Stephen A. Smith Says There’s ‘One Thing That Will Ruin’ Season for Knicks

The New York Knicks boast the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference standings at 36-27 and, in turn, look to be heading toward their second postseason berth in three years.

Currently, amid a six-game winning streak which includes a triumphant victory over the top-seeded Boston Celtics, it appears Tom Thibodeau’s club is entering this final stretch run of the 2022-23 campaign as one of the hottest teams in the association and, while they may be riding high, such is the case for any top-billed team, there’s always a chance that they could wind up falling flat on their face.

In a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, host and life-long Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the team moving forward, and praised All-Star Julius Randle and All-Star snub Jalen Brunson for “the consistency, the dependability, the reliability” that they have provided, but noted that, in the end, there’s still one thing, in particular, that could “ruin” New York’s season.

“As optimistic as I am for the New York Knicks, there is one thing that will ruin this season…and that’s if they get sent home by Donovan Mitchell,” Smith said. “That better not happen. Now, I don’t care if they lose to Boston, if they lose to Milwaukee, (or) if they lose to (Philadelphia). We all know that in the Eastern Conference, there’s basically been a three-headed monster. We get all of that. You lose to one of those teams, I’m cool with it…Donovan Mitchell better not send the New York Knicks home, otherwise I’m going to lose it.”

All summer long, perhaps the most buzzed-about storyline was the infamous Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes that saw the Knicks oft-viewed as being the odds-on favorites to land the star guard from the Utah Jazz via trade before the Cleveland Cavaliers ultimately swooped in and stole him right from under their noses.

While things in New York may be playing out just fine at the moment without the four-time All-Star in tow, to Stephen A. Smith, should they be trounced by Mitchell and the Cavaliers in this year’s postseason, it will prove to be an event that will overshadow all of the successes achieved throughout the time leading up to the ouster.

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Cavs Predicted to Beat Knicks in Playoffs

Unfortunately for Stephen A. Smith, it appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers are already expected to beat New York during this year’s playoffs, as Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report predicts that the Knicks will clinch the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings and, in round one, will lose to the third-seeded Cavs.

“It’s easy to imagine Mitchell and Darius Garland exploding for huge scoring nights that put this series away early, while it’s tougher to envision Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle creating enough quality looks against the length of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen,” Hughes wrote.

Despite this gloomy prediction, however, with their roster-bolstering moves at this year’s deadline, particularly the trade that landed them veteran wing Josh Hart, some such as former league journeyman Richard Jefferson see a different outcome for the Knicks, as he believes this team as currently constructed now has a realistic chance to advance to the semifinals for the first time in a decade.

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Knicks Guard Praised by Former League Sniper

The Knicks may not have been able to land All-Star Donovan Mitchell this past summer, but they did ultimately end up making a highly impactful addition to their backcourt rotation with the signing of Jalen Brunson and, according to former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick, he has been playing better than virtually any other guard in the league, particularly since the start of 2023.

“A few weeks ago on First Take they let me do 60-seconds on Jalen Brunson and I gave him some love. And what I said was, since January 1, since, you know, the start of the new year, he’s playing as well as any guard in the NBA outside of Damian Lillard. I said that, that was a direct quote right there. And the responses to that showed me how many f*cking casual fans there are…You could just watch the game and see what Jalen Brunson does on a nightly basis and how important he is, especially in clutch,” Redick said on a recent episode of his podcast  “The Old Man and the Three Things.”

Redick’s comments are further backed up by Brunson’s stellar numbers, as he is posting sensational averages of 28.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per contest while converting on 49.9% of his attempts from the floor and 43.8% of his attempts from deep since the start of the new year and finds himself ranking first on the team in offensive rating (119.6) and second in plus-minus (4.1) out of those who have played 15 or more games during this span.

During this stretch, the Knicks have cultivated an impressive record of 17-9 while ranking fifth in the league in offensive rating (118.6) and tenth in net rating (3.4).

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