Getty Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks is held back by Julius Randle after a called foul.
Two-time NBA champion and former New York high school star Kenny Smith gave the Knicks a dose of cold reality.
“This is why the Knicks are gonna stay in the middle. Every game that they play, they always have the second-best player,” Smith said on TNT’s Inside the NBA.
“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.’
Their 146-122 blowout loss to the Bucks on Tuesday, December 5, further reinforced that belief. The Knicks are 0-4 against the Celtics and the Bucks this season. Overall, they are 2-8 against teams with a winning record.
Charles Barkley Pushes for Knicks Trade
Charles Barkley agreed with Smith, urging the Knicks to swing for the fences rather than get stuck in the middle.
“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 3 teams with this team.”
“This is why the Knicks are gonna stay in the middle. Every game that they play, they always have the second-best player. … You don’t have the best player on the floor no night.”
Kenny and Chuck sound off on the Knicks 👀
The Knicks have eight tradable picks and a combination of good-size contracts and young prospects. But so far, there is no star available to their liking.
They resisted going all-in on Mitchell two summers ago. They balked at Paul George’s price tag this past summer.
Chicago Bulls lower-tier stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are the only realistic trades the Knicks could make at the moment. But neither could move the needle against the elite teams. DeRozan might give them a puncher’s chance.
The Knicks are playing the long game. But at some point, they will need to take risks. Is that time now?
Quentin Grimes Rants Over Lack of Touches, Short Leash
Quentin Grimes, the Knicks struggling wing, vented his frustrations over his lack of touches with the starting unit, and his short leash under Tom Thibodeau following a scoreless performance against the Bucks.
“It feels like if I don’t hit the shot, I’m coming out,” Grimes said via New York Post. “So every shot I shoot probably weighs like 100 pounds if I don’t make it, and our defense, it ain’t cutting it, so I know I ain’t going back in.”
Grimes was expected to take another leap after a breakout sophomore year. But the opposite is happening.
“It’s just hard when you go the whole quarter without touching the ball, the whole second quarter without touching the ball, and then you get one shot and you got to make it,” Grimes said. “So it’s tough going out there and just standing in the corner the whole game. Then you got to make the shot when you shoot the ball one or two times per game. It is what it is.”
Grimes’ playing time dropped to 22.9 minutes per game from 29.9 last season. His offense — 5.8 points from a career-best 11.3 points — has come and gone this season. He only had four double-digit scoring games. Over his last seven games, he has not scored more than six points.
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2-Time NBA Champion Sounds off on Knicks: ‘Gonna Stay in the Middle’