Stephen A. Smith is a massive New York Knicks fan, but even he is on the Boston Celtics bandwagon now.
The Celtics and Knicks are in a tight race for the two seed in the Eastern Conference as the NBA regular season winds down. Boston holds a one-game lead in the standings and is up two games in the loss column following New York's loss to the red-hot Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons are without Cade Cunningham at the moment and the Cleveland Cavaliers are a distant fourth in the East.
After the Celtics' impressive win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Smith said nobody in the East looks better than Boston right now.
Stephen A. Smith says nobody looks better than Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference:
“I’m just looking at them right now and imagining if Jayson Tatum gets back to 100%. If Jaylen Brown continues to look this way, what are you going to do about the Boston Celtics? I’m just… pic.twitter.com/Qm352BgxnX
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 26, 2026
"The Boston Celtics are not going away. They're making you pay attention to them, and you damn well better do it," Smith said on Thursday's episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show." "I've got the Boston Celtics looking like the best team in the Eastern Conference right now. Tell me I'm wrong."
It's hard to argue with him. The Celtics are 7-2 in Jayson Tatum's games since he returned from his Achilles injury, and he's not even 100 percent yet. Just wait until he's back to normal.
Boston has won five of its last six games and is finishing the season strong as it gears up for the playoffs. Not surprisingly, the Celtics are favored to win the East, so the sportsbooks agree with Smith.
Smith has been praising Boston a lot lately, and its easy to see why. The Celtics are deep, well-coached and dominating both ends of the floor, proving they're still the cream of the crop even with a diminished Tatum.
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