ESPN might have poured it on a little too hard in favor of the Knicks on Sunday.
Before the Knicks lost Game 7 of their second-round playoff series to the Pacers, 130-109 at Madison Square Garden, ESPN hosted a Knicks-centric pregame show, featuring Stephen A. Smith fervently cheering on the team.
On his radio show on Monday, Dan Patrick admonished his former employer.
“The Pacers did play in the game; I just want to let ESPN know,” Patrick said. “If you want to buy into East Coast bias, you have every reason to buy into ESPN’s East Coast bias watching that game. How about some impartiality here? I was embarrassed for ESPN.
“Because it felt like it was all about the Knicks. Even at halftime, it was about the Knicks. The Pacers aren’t exciting. I get it. Not big names, not a sexy team, but you still have to cover the game. You got to be fair. I don’t need a Stephen A. Smith arrival video. I don’t need a pep talk with him and Spike Lee. He doesn’t work for the Knicks; you work for ESPN.”
Patrick’s voice on the subject carries a lot of weight as he not only was a longtime beloved “SportsCenter” anchor and radio host at ESPN — he used to be its top NBA studio host.
Pat McAfee, based in Indianapolis and speaking on ESPN’s airwaves, also mocked the network for fixating on the Knicks.
“If you were to watch TV, anyone who had a microphone, maybe some makeup on, a large platform — boy, you could see them actually callusing their knees, praying to God that the New York Knicks would take on the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals,” McAfee said on his show on Monday. “That would be a dream. Holy s–t. Boston-New York in the Eastern Conference Finals?… you could see TV executives and on-air personalities who are from those areas b-b-b-bopping to themselves about the possibility of the playoffs being a wet dream come true.
“On-air personalities, TV, before the game: ‘This is what the Knicks are going to have to do to win this game.’ Halftime, Mike Wilbon: ‘There’s no way the Pacers are going to be able to keep shooting the way’ — THEY DID! Greatest shooting performance in the history of Game 7s in the NBA Playoffs.”
McAfee also had some fun with the somber tone in which the ESPN broadcast booth revealed that Jalen Brunson had suffered a fractured hand during Game 7.
More McAfee on Pacers-Knicks: "There was a time actually where they actually announced Jalen Bruson's hand was broke where it seemed like Doris Burke didn't even talk. Devastation hit the booth. Devastation hit the TV. Could you imagine if this Knicks team, who was hurt — wahh!… pic.twitter.com/G1pvrWnLH3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 20, 2024
“There was a time actually where they announced Jalen Bruson’s hand was broke where it seemed like Doris Burke didn’t even talk. Devastation hit the booth. Devastation hit the TV,” he said. “Could you imagine if this Knicks team, who was hurt — wahh! wahh! — so hurt, had to play this Boston Celtics team?”