The entire basketball world seems to be in awe of the performance that the New York Knicks have been putting up as of late. Despite being severely shorthanded, Jalen Brunson and co. have taken a 2-0 advantage in their Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Indiana Pacers. Being merely 2 wins away from their first Eastern Conference Final appearance since 2000, the New York side has been receiving a lot of love. However, Charles Barkley has an ulterior reason for supporting Tom Thibodeau’s boys and he revealed the same on TV tonight.
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As the panel sat down to discuss the 2nd game in the Knicks-Pacers Semi-Final series, Chuck said he doesn’t think that the New York side is all that good. He said that no matter who wins the series here, they would eventually get blown out by the Celtics.
“If the Knicks win, that’ll be good. I don’t care who win but I would love to see them get their a** stomped by the Celtics, that’ll be great. Whoever wins this series gonna get stomped by the Celtics… Y’all (New York) ain’t that good, y’all overrated.”
"Y'all think y'all the greatest thing since sliced bread."
Chuck thinks NY is overrated 😂 pic.twitter.com/Wv3IbkaPHT
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 9, 2024
Having played for the Philadelphia 76ers for a brief moment in his career, it is not surprising to see Barkley praying on the Knicks’ downfall However, Sir Charles must give credit where it’s due. The New York Knicks were virtually out of the encounter following the injuries sustained by OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson. Despite the two key pieces missing a significant amount of the contest, Brunson returned from the team’s locker room to lead the Knicks to a high-octane 130-121 game 2 win.
Charles Barkley changed his opinions about the New York Knicks
Tonight isn’t the only occasion when Charles Barkley has criticized the New York Knicks. At the beginning of the 2023-2024 season, the TNT analyst simply didn’t believe that the team was good enough to compete for a title.
“I think the Knicks need to do something,” Barkley said, per Audacy. “You see how this movie’s going to end. To me, the Cavaliers have a higher ceiling.
The Knicks are like, ‘We play hard. We’re solid,” he said. “But they’re not contenders, so if I’m them, I’m like ‘Hey, we got to do something. All those draft picks we got, what are we saving them for?”
Barkley had suggested that the front office made a trade to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But, he also seemed to be pleased with the mid-season acquisition of OG Anunoby. As pleasantly surprising as it was, the Phoenix Suns legend was complimenting the Knicks for the same.
“Shoutout to the Knicks, going out and getting OG… That was one of the best trades you are ever gonna see. They got really good… He fits into that system perfectly,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA.
Barkley might be coming off as a bit hard, but he isn’t inaccurate with his take. Irrespective of the fight that they put on, the Julius Randle-less New York Knicks aren’t projected to get past the Boston Celtics. But it would be great for Barkley to acknowledge the impressive performance that they’ve had this campaign.
