The New York Knicks are preparing to face the Indiana Pacers for the second consecutive year in the NBA Playoffs, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals with a chance to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the line. Aside from marking the fourth time these two teams have met in this round of the playoffs, it also marks the last NBA series that TNT Sports will broadcast under its current NBA media rights deal. Reggie Miller, a former guard for the Pacers who famously scored eight points in just under nine seconds against the Knicks in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals, will be calling the series as an analyst before heading to NBC Sports in the fall.
Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, the co-host of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, voiced that it is “a bad job by TNT” to have Miller calling the series against the Knicks. Even though show contributor Tony Calatayud explained that Miller was a member of the No. 1 broadcast team, Weiner said that he did not care and implored the company to take him off of it. Calatayud proceeded to opine that Miller has been pro-Knicks and almost has a little crush on the team as he has been calling their games. From there, show host Dan Le Batard read a quote from Miller explaining that he cannot stand the Knicks because the team believes “they’re God’s gift to basketball,” resulting in Weiner delivering a rant regarding the situation.
“Stay out of my series,” Weiner said. “I mean, I’m serious. You had your moment, you had your nine seconds, you had your Hall-of-Fame moment. That’s why you’re in the Hall of Fame because of those moments, those final seconds against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.”
In 35 career playoff games against the Knicks, Miller averaged 23.1 points on 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. This places him third in points per game in the playoffs against the Knicks behind Michael Jordan and John Havlicek with a minimum of 20 games played. Miller is in the midst of concluding a two-decade run with the NBA on TNT broadcast property serving as an analyst on live game broadcasts, and while he has called Knicks-Pacers games before, Weiner made it clear that he wants him to approach it as a broadcaster rather than a former player.
“Do not insert yourself into this series like you’re some sort of factor into the series,” Weiner said. “You’re not. Call the game, do it objectively. I don’t want to hear about Reggie Miller and what he did when he was playing for the Pacers back in the 90s, I don’t want to see the three 3s shown by TNT every 15 seconds. I need Reggie Miller and Rik Smits for that matter to stay away from this Knicks-Pacers series, okay?”
Weiner made the argument that Miller inserting himself into the conversation could detract from the proverbial thunder from superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton, who hit a game-winning shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers last round. On top of that, he expressed how the series is about the current iterations of the Knicks and Pacers rather than their battles in the 90s. Weiner also feels that Miller is in the Hall of Nine Seconds and subsequently claimed that Haliburton is a better player than Miller was.
“He’s a better player,” Weiner said. “Reggie Miller was a good player, he was not a great player. [He is a Hall-of-Famer] because of those nine seconds. He had a Hall-of-Fame moment, Dan. I mean, he is in the Hall of Nine Seconds.”
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