It's truly a "pinch me" morning for all the Knicks fans in the WFAN stratosphere, as the 'Bockers are headed to the Eastern Conference Semifinals after beating Cleveland Wednesday night, and they got a favorable matchup when Miami finished off a huge upset of Milwaukee later in the night.
After two decades of being "embarrassed" to be a Knicks fan, Gio is embarrassed no more.
"Everyone got involved in a statement win to move on to the next round," Gio said, "so for every one of us that has gone through Frank Ntilikina and the Kevin Knox and these terrible stories, Isiah Thomas and Stephon Marbury, Mike Sweetney and Jerome James and on and on…by God, we're in the second round and we have Knicks-Heat! I haven't felt this way about the Knicks for the longest time."
Boomer was double-pumped because Rangers-Devils Game 5 is tonight – but when it comes to the Knicks, his pride was in the fact that it was four homegrown players who starred alongside Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle before the latter re-injured his ankle.
"Take Randle away and what do you have: Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Mitchell Robinson," Boomer said. "Robinson was a monster last night, and those are four guys we've drafted, developed, and brought along here – and all you RJ Barrett haters out there, he's had three great games in a row. He continues to grow and get better, and for everyone who wanted to get rid of him after Game 1 or Game 2, he hasn't been affected by the noise."
Of course, it's Brunson, who "continues his ascension to being one of the favorite Knicks of all-time," that facilitated it all, along with Josh Hart, who "has been nothing but an animal" since arriving.
Put it all together, and given the favorable matchup with home court in Round 2, and it's not out of the realm to see a Knicks-Sixers or Celtics conference final.
"The youthful Knicks look great again, and this is the team we have all waited for and hoped for," Boomer said. "It's not a team laden with superstars, but it's laden with guys who like each other and like playing for the coach, and likes playing a brand of basketball that includes defense."
"I've spent much of my adult life being embarrassed as a Knicks fan, for a number of reasons," Gio said. "There's a million things that have made it embarrassing, and that's why when KD and Kyrie came here and the Nets were the talk of the town, there was nothing you could say, because the Knicks hadn't put themselves in a position to be relevant and something to be proud of – and now it's completely flipped."
Gio hasn't been this proud since the 1990s, and even though that era brought two Finals appearances in six seasons, this one just has that same feel-good vibe.
"I am a Knicks fan and I'm proud to be a Knicks fan, and I'm not hiding that anymore!" Gio exclaimed. "I did not expect the Knicks to beat Cleveland in 5, and we'll see what Julius Randle is when we get to the weekend...but man,
Follow WFAN's morning team on Twitter: @7BOOMERESIASON, @GioWFAN, @Alsboringtweets, @JerryRecco, and @WFANMornings
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