Jr Smith shoves Al Horford in the air, Marcus Smart ain't havin' it pic.twitter.com/WBHEgqATjj
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 16, 2018
It’s not a playoff series against the Cavaliers if JR Smith isn’t taking cheap shots at Celtics.
Last night it was an egregious push on a defenseless Al Horford. Three years ago he was punching Jae Crowder in the face.
Marcus Smart was there to remind Smith that he’s not going to tolerate that garbage.
DIRTY JR: Marcus Smart goes after JR Smith for the push in the back on defenseless Al Horford “We’ve seen that before, especially against us” pic.twitter.com/KFjbPnq0Mr
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 16, 2018
Celtics fans will however embrace Smith’s garbage play – 4 points, 2-16 FG in this series.
We’ve witnessed some create chants over the years, but last night Celtics fans opted for a simple message:
Boston #Celtics fans have a chant for JR Smith 👂 pic.twitter.com/jgGpZ6Tjf3
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 16, 2018
Smith admitted it was a blatant push and respected the call:
“It was a good call. I blatantly pushed him,” Smith said. “It wasn’t like I was trying to lowbridge him or something to make sure he didn’t get it. It was a good, hard foul. I can understand why they gave me a flagrant.”
Referees looked at the sequence — which occurred with 3:49 left in the game and the Celtics ahead 97-89 after Smith had missed a 3-pointer — the TD Garden serenaded Smith with a chant typically reserved for highway traffic disputes.
“I love it,” Smith said. “I don’t want the opposing fans to like me. That’s not why I’m here. They can chant and scream all they want, it actually makes me feel better about myself. They know me.”
Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson correctly called this a Flagrant 2 foul. It’s too bad the officials didn’t have the balls to make the correct call.
Here’s hoping the league reviews the play, upgrades to a Flagrant 2 and suspends Smith for Game 3.
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