Charles Barkley Brings Out Stephen A. Smith’s Insecurity On TNT Live Amidst Ongoing Feud

Last night, the Knicks had the perfect opportunity to put the Celtics series to bed. Up 3-1 with Jayson Tatum out with a ruptured Achilles tendon, they would not get a better chance than that. But they blew it. Failing to step up to the occasion, they got absolutely decimated by the reigning champs. Now, as the series heads back to New York, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley can already sense alarm bells ringing – but not for himself. For his ESPN counterpart, Stephen A. Smith.

As the legendary Inside the NBA panel skimmed through the highlights of the Knicks’ blowout loss, Barkley pointed out Stephen A.’s insecurity with a hilarious statement, “I’ll tell you right now, I wish I was in a room with Stephen A. Smith and Spike Lee. They can’t breathe right now. They’re scared to death.” Of course, the Sixers legend was referring to Smith and Lee’s Knicks fandom and their fear of blowing a 3-1 lead to the Celtics following last night’s loss.

Barkley claimed that now, it’s the Knicks who are under pressure to win the home game and avoid Game 7 at all costs, “I’m gonna tell you something man, they (Celtics) can win in New York. Because they can play free… The amount of pressure is gonna be on New York cause I think it’s a must-win for the Knicks, in my personal opinion. Man, it’s gonna be fun to watch that game.” So, it could be scary times for hardcore Knicks fans, including Spike and Stephen A.

What makes Chuck’s dig at Smith even more interesting is his ongoing feud with the ESPN analyst. During a recent podcast appearance, Barkley raised concerns about how frequently Stephen A. appears on his television screen: “I was in the studio last night and I saw he was going to be on ‘Law & Order’ tonight. I mean, he is already on ‘General Hospital,’ now he is going to be on ‘Law & Order’ tonight, and I was just laughing. I was like, ‘Yo man, you are starting to be too much right now.’”

Chuck also had a stern warning for the media veteran, “Yo man, knock it off. Stop being on every TV show because at some point people are going to get sick of you, and you are going to be like, ‘Yeah I probably did too much.’ But once you do too much, it’s too late and people don’t take you serious, and I think he’s got to be careful in that aspect.” As expected, his comments sparked controversy, even garnering a viral response from Smith himself.

Stephen A. Smith highlights Charles Barkley’s ‘hypocrisy’ as he shows no worry for Knicks vs Celtics Game 6

Soon after Sir Charles’ comments, Smith hopped on his podcast to give a fitting response. “That’s my guy, but that doesn’t mean I always agree with him. And it doesn’t mean that I’m devoid of the right to call him a flaming hypocrite when it’s called upon,” he said.

Then, Stephen A. highlighted the massive media presence Barkley has, “Do y’all know how many commercials Charles Barkley does a year? He’ll tell us two. Have you seen Charles Barkley in two commercials? Are you kidding me?”

He also pointed fingers at Chuck’s TNT colleague Shaquille O’Neal, “Oh, by the way, the cat that you work with at least twice a week during the NBA season is Shaquille O’Neal. Can we count the amount of endorsements he has? How often he’s seen everywhere? What new product he’s pitching? Did you say that about him? No, you didn’t. But when it comes to me, I need to be careful.”

Evident from his response, Smith was clearly not in agreement with Chuck’s opinion.

And talking of fearing for the Knicks’ season, Stephen A. doesn’t seem too worried about it either. Addressing the scenario of Celtics forcing Game 6 ahead of last night’s clash, the analyst said, “I’m not nervous about the New York Knicks losing Game 6 at the Garden. You’ve got New Yorkers so hyped, some of them don’t want the Knicks to win tonight just because they want the Knicks to win at the Garden on Friday night.”

He continued, “Have you seen Knick fans when they won a playoff game? Have you seen me? That’s when we win a playoff game. We’re talking about a series-clinching victory that propels us to the Conference Finals? At the Garden? On a Friday night at the Garden? Lord, have mercy.”

Yes, Stephen A. knows the New York crowd will be ready to host the Celtics on Friday. And they will surely not make it a friendly environment for the visitors. So, the ball is still in the Knicks’ court as long as they don’t crumble under pressure. Do you think they can close this series out at MSG?