The New York Knicks have been playing some better basketball lately, dominating the Boston Celtics for the number two seed in the Eastern Conference. However, what no one might know is that they got the news from ESPN's "First Take," where Stephen A. Smith routinely lambasts the Knicks, the team he claims to be a fan of, in a dramatic attempt to drum up an audience.
One person who is not involved in the gimmick is none other than Knicks forward Josh Hart.
"For me, I think as a part-time Knicks fan, Stephen A. needs to shut up. He barely knows the people that are on the team," Hart said, according to Steve Popper of Newsday Sports, formerly of Newsday Sports, on Twitter.
In fact, there have been several occasions in which Smith falsely claimed that certain players were on the Knicks who moved on to different teams, and there were other situations where fans had ample reason to question how much of a fan he really was.
Over the past few weeks, the target of Smith's criticism on ESPN has primarily been Mikal Bridges, who, to be fair, has had a disappointing season at times for New York, especially considering the hefty price the Knicks paid the Brooklyn Nets to land him last offseason.
Still, at the current juncture, New York has as good a chance as any to make it out of the Eastern Conference this year and make its first NBA Finals in two decades.
In any case, the Knicks will have a chance to silence some of their haters when they next take the field on Thursday evening for a tough road game against the aggressive Charlotte Hornets.
