like, what if they never did? You know? Is that something? I mean, both of those guys would have gone to Duke. Is there, I mean like, what if they never did? Is that something? Is that something?

I mean, both of those guys would have gone to Duke. Is there, I mean, but then on the other side of that coin, like, you know, you'll also have those players who didn't play on great teams and really just came of age once they got into the league. Yeah. You know what I mean? I guess you got like your Pippins and your Rodmans and stuff like that, but.

But I do get what you mean. It's like, cause then, cause there is an emphasis to be like, you're going to go that high in the draft, but then you're kind of can't get it done on your last college season. I get how that kind of looks a little bit. That's like, was this the most elite? Because I didn't watch many Rutgers games.

Was it just that like, could they say it's like, well, we didn't have any guys around us. So, makes sense that we didn't have any guys around us. So, you know, it makes sense that, you know, we played the way we did, or do they contribute to their low performances on that team? I just didn't, I'm not familiar with Rutgers season. I watch every Rutgers game, Miles. These guys stink.

No, I don't watch a single Rutgers game. This is just a thing that I'm noticing now that we're, I did not look into the draft because I was ready to have my heart broken and have the Sixers give their pick away to the like soon, possibly soon to be national champion. Okay. C thunder. Um, but now that they have it, I'm all in and I'm like the, the first thing I'm noticing is that the Sixers are supposed to once again pick a player, like top three, from a losing college team. And I'm just like, ah, guys, we do this. Every time we get a top pick, we do this.

And it's not a... This might be different. It might be different. What's kind of different about this, though, is assuming they're even a semblance of healthy, is maybe it's different if you're putting these guys onto one of these guys onto a roster that has a bunch of help for them, and they're gonna be semblance of healthy, is maybe it's different if you're putting these guys onto one of these guys onto a roster that has a bunch of help for them, and they're gonna be able to be brought along

more gradually rather than you have to come in and be or expect it to be the guy. Yeah, yeah, and I mean, maybe, like, as long as the person just doesn't decide to relearn how to shoot and change their shot, maybe they'll end up being okay. Like Mark Elfolt. Ben Simmons did make an all NBA team, right? So it's like if it follows the Ben Simmons course,

if they just aren't as, I don't know what the word is, they don't play as hesitantly, might be the kindest way to put it. Like maybe then that, you know, that's not the worst arc to follow. Yeah, but they were both like, in retrospect, you know, Mark L. Foltz seems like a great guy. I'm rooting for him all the time. In retrospect, complete disasters in terms of their ability to capitalize on their promise. Ben Simmons was supposed to be generational and kind of fell apart and Mark El Foltz like just, yeah, like really in both cases like seemed like kind of worst case scenarios coming out of it.

So I don't know. I would say Benson was his worst case scenario given like what we saw even as rookie year. But I guess the fact that we got that rookie year and some all defensive type performances maybe, maybe not, but that would just be one of the things that I'd be taking a hard look at when it seems like people who just are good enough to play in the NBA and are like proven winners like tend to be worth a hard look.

I say stay optimistic. Yeah. You know? Yeah. You know? Watch and then you find out like Ace Bailey just showed up to camp way overweight. Like what's going on? And you're like no, no, no. It's gonna happen one way or another.

He changed his shooting form too. He's shooting with his other hand now? Yeah, yeah, he got his old coach helping him out. It's doing some really cool stuff. He got Markel Foltz's uncle to change his shot. Oh, Jack, please. Please. The training in Australia in the off season. Let's take a quick break. Yeah, let's take a quick break.

We'll be right back. Made for This Mountain is a podcast that exists to empower listeners to rise above their struggles, break free from the chains of trauma, and silence the negative voices that have kept them small. Through raw conversations, real stories, and actionable guidance, you can learn to face the mountain that is in front of you. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify, the thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain, this is the struggle, this is the thing that's in front of me.

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Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio. The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop, but then once I got to country it was he's too pop for country. So I kind of never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit. I just embraced that. Like yeah, I don't how and why I fit. I just embraced that. Like, yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners. That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities

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In 2020, a group of young women in a tidy suburb of New York City found themselves in an AI-fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked. Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts on my body parts. That looked exactly like my own. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream. It happened in Levittown, New York. But reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the internet and to the front lines of a global battle against deepfake pornography.

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Listen to Levertown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. We're back. Wolves Warriors. Another just bummer injury, Steph being out with a hamstring injury, I feel like this would be an incredible series. As of right now, I don't know. Like it definitely doesn't seem like Steph should rush back, especially given like what we, what we saw with Tatum, but Ant seems to be doing what he did in the playoffs last year. He's just stepping up, becoming that dude, and then Julius Randall is...

All the doubters can go do one, as they say. But I mean, how do you feel as a Knicks fan seeing this version of Julius Randall in the playoffs? Playoff Randall. I like it better that he's taking clear shots at Tibbs, where he was basically like, it's just good to be in a spot where I'm not standing around.

And so like they have him doing more away from the ball, they have him doing some like, kind of a similar role with New York ad, but they seem to appreciate it more given how much Anthony Edwards can struggle against double teams. So it's cool to see him sort of we very rarely get to look back on trades as like, Oh, maybe that made sense for both teams. And I think there's still a lot to play out for Minnesota and New York, but it's cool to see like kind of everybody. I mean, don't think even Chenzel is not hitting shots right now, but it's cool to maybe see this potentially working out for for both sides and the Wolves offense. I still don't trust it.

But with Randall playing like this, they're they're definitely more dynamic than they were with Kat, just because Randall brings that live dribble playmaking element that has someone who's watched a lot of carlothy towns in both Minnesota and New York. I can confirm he still does not have. He does have, he makes some of the wildest shot like that fade away that he hit against Detroit like over the backboard was one like it was a big moment too, was one of the wildest shots that I've seen somebody and it was like dead center of the red, like complete nothing but net I have a theory that he would be like

30 to 50 percent more valuable on the offensive end if he just ran like 10 miles before each game and was tired because that's the only Time he seems to take enough threes is when he's kind of lollygagging back in transition And they hit him with like a trailer pass and he drills it. That dude is such a good shooter and he's out here and like some of these games taking two three-pointers, one three-pointer against a Celtics team that just gets them up. And so you're sitting there, you're like, oh, the Knicks are down by 14 and they're losing the three-point battle by 27 points. Can they do anything? And it's, you blame Tibbs a little bit, but dating back to his time in Minnesota, Townes just doesn't have to be all threes, but I just don't know why he doesn't take more of those things.

Yeah, just gotta hit him with a dart that's just like take them down. And not like the old school dart where he's just like, oh, you gotta dart your neck, man. What's Jimmy Butler's situation? Is he still nursing that injury? I mean, it felt like this last, that game four, I was like, oof, buddy, you're not looking the same at all.

He was sick and he still got that glute injury apparently. But he's not wired, I guess, to shoot first. He kind of played that way in Miami. But since he's been in Golden State, I don't know if it's because it's new. And like you said, he's been banged up. I've just never seen him be so passive as just like a scorer. I think a lot of it has to do, their spacing is really bad, especially without Steph.

Like you have Buddy healed and that's like it when it comes to shooters that other teams respect. But nine shots, I know you're injured, I know you're sick, but nine shots without Steph is insane. Yeah, that's not gonna get it done. He was what his rating was minus 30 on that last one. That's honestly impressive. Like, it really is an argument for how incredible Steph is.

Like, you hear people talk about, well, offensively, it's not just the things that you see with the naked eye. It's also gravitationally. He just moves defenders all over the court. It's not just like the things that you see with the naked eye. It's also like gravitationally like he just like moves Defenders all over the court, but when you actually see From one game to the next like with him verse without him. It's pretty staggering like that guy's totally incredible Yeah, there's been that movement where people have made fun of mostly Warriors fan saying they think Steph is the first player to ever have gravity Which is kind of funny, but it's different when kind of like you just alluded to it.

No one else is pulling like three or four defenders in his direction when he doesn't have the ball. There's just no one who does that. And you're right. It's just the contrast is so stark when you watch the Warriors with Steph versus without them. Like they're dating back to the Kevin Durant years, like they've struggled so much to put together efficient offense when he's not on the court because it's a cliche, but he's just, he's one of one.

And to still be that important to a team that's in the second round of the playoffs at what is he? 36, 37. That is also bonkers. Yeah. And given like what the expectation and like what it looks like after his rookie year, like the fact that he's still this good You know that he was able to put it together Strengthen his ankles a thing. I didn't know was possible Like ah, I just need to do ankle strengthening exercise. That's like I'll be type of exercise You would hear people talk about in the 40s, right? Yeah, it's like focusing on one part. It's like it's all in the ankles

But I mean we do have to just take another moment. Brunson, just that ineffable skill of just like when it's important, I make impossible shots and I'm going to do it every single time. What like, it's got to feel so great to be rooting for a team that where the ball is in his hands and in the clutch moments. Yeah, it feels inevitable. It should be frustrating and it is at points, but like him winning clutch player of the year, I'm trying to think back. It's like, when is the last time the Knicks had a player that you actively wanted to have

the ball in their hands with the game on the line? It wasn't even with Mello. That wasn't really like Patrick Ewing style. Like this is, we're talking decades of just the Knicks not having that guy and to be confident with him late in games and to see him prove it like again in postseason. It's, it's pretty surreal, especially when you consider what he was thought to be in Dallas, even at his peak. And then what is he? He's listed at six too, but he's got to be like five. Like if he's six feet, like I'll be shocked. And to see him do this against like double and triple teams and blitzes from the Celtics is,

I don't know, just kind of wild. Yeah. So producer Jabari saying Alan Houston was that dude. But he he also wasn't like was even the best player on that team for like he was like he was that dude for maybe like two seasons and Brunson is like Mount Rushmore franchise level already after this his third the golf he probably deserves to be there already so I and it's like just doesn't turn the ball over for such a high volume guy normally to it's it's really cool to see and just as a fan I don't think since I started rooting for the Knicks in like the 90s, I don't remember there ever being a player that I trusted to have the like the ball like thought,

oh, this shot's going in. And I think is an extraordinary condition to assume that it's going to miss. And Brunson is kind of flip that script. Yeah, I'm like, who's the because I totally get that. It always felt like they just they're missing like that guy, you know, and it's before that, who would you have trusted with the ball and what final seconds of the game? Maybe probably Walt Frazier.

Like I like, we need to go. Yeah, yeah, right. Yeah, he was pretty clutch. That one game that he had the Willis Reed game that is actually the Clyde Frazier game, like his stats are in that game are so bunkers. his stats are in that game are so bonkers. Yeah. Like.

Is he as popular a player, an athlete as has been in New York since like, what was the last time there was somebody this level? Is it Jeter? That's what I was going to say is he's probably not there, but it has to be just where it feels like they could do their infallible. Yeah. It's even when they're frustrated with Jalen Brunson, it's the Knicks fans reaction are just like, well, he'll adjust and he'll get it next game. This is just an off night. He's like beyond impeaching at this point.

So I think Jeter might be the right, I'm trying to think of just like Knicks fans have maybe there's been more fanfare for certain players coming here. Like the red carpet was rolled out more for Amari Stoudamire 2010 than it ever was for Jalen Brunson. But he's he's a god in New York City. And I think Jeter's the right he commits a crime. And the first call is to Eric Adams. Like, it's not even like they don't even call the police.

There's like get get Mayor Adams on the phone. It is just like as an NBA fan, I'm being taken back to like that. That 99 season where Ewing went down and the Knicks were the Knicks and eight seed. Yeah. And they're in eight and went to the finals like that. That was so fun when the Knicks are good. Like it's so wild for all the, yeah, I don't know. Like the Knicks, it's just the NBA is so fun when the Knicks are good.

Like everybody just, I feel like can get behind the Knicks because it's so rare also. I think, you know, if they were as successful as the Celtics it probably wouldn't be as fun. But like having the Knicks be in the conversation now where it's like, oh yeah, I mean, I personally think Indiana is, it looks as good as anybody in the league right now. But you know, if they get to the finals, that's super fun. That's like, I kind

of am starting to love this team. Like even though I feel like they're flawed, they really like they're, they're're they're doing something. Well, that that increases the likeability factor though, when you're flawed, because they were three seed. So it's not like there's some like wild underdog, but no one I mean, we were just talking about I thought they're gonna lose in four or five games in this series. And so to see a flawed team, kind of defy the odds and go through the potentially the reigning champs. And then if they're able to win, I mean, especially if it's like indie New York in the next round, you talk about a flashback to the 90s. Oh my God. I know.

Conference finals. Got Reggie out there like, I'm like, no. Reggie Miller will be off the calls by then at that point though. So that'll be, he won't be conflicted anymore. But yeah, there's a likeability to them that they're not supposed to have because like they built this team and won all in with the image of we're going to be a contender but because they failed in large like in like they went oh and eight against boston and cleveland so that failure and then going to this i think that kind of laid the groundwork to make them even more likeable because they're even just more unexpected was rick brunson on that team that got to the finals oh well i've no, I have no idea.

Just thinking, because wasn't he on the Knicks around then? Like at the turn of the century, I feel like. Just an, oh man, it's all poetry. I'm just thinking of all my Knicks friends. I remember, I think it was maybe a season or two ago, and I was like, bro, these Knicks fans, I know, they're like, Jalen Brunson's the GOAT, bro. Like the first season, the first season he was there.

And I don't know, now they're like I just it felt different It felt different. It feels different and I was like well that you're seeing you You justified now miles. You're right. Rick Brunson was on the Knicks during that finals run Wow Good for look the energy is there you mentioned the Knicks fans like you know kind of trumpeting up jail and brunson I bet you there's going to be something after this season, especially the Knicks make the conference finals where it's like, who would you rather have Jalen Brunson or Luca or Yana? Like that is going to start if it hasn't already.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh, you know what? Maybe I'm not even, maybe I'm, it's not that the Knicks are like, like the NBA is more fun when the Knicks are making a finals run. Maybe it's just more fun when a Rick Brunson team is making a finals run. You know, I feel like that could be it. I just I just get excited for Rick Brunson.

Wow. Well, I forgot that that draft in 99. They've drafted Frederick Vice, the guy that Vince Carter absolutely destroyed. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think he retired like after that game or something crazy. There was like an op-ed done on it. I'm done. I don't need it anymore. Man, what a time, what a time.

How are we feeling about the Pacers, Dan? So as of right now, if they met the Knicks in the conference finals, I might pick the Pacers in seven. I probably like New York's top five more, but the stuff the Pacers can throw at you, man, like they can play fast, they can play slow, they can be a finesse team, they can be physical,

they can beat you from beyond the arc. There's just so many different things that they can do. And I don't think we fully appreciate it. It does feel like depth is making a little bit of a comeback in the playoffs where it's like the Pacers are using their depth and it's working and the Rockets push the Warriors to the brink while like, using their depth as well.

And like even the Cavs, yeah, they're banged up, and they're down in that series and potentially out. But there's teams that are turning to more players than I feel like in years past stretching their rotations deeper. And Indy is probably doing that more than anyone. And I don't think, maybe even I, I picked them to lose against the Cavs in five.

So I don't even appreciate them yet. But that's a team that they're dynamic, and they can beat you from a bunch of different angles. And we've, we've, we've seen that for sure against Cleveland. And I would say I've only seen, I can't, maybe this isn't right, but I've only seen a team definitely win the title from coaching, from a coaching advantage maybe once in my lifetime. And I think it's with Carlisle beating the Heat that year. He's such a good coach who's able to just figure things out. Might not be the only case, but I do feel like he's good at figuring some angles out and getting a

team to a higher level of performance than I would have otherwise expected. So I feel like that's a big advantage that they have over I'd say the Knicks and a lot of the rest of the league right now. Is Tyrese playing with a little chip on his shoulder after everyone's called him overrated you think? He's just so inconsistent man., he's been so inconsistent, man. He's like, I don't know if he is. That's great for him. Well done. You know, he used that, however, but like he has to be aware that like he disappears

for months at a time, you know, like only when it counts. But yeah, I mean, he's playing. I loved his dance as they called it. After he hit that game winning shot, they were like, he's been given a warning for doing that dance. Yeah, much not much of a dance. It's my favorite dance move when I get out on the dance floor.

You know, the thing that all the kids are doing. Thunders and nuggets. Dan, how do you feel about that one? Thunders and nuggets. Thunders and nuggets sounds like a- Thunders and nuggets. Dan, how do you feel about that one? Thunders and nuggets. Thunders and nuggets sounds like a- Brad Pitt's and the thunders. Brad Pitt's, the thunders versus the nuggets. Thunders versus nuggets.

What, who we got here? I still think Eileen in thunder, but this series is confused the heck out of me. Uh, Jokic is playing as we're recording, like he had wrapped up one of the worst three game stretches of his career, um, just over these past three games. So you can either look at it as, Oh, the nuggets are in trouble or it's, Oh, you know, like they've played okay. And you'll get, still hasn't had like a only, he's only had one trademark Yoke each game left. Um, I, I, I guess I'll frame it this way.

I've emerged from this series being more concerned about me too, rather than feeling better at any given. I was concerned about the nuggets, like heading in and heading into the playoffs. I didn't think they were gonna. Oh, you don't think firing your coach like three days before the playoffs would be a good idea? Yeah, for some reason,

I thought that was a weird. That might be a, yeah. Like I've probably, my opinion of the Nuggets has gone up in this series, but definitely OKC is like, I don't know, there's just some fourth quarters where it looks like they're playing through cement. Like it's just like, ugh don't know, there's just some fourth quarters where it looks like they're playing through cement. Like it's just like, ugh, what is, I thought you guys were supposed to like,

be able to like move the ball and their offense just looks limited in a way that, I was hoping, you know, as someone, I just root for anybody except the Celtics. So I just want everybody to be as good as they possibly can be. As have disappointed me in this series, but maybe they'll put it together. I mean, it's hard playing at altitude, I guess. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's real hard. I can tell you that from experience. You know, some,

I don't know if they got a cheat code or something up there. It's just whatever happens to you up at altitude. I just know that. I think that's why the Lakers kept losing. You think so? I'll keep saying altitude. That was our favorite excuse at the time. I feel like they lost because they didn't put Rui on Jokic enough. I thought that Rui kind of solved them defensively.

Yeah, right. No, exactly. That was it, too. You know, we'll get another bite of the apple. I think we'll be all right. But yeah, I'm also really amazed though how well they've played despite the coaching change up at the last minute. And I don't know if that's also because like Aaron Gordon

has also just been playing like out of, have you seen all the conspiracy theories about like his number and like the time like at which he was scoring buzzer beaters? There's some wild numerology going on with Aaron Gordon's playing and why he's just kind of being that guy when the situation calls for it. But I love a bit of numerology mixed with our fans.

I need to go, was that on Reddit? I have not seen anything. Yeah, yeah, it was on the nuggets thing. It was so funny. I was like, this is such a level of thought going into this but also blessed If you if you got to figure out that like you've got a whole other engine powering this thing then yeah, like Yeah, it's just like manifest destiny or something that he's doing this but with math 100% 100% I gotta find this Yeah, I'll share it with you when I find it because it is it's like impressive

I've like only a fan could come up with something like this. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. And oh, Dan, Dan, Dan, Dan. You have stepped in it this time. You're going Dan, Dan. We got the ratify around a question. We'll be right back.

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Hi, I'm Bob Pitman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. On this week's episode of Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio. The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop. But then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country. So I kind of never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit. I just embraced that.

Like, yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners. That's why I'm here now because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math and Magic magic stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater podcast network hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests

such as Western historian, Dr. Randall Williams, and bestselling author and meat eater founder, Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today.

Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2020, a group of young women in a tidy suburb of New York City found themselves in an AI-fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked. Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts on my body parts that looked exactly like my own.

I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream. It happened in Levittown, New York. But reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the internet and to the front lines of a global battle against deep fake pornography. This should be illegal, but what is this? This is a story about a technology that's moving faster than the law and about vigilantes trying to stem the tide.

I'm Margie Murphy. And I'm Olivia Carville. This is Levertown, a new podcast from iHeart Podcasts, Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope. Listen to LeverTown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ["LiverTown Theme Song"] And we're back.

And we're back. Oh, Dan. He's laughing, Dan. He's laughing. Look at him. Oh my God. Yeah. That is creepy.

I got that Gotham glow about me right now. Straight out of Arkham. Let's do this. Dan Favele, it is time for the fourth quarter wrap for our round of questioning. The first question is, second to the ball point, is that history? We're going to ask you a question. You react. You go instantly within your soul. You let your soul speak, you do not get cerebral,

you just respond. If you don't keep the pace up of the segment, we will be New York routine, okay? I hope you're ready for that. Do you accept the challenge? I'm not, let's do it anyway though. Wow, okay, well I like the honesty, Dan. I love the honesty.

Brian, start the clock! Brian wasn I love I like the honesty Dan. I love the honesty. Brian start the clock! Brian wasn't. Sounds like he's mad. You've made him mad Dan. I'm compensating if we're gonna be. I'm compensating. No further questions my honor. Jack you wanna go first Miles, I'd love it if you went first, actually. Okay, great. Here I go. Here I go. Here I go. Again, girls, what's my weakness? Question. Okay, then Dan, you have the ability to wave your magic wand and create your preferred finals matchup for the end of this post-season tournament, okay?

This end of the season. What's your matchup and what do you actually think the eventual matchup will be? I would go with Nuggets' Nyx for obvious reasons. And I think the eventual matchup will be? I would go with Nuggets Nicks for obvious reasons. And I think the eventual matchup is actually going to be Thunder versus the Pacers. Thunder Pacers. I mean. Thunder's Pacer.

Thunder. OK. Thunder's versus Pacer. OK. OK. Do you really think that, or are you just doing a reverse curse on your? You don't want to put your jar.

I'm trying to get you guys clicks. Thunder. Like, isn't that Oklahoma city, Indiana? Aren't those the big traffic driving markets? No, we've all been waiting for it. That okay. See bump here comes. Yeah.

All right. Jalen Brunson in the late eighties on those Ewing teams or Ewing on Brunson's team right now, Brunson on Ewing's team? How would anyone in that era defend him? What would that look like? I guess they could clothesline him or something and maybe it doesn't get called. I also think that's an interesting answer because those were the first teams to shoot three-pointers.

That was the Patino. They called them Patino's Bombino's because they were bad at nicknames back then. And they had like Trent Tucker. My dad was an assistant for them and they shot threes and it was like, what the heck was going on with these guys? So you get Brunson there and he shoots as many threes as he does now. Maybe the NBA is ahead of where it is right now. Maybe we went through our three point era in the 90s

instead of, you know. Is it the inverse? Are we all clamoring for more mid range and post ups while that like the boomers are clamoring for we need more threes. You used to shoot threes. Maybe Jordan is, I guess he would have just been become really good at shooting threes. All right. I think that's the right answer. Although Ewing on this team would be interesting.

I mean, for the size of the knee pads with ice alone. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. It smells like mentholatum everywhere. Dan, just a little forecasting. Next season, what kind of uniform is Yanis Antetokounmpo wearing? He will be wearing a Spurs jersey. Spurs. That is interesting. So you think they'll trade the second pick, the whatever the later first round pick they have is, so here's my thing.

If I'm gonna walk, I want more than that. Like, I need, I need future picks. We'll take Wemby. Yeah, I think they'll get way more than that. Like, I think the Spurs will be, they have two, they have 14, they have those Hawks picks, they have- Okay, the Hawks picks is what I needed to hear. When do they have the Hawks picks? Like next year?

26, they have, it's 26 and 27, they have control over. So two more. Ooh, that could be nice. That's juicy. That could be a spicy meatball. They have that Timberwolves pick, I think too, in 2031 sale, or maybe they traded that. I can't remember now.

Like I don't want Spurs picks in the future. If I'm giving them Janus and they have Wemby, they will be interesting. It'll be like where the three point shooting is going to come from on that roster. I guess you can, that's always a thing that people are like, yeah, you throw some shooters out there with them, but you're going to need some real shooters because Yanis and like, I don't know, Fox isn't a great three point shooter. No. And if you keep Castle, but I would I would trade I'm not a castle guy So I would trade him too if it meant getting Yana's so yeah, you're right They would need it helps that Wembley's a pretty good shooter. I suppose but you would want more shooters around them. Yeah

All right, and finally finally would you take being this is this is the Lakers branded question because it only makes sense for Lakers branded question because it only makes sense for Lakers fans. Would you take being in the lottery for the next eight seasons for a single title for the Knicks this year? Yeah. First of all, the Knicks in the lottery would be like, I would love the Knicks to have lottery picks, but I guess they don't own their own picks is that the genesis of the quote but I would take the Knicks haven't won a title since what 73 I've watched a bunch of bad basketball since I've been alive and I was nowhere near alive back then I would absolutely take a consecutive I would take I don't know what the number is but you could talk me into like a decade and a half lottery appearances if it

meant winning a title that is the follow-up. How many until you say no? I think I start thinking once you get to 20, that might be my absolute max. 20. Those are generations just passing over. Yeah, evolving. That makes sense. I think that's right. Dan Favalli, you have actually answered every single question 100% correctly. I don't know how you do it, but you're on a heater right now.

It's numerology. There it is. The numbers. It's on the numbers. And now you'll see that the numbers, jerseys seven, eight, and one are behind Dan. And that is, of course, actually there's no explanation for that. There's no way to explain why those numbers are behind him. I think it means that Tyrese Albert is going to go off for 50 points and override a bunch of the talk that was on this podcast.

I'd hate to freak you out, but seven, eight, one is a Boston area code. Wow. Oh, I thought that's why you did it. I thought that that was a New York area code for some reason. Oh my God. I'm just, I don't. See, I'm telling you guys. I don't want to say the writing's literal. Jalen Brown to the Celtics confirmed is what I'm trying to portend. Here, that's what you're gonna get with the number three pick.

There we go. I didn't think the writing was literally on the wall, but it might be. Dan Favalli, thanks again for joining us. Where do the people find you, read you, support you, hear you, all that? They can find me on Bleacher Report and they can also check out the Hardwood Knox NBA podcast built exactly as it sounds. We have a lot of fun over there.

Where you at on social? Just at Danforth Valley, my name across any single platform that you care to search it on. Amazing. You can find me on Twitter and BlueSky at milesofgray. I'm at Jack underscore O'Brien on Twitter and Jack O'Bee the number one on BlueSky. And make sure you follow the hashtag mad boosties B-double-o-s-d-i-e-s for show links and updates and be sure to join the combo on the Discord server. That's gonna do it for us this week. We'll be back as, man, we'll see if the writing

was on the wall or maybe it wasn't. Who knows, who knows, but the saga will continue. Wu-tang, Wu-tang. See you next week, bye. Bye! Who knows, but the saga will continue. Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang. See you next week. Bye. Bye. The Made For This Mountain podcast exists to empower listeners to rise above their inner struggles and face the mountain in front of them. So during Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast, focus on your emotional

well-being and then climb that mountain. You will never be able to change or grow through the thing that you refuse to identify. The thing that you refuse to say, hey, this is my mountain. This is the struggle. Listen to Made for This Mountain on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I think it's a sign of great mental health to acknowledge the dark wolf inside you. It's mental health awareness month and on a recent episode of The One You Feed, Josh Radner from How I Met Your Mother joins us to talk about fame, self-acceptance, aging, and finding peace in discomfort.

That is the mercy of time, that time, it is a healer. To hear this and more on healing, identity, and the wisdom of slowing down, open your free iHeart radio app, search one you feed, and listen now. Hi, I'm Bob Pitman, Chairman and CEO of iHeart Media. On this week's episode of Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners. That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math and Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Sam Mullins, and I've got a new podcast coming out called Go Boy, the gritty true story of how one man

fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted. Spent 24 of those years in jail. But when Roger Caron picked up a pen and paper, he went from an ex-con to a literary darling. From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to Go Boy on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. to go.