The Knicks aren’t impressing anyone so far this season, and especially not TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who says “they’re gonna stay in the middle.”
After riding a three-game a streak, New York lost 146-122 to Milwaukee in Tuesday and were eliminated from the In-Season Tournament.
The loss was no surprise, considering it is NY eight’s straight loss to the 2021 champions.
Smith didn’t hold back when discussing the Knicks’ troubles.
“This is why the Knicks are gonna stay in the middle,” Smith said on TNT’s Inside the NBA. “Every game that they play, they always have the second-best player. “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 on the floor. If you play Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler is the best player on the floor. If you play the Cleveland Cavaliers, you have Donovan Mitchell. You don’t have the best player on the floor any night.”
“They can play better than you. But they are not walking into the gym and say, ‘[We] have the best player.’”
Fellow analyst Charles Barkley agreed with Smith, and advised the Knicks to make a trade to improve their roster.
“They don’t have a margin for error,” Barkley said. “That’s why the Knicks have to make a trade. They could get a good matchup like last year, they manhandled the Cavs. But they are not gonna beat those top three teams with this team.”
The Knicks are 12-8 to start the season, but haven’t been able to lock away solid against the top teams.
Their next big test will come on Friday against the Celtics, but if it results in another blowout loss, expect the criticism to come hard and fast.
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