ESPN may have favored the Knicks too much on Sunday.
Before the Knicks lost 130-109 to the Pacers in Game 7 of the second round of their playoff series at Madison Square Garden, ESPN hosted a pregame show centered around the Knicks, with Stephen A. Smith leading the team. They enthusiastically supported him.
Dan Patrick on his radio show Monday admonished his former employer.
“The Pacers played the game. I just want to let ESPN know,” Patrick said. “If you want to espouse East Coast bias, there’s every reason to agree that ESPN has an East Coast bias because they watched that game. What about fairness here? It was embarrassing for ESPN.”
“Because I felt like it was all about the Knicks. Even at halftime it was still about the Knicks. The Pacers aren’t fun. I get it. They’re not a big name or a sexy team, but you still have to cover the game. You have to be fair. You don’t need a pep talk with him or Spike Lee. You work for ESPN. hey.”
Patrick’s voice on this matter carries a lot of weight. Not only is he a beloved longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor and radio host, but he was also the station’s top NBA studio host.
Indianapolis-based Pat McAfee, who spoke on the ESPN broadcast, also mocked ESPN’s fixation on the Knicks.
“If you watch TV, you’ll see someone with a microphone, makeup on, and a big podium praying to God that the New York Knicks are going to play the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. ,” McAfee said on Monday’s show. “That would be a dream. Holy shit. Eastern Conference finals, Boston vs. New York?… TV executives and TV personalities from these areas are going around monologueing about the possibility of the playoffs becoming a pipe dream. You’ll see.
“Before the game, on-air personalities and TV said, “Here’s what the Knicks have to do to win this game.” At halftime, Mike Wilbon: “There’s no way the Pacers can keep making shots like this.” They did! The best shooting performance in Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs. ”
McAfee also took note of Jalen Brunson’s somber tone in the ESPN broadcast booth when he revealed that he broke his hand during Game 7.
More from McAfee on Pacers vs. Knicks: “There was a time when Jalen Bourzon actually announced he had broken his hand and it looked like Doris Burke wasn’t even talking. Devastation hit the booth. Devastation hit the TV. Can you imagine if this were the Knicks? Team, who was hurt? pic.twitter.com/G1pvrWnLH3
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“In fact, there was a time when it was announced that Jalen Bruzon’s hand was broken, and it looked like Doris Burke wasn’t saying anything. Devastation hit the booth. Devastation hit the television.” he said. “Can you imagine if this Knicks team had been hurt? Wow! Wow! — hurt so bad, we had to play against this Boston Celtics team? ?”
