Chris “Mad Dog” Russo detests the NBA Cup like only he can.
“I do not understand it, Brian [Windhorst],” Russo said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday.
“I apologize, somewhere, Walt Frazier and Willis Reed and Red Holzman are saying, ‘Really? We’re gonna celebrate this stupid thing? This inauthentic creation to jazz up the regular season, which means absolutely nothing in the big picture?’”
The Knicks, who defeated the Spurs 124-113 to win the NBA’s third installment of the in-season tournament, will not be hoisting a banner to celebrate the occasion, The Post reported.
The Knicks will instead celebrate the distinction “in a proper way” before Friday’s home game against the 76ers at MSG.
Russo’s contention is that the NBA Cup tells you nothing about what will happen in the playoffs, referencing how the first two NBA Cup champions, the Lakers and Bucks, both lost in the first round.
“The idea that anybody thinks this is important … Boy, because it’s December, we gotta jazz up their regular season? This is inauthentic,” Russo said.
“You do not convince a serious sports fan about something that’s inauthentic. And this is not authentic.”
Russo is far from the only one with issues about the NBA Cup, as many pundits, including his former radio partner Mike Francesa, also crushed the idea of a mid-season tournament.
“You know I don’t like [the NBA Cup],” Francesa said on his eponymous podcast. “If the New York Knicks hang that banner, it would make me very cross. I would be very, very opposed to it. Win the game but trash the banner. The competition cheapens the regular season.”
Surely from the NBA’s perspective, they’re happy with the results.
The league reported a 90 percent increase in viewership over last year, while social media and digital engagement continue to grow surrounding the tournament, with a 126 percent year-over-year surge.
