Chris Russo Misses Knicks Game Due to Medication
On Tuesday night, while many were glued to the Knicks’ incredible comeback, Chris Russo was asleep, unable to catch the action.
Russo had quite the morning ahead of the game – he was supposed to get an MRI for his shoulder but ran into some issues that prevented it. “They put me in a little bed, give me a headset and say, ‘Listen, you can’t move,'” he recounted on Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take.” “They soon took me into a room with a button to press if I felt anxious. I pressed it within five seconds.” It sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?
To help with his anxiety, Russo decided to take some medication. He ended up taking two doses of Valium before attempting his MRI. “Last night at 6:30, I started to feel a bit strange during the show, so I took a Valium. Then at 7:00, I got anxious again and took another,” Russo explained. He managed to get through the workday but ended up in bed by 8:15. Not exactly a prime time for sports, huh?
He only discovered the Knicks had won when he woke up at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, going through the highlights of a game in which Jalen Brunson and the Knicks pulled off a remarkable 22-point comeback to defeat the Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime.
Despite missing the live action, Russo was quick to voice his strong thoughts on the Cavs. He boldly declared, “Cleveland is done with this series. A loss like that in sports is just too much to recover from.” His critique went further as he questioned Cleveland’s head coach Kenny Atkinson and the team’s clock management, pointing out their long possessions that seemingly contributed to their downfall.
Additionally, Russo didn’t hold back on some players’ decisions, particularly calling out Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. He noted an instance when Mobley had a chance to extend their shot clock but made a hasty choice instead. “You can’t do that,” he said bluntly.
As the Cavaliers prepare for Game 2 at Madison Square Garden, they might be hoping to prove Russo wrong. But one lingering question remains: will Russo wake up in time for the next game?
