The New York Knicks may not have surprised themselves with their first-round win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs, but some in the basketball world saw it as upset. One analyst who didn't was former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins.
After the Knicks secured the series win, a video resurfaced of Perkins predicting New York's second-round appearance on ESPN's NBA Today back in February.
“I see [the Knicks] going on a run. I'm not predicting them to go make a Finals run,” Perkins said. “I am predicting them to get to the second round.”
Perkins made the comments after the Knicks acquired Josh Hart at the trade deadline on Feb. 9. The Knicks went an impressive 17-9 after the trade, securing the five seed in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Cavaliers in five games, winning the last three by a combined 40 points.
This season is just the second time the Knicks have made the playoffs in the last ten years. It's their second time playing in the second round since the turn of the century. They'll meet the Miami Heat after the Heat upset the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
Perkins later said that a date with the Bucks or the Boston Celtics would await the Knicks in the second round. They somehow found a way to avoid both and have a home-court advantage with a spot in the Eastern Conference Final on the line.
Kendrick Perkins doesn't always get a win, but he looks like a basketball guru after predicting the Knicks to take a series in the playoffs.
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