- The Knicks are just two wins away from making it to the Eastern Cnference Final
- But Green believes it will soon come crashing down for Tom Thibodeau’s men
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Draymond Green is not convinced by the New York Knicks’ chances in this season’s NBA playoffs, claiming their run to the conference semifinals is simply a ‘fluke’.
The Knicks just enjoyed one of the best regular seasons in their history, racking up 50 wins for the first time in over a decade to storm into the postseason as strong contenders to go all the way and clinch the Championship.
Jalen Brunson, who finished fifth in the 2023-24 MVP voting, has helped New Yorkers dream of a first title in 51 years after putting up career best numbers with an average of 28.7 points on 48 percent shooting and 6.7 assists per game.
Tom Thibodeau’s men have since continued their fine form in the playoffs, cruising past the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round before moving 2-0 ahead against the Indiana Pacers in the second.
However, Green believes the Knicks are due for a reality check in the coming weeks, comparing their run in the postseason to the 2020-21 Atlanta Hawks team who reached the conference finals and have not made it past the first round since.
Draymond Green is not convinced by the Knicks ‘ chances in this season’s NBA playoffs
Jalen Brunson and Co currently leads the Indiana Pacers 2-0 in the NBA conference semifinals
Green told Knicks fan Jason Calacanis that his team will soon be brought back down to earth
‘You can get to the conference finals, à la the Atlanta Hawks, with playing very mid-teams, so that’s kind of what y’all are doing right now,’ the Golden State Warriors star told Knicks fan Jason Calacanis on his ‘Draymond Green Show’ podcast.
‘And I think what this is setting y’all up for is what happened to the Atlanta Hawks three years ago when they made the conference finals and never got back.
‘Another team that did this, to give you some perspective on this, was the Portland Trail Blazers years ago when they had Al-Farouq Aminu, Allen Crabbe, all those guys… they had all those guys and they went to the conference finals – and we swept them pretty much without Steph Curry.
‘They ran off and paid all of those guys because they thought they had a team, they had a chance, and it was a fluke.
‘And so that’s what the Knicks are setting y’all up for right now, and it’ll probably be another 15 years of misery, then we’ll all sit around and laugh at Knicks fans with their delusion.’
Calacanis quickly shut down Green’s assessment of his beloved Knicks, insisting they now have a ‘high-functioning team’ who are only on an upward trajectory.
The American entrepreneur is not alone in disagreeing with Draymond, nevertheless, with former NBA star and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins even more critical of it on the latest instalment of First Take.
‘That’s a lazy a** take by Draymond Green, let me say that first and foremost,’ Perkins said.
Former NBA star Kendrick Perkins (right) branded Green’s assessment a ‘lazy a** take’
When asked by Stephen A. Smith why Green’s take is ‘lazy’, he continued: ‘Because why call it a fluke? Why call it a fluke when looking at a team that was built the right way?
‘When it comes down to the coaching, when we look at Leon Rose and World Wide Wes [William Wesley] going out there and hiring Tom Thibodeau, when we watching them go out there and sign Jalen Brunson, who one has been saying has been one of the best off-season signings probably in the last four or five years.
‘So now all of a sudden you look at what they’re doing right now, without their other All-Star in Julius Randle, and they’re making waves – and they’re only gonna continue to get better.’
