Watching the Knicks Monday night was like having your teeth pulled – and Stephen A. Smith apparently feels that pain literally.
The enigmatic Knicks fan and host of ESPN’s “First Take” was absent his usual post, where he would surely be laying into his favorite team after an embarrassing 107-106 collapse to the Atlanta Hawks.
“This is truly a sad day for me,” Smith posted on X on Tuesday morning after he was unable to make it to the show. “Bad enough I had to miss @FirstTake because of this damn dental procedure, but to miss the show when BOTH my boys — @KendrickPerkins AND @RealMikeWilbon — are IN-STUDIO…..on a day I was scheduled to be IN-STUDIO…..I almost cried! Love my boys. You, too, @shaepeppler. Damn this sucks. See y’all tomorrow! “
It seems that a toothache has become the latest source of pain for Smith, though the Knicks certainly contributed as well after leading by 12 points to start the fourth quarter before their offense went stale and they blew it at the Garden.
The loss evened the first-round series with the Hawks at 1-1, as blown leads have become the story for the team over the past two playoff runs despite changing coaches between seasons.
Smith, whenever he does return to the air, will surely be calling for head coach Mike Brown to figure out how to break the offense’s stagnation and knock down open looks.
He may also point out that Brown called a timeout with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter, which eventually left the team without a timeout on the game’s final possession.
The Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau last offseason, citing his inability to get this team over the hump to a title contender.
The Knicks and Hawks play next on Thursday in Atlanta, with Smith likely having figured out to key to victory well before tip-off.
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