In an appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on Monday, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins took a shot at his fellow NBA analysts, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal . Responding specifically to their take about the Orlando Magic sweeping the New York Knicks this year, Perk called the TNT hosts for not watching the game.
“It’s obviously (that) they don’t watch basketball. I’m serious, they can’t watch basketball consistently. The only time they probably watch the Knicks is when they’re covering the Knicks on their game nights… If you’re watching the Knicks, there’s no way in hell you can downplay the way they’ve been playing the game of basketball,” Perkins told Michael Kay.
Kendrick Perkins is a former NBA player turned analyst and it seems he finds a clear distinction between himself and other media members like Shaq and Charles Barkley, who are also former players.
Chuck and Shaq are the lifelines of “Inside the NBA,” a fan-favorite NBA broadcast that covers Tuesday and Thursday night games. While the pair are often seen taking jabs at each other, they provide wildly entertaining coverage that often leads to some of the best media moments of the year.
Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan of the way they run the show and there has been a growing movement to get them to provide more a detailed and in-depth analysis of the game. But as controversial as their coverage is, fans weren’t too keen to hear it trashed from Perkins, who is known for some pretty outlandish takes himself.
Among his most egregious opinions include saying that Nikola Jokic only won MVP cause he’s white, and suggesting that the NBA should ban zone defense because it's too “boring.”
New York Knicks Are Underdogs In The East
According to Perkins, the Knicks stand as good of a chance as anyone to come out of the East this year. At 50-32, they secured the 2nd seed in the East and finished with a top-10 defense in the NBA. With the combined efforts of Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Josh Hart, the Knicks have the depth, talent, and experience to do battle against anyone.
If not for the injury to Julius Randle, they might be considered the greatest threat to the Boston Celtics right now, who own a 14-game lead for the first seed in the East. Thanks to that injury and a history is losing, the Knicks are being dismissed early by many fans and experts, not just Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
For the franchise to regain the trust of the people and earn the benefit of the doubt, they’ll have to win when it matters most. This year, that means a victory in at least the first two rounds and a run to the East Finals for the first time in 24 years.
Kendrick Perkins is already a believer in this Knicks team but they still have more to prove in the Eastern Conference and if they lose early again, it will not bode well for their chances of becoming a championship team sooner than later.
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