NBA Veterans Sour on Knicks

The New York Knicks are guaranteed games beyond the 82 offered in the regular season, but NBA veterans Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams don't believe there will be many.

Parsons and Williams have each soured on the Knicks' championship fortunes, bringing forth gloomy prophecies on the FanDuel "Run It Back." The dire outlook comes after the Knicks missed out on another opportunity for a statement win over the weekend, dropping a 97-94 decision to the surging Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

"People were saying that the New York Knicks, on paper, had the best roster going into this season. They had so much championship hopes," Parsons said. "No one saw Cleveland doing what they're doing, obviously Boston is well-respected. But they're going to have a tough time getting out of the first round, let alone competing for a championship. So no matter who they play, they've got to be healthy, they've got be whole."

Knicks Pistons — Jan 13, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) controls the ball against New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Entering this week, the Knicks (42-24) healthily sit in third place on the Eastern Conference leaderboard. Catching the conference class from Cleveland and Boston is likely out of the question but New York is over four games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks for third and they also hold the fourth-best record in the NBA overall.

But the Knicks' struggles against elite competition has been a talking point that has come to define the season. Whether that's fair or not is a whole different discussion: the Knicks are indeed winless in seven tries against the only teams ahead of them (Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Boston) but are 5-1 against the three team immediately behind them (Houston, Denver, Memphis).

Parsons and Williams, however, are wary of the Knicks' potential first-round matchup, especially with uncertainty lingering over the health of franchise face and captain Jalen Brunson.

If the season ended today, the Knicks would play the sixth-ranked Detroit Pistons, a matchup that Williams labeled "tough" for Manhattan's finest.

"I like where Detroit is going," Williams said. "When you're an up-and-coming team and you're hungry and you have an opportunity to knock off a team that [critics] feel like its a better team than you, you're looking at a really, really good young, motivated basketball team. They have toughness. They have guys that like to fight ... you have the perfect storm to be a team that's going to be a disruptive team in the playoffs."

To Williams' point, the Pistons have had the Knicks' number this season, winning two of the three meetings scheduled earlier this season.

Both Parsons and Williams also took issue with recent controversies surrounding Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau: though each party downplayed its significance, Thibodeau and Josh Hart garnered headlines for their heated confrontation during a Saturday timeout. That came three days after modern NBA iron man Mikal Bridges said he spoke with Thibodeau about his lengthy workloads often bestowed to the Knicks' starters, who are mainstays amongst the modern NBA minutes leaders.

Tom Thibodeau, Josh Hart — Jan 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau talks to guard Josh Hart (3) during the second quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

"All of these things begin to be magnified when you're having the conversation out in public," Williams said. "It's a bad look, especially with this team not having Jalen Brunson in that lineup ... you're looking at the quality of wins, you're looking at who you're competing against, and the optics are bad. So I don't love this look for the New York Knicks."

"When you have these exchanges with coaches, it could be a big deal, it could not be a big deal. Everybody says it's cool, it's cool. But obviously, there's something brewing deep in New York."

The Knicks' next chance to defy such narrative lands on Monday night when they host the reeling Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).

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