The New York Knicks played host to the Brooklyn Nets, who were without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons, on ESPN on Wednesday night, and put on a show in the first half, leading by as many as 28 and took a 21-point advantage into the break.
However, the second half was an all-too-familiar disaster for the Knicks, as they watched the Nets steadily reel them in over the course of the final 24 minutes, punctuated by rookie Cam Thomas’ 16-point fourth quarter, including a dagger in the closing seconds that left the Knicks faithful in The Garden in shock. The loss dropped the Knicks to 25-34, pushing them to 3.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the East, and vibes in Manhattan couldn’t be much worse.
There are reports swirling that Tom Thibodeau could be on his way out soon, but the issues seem to run much deeper than just the coach in New York. After the game and before the late game between the Jazz and Lakers, ESPN went back to its NBA Countdown crew so that Stephen A. Smith could get some things off of his chest in what is an instant classic Stephen A. rant, as he goes after just about everyone, from Thibs to Julius Randle to Leon Rose, calling the team “trash” and saying fans should boycott the team for the rest of the season.
The New York Knicks are a national disgrace, Ladies and Gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/4sxpzgWAkC
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 17, 2022
It’s all gold from Stephen A., who is rarely operating at a higher level than he is when the Knicks are absolutely awful, but the best part to me is when he talks about how he’s embarrassed that he let last year’s success convince him the Knicks had turned the corner and now he owes all kinds of people dinners and suits for bets he’s made about New York being back.
