Stephen A. Smith might not be the biggest New York Knicks fan, but he loves to play one on TV.<\/p>\n
In their quest to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1999, the Knicks met one of the teams that hope to stand in their way Thursday night. And the Knicks failed their test miserably, getting blown out at home by an understaffed Detroit Pistons team 126-111.<\/p>\n
New York\u2019s loss to Detroit was a blow to fans and had Smith feeling as if any hope of seeing the Knicks advance to the Finals was simultaneously lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cMSG, we\u2019re watching our home team get punk\u2019d. \u2026 This is not good!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014@stephenasmith<\/a> walks off set in disgust \ud83d\ude02 pic.twitter.com\/pfiE07PQfD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 First Take (@FirstTake) February 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s over. They ain\u2019t going to no damn Finals,\u201d Smith said Friday morning on First Take. \u201cIt\u2019s over! They ain\u2019t going to no damn Finals! Because they ain\u2019t good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knicks beat the Pistons in the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season. But after Thursday night, Smith sees no way of it happening again. The only way Smith believes the Knicks can advance to the Finals is if another team picks the Pistons off first.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd by the way, they younger,\u201d Smith said of the Pistons. \u201cAnd by the way they balling, and by the way they got size and athleticism and tenacity and they don\u2019t like you. They\u2019re looking at you and like, \u2018we don\u2019t like you!\u2019 They got Tobias Harris not liking them. He likes everybody! One of the nicest guys\u2026this is what they\u2019re doing, and the Knicks are doing nothing! MSG, we\u2019re watching our home team get punk\u2019d. Punk\u2019d! This is not good!\u201d<\/p>\n And with that, Smith stood up from the First Take table and marched off set while shouting, \u201cI\u2019m too disgusted, I\u2019m going!\u201d<\/p>\n No doubt, Knicks fans are reeling after this loss. But they don\u2019t need to deal with it through Smith\u2019s theatrics. Smith often tries to make himself out to be a sort of Knicks mascot on First Take. Knicks fans, however, are reluctant to claim him<\/a>, wondering if his portrayed fandom is more of a show than passion.<\/p>\n This might not play well for Smith or ESPN, but in the words of Aaron Rodgers, \u201cR-E-L-A-X.\u201d The Knicks don\u2019t look like a Finals team right now; they certainly didn\u2019t look like one Thursday night against Detroit. But it\u2019s February. Don\u2019t talk about playoffs.<\/p>\n There are two things Knicks fans should be concerned with more than Thursday night\u2019s game against the Pistons. Getting to the playoffs healthy and finding a way for Karl-Anthony Towns to look like the player he was a year ago. Because the All-Star center that played for Tom Thibodeau last season looks very different from the one playing for Mike Brown this season, and if Towns can\u2019t be an elite offensive player alongside Jalen Brunson, then Knicks fans are going to be suffering through many more Stephen A. Smith rants and theatrics on First Take.<\/p>\n \t