Over their past two showings, the New York Knicks have been on the wrong side of things in two critical matchups against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
In both meetings vs. the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks got humbled. They ended up losing both games by double-figures, falling to Boston by 13, with their face-off against Cleveland looking a bit uglier amid a 37-point blowout.
Now following New York's latest blunders, talking heads around the media have started questioning this team's status as one of the top contenders in the league –– especially so for Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith.
During his appearance on ESPN's First Take following New York's two losses, Smith sounded off on some of his thoughts surrounding the Knicks.
"Listen, the Knicks –– they're pretenders," Smith said. "And what I mean by that is that I think they're the third-best team in the Eastern Conference. They are a precipitous drop-off from the top two teams... I'd give the Lakers a better chance of coming out of the West than I'd give the Knicks of coming out of the East. The Celtics and the Cavaliers are so dominant compared to the Knicks that I don't see the Knicks having a chance against either one of them. I think either one of them would take the Knicks out in five or six games."
It's hard to argue with the logistics. The Knicks proved to be a few steps back from their competition in two critical games, and with those shortcomings now in the books, it'll be hard to hold significant confidence in this New York group once the postseason rolls around.
The Knicks have had some injury troubles to counter over recent weeks, and have been dealing with the absence of Mitchell Robinson for the entire season. Smith still sees a sliver of hope for New York once their defensive anchor returns to the lineup, but it could still be tough to mend this team's defensive woes after the fact.
"Obviously, I reserve the right to change my mind when Mitchell Robinson comes back and he elevates their defensive prowess, but right now, the New York Knicks are horrid defensively," Smith said. "I can't believe how bad a Tom Thibodeau team is defensively. I've never seen anything like this... They're obviously elite offensively... but in the end, they're just undermanned against Boston and Cleveland."
The Knicks have remained one of the top offensive forces in the entire association, ranking third in the NBA for offensive rating, being led by two top-tier scorers at their position Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Yet, it's their 21st-ranked league defense limiting their ceiling and ultimately being a major pitfall in their contests against Boston and Cleveland.
If the Knicks can fix up their stumbling defensive unit moving into the stretch run of the season, perhaps a turnaround can get sparked at the right time. However, in the eyes of Stephen A., this team may still land a bit behind the 8-ball.
