A New York Knicks analyst seemed to sound the alarm this week that if the team doesn’t dominate the Detroit Pistons in the quarterfinals of the NBA Playoffs, it could be a sign of growing locker room drama.
There was a lot for the Knicks to be proud of this season. They finished with the third-best record (51-31) in the Eastern Conference and fifth overall in the NBA. For most franchises, that would be reasons for a great deal of hope and confidence heading into the postseasons. Yet that isn’t the case in New York.
The team only added one more win to their win total this season compared to last year, despite adding stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges to the roster in the offseason. Their defense has taken a big step back this season. And they have surprisingly underperformed consistently against the top two teams in the East — the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers — all season.
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Could locker room issues arise in the New York Knicks series vs. Detroit Pistons?
There are concerns about whether this group can do better than reaching the semifinals in the East again. And some wonder if there is a lack of chemistry in the locker room. Well, on Monday, Knicks analyst Wally Szczerbiak suggested we will find out very soon if this team is a bad mix.
“We’re going to learn a lot about the interior of this locker room in this series quickly,” Szczerbiak said on MSG Network’s playoff preview. “Because the talent is there. They should blow out this Detroit team when you go player for player.
“If they don’t dominate this series, there’s something going on in that locker room that’s not right.”
Knicks have shown hints of chemistry concerns?
There have been rumblings for months that, despite the star power, there are chemistry concerns for the Knicks. The biggest sign has been their decline defensively after being an elite defensive team last season. Potential locker room issues were given fuel in March when Josh Hart made a comment about egos and personal agendas on the team.
Furthermore, he said this past week, the team is not playing their best basketball heading into the playoffs. The signs are there, and Szczerbiak makes a fair point. It will be up to this New York team to quiet the speculation. If they don’t get to the Eastern Conference Finals, the narrative about locker room issues will only grow this summer.