Despite Julius Randle’s mid-season injury, the New York Knicks have been able to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference, all thanks to Jalen Brunson. The Knicks are currently the third seed in the East, as Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce seemed to have flipped the script on his take on New York. Pierce recently claimed that New York will be a bigger threat in the Eastern Conference playoffs than the second-seeded Bucks team, which prompted his former teammate and partner-in-crime, Kevin Garnett to get annoyed.
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Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett recently had a heated back-and-forth over the New York Knicks on KG Certified. And Pierce’s latest take on NY had Garnett fuming, “I think the Knicks is more of a threat than Milwaukee, to keep it one hundred. Like a healthy knick…Nah, nah look. I know I’m flipping the script on this because I’m seeing what (Jalen) Brunson doing.”
This immediately prompted Kevin Garnett to jump in and say, “One day you off the Knicks, ‘Man, f**k the Knicks.’ Lord, then you in here…[mocking noises imitating Pierce] You gotta hear what you saying, P. You know what I’m saying? The narrative for the Knicks is there for them. I swear, the Knicks, they got that new energy that we was just talking about, bro. They got a new energy to them, man. They just gotta win them games they supposed to win.”
As much as Kevin Garnett agreed with Paul Pierce, he wasn’t too happy with The Truth going back and forth on his stance regarding the New York Knicks squad. Pierce credited Brunson for his change of heart regarding this Knicks team. And Garnett, despite being a little angry with Pierce changing his take, agreed that the narrative for the Knicks has been fluctuating all season long. Their inconsistent stretches have induced doubts on an otherwise good season. All the team has to do now is win games that they are supposed to win.
As for Milwaukee, even though they are the second-best team in the East, there have been times when they haven’t looked like a title contender. The team got rid of their head coach Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 record and got Doc Rivers, who has failed to hit the ground running to say the least. Throughout this season, many analysts have downplayed Milwaukee as well, given how Lillard has struggled with his offensive output, which may not end up working for them in the playoffs.
The Knicks have a good opportunity to show their worth
After the injury to Julius Randle, many were quick to count out the New York Knicks from playoff contention. But the team did more than a good job of staying afloat as they are one of the top seeds in the East with a 47-32 record. Randle’s injury was a big blow for New York, but as Kevin Garnett mentioned, the squad was able to generate this new team energy, leading with Jalen Brunson pushing his game to the next level.
After Randle got sidelined, Brunson took it upon himself to will his team to the playoffs. He picked up his point production, becoming one of the leading scorers in the league with a 28.4 points per game average. And despite no Randle in the lineup, many are optimistic that this Knicks team will fare well against their opponents in the playoffs.
