Knicks Shocking the World feat. Charles Oakley

After the Knicks play the Spurs on Tuesday, they will be exactly halfway through the shortened 72-game season. If anyone told you that this team would be hovering around.500 at this point at the start of the season, you would have called them crazy. Tom Thibodeau’s team is playing hard, playing together and stifling teams on the defensive end. It’s basketball that you have locked into your calendar every game. You can’t miss these Knicks.

You also can’t miss everyone’s favorite Knicks podcast. That would be “Big Apple Buckets” with Sal Licata and Jerome “The Junk Yard Dog” Williams. After creating viral headlines with our Immanuel Quickley interview last week in Episode 34, why not bring a legendary Knicks No. 34 on the show for this week? That would be Charles Oakley.

Big Apple Buckets Podcast with Sal and The Junk Yard Dog:

• Knicks are fourth in the Eastern Conference. JYD said before the season they would win 30-plus games. Twelve wins from a steak dinner. Not a lot of separation between the No. 4-10 seeds. This is a playoff team.
• Julius Randle and Obi Toppin in the All-Star Game and Slam Dunk Contest, respectively. JYD gives Obi some advice from all the dunk contests he has been at courtside, watching his teammates in it. Make your first dunk the best. JYD takes us through the creative process leading up to it.
• Knicks can finish first half strong against a banged-up Spurs team and a Pistons team they have blown out. Excitement surrounding the Knicks going into All-Star Weekend and seeing their guys. Not worrying about lottery picks and the top college players in second half of season.
• Fans back at MSG, but only hot dogs and pretzels being served. Where’s the popcorn, chicken fingers and pastrami?! You can feel the energy watching from home, even if only 2,000 people there.

Sal’s Story: Sal tells the story of his encounter with Charles Oakley. He says Oakley was nice, but does not do handshakes. Sal also says he has not gone to a Knicks game since Oakley was kicked out of The Garden, but he returned for the Jingle Ball concert, where he wore his Oakley jersey.

Charles Oakley Interview:
Knicks forward (1988-98), 1994 NBA All-Star

• Love for cooking. Cooking for JYD and his teammates in Toronto and New York. Showing love to his teammates and charity importance.
• Current Knicks team playing hard and the impact Tom Thibodeau has made.
• Julius Randle’s All-Star play and how he can continue to be a leader. Role players on the Knicks and importance of all 12 players on roster.
• Putting on his dancing shoes being on “Dancing With The Stars.”
• The comments he made about Patrick Ewing and their relationship.
• New book “The Enforcer” he is working on coming out later this year. His 3 League OG’s Podcast with Muggsy Bogues.
• ’90s Knicks memories and which year/years they should have won a title.

Catch up on all episodes of “Big Apple Buckets,” a New York Knicks podcast, by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the crew on Twitter @sal_licata, @JunkYardDogJW and @JakeBrownRadio. New episodes of the show drop Tuesday afternoons.