Stephen A. Smith yells during a wild on-air exchange with Kendrick Perkins, “I feel sorry for the idiot who interrupts me.”
STEPHEN A. Smith has a new nickname for Kendrick Perkins after a wild slugfest at First Take.
The 55-year-old ESPN analyst called Perkins “Mr. T’ after the pair clashed at the NBA Finals live on air.
2
2
Former basketball pro Perkins has openly campaigned for the Miami Heat to beat the Denver Nuggets in their seven-game streak.
He was criticized by Stephen A. and the rest of the First Take jury for his bold prediction.
The Heat are currently trailing 2-1 after three games, with Game 4 scheduled for Friday night at the Magic City.
Despite the recent home-court loss, Perkins is adamant the Heat will be champions again this year.
But with Molly Qerim not sitting in the meditation chair on “vacation,” things quickly spiraled out of control on Friday’s show.
Perkins argued, “I still have utmost faith in this Miami Heat team.”
“They will make the adjustments tonight. Jimmy Butler will play better.”
“I do think they will take Christian Braun away, even if he played brilliantly in Game 3.”
“I still have faith in the Heat and believe they will win this series. Nothing has changed.”
Stephen A. hit back immediately, saying he thought the Heat would lose the series after six games.
And he reminded Perk that he had incorrectly predicted that the Los Angeles Lakers would emerge victorious from the Western Conference.
Perk tried to interrupt SAS at this point, claiming he’d said the same thing about the Golden State Warriors — but the ESPN veteran would have none of it.
He yelled, “I admit I was wrong.” [about Golden State].
“But it wasn’t wrong that you just walked around. did i interrupt you Did I interrupt you?”
“Did I interrupt you, Mr T? I pity the fool, I pity the fool who interrupts me!”
“Do you understand that? Relax yourself!”
Neither analyst was willing to back down, and deputy presenter Christine Williamson eventually restored order.
It’s been a busy week at First Take for SAS, which drew criticism from Denver fans for calling its lead actor, Nikola Jokic, “a big bucket of lard.”
While Perkins and Smith clashed Monday when Perkins claimed Stephen A. was “hearing from his attorney.”