Spurs Knicks Finals Preview

The Spurs and the Knicks meeting in the NBA Finals sounds like a history book… until you remember the center of it all is a 7’3 force who blocks shots, hits threes, and makes every game plan feel incomplete. We bring the full Ride Home Rants panel back for our yearly Finals preview, starting with some rapid-fire fun and then getting straight into the real question: who controls this series, Victor Wembanyama or Jalen Brunson? We debate which star is truly more important to his team, and why Wemby’s defensive gravity might matter even more than raw points. 

From there, we dig into what changed for New York. How much of the Knicks’ Finals run belongs to Tom Thibodeau building a tough culture, and how much is Mike Brown pushing the right buttons at the right time? We talk about the Knicks looking fresh, the way shooting streaks can feel like “team of destiny” stuff, and whether extra rest helps a hot team or cools them off. If you love NBA coaching debates, this is the part where we get honest about rotations, pressure, and why timing can be everything in the playoffs. 

Then it’s all about X factors and matchups: Josh Hart as the heartbeat player, Mitchell Robinson as a body to throw at Wembanyama, and Karl-Anthony Towns as a key to pulling the Spurs’ rim protection away from the paint. We close with series predictions, Finals MVP picks, and a way-too-early 2027 Finals preview, plus some Madison Square Garden energy talk that every hoops fan understands. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave us a review with your pick: Spurs in how many, or Knicks in how many?

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Transcript

Cold Open And Welcome

0:00

Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. This is, as always, your host, Mike Bono. I got a great and somewhat annual episode for us here this evening. We are going to be talking about the NBA Finals with the Spurs and the Knicks heading off for the second time in a while. But I got a panel of guests that we're going to talk about all things NBA finals and get our predictions like we always do here. I'm going to let my guests introduce themselves. So, gentlemen, I need your name and the answer to these two questions. What is your favorite lunch meat to eat? And what is better? Potato salad or pasta salad? And Stoy, we're going to start with you. What's going on? Bill Stoy here. Excited to be back on the pod, talk some basketball. Favorite lunch meat, we'll go with turkey. It's the one that I eat the most. And macaroni salad, we'll say. Okay. JJ, what about you? Here favorite lunch meat. I'm gonna go with rotisserie chicken lunch meat, Buffalo style. And then uh definitely macaroni salad over a potato salad. Okay. And Mike, let's go to you next. Mike Warrell out here in Illinois. I wasn't a baloney guy for about 50 years when I'm honey turkey with some Swiss cheese on it. And uh I'm always a potato salad guy. Gotcha. Fitty, let's go to you next. Everybody knows me. This is Fitti. I actually like roast beef, big roast beef fan. And I actually love potato salad. Potato salad is my number one favorite. Shout out Mennor Family Foods in Mennor, Ohio. Best homemade potato salad ever. Okay. All right. So me, uh Mike Bono, big bologna guy. I gotta say, nothing better than a bologna sandwich for me. And it it's pasta salad all day for me. Uh not a big potato salad guy, but pasta salad I can eat every day, all day. Well, we're not here to talk about lunch meets or pasta or potato salad, but we're here to talk about the NBA Finals. JJ, we're gonna start with you on this one. Said in the intro, the Spurs and the Knicks are colliding for the second time in the NBA Finals history, and the first time since 1999. What were you doing in 1999 the first time they played? 1999, I was getting ready to graduate high school. So that's what I was getting ready to do. Probably uh getting ready to uh party it up on the weekend, something like that. Just pity the screen of you next. In 1999, I would have been 13 years old in seventh grade, still playing soccer at the YMCA, and uh yeah, living life as a as a 13-year-old watching WWF wrestling. Gotcha. Stoys go to you, Dick. Man, you're dating a little bit on me. I uh I'd have been three or four years old. Uh probably three at this point in the year, so I don't know what I would have been doing. Probably uh hanging out doing what three-year-olds are doing. Yeah, a little dating me on that one, probably hanging out trying to find something to get into and be rowdy. Gotcha, Mike. Let's go to you next. 1999. I was in my third year as head basketball coach at Illinois College. We got a pretty good year that year. I was named Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in '99. And my third and last child was born in the summer of 1999. Okay. So busy 1999 for the goop there. Me, I was just turning 11 years old. So yeah, kind of like Fitty. Probably watching some WWF at the time. But yeah, not doing not doing much of anything. Whatever 11-year-olds did in the 90s. Who knows what the what the hell we were doing then. Mike, let's stay with you on this one here. Who is more important to their team in this finals? Wemby for the Spurs or Brunson for the Knicks? That's a hard question. I think they're both equally important because obviously they're both asked to score. Number one, they're the leading scorers for both teams. I think Wemby

Lunch Meat Draft And Salad Debate

4:48

can influence a game, maybe a little more than Brunson, even though I think Brunson's a great player. And there were times where Wemby was in foul trouble or sitting out resting, load management, they call it. Without him, I think they they gotta have him. And although Brunson's a great scorer and and leader, I think they have some other guys that could step up and score if he if he's not on the court or if something happens, he's having an off night. I say they're both equally important to their success. Okay. Stoy, what about you? Good question. I'll start by saying Brunson tore out my calves, and I wish I was sitting here talking a little more about them, but I think it gotta be Wemby here. I think he's an alien, a freak, kind of whatever you want to call him. I think he's that special of a player, and like I'm sure the Knicks coaches and everyone's trying to put together any type of game plan to do something to him right now. So I'll say him both wonderful players, and and Brunson's the dog, no doubt. But I think Wemby is just a little bit different and has to do some special things to slow him down. So I'll say he's probably the most important and an impact for the game for sure. Okay, JD, what about you? You go Wemby or Brunson? I'm gonna say it's probably Wemby because Wemby influences the game defensively different than Brunson. I mean, everybody knows. I mean, I'm a I'm a big Knicks fan, right? Brunson is probably more of an offensive threat, but Wemby is a better defensive threat. I mean, he did lead the NBA like I think three years in a row in blocks. He is the reigning defensive player, you know, in the in the NBA because of his freakish size and things like that. He really creates mismatches. So I would say he's more important because if Wemby goes down, the other guys for the Spurs are just average. Brunson goes down, the Knicks still have you know four other guys who can do some pretty good things and a good bench. So Wemby's more important. The Spurs will go as Wemby goes. I got you. JJ, what about you? I feel like in this series that uh

Remembering The 1999 Finals

7:01

I think Brunson's more important to the Knicks than Wemby is for the Spurs because the Knicks are gonna need Brunson to score a lot every night if they want to hang with the Spurs at all. Like Wemby, their guards on that team, they're deep. They have a lot of different players who can score like 15 apiece. We got Fox who just came back and played a big part in their game seven win. So I think Brunson's more important in the series to his team than Wemby is to the Spurs. I got you. Kind of with Fiddy on this one, uh, with lining with Wemby is more defensive player with his size, you know, defensive player of the year. I think he's more important to the Spurs because they didn't do much when he wasn't in the in the game. And you got a guy over seven foot that can shoot threes too as well. Like, that's just how do you defend that? But yeah, I I think Wemby is definitely more important for the Spurs success than Brunson is for the Knicks. But JJ, after last season in a six-game series that ended in defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals for the Knicks, fired their head coach Tom Thibodeau and replaced him with Mike Brown, who has the Knicks four wins away from a title. How much of the Knicks success this year do you put on the coach with Tibbs and what they built there to be the Knicks? Some of it does have to do with the coaching change. He's you know, he's more of a player's coach, and he's not as hard, doesn't run the guys into the ground as much, but the foundation was definitely set by Tibbs. But he just kind of lightened it up and let them guys play a little looser or whatever. But I feel like the Knicks kind of got an easier path to the finals. Like, I don't feel like they were like they were really super battle-tested. Like they had the one the one series where it shouldn't even have gone as far as it did. So, I mean, we're gonna see what happens.

Who Matters More Wemby Or Brunson

9:09

Okay, Betty, what about you? I would say a lot of it is is because of Tibbs. Me and Mike called him the ogre just because of the way he looked, but a lot of it's Tibbs, right? Because Tibbs was there, he made Josh Hart the player Josh Hart is right now, like one of the most versatile players in the NBA. That that wasn't because anybody else, that was because of Tibbs. You know, he was there for OG Ananobi coming in, right? He was there for Mitchell Robinson becoming the beast that he was, but he was there for Brunson. Without Tibbs, the the Knicks aren't in this situation, you know. And the one thing I would say is yeah, he was tough on those guys, but he was tough, then they became tough. You think about last year, they went into that Celtics matchup, come on, and just annihilated the Celtics, right? Because, like physically annihilated them even with Tatum, right? Because that was all Tibbs, that wasn't anything else. So put them in the situation they are now. I I would say it's Mike Brown is reaping the benefits of of the ogre and what he built there with the starting five. Do you think that they're they look like they got a little more spring in their step, pepping their step this deep in the playoffs now than they would have like previous years? I I think so, but but here's what I would also say to your point, too, JJ, right? Like you played a Hawks team who was, yeah, yeah, okay, a Cavs team that is probably tougher than they were a couple years ago when the Knicks literally beat them over the head with a shovel in the first round, and you played a, you know, I mean, you you just had an easier path, right? You played a lot of soft physical teams where last year the Knicks had to go through, or the past couple years, they had to go through Indiana twice with a healthy Halliburton, you had to go through the the Heat with Jimmy Butler, you had to go through the Celtics at full strength, and then you ran into also a very talented 76ers team and a very talented Pistons team. And we've seen what they all did now. So the Ogre and those Knicks teams, I think, really were battle tested the past few years. And you are right, that the Knicks had a way easier path this year to the finals than what what Tibbs did those other two years. So I think a lot of it though is is based off Tibbs. I mean, he got those guys in New York playing at a physical tough level, and that's my rant. All right, Stuly, what about you? I see where both you guys are coming from, but I think there's bits and pieces that are true of both. I think for Fiddy, you know, Tibbs created that team, created the culture and the toughness there. But the the guy who creates that team isn't always the one that gets you over the hump for the championship. And, you know, we'll see if they do it this year, but I think the change, like JJ was saying, in they're looking fresh now. And kind of that's you know, the big dig on Tibbs. I think he's tough on his players, tough on the team. And, you know, the end of the day, first, second round wasn't, you know, even in the third rounds, not enough for what New York needs and what they want with the championship now. So I think Mike Brown's a guy that got him looking fresh now, got him in the championship, and a chance to go win it all. So I think Tibbs built it, but uh Mike Brown's probably the better guy to you know get them where they need to go and where they want to go at the championship. I got you. I'll give you my thoughts on that after we get here from Mike. But Mike, what about you? I agree with everybody uh about this. I'm gonna go back to my normal thing that I usually talk about with coaches. I mean, Mike Brown obviously knows what he's doing.

Knicks Coaching Shift Tibbs To Brown

12:50

Ne ogre did as well. The next time I missed a shot, I think Mike Brown's in shock himself. They haven't missed a shot since March. Mikel Bridges couldn't make a shot for five months. He's missed like two shots the last two months. McBride and Shaman come off the bench. They're like Clay Thompson and Seth Curry right now. Seth Curry shooting lights out coming off the bench. The Knicks, quite bluntly, they're playing out of their minds right now. And you know, being a Cavs guy, I'm only gonna say this once. I hate to rehash game one. The Cavs could never recover from that game one, or that series could have been a six or seven game series. The Knicks have players, they're starting five is as good as anybody in the NBA. And then you throw in Shamut, McBride, some bench players, they're playing out of their minds, making almost every shot. They've become a dangerous team since like mid-March. They were third in the east. The Cavs are right behind them in fourth. It's not like the Knicks have dominated all year, just when March hit. I don't know what happened. I I use the term playing out of their minds. They have some guys that haven't missed a shot in a long time, it seems like. A lot of it's faith, right? Because if the Cavs don't choke away that game on some crazy shots and little shamit's crazy three-pointer to tie the game, just like Halliburton hit that wild shot to devastate the Knicks in their game one collapse last year, the Knicks are probably in the finals last year, and the Ogre probably is still coaching them. But as Mike has always said, sometimes just fate occurs and you play out of your mind and things fall your way. And we see see how things fell for the Pacers, you know, when things don't fall their way, right? So just something to chew on there, too. Yeah, no, absolutely. But I agree with you. Tib's kind of built that team and the culture around it, and Mike Brown's just the guy that's going to get them across the finish line and with what he's built there with the toughness. And I'm interested to see what they do now after sweeping the Cavs and having all that time off, waiting for the West to be decided and getting the rest. But that could also hurt a team, you know, getting too much rest, and now you're losing all your momentum that you just built up with the big win over the Cavs in the Easter Conference Finals. But yeah, like like Mike was saying, they haven't I I've seen all the highlights. I don't think they've missed a shot and that they've put up in a month and a half now. And it's just that that's that's just something that it's gonna be tough to beat. I'm interested to see what what the Spurs can do to kind of slow them down, if if at all, with just how hot they've been. And I'm hoping the time off doesn't be the factor in that because I want to see two teams playing as hot as they possibly can to see who can actually come out on top on that one. Bono to put this in perspective, give put Fitti and I in a next uniform, we could come off the bench right now and Brunson kick it to us. We'd hit a big shot for him. Let's just go to the golf for him. That's what happened with the Bowls in those heydays, those glory years. Guys, you didn't hear them would hit big shots off the bench and win games for him. Yeah, we need a two coach. Paxton. Paxton Paxton. Oh, but all right, Judge, let's go back to you. In three years, Wimby has been a two-time All-Star, a one-time all-NBA first team, 2026 defensive player of the year, three consecutive years of uh leading the NBA in blocks, 2024 NBA rookie of the year, and a two-time all-defensive team, and now the MVP runner-up and is knocking on the door of an NBA title. So, two parts to this is Wemby the new face of the NBA, and is his career trajectory that of being higher than LeBron, Jordan, and Magic? All right. He is I'm not gonna say he's the face of the NBA right now, and another thing on the side note, he should have been MVP this year. Let's just he should have been MVP this year, but that's a whole nother topic. But also, he has the potential to be greater than Magic Bird, but not LeBron James, of course. We know that's no, that's just that's just not happening. So he can be the second most hype player ever to live up to it, but he's gonna he's gotta he doesn't have to start winning championships right now, but I mean since he's in a position to do so, why not win one this series? And they're in a great position to do it, and I honestly I think they're gonna do it. So he he by next year, if he keeps this up, he'll be the face of the NBA. But right now is his moment, he's almost there, but I feel like he's just not quite there yet. I got you. Betty, what about you? I think he he is the new face of the NBA with the international players. I mean, I've said this before on shows, right? There's no American player in the top probably six in the NBA that you could say anyone's gonna pick, right? Jason Tatum's a has been, he's forgotten about. There's nobody in the NBA picking Jason Tatum over SGA, Freak Freak, Luca, Wemby, and who else am I forgetting? And the Joker, right? Well, you could throw some other guys in there too. I'm taking Anthony Edwards over Luca. You can make an argument, okay? Um, so I would say when you look at Wemby, he's the new face of the NBA, along with like Luca. Now, whether you say he's good or not, he's playing in LA, he's surpassed LeBron, right? It's not LeBron's team, it's Luca's team. Yeah. When you look at FBA, you know, an MBA and NF and an NBA player who's American has not won an MVP since I think 2018. They're going on almost 10 years since an American player won an MVP. So Wemby is a new face of the MVP uh NBA with the international players. I think Wemby is right now, he came in as the next LeBron James hype-wise. Wemby's probably going to go down to this trajectory of being the greatest defensive player of all time, greater than probably Bill Russell, Shaq, anything like that. If Wemby can win a couple MVPs, right? He's only 22 years old, right? A couple MVPs, he wins a title right now, and he can have a 20-year career based on his defensive presence. He's gonna probably be the greatest player in NBA history because he's probably the greatest freakish athlete since Wilt Chamberlain played in the NBA. I mean, everybody knows Wilt's, you know, career in the NBA and then what he did outside of that in sports and weightlifting. So I would say, yeah, Wemby has the potential to surpass all those guys, but Wemby is the new international face of the NBA with the international players. I got you. Stoy, what about you? Yeah, I mean, maybe prisoner of the moment, but I I think he's in general, you know, overall face of the NBA. And I think we're gonna see that with the NBA really, really leaning into him over the next year, especially if they win this championship. I think he's just such a unique individual, just you know, looks-wise, his talent, both sides of the ball, and like what he's doing at such a young age. So if he wins a championship, I think the NBA is really gonna kind of latch on to him. You'll see a lot of commercials and everything else kind of with him attached to it. And I think he's the new face of the NBA. And that could change by year with SCA and Luke and some other guys that are right there. But I think he he will be the face of the NBA, and I think we'll live up to the hype. And I think I'm with Fiddy. I think he can be one of the greats and right next to LeBron Jordan if he can stay healthy. I think with them, you

Is Wembanyama The NBA’s Face

21:30

know, the body type, 7-3, and everything he's able to do, you know, injuries are definitely something that can kind of creep up on a guy like that. So if he can stay healthy and not have, you know, big extended, you know, injuries that kind of start plaguing him over his career. I I think he can. It's hyperbolic, obviously. You know, guys that have done it, there's plenty plenty of people that, you know, maybe have been on the trajectory, but I believe in him. He's been crazy impressive, and I think someone that we've just never seen before. So I'll say yes to to both. And We'll see if we can live up to it. I got you. You kind of took what I was gonna say there, Soy, with you know, his frigish height and everything like that, 7'3. If he can last as long, you know, the 20-year careers that these guys last I know at 6'5 how my knees feel at 37 years old. Like I can only imagine 7'3, what he feels like, and you know, it's just if his body will allow him to play that long, I think he can be both of those, the face of the NBA and have a higher trajectory than those three guys. But Mike, the goat, let's talk about what do you got on that one? I watch first take on ESPN a lot. And my favorite NBA now is his Kendrick Perkins. He said that it's Wemby's world and we're all just living in it right now. But Adam Silver and the NBA want him to be the face of the NBA. And Perkins really said it came to fruition during their series with Minnesota when he threw the elbow and Perkins and everybody thought he should have been suspended the following game, which he wasn't. They could have lost the series if he had to set out that next game. But so I'm I'm I'm gonna agree with Kendrick Perkins. It's already Wemby's world, and everybody else is just living in it. Gotcha on that one for sure. It's kind of hard to go against Big Park for sure, with what he's saying. But Mike, let's stay with you on this one here. Well, hey, Bono, real quick, I want to just point this out, right? Because we're we all remember this. You got to think like LeBron's been in the league like 22 years, so his medical treatment, right, was better than like birds and magics, right? And and those guys. But now you're talking Wemby's in the league 20 years after LeBron came in, so medical treatment is now actually advancing and the load management's better. And then you also got to think, even with his size, right? He's not going down in the post and fighting Carl Malone and David Robinson and you know, guys like that. My man's coming down court and shooting threes. He's not getting the hell beat out of them by you know Shaquille O'Neal and you know Dennis Rodman down there either. So his body's not taking as bad of a beating either, since the NBA is such a you know finesse game now compared to the old days when guys would go down there and you know rip your arms off. Yeah, but I mean he's still like there's his size and how long he is and all that. I mean, his joints, I mean, it's wears on you, your knees, your ankles, and all that. So I just get kind of with like a Yao Ming kind of thing that pops in my head when I think about it. For sure. Well, you get to think too. I mean, he's if he's only playing 65 games a year, shooting threes, right? I mean, it's hard to take a beating, but it's a little different than playing 82 games and Carl Malone. Carl Malone's taking your head off when you're coming down into the paint. Yeah. Um, yeah, I I I meant more of his joints and everything, but just how tall he is and the beating that he takes that they take being that big for sure. But Mike, let's go with you on this one here. Is Josh Hart the X factor for the Knicks in this series, or is it someone else? As I always tell Fiddy, he agrees Josh Hart's a warrior. If I was starting a team from scratch, he'd be one of my top two, three picks. Maybe to come off the bench if I had my choice of picking players, but he'd he'd definitely be on the team. He's a winner. I couldn't understand for four or five years there, he'd go from one team to the next, kind of like a journeyman when he started off. I didn't understand it, but you know, he's a winner. And the Spurs have a couple guys. Everybody thinks Wemby's a one-man gang, but they have some players. The Spurs have some mercenaries on defense. They have a lot of big game players, big guards. Excuse me. A lot of different guys guarded SGA. And two, three, maybe four different guys they can put on Brunson. All those guys are role players can be an X Factor. Josh Hart's my ultimate warrior X Factor, role players, they say. I gotcha. Stoy, what about you? We talking specifically Nick's here, right, Bonna? Yeah. If we're going just Nick's X Factor, I'm gonna Mike mentioned him earlier, Mitchell Robinson. I think I just looked up here. He says he's supposed to play. I think he's gonna be super important. And you saw, you know, looking back to the Oklahoma City series, having a body to throw at Wemby, big body, I think he's, you know, 7-1 to throw at him and you know, try and hopefully force some fouls on him, you know, get to get him a little bit frustrated and getting his head a little bit. I think Mitchell Robinson's kind of that guy. So we'll say him as the X factor. I think you should see some good minutes if he's healthy and gonna need to do everything you can in the paint defensively on Wemby and on some of the other, you know, you know, people driving into the uh, you know, Darren Fox and and Castle and them driving into the hole. So I'll say Mitchell Robinson if he's playing is a big factor. I agree with you. I I didn't think he was playing, but if he's playing, he's no doubt up there. He's one of the best offensive rebounders I've ever seen. So I agree with you. I think so. I just look at he's planning on playing, so we'll see if he doesn't play. Yeah, Hart's a good option there. I got you. Finny, what do you and Pickles have to say? Because I keep seeing Pickles' head pop up on the screen, and I didn't realize that she was there the whole time, and I just kept seeing this shadowed. I was like, oh, it's just and I was like, oh no, it's pickles. So what do you and pickles have to say about Josh Hart here? Um pickles is a big Josh Hart fan, and I like to say he's a my he's a Mike World warrior, Mike World's number one draft pick. Josh Hart's a Josh Hart is the type of guy, he's never gonna be all NBA, right? He's the poor man's version of Jason Tatum, but Josh Hart will give you 12 rebounds, seven assists, and eight points a game as a 6'4 guard. You can't really go wrong with that, right? He can run the point as the point forward, he can go match up as your number five and bang with the big guys in the post. I think anybody that's watched him over the years, I think he's the toughest Knicks player, right? He pulled his oblique, played in that game seven two years ago against the Pacers. I believe that was last year when he got his eye busted wide open, got all those stitches bandaged up, came back in. I think he is the X factor because you know he can give you a double-double easy as a 6'4 guard with rebounds, right? Mitchell Robinson is vastly important to the Knicks, but Mitchell Robinson only plays 14 minutes a game. Josh Hart can go play 40 consecutive or 48 consecutive minutes with non with no stopping, guarding your one through five. So I think the Knicks only go as far as the heart of the team, which goes through Josh Hart. I got you. JJ, what about you? I'm going with Carl Anthony Towns just because he has to make Wemby work on the defensive side of the ball. He has to draw him out from it, just him standing in the paint so the other guards can get penetration and get to the rim. So he's gonna be having to hit his jumper, hit his shot. He's gonna have to be a force on the offensive side of the ball to make Wemby work and possibly get him in some foul trouble. I gotcha. I I gotta agree. I think I think Josh Hart is the X factor for the Knicks in this series. Just like what everyone has been saying. I'm not gonna beat a dead horse into the ground here, but I yeah, I I I think he I think he is definitely the X factor here.

Knicks X Factors Hart Robinson Towns

29:59

And JJ, according to you here, who are you more surprised with as a head coach with being in the finals? Is it Mike Brown or is it Mitch Johnson? Mitch Johnson. Mike Brown, I mean, the team was already really set, so I'm not surprised that they made it there. Like with all the young players they're playing with down in San Antonio. I mean, I mean, they got they got one of the youngest rosters. I mean, and everybody thought that their experience was going to play a factor in them not making it to the finals, and they just proved everybody wrong. So, yeah, I'm more surprised with Spurs. Gotcha. Bitty, what about you? It's tough, right? Like Mitch Johnson stepped in to replace Pop. And now, whether you like Pop or not, he's one of the top five greatest coaches ever, ever, right? Based on his resume. So they come in, that's really hard to replace someone who's been there, you know, 30 years and have success, but he had the pieces to do it. So, yes, it's surprising, but no, it's not because the the Spurs have a huge culture of success, right? They're like the heat, right? Just year after year, you expect them to be, you expect them to be good. The Knicks, you know, Mike Brown's a four-time head coach. He's been fired from every single job he's been at, fired from the Cavs multiple times, right? And he came into a pressure cooker job where Tibbs gets fired after game six, and Dolan says, this is championship or buffed, you know, for our roster. So things fell the right way to JJ's point, like earlier for the Knicks, and I said it as a fan that Mike Brown made it this far. But I'm probably, I would say I'm probably more surprised just at Mitch because he's done it in full year one, you know, with a with a very young, young roster. So I would give the edge to him. Gotcha. Stoy, what about you? Yeah, I think it's Mitch Johnson. I think, you know, for what these guys said, the the Knicks were right there. And I think obviously tough to get over the hump and get there, but the roster's been there. And I think, yeah, that's it was the expectation. So I think when you look at the Spurs and you know, coming into the year for Mitch Johnson, I think this is, you know, a crazy step for them. And not too many people had been playing the championship here. I think I was on the NBA preview show, and I don't remember anyone picking him to be there. So we'll say he, you know, without a doubt, the the biggest surprise to get his squad there and got him playing darn well too. Pretty sure Fiddy picked him to be there as a Knicks fan, if I if I remember correctly, their story. But Mike, what about you? I'd say Coach Johnson. I because of his youth and inexperience, but he he seems to be pretty poised, kind of like the Celtics coach that they have in Missoula. You know, I think it looks like their players enjoy playing for him. He looks like he relates to him really well. You know, he learned a lot under Popovich. Just some FYI, you know, Popovich was an NCA division three coach to start his career. And if you go by record-wise, not a very successful D3 coach. But then he had David Robinson, Ginobley, Parker, players like that. That that makes the guy look good, is what I'm saying. But I'd say Mitch, I'd say Mitch Johnson as a surprise that he, you know, obviously he's a good coach and knows what he's doing. I guess Mike, I sent you a text earlier, and I sent it to Bono and Stoy and JJ, and he's the only one that responded. It was a video on Instagram of the Admiral David Robinson with how shredded he was in his prime. And it said, Imagine Chet Holmgren trying to guard this dude. No chance. And I'm pretty sure David Robinson would have ripped ripped off Chet Holmgren's entire upper torso and threw it into the stance. Chet would have checked himself out of the game. Yeah. Holmgren's career could be over after that series. Wemby might have just Wemby took his heart, yeah. Right out of him. And if you think Wemby took his heart, imagine what David Robinson would take. Yeah, he would take his soul. Yeah, it'd be oh man. Absolutely. I didn't even see that come through, Fitty. Honestly, it was such a crazy day. I I didn't even see that pop through. You gotta you gotta look it up. You gotta you and you and Stoy gotta look it up. I sent it to you guys. But it's just David Robinson just giving it to people, and it just said, Imagine, and it just shows him flexing and imagine Chet Holmgren trying to guard this guy, and

Coaching Surprises And Spurs Culture

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it showed Chet Holmgren who just has no muscle definition or tone in his entire body. Nothing, nothing. Gotcha, but we're gonna keep this moving here, Mike. We're gonna stay with you. Who wins this series and in how many games? This is tough. It's a flip of coin for me. I'm gonna say the Spurs and seven. The Knicks have a lot of good experienced players, and I think they're prime for this. They're playing out of their minds. I know I've said three or four times before. The Spurs, these are two good rebounding teams. Like I know people watch scoring a lot, and they're both good defensively. The Spurs have their starting lineup, I think, four perimeter guys that can guard Brunson. And you know, they have not just Wemby that can score, but Castle's very good, although he turns the ball over a lot. Vassal's a good player. On certain nights, he lights it up from three, and he's a great rebounding big guard. And you know, Fox is a veteran. And two guys off the bench, just Harper and Calvin Johnson are Warriors. They rebound, they offense, you rebound, and the Knicks are a good rebounding team. You throw Hart, OG, and Anobi Towns usually gets double-digit rebounds. I'm looking forward to watching the battle on the boards in this game. I think it's two outstanding rebounding teams. You know, somebody mentioned towns before is an X factor. He's got to stay out of foul trouble. There's times during the year in the playoffs he's done a little better, but he's been known to get in early foul trouble with some not-so smart fouls. And if Robinson's questionable or up in the air, like you know, towns can't afford to get in foul trouble. But I know I've rambled on, but I guess because the Spurs have the home court, I'm gonna say Spurs and seven. I got you. Stoy, what about you? I think we're in for a great series as well. I think we're in, got two hot teams, and look at the Knicks, you kind of get the little bit of the you know, team of fate, you know, team of destiny type thing. The the city's kind of bought in and believe in and you know in the finals for you know, first time in a while. Red hot, like Mike said, haven't missed a shot in a few months, some of them. So I think they make it a series, but I think San Antonio is just gonna be too much. Wemby is just different. Mike kind of mentions some of the length they have and their guards. I feel like they're they run pretty deep. A lot of guys that can guard Brunson, a lot of guys that can, you know, get on the perimeter and you know, guard some threes. And you know, I think Wemby's the difference in the end on the defensive end, and just makes them uncomfortable enough that they get it done in six in New York to put the dagger in New York's heart. Spurs get it done there. Gotcha. Biddy, what about you? As a Knicks fan, I'll say Knicks and seven, but looking in NBA in totality, it's the Spurs in six. Wemby Wemby will be unstoppable. Gotcha. JJ, what about you? I'm gonna have to go Spurs and probably seven. I want the Knicks to win, but I I just feel like the uh Spurs have too many people they can throw at Brunson and just keep him flustered. And then I mean they Wemby's just I mean, he's a freak athlete, man. So I mean it's gonna be hard to to slow him down. So I got it, but the Knicks are gonna fight. They're gonna I mean them, I mean, it's gonna be crazy. So it's definitely gonna go seven, I think. So Spurs and seven. Gotcha. I got with Stoy and Fitty, Spurs and six. I just think Wemby takes over, just puts a dagger into them in New York, and I think the rest hurts the Knicks. I I I think that the sweep of the Cavs, now they're losing that momentum with this break and getting time to rest. And I think the Spurs put it to them. I think you were going to say something there, Mike. What's up? Yeah, Fiddy, if the if the Knicks can split the first two games in San Antonio, do you know what Madison Square Garden is going to be like in game three there? With Spike on the front row and the and the organ music going and Clyde Frazier setting in his suit on the front row and Ben Still. Do you know what it's gonna be like in game three there? It'll be electric. Yeah, even the rats and the rafters will be partying. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. JJ, we're gonna stay with you for this one. Who wins MVP? Well, if the Spurs win, it's gonna be Wemby.

Series Predictions And Key Matchups

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If the Knicks win, it's gonna, I still feel like it's gonna have to be Carl Anthony Towns. It's gonna have a huge series if they win. So that's what I'm going with. Okay. Pitty, what about you? It's gonna be Wemby 100% if the Spurs win. It still might be Wemby if the Spurs even lose. Wouldn't that be crazy? But if the Knicks win in seven, and I'm gonna throw this out, and it's gonna be like a flashback of Andre Iguadola, Josh Hart will win the finals MVP because it will be his defensive pressure on those guys and averaging like a 13 point, 11 rebounds, six assists line, because he's gonna have to be the guy. But if we're gonna want partition of the Spurs, it's gonna be it's gonna be Wemby for sure. But it'd be great to have Josh Hartpool and Andre Equidal up and win it if the next win. Andre Equidal won an MVP. When did that happen? I don't recall that. In two I'm just joking. I don't know. I try to forget that. I guess Stoy, what about you? I gotta say, first off, Eddie, the rats in the rafters better have a lot of money because I've seen ticket prices, man. And I don't know about any rats up in the rafters. Like it's gonna be some business owners, doctors, and lawyers still sitting up there, but no, like the Raptors, Rafters, Sloy. Like, you know where they hang the banner is gonna be them like gigantic, like three-foot rats that would eat my dog, like up there those New York rats. Yeah, those mutated, you know, master splinter ninja turtle rats up there. Fair enough, fair enough. Get back to MVP. I think, you know, it with my prediction with the Spurs, it'll be Wemby and then I think on the Knicks side, if they pull it off, I think Brunson is gonna have to be special, put up a lot of 30-point games, maybe three, four, or five of them to get this thing done. So I think it'll be Brunson if the the Knicks figure it out. But Wemby is my official pick with the Spurs getting it done. Gotcha. Mike, what about you? I agree with most everybody. Wemby, if the Spurs win, I'm with Fiddy like a dark horse if the Knicks can pull it out. It could be Hart or Towns, and maybe might not be Bronson in this series. So that's who I go with. And I just have a couple questions. Am I the only guy that loves the Knicks organ music? No, it's great. I like it. I mean, I'm not a Knicks fan. I I don't like the Knicks, but their organs are second to none. The organ music. Yeah. That place is going to be going crazy, game three. It's gonna be it's going to be game three is gonna be electric and crazy, regardless if it's one one or two oh. Yeah, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. That place is gonna be just off the chain. The roof might come off of that place being in the NBA finals. Uh my favorite, my favorite organ songs when they play Sir Duke, they've done that for years. Stevie Wonder, Sir Duke. I'm sure I'm the only one in the group that pays that much attention to the organ. You you might be. I know Benny might be up there with you, but yeah. I don't think any of us ever actually knew they played, and they just said as a Knicks fan, like I never paid attention to the organ music to a couple years ago when you were talking about this on an NBA preview show and you said the Knicks organ music, and ever since then I've like noticed it. I'm like, wow, they are the only NBA team that plays the organ. Benny and the Jets is good too, Alton John. They'll they'll play that two or three times. My second question was is Feddy wearing a Westminster College three-on-three basketball tournament shirt? I am you know what in 2015, me and former guests of the show, Taco Bob Bologne and Drew McLaughlin went and played in a three on three tournament at Westminster. Okay. Now it was like they were like 21. I think I was like 29. We played two college teams. We went undefeated in the round robin. We went three and oh, got the number one seed in the tournament and took third overall. If Bob doesn't hurt his back, we win that. We beat the basketball team from Hiram and one of the basketball teams from Westminster. I had a swapping total in six games, five games. In five games, I had 12 points, but I had like 47 rebounds

Finals MVP Picks And Dark Horses

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and about 39 fouls. But you know what? We got the job done. So yes, Mike, in honor of that, in honor of that, that's why I'm wearing this. You were like Josh Hart for your team. I was I was the Josh Hart of my team. And I like to think my passes in three-on-three were a little bit of John Stockton. Oh well, we have wet off the rails here with one more question left here with Finney's three-on-three basketball from Westminster from back in the day. We're gonna we're gonna make this one quick here because, like I said, we are running down here near the end. JJ, we're gonna start with you. Who's your 2027 NBA's finals preview? 2027 finals. I am going to go with whatever team LeBron James is on versus uh I think I think Boston makes it back. So LeBron James versus Boston. Uh what if LeBron is in the Bible? LeBron James, well, if LeBron's in the East and in the West, then I'm gonna go with Thunder making it back. Okay. Betty, what about you? I am going to go with the Thunder out of the West. I think Demon Spurs will battle in the Western Conference Finals. I think it's gonna be them in the East is tough. I might have to go to Knicks just because they they bring back the starting five. They got to just re-sign the bench. But I'm gonna go with the Knicks and the Thunder. Okay. Stoy. I'm a storylines guy. So I think also a you know Cleveland fan, maybe delirious Cleveland fan. So we're gonna say LeBron comes back home and we get uh Cleveland Cavaliers versus LA Lakers final, and Cavs get it done. LeBron come back home and have one little last storyline and championship to go off in the sunset. I am gonna play this for you on repeat when there's no chance of that happening next year's story. Just just this clip right here. I'm gonna cut this completely out. Just that, just for you. And I'm just gonna. Let's hope this video gets a good amount of views, but maybe not too many views. I'm just gonna blast it to you on repeat every day. Like, no, no chance. But Mike, what about you? The Cavs better sign someone who has some heart to go play on that soft, that soft team of theirs. I'll agree with Mr. Stone. If LeBron's back, I'll take the Cavs. If not, Boston, and I'll take an underdog team in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Okay, Mike, pick them. That pick the soft the Celtics. No one that shoots threes like the Celtics and the Cavs are ever gonna win an NBA championship. Guys have no heart on that team to go rebound and bang in the post. They won it two years ago, didn't they? That was, yeah, whatever. You see, they have you see what happens when they play physical teams. Just shot down your logic like instantly on that one. Give me the 1998 Utah Jazz would would whip the Celtics butts up and down the court. Uh I gotta I gotta say, for my 2027, I think we get a rematch. I think we get Spurs Knicks again next year. I think these teams are just they're gonna stay together. They're just both too hot, and that the and it's just it's just gonna roll over into next year. But with all that being said, that is actually going to do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Rants Podcast and our NBA Finals preview show. I look forward to seeing what predictions come true. I want to thank all of my guests for coming on, Fiddy, Mike, JJ, and Stoy. It's a lot of fun. I get to talk to the NBA Finals. And as always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend. Tell a friend. If you didn't, tell them anyways, they might like it just because you didn't. That's gonna do it for me, and I will see y'all next week.