Hour 1: Jonathan Macri

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:28)
This is The Michael Kay Show Podcast.

**Michael Kay** (0:31)
I got to get more Kay.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:32)
Listen live weekdays at 1 on the Espn New York app and your smart speaker.

**Jake Asman** (0:38)
That's right. No Michael Kay, Jake Asbit. In for Michael here on a Friday before the biggest game, the New York Knicks have played since 1973
Up 3-1 NBA finals. Taking on the Spurs tomorrow night. Happy Friday, everybody. Welcome in. No Michael, Jake Asbit with you. Same number, same rules apply. Free for all Friday, right? 800-919-3776. Ray Deanahan, Tom Bauer, doing a great job at the controls, producing the show. We're going to be joined by a couple of Nick related guests today. Jonathan Macri from Nick's film school. You watch him on SNY as well. And CP the franchise are going to be stopping by. We will get into all the angles of not just the Nick win the other night and the game tomorrow, but there's some comments being made by fans of other teams, people in the media, and the hypocrisy is off the charts. And I want to address that. Have you noticed that since the Knicks have gone up three games to one, you've had some basically do extreme mental gymnastics to try and belittle how incredible this run has been by the New York Knicks and for their fans. I mean we're seeing people try and say, well, the Knicks, they really haven't had to play anyone. That's what people are saying. And these are the same people that said the Western Conference Finals is actually the NBA Finals because whoever wins between the Spurs and Thunder, well the Knicks, they don't have a chance. These are the same exact people.
So which is it? Have the Knicks just played nobody or are they actually really, really good and they're a team that's lost one basketball game over the last month in change? Which is it?
The Knicks are going to get destroyed by an elite team. They have no answers for Wemby and now it's, well, you know, the Spurs are really young. They're not ready. It's like the effort to give the Knicks absolutely no credit is just weak. Kenny Atkinson gave us this.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:43)
Analytically, I think we've won two out of three.

**Jake Asman** (2:46)
Right? That was a big joke. It wasn't just that the Knicks were kicking your tail, Kenny. It was, well, you know, there's something more to it. Analytically speaking, it's not true.
And then there's this from Mitch Johnson, the Spurs coach, talking yesterday.

**Mitch Johnson** (3:01)
By no means am I not acknowledging the Knicks and what they've done and give them credit for playing good basketball, but we feel like we've decided the outcome of all four games and we need to be better in the next game.

**Jake Asman** (3:13)
You decided the outcome of all four games. This is like a new thing. You could just like, if you lose, you could actually claim that you didn't lose. You could try and spin it. It's this new phenomenon, I guess, in sports. What our eyes are actually seeing or how we actually keep score in sports, this thing called the scoreboard, it actually doesn't apply.
In fact, if you think about it, the Cavs and the Thunder are playing game five of the analytical NBA finals tomorrow night. That's actually what I've been told as well. So this whole thing is just silly. And I think it motivates the Knicks. I don't think the Knicks are concerned at all. I think while the fans are rightfully excited, they have had the right temperament internally. I don't think you can come back down 29 points, 27 at halftime, if your team is not all the way locked in and focused on the greater goal. And that's what made this run I think so special for Nick fans. You have Brunson being the catalyst, of course. Oji Ananobe etched himself in New York sports history.
But the collective team, there's been so many games during this run where, yeah, you need the stars to be the stars, but it's been the role players stepping up. Jose Alvarado being the latest example of that, but there were moments where Deuces had some great performances. Landry Shammet was all the rage, didn't really do much in the two games of the Garden, so other people stepped up. That's the sign of a cohesive and really well coached team. I think Mike Brown feels like he's not getting enough credit. The Knicks are up 3-1 against a team that people said was so much better than the Knicks, why bother? And now we're moving the goal post being like, well, they're really young. Nonsense.