Stephen A. DELIVERS HONEST opinion about Knicks to Shannon Sharpe & Perk | First Take

Stephen A. DELIVERS HONEST opinion about Knicks to Shannon Sharpe & Perk | First Take

all right here’s the facts in a road game seven situation the Pacers had one of the greatest shooting halves in the history of the NBA balanced attack India to end up shooting over 67% for the game that is the highest field goal percentage for a playoff game in NBA history adding to New York’s woes Nick star Jaylen Brunson left the game with a broken left hand they were so banged up here’s tibs and Brunson on the season as a whole as a coach you always measure okay what what is the group have and are we getting everything out of the group and the only thing you could ask for is everyone puts forth their best effort and we got that all year from these guys what goes along with that is peace of mind and knowing that you you did your best and so that’s all you could ask for and a lot of teams I think would have folded they didn’t like we took the hit with Mitch and then you know then you you add in Julius and uh in OG you’re starting front line and then bogy goes out so that that and it was hit after hit but these guys never folded they kept fighting and so that’s all you could ask for I love the fact of how how we fought night in and night out and um uh I just I love this group of guys that we have and um just like I said before their mindset our mindset as a group is uh was strong some nights when we may have not had what people thought was a a team capable of winning our mindset pushes over that hum did we win a championship did we get close so no that’s just that’s my mindset that’s just how it is here he is the enforcer uh how we doing big perk great to see you I have some congratulations coming to you in a little bit you just sit tight for that um but perk did the Knicks deserve a pass because of injuries hell yeah they definitely shouldn’t be penalized for I mean damn Miley we had you had Josh Hart out there playing with a strin abominal muscle in his damn uh ABS so I mean at the end of the day when you look at the Knicks and what they had to overcome especially in this postseason losing by donovic in the uh first round against the 76ers losing Mitchell Robinson and you look at Jaylen Bronson the only Allstar caliber player all NBA player on that roster because of the injury of Julius Randall right when you look across the rest of the league the teams that are still competing in the postseason they have two three if some of them have four Allstar players playing with them jayen Bronson didn’t have one it’s not a knock on Josh har or Dante or none of those guys they competed like hell but when OG and anobi went out you’re talking about the ultimate 3 and D guy look at they record with him in the starting lineup that all of a sudden Josh Hart get hurt in game six hell yeah they deserve a pass I mean the Knicks put the uh the world on notice on what they did I agree hey big per do you like do would you like some limberger would you like Brie would you like Gudda cuz I’m trying to get what type of cheese you want with that wine cuz I don’t have no sympathy for you because you remember that that injuries are part of it and sometimes it’s a war of attrition no because jayen Brunson just said that there are times people didn’t think because of the injury they had the team to win but it was their mindset when Jaylen Brunson broke his a hand they were still down like what 16 18 points you cannot allow a team to shoot with okay you can’t allow a team to shoot 76% in the first half 67% for a game which is a playoff record 54% from the three-point line and they attempt over 23 you’re going to lose a lot of times perk they would make a basket and before they like the crowd uh stand up Indiana was look at that look at TJ going by I thought that was steeve Ash I thought that 23 right there he pull it up like Michael Jordan look at look at Miles Turner he he shoot like Kevin Durant look at Hy that’s Steph Curry so at what point in time do you say you know what how about we stop him from laying the ball up nah they don’t deserve no break because uh Joel andb was hurt and there are a lot of other team that are hurt so guess what you went to the second round and guess what perk they home now and naptown we in the building baby we in the building baby Shannon Shannon first of all you know this better than anybody you talking about look at look at those clips look who was on the other side playing defense and I don’t want to get into this and start knocking anybody but you had you show they show precious aure they showed Duce McBride and D look Duce McBride has been balling but at the end of the day come on man like Josh hard and ogan noi shouldn’t have even been on the floor hell I could have beat I could have beat OG no in the race today the way he was moving out there on the floor at least he tried but when I think about Josh hard you know this I had two abdominal strains I didn’t have I probably have six backs but damn it they was missing but at the end of the day he shouldn’t have been playing less than 48 hours he on the floor come on huh you tripping perk is absolutely right and you know it you just rubbing it in Shay Shay cuz that’s what you do cuz you are Petty and you do and you are a sore loser and and and a sore winner you I mean you do you do it all about yeah that that that’s fine that’s that’s fine oh I’m gonna get you but here’s the deal y’all here’s the deal in all honesty we know that the New York Knicks win this series if they’re healthy you know I don’t care what anybody says okay we know this and in the end what it came down to is that when you’ve got six dudes in your starting rotation when you got six dudes in your rotation that are all injured there’s nothing to debate here we understand it now that doesn’t mean that you know what you just shower the New York Knicks with moral victories they lost they going home the Pacers are going on to the Eastern Conference Finals by the way it makes for a better Eastern Conference Finals because I think that’ll be an interesting series between the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics and I don’t think it would have been interesting with the Knicks against Boston because the Knicks weren’t healthy but it’s only because they weren’t he healthy perk is absolutely right this is all you need to know Shay a Time Fido defense ain’t giving up 76% shooting in the first half and 67% shooting for an entire game to anybody it’s not going to happen it’s not going to happen history has proven this man on the defensive side of the ball is one of the elite Minds this game has ever seen and when we saw the way the New York Knicks were playing defense when we saw how underand they were and how they went in the game six up 3-2 even with disabled bodies all over the place you got to give love where love is due in that regard that’s all I’m saying they lost I got it but I am proud of what I saw them do because they listen they just they they just need a number one scoring option I know what Jaylen Brunson is but you need a Bonafide larger sized number one dude somebody 66 and above somebody 68 and above that’s my personal belief as opposed to a six-foot guard that’s a lefty as great as Jaylen Brunson was this year I think you need additional help in that regard and you probably need a new center that’s about it can can I ask you guys a question let’s just say for the sake of argument all those guys are healthy are we going to see this type of performance from Jaylen Brunson maybe because Julius randler was out that you got an opportunity to see Jaylen Brunson on a level you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed seeing him at so that’s what it took maybe if Mitchell Robinson and bogy we don’t get the extra effort because here’s the thing we know one thing Josh Hart and hardenstein are going to crash the offensive end well if you’re crashing the offensive end what do that weaken you at Steve on the other end when other team is throwing fast breaks transition baskets over the top of you and getting layups on the other end perk I’m sorry I know you had the Nicks and I saw you at the game you all hugged up with Fat Joe but guess what if you want to go to nap time with me go to Country Kitchen get some good oxtail some neck bones some mac and cheese let your boy know and I’ll hook you up but you ain’t going back to the Garden this year unless it’s for a comedy show or mag the stallion performing n well well first of all first of all I wasn’t with Fat Joe I was with Tracy Morgan okay get that together get that fact together right first second of all let me say this about Jaylen Bronson see Shannon this is where I got to educate you time and time again right when you talk about oh did we know Jaylen Bronson was going to rise to the occasion and be spectacular in the playoffs hell yeah we knew he’s been the best player in the Eastern Conference since the allstar break since Julius Randle went out on top of that we saw flashes of it when when he was down in Dallas with Luca when he was the second option the last time Luca went to the Western Conference Finals outside of this year okay he had Jaylen Bronson on the side of him here’s the thing about Jaylen Bronson again I’m going to repeat Stephen A I agree with you to this point he does need another person alongside of him that’s going to go get Buckets you need another Allstar caliber player that’s what I said at the opening when you look around the league Minnesota how many do they have they have two possibly three okay when you look at the Pacers they have three Allstar caliber players Tyrese halberton Pascal yakum Miles Turner when you look at the Celtics they have about four Allstar caliber players right so when you trying to make a legitimate push you need another allar along the side of you Rick carof did a hell of a job he did what Nick Nur should have done he said you know what jayen bruny you’re not going to beat me he made an adjustment where they Dam that was playing a boxing one full court I mean Miles Turner did an excellent job of shadowing and they said we’re going to make you play in the crowd we’re going to get the ball out of your hands and we’re GNA make somebody else beat us and the Knicks couldn’t pull it off yeah perk I’m not saying that jayen Brunson we didn’t know jayen Brunson but when you start doing things if you going to sit here and say that you knew Jaylen Brunson was going to put together 4 40o games like a Jordan or 440 point backto back games like a Kobe I’m not going to believe that perk I don’t believe you believe that deep down inside that you know bra Jaylen Brunson had that in him because when you start comparing people to Kobe and Jordan nah bro I’m not saying Jaylen Brunson isn’t great but to do what he was doing I don’t believe he does that with Julius Randall because I’m not so sure that he’s going to still be able to get the volume of shots that he gets with Julius Randall and all those other guys in the lineup well Shannon let me throw this at you hold hold hold on per hold on perk let me throw this at you Shannon yeah fair enough what about this stat do you know that the Knick’s three best players Jaylen Brunson Julius Randall OG and anobi only played 12 games together this year in those games they were 11- one they outscored the opposition by 24 and a half points per 100 possessions so I mean if you want to I get where you’re coming from in terms of Brunson may not having look the way he looked without Randall on the court correct obviously you got to give the ball to somebody but what I’m saying is it doesn’t negate the fact that they would have been exponentially more effective together on the basketball court the three of them they would I I’m telling you right now if that if those three was on the court we’re having a different conversation about the series let me know they beat the Piston they beat the p in those 12 games they played the Pistons six times so they went six and0 against the Piston well that that is not accurate because you’re not allowed to place somebody division six times you see was just troubl making St don’t follow [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Kendrick Perkins join Molly Qerim to discuss:
0:00 Pacers vs. Knicks Game 7
5:30 Stephen A.’s retort to Shannon
9:00 Knicks deserve a pass?

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