On the ABC pregame, NBA commissioner Adam Silver covered for Trump by saying he’s a long-time Knicks fan who was invited by owner James Dolan to attend, and that sports shouldn’t be divisive, etc… Question: If sports are to bring us all together, then why does Trump need so much security & isolation at MSG?
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Draymond Green, Shaq & Ernie Johnson just sat there quietly during Adam Silver’s false explanation, even though every basketball fan knew how hoops fans really felt about it. If any of these analysts had contradicted Adam Silver, they would have been fired. Disgraceful coercion & capitulation all-around. It was nothing more than a photo-op and a chance to insert himself into the narrative of the NBA finals, everyone knew it, and it was a complete disaster for Trump.
As for the Knicks, they had one of the greatest home court advantages in sports flipped on them because Trump had to make his presence felt. When the MSG crowd is right, they are feverishly cheering for the Knicks, appreciating extra effort & hustle, and exposing phonies on the opposing team. To understand what has happened, we need to take a step back.
The person most responsible for reviving the New York Knicks is Tom Thibodeau. As their head coach from 2020-25, he re-instilled defense as the Knicks bread-and-butter, echoing the Patrick Ewing years when the Knicks were last competitive. Tom Thibodeau is considered an innovator of basketball defense, insisting on player accountability, connectedness, and strict help-side rotations to clog up the middle. Players must rotate early & hard to force a kick out pass, then recover & contest. Repeat until the possession is over. This involves sitting in a stance and literally working your ass off. It takes a lot of serious coaching to get players to buy into this, but it’s what wins.
Knicks fans who have attended games at MSG over the years know & appreciate this. The Knicks made the finals this year because they came together defensively. This is the Knicks most-talented roster in decades, and that deserves most of the credit. The Knicks under Mike Brown now have the players to make Tom Thibodeau’s defensive system work effectively, and it’s gotten them this far.
That defensive energy translates directly to the basketball crowd at MSG. Even the entertainment celebrities understand it. But when someone who ALWAYS demands to be the center of attention, and it widely despised, proclaims that he will be at game 3 in MSG, it sucks a lot of juice out of the building. For the fans & players, it’s no longer about the game; it’s about Donald Trump, and that doesn’t help the home team.
It wasn’t just a jinx that Trump brought into MSG in game 3, it was all the crap we watch sports to forget about for a few hours. Every fan in the building felt it, because they all had to go through extra security, etc, and it diminished their experience of the game. When you pay what it costs to attend a game like that, you feel cheated. You’re angry, and it affects your ability to cheer for the home team. That is absolutely real, and has nothing to do with a jinx.
Game 4 will still have the remnants of Trump– extra security and longer waiting in line to get in. Donald Trump has managed to neutralize the MSG crowd, which severely hurts the Knicks. I didn’t think it was possible, but everyone saw it. How can Donald Trump call himself a Knicks fan after falling asleep in game 3? For the NBA record, Trump distracted everyone in the building who wanted the Knicks to win, and that is carrying over for the rest of the series.
As far as who will win the series, game 4 will tell us a lot. I believe the Spurs are a better team, but the Knicks are close & more experienced. The best team doesn’t always win (see Celtics 1984), and sometimes something that has nothing to do with basketball can influence events on the court. Not since COVID-19 temporarily halted the 2019-20 NBA season has such a disruptive outside force influenced the finals.
For context, what I have written here is from a basketball fan who is not a Knicks fan, but appreciates this historic NBA franchise. Below is a 10-minute video which shows how Knicks fans (& New Yorkers in general) feel about Trump. Warning: It turns into a shameless promo for the Democrats after ~5 minutes, but the first half captures the essence of the moment well enough in its NY style.
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