Sal's Knicks concerns have been growing since the injuries began piling up, and after New York needed a blunder by the officials to beat the lousy eight-win Pistons, those concerns have reached a fever pitch.
"I'm even more worried about the Knicks now…because of the status of Randle, Anunoby seems to be on track coming back, but look what the Knicks did last night. They're lucky to get a win against the crappy Pistons," Sal said. "I'm worried about this team. I think they're closer - assuming Randle doesn't come back or isn't the guy he was prior to the injury - to a team that can be first round and out as opposed to a team that everybody expects to be in the Eastern Conference Final."
Sal was all in on the Knicks when Anunoby arrived and took the team to new heights, but Anunoby has since been sidelined, and Randle's status for the rest of the season remains up in the air. Randle has had his playoff struggles but was playing the best basketball of his career before going down with a separated shoulder, and Sal says if Randle can't come back, or can't play at the same level he was before the injury, there's no way the Knicks are getting out of the first round.
"They can't overcome Randle being out," Sal said. "And if you're not worried about that at this point, you're just being blind to it."
