Smith had the rivalry question posed to him by ESPN colleague John Anderson during the 11 p.m. “SportsCenter” on Tuesday. Washington had just routed Boston in D.C., two weeks after the teams played a chippy game in Boston. The “First Take” host and longtime NBA writer swatted the query away, saying neither team is “relevant” enough.

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“They’re not championship contenders legitimately, and when you’re not a championship contender, I don’t want to hear a damn thing about a rivalry,” Smith said.

That’s fair. Boston (26-18) is third in the East and Washington (25-20) is fifth. It’s possible they’ll meet in the playoffs. As Smith noted, however, neither team is a real threat to the Cavaliers. They’re 0-3 combined vs. Cleveland this season.

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When Anderson followed up about the teams’ intensity, Smith was dismissive and, dare we say, condescending. He even found a spot to backhand frequent target Kevin Durant in his answer.

“I have no problem with you and others, particularly fans, enjoying the game of basketball,” he said. “The difference between me and y’all is you have this beautiful, comfortable, immaculate studio that you work from on ‘SportsCenter.’ I have to go on the road and travel ad nauseam throughout the season to watch one lopsided contest after another because Kevin Durant decided to tilt the balance of power by joining Golden State. Don’t get me started about how enjoyable this season is.

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“The Finals are going to be epic, assuming it’s San Antonio . . . or Golden State with Cleveland, but everybody else, as far I’m concerned, they’re all playing for third, fourth or fifth place, which isn’t all that exciting for me.

“Sorry, I don’t blame the fans. I certainly don’t blame you. But y’all don’t have to catch connecting flights and travel all year long just to watch blowouts.”

There was no hint of a grin on Smith’s face, so that was either the best deadpan delivery ever, or SAS was just really salty (it’s close, but we’ll pick really salty).

But his larger point stands: There isn’t true parity in the Association, and the Celtics and Wizards don’t figure to get to the next level this season. It’s nice that they generated some heat in January, but they need to be doing this in April and May for the word “rivalry” to be part of the conversation.