“Philly was a sports town”: Knicks’ Josh Hart shades 76ers fans after 4-0 sweep originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Adding insult to injury is usually not great but sometimes it can serve as a wake-up call. The New York Knicks are now heading to their second-straight Eastern Conference Finals after bouncing the Philadelphia 76ers out of the NBA Playoffs. But, there was not much resistance from the the Joel Embiid-led squad in the 144-114 demolition. Josh Hart even threw some shade at Philly fans because only a few came despite it being a home game for them.
Hart gets real on 76ers fans not showing up vs. Knicks
Beating a team like the Boston Celtics while being down 3-1 in the NBA Playoffs usually means a lot of fans want to see how the NBA Playoffs work out. This was not at all the case for the 76ers when they entered their series with the Knicks. A few only came into Madison Square Garden which was not at all a surprise but it became odd to see more Knicks fans in the 76ers home court. The fact that it was a win-or-go-home Game 4 also played a big factor.
Josh Hart saw this unfold and it had him disheartened. He outlined how past iterations of this 76ers squad or other Philly teams usually brought in a crowd of rabid fans, via SNY.
“Everybody was begging Philly to not sell their tickets. It’s… I used to think Philly was a sports town, I don’t know if it is anymore,” the Knicks player said.
Hart and the Knicks were not giving Philly fans much reason to watch live in Wells Fargo Center because of the disparity in nearly all facets of basketball. To put it into perspective, the closest that the 76ers got to a win was their six-point deficit in Game 2. In all other times, it has been a demolition. The Knicks won by 39 points in Game 1, had a 14-point win in Game 3, and closed everything out with a massive 30-point statement.
Tyrese Maxey stated that the 76ers were not at all prepared for what the Knicks had to offer and it was very true when their gameplay is observed. Now, Hart and the Knicks will move on the Eastern Conference Finals as they await the winner of the series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons. The 76ers, on the other hand, have a lot to figure out and one of them is pulling in more fans despite lopsided matchups.