Knicks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. isn’t buying the tanking plan for the 2017-18 season. He’s thinking playoffs.
Tim Hardaway Jr‘s tenure with the Knicks will be defined by his $71 million contract. This is New York, and that’s the way it goes. But everything he says makes you want to root for the guy, regardless of the numbers he puts up.
Hardaway tells Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he doesn’t have expectations for himself in the upcoming season. He has expectations for his new team: a playoff berth.
“I don’t have expectations. My expectation for this team is to go to the playoffs and nothing more. It starts with practice tomorrow,” he said after the team’s open practice at Madison Square Garden.
As ridiculous as the notion is that this team—with the main objective to develop players not win—could actually make the playoffs; the Eastern Conference is just that bad.
It’s also great to hear New York’s starting shooting guard say things like that. You don’t want to hear one of the players condone tanking.
The preseason finally kicks off on Tuesday at 7:30 pm at Madison Square Garden vs. the Brooklyn Nets.