How Confident Is Stephen A. Smith In His Knicks? Not So Much

As the New York Knicks have made waves in the playoffs over the past few years, Stephen A. Smith’s reactions have become a must-see side attraction. To his credit, the “First Take” analyst keeps it real: He yells “Orange and blue skies!” when the Knicks get deeper and deeper into the postseason, and he calls them out for various basketball flaws when they falter.

So, how confident is Smith as the Knicks head into a fourth consecutive playoff run? Not so much.

“I can’t trust them this year,” Smith said on “First Take” this past Monday. “They don’t look the same.”

Interestingly, Smith claims that this judgment isn’t necessarily based on hard numbers. “I do follow the eye test. The same grit and grind that we’re accustomed to seeing, I haven’t seen,” the Knicks super fan claimed.

To Smith’s point, the Knicks who went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year may as well be a different squad from this season’s inhabitants of Madison Square Garden. One major factor in this shift has been the change in head coaches. For the past five seasons, Tom Thibodeau had preached hard-nosed defense, an attribute that went on to become the Knicks’ ticket to the postseason. However, Thibodeau’s notoriously short rotations (coupled with his “no nights off” approach on the defensive end) lowered the team’s ceiling as his players became susceptible to injuries.

Thibodeau was replaced by Mike Brown, who was expected to open things up on the offensive end. The numbers show that Brown has exceeded expectations: The Knicks have emerged as the third-best offense in the league while also ranking sixth in defensive rating.

Smith, however, isn’t satisfied with the intensity that the Knicks have brought to the court this season. The team has especially looked vulnerable against other top squads like the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons and the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder. Against both of these teams, the Knicks have gone 0-5 this season.

On top of that, there are other threats that can derail the Knicks’ title aspirations. One of them is the Boston Celtics. “[They] are going to be a bit better with Jayson Tatum getting his groove back,” Smith said, before adding, “We can’t dismiss the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.”

As he laid out his analysis, Smith used his low-key, rather humbled tone. Will he explode like fireworks at Times Square on New Year’s Eve when the 2026 version of the Knicks begin their postseason? That would be a must-see attraction.