“Knicks Are Overrated”: Skip Bayless Takes Apart Jalen Brunson and Co.’s Offense Following Tyrese Maxey’s Stellar Performance

The New York Knicks had the golden opportunity to close out the playoff series against the 76ers in style. Going into Game 5, the Knicks were up 3-1 and everyone expected that they’d use the home-court advantage to proceed to the next round. However, the Tyrese Maxey onslaught proved to be a bit too much for the Knicks as they lost 106-112 in overtime. After the loss, Skip Bayless decided to rub salt in their wounds on the UNDISPUTED show by calling them overrated.

The Knicks had a pretty good outing at the MSG with four players clocking numbers in double digits and Jalen Brunson putting up a 40-point performance. Despite that, Bayless believes that Brunson and Co. are extremely overrated, and he didn’t mince his words while getting his point across on the topic. He said, “The Knicks are just overrated to me, and they are a little hard to watch on offense.” According to the media veteran, all Brunson does on the court is dribble and make unnecessary shot attempts.

Bayless believes that the Knicks are a failure as a one-man show, mainly because Brunson is 6’2 and can only do so much for his team. However, he was all praise about Tyrese Maxey who is also 6’2 but in Bayless’ opinion, is a much better player. Another major issue that he has with Brunson is that “he makes a lot of shots, and he misses a lot of shots.” Three players on the Knicks played for over 50 minutes, but only Brunson managed to score over 20 points with 15-32 from the field and 4-11 from the three-point line. Whereas, Maxey had 46-5-9 in 52 minutes and Joel Embiid had a triple-double with 19-16-10 in 48 minutes of playing time.

However, there do seem to be some truths to Bayless’ claims of Brunson being a poor 3-point shooter. According to Stat Muse, in the 2024 playoffs so far, Brunson is shooting 41.9% from the field and 28.9% from the three-point line. Maxey on the other hand is shooting 50% from the field and 42.9% from the three-point line. However, empty stats without context are no help to anyone. It’s important to note that Brunson is the only reliable offensive option on the Knicks, whereas Maxey plays with Joel Embiid, whose three-point shooting and paint dominance make him an effective floor stretcher. Embiid’s scoring prowess also means he’s more likely to be double-teamed, leaving Maxey with a lot of open looks, which he has seized so far in the series.

Stephen A. Smith trashed the Knicks for the Game 5 OT loss

It’s rare when superfans of a franchise get so agitated that they feel the need to rant. In the case of Stephen A. Smith, a Knicks superfan, it was his day to go on a long rant. The way Brunson and Co. handled the OT situation in Game 5 did not please the media veteran. He said, “Why did Mitchell Robinson foul Tyrese Maxey on that three-point shot? Why did Josh Hart make the turnover? Why did he not convert both free throws instead of just one? Why did he seem so erratic throughout the game?”

Stephen A. also wasn’t happy with Brunson and his determination to take almost every shot on the court. He ridiculed the Knicks star for not passing the ball to his teammates who could’ve sunk it in for the benefit of the team. He said, “As great as Jalen Brunson was overall with his 40-point performance, did you not notice you had four teammates on the court with you in overtime to pass the ball to instead of taking every damn shot?” SAS’s frustration is justified because from what we saw in the game, it looked like the Knicks were the architects of their downfall.