Blowing off a two-game lead seems to be the trend in this semifinal leg of the postseason. The New York Knicks lost their lead after the Pacers tied the series in style, putting up a classic 121-89 thrashing on display at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Despite that loss, Skip Bayless is unwilling to let go of his hope with the Knicks. In fact, the media veteran is out on a recruitment spree to add more members who will root for the Knicks in this series.
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On a recent episode of ‘UNDISPUTED’, Bayless formally asked Paul Pierce to join the Knicks bandwagon as it would be in his interest. How?
Well, Pierce is a bonafide Boston Celtics legend, and if the Knicks and the Celtics win their respective semifinal series, the two teams with the most wins in the Eastern Conference regular season will battle it out for a spot in the Finals. Sounds like a great idea, but is Paul Pierce on board with it?
To convince the NBA veteran, Bayless said,
“You should be rooting for the Knicks to get through, so, you can steamroll them when they don’t have any players left and they’re completely out of gas.” To reiterate his alliance, Bayless added that he still has the Knicks winning the series in seven games. According to the 72-year-old, the next two games at the Madison Square Garden will be the deciding factor in the series.
.@RealSkipBayless is still sticking with the Knicks winning in 7 👀 pic.twitter.com/r30n60qPVm
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) May 13, 2024
Bayless is not drawing up scenarios out of thin air, but he actually believes that he has drawn up a logical path for the Knicks to win this series. He said that the Knicks, particularly Brunson, were out of gas in the fourth quarter and as a result, they ended up losing the game. However, with the series coming back home, they’ll be rejuvenated and ready to advance into the Conference Finals.
Bayless is not the only media member rooting for the Knicks. The self-proclaimed Knicks superfan, Stephen A. Smith, is right by his side supporting Jalen Brunson and Co.
Stephen A. Smith believes that the Knicks are shorthanded
The Knicks performance graph has been a roller coaster ride lately. One day they play like the best team in the league, and then they drop a disaster like Game 4. According to Stephen A. Smith, this is happening because his favorite team is exhausted due to being understaffed for a while.
They are missing players like OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic, which can be damaging for any team.
Smith said on NBA Countdown that the rest of the squad, led by Brunson, is exhausted because of all the heavy lifting they’ve had to do this season. Even with a slight hint of defeat in his tone, SAS added that the Knicks could turn things around from here.
He said, “You’ve got to beat them with the passing and not drain yourself so you can get into your offense early and you’re not drained.” It’ll be interesting to see if the Knicks take his advice. Regardless, they’ll be willing to do everything to get the lead back in the series.
