New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith and Memphis Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless got into a bit of a skirmish during the second quarter of the Grizzlies’ win over the Knicks on Friday night. While the two were battling for position on the perimeter, Smith threw a pretty blatant elbow toward Bayless’ upper body. Bayless was understandably upset, so he reacted by shoving Smith before teammates and coaches stepped in to separate the two.
After the game, Smith pleaded ignorance to the entire thing.
“I dunno what he could’ve been mad at,” Smith said according to Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. “Some small guys got little man complex. Maybe he’s gotta work that out.”
Smith has a whopping three inches on Bayless if their stats are accurate, so I don’t know if that’s the best insult to go with. It was no Metta World Peach knockout blow, but J.R. clearly intended to hit Bayless with the elbow. When you do something like that you have to expect retaliation.
