NEW YORK — The Knicks entered Tuesday with the NBA’s longest winning streak, but Charles Barkley remains a skeptic.
“Whoopty doo,” Barkley said on the TNT pregame show before alluding to the Brooklyn Nets. “They’re not even the best team in their city.”
Barkley was following up on similar pessimism from fellow TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal, who predicted an early exit if the Knicks make the playoffs.
“I don’t think they can get out of one round,” O’Neal said.
The Knicks won seven straight before their MSG showdown Tuesday against the Warriors, a stretch that pushed them to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
The success carried similar vibes to New York’s surge to the fourth seed in the 2020-21 season, when Julius Randle carried the offense and Tom Thibodeau’s defense was among the league’s best.
But that style didn’t translate to the playoffs in 2021. The Knicks were dropped in five games by the Atlanta Hawks, as Randle struggled to combat the swarming defense.
“Julius Randle is a better finisher than starter,” Barkley said. “Cause [the opponent’s defense] could just wall up. That’s what happened to him in the playoffs. Him trying to make every play, the team walled up, and he couldn’t score.”
