Kenny Smith Rips New York Knicks' Roster Construction
A certain loss in December makes it hard to believe in the New York Knicks' championship prospects in June.
The Knicks, riding a three-game winning streak, were dealt a swift dose of reality in Tuesday night's NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinal action, falling to the Milwaukee Bucks by a 146-122 final at Fiserv Forum.
Each of the Knicks' losses in the inaugural In-Season Tournament were nationally televised defeats at the hands of the Bucks, who have now defeated New York on eight straight occasions. The Knicks also fell to 2-8 against teams with active winning records this season.
Tuesday's loss was likely no surprise to TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who minced no words about the Knicks' struggles with the NBA's elite prior to tip-off.
"Every game that they play, they always have the second-best player," Smith said during TNT's pregame show. "You play Boston, you've got the second or third best player. You play Orlando, with (Paolo) Banchero, they don't have a player that's better than Banchero. Milwaukee, we know they don't. Philadelphia, they don't. The Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton is the best player. If you play the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler is the best player on the floor. If you play the Cleveland Cavaliers, you have Donovan Mitchell."
"Now they can play better than you, but they are not walking into the gym and saying that's a better player."
The Knicks were unable to handle Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Tueday night
Michael McLoone, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Knicks handled Mitchell and the Cavaliers in the opening round of last year's playoffs fairly easily, dispatching them in a gentleman's sweep to earn their first series victory in a decade.
New York looked poised to make a run after the win over Cleveland, matching up with the eighth-seed Heat instead of the top-ranked Bucks in the second round, but Butler proved to be too much. Miami eliminated the Knicks in six games, extending their conference final appearance drought to 23 seasons, the third-longest streak in the NBA.
As it stands, the Knicks (12-8) are led by Jalen Brunson and two-time All-Star Julius Randle and sit in fifth place on the current Eastern Conference playoff bracket. They've handled business against subpar competition (10-0 against teams with current losing records) but that's not going to raise any banners at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks won't have to wait long to face another superior opponent: they'll face their fellow In-Season Tournament quarterfinal runner-up, the Boston Celtics, on Friday night at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).
