Jesse Itzler at AOL Studios In New York on October 29, 2015. Credit: Getty Images/John Lamparski
Jesse Itzler would be rooting for the Knicks in the playoffs if they were playing any of 28 NBA teams.
"Of course," he said on Monday. "It’s in my DNA. I’d be disowned from my family and community [if I didn’t]."
He grew up in Roslyn, for one thing. For another, he wrote the "Go New York, Go New York, Go" Knicks anthem originally made famous during their mid-1990s playoff runs.
But there is a bit of a complication involving that 29th opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, whom the Knicks drew as their opening-round opponent.