The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics meet on the court Tuesday for the first time since the Cavs swept the C’s in the first round of the 2015 Playoffs last April. Evidently, Celtics forward Jae Crowder still harbors some Taylor Swift-level bad blood from that last meeting.
Crowder saw his season end in Game 4 of that series after suffering a sprained ACL and bone bruise in his left knee when Cavs guard J.R. Smith hit him with a callous backhand to the face which caused Crowder to fall awkwardly on the knee (video here).
Smith apparently has yet to properly apologize for the inexcusable cheap shot, and Crowder still hasn’t forgotten.
“I hope he apologizes [Tuesday], to be honest with you,” said Crowder per Chris Forsberg of ESPN. “I hope it wasn’t intentional. But if he doesn’t [apologize], then we’ll play ball.”
Fortunately for Crowder, the injury did not require surgery and he was able to get return healthily to the Celtics with some rest and rehab over the offseason. Smith, meanwhile, was suspended two games for the punch, which he served in the next round against the Chicago Bulls.
But the hatchet is not truly buried until Smith apologizes, especially for such a blatant and dangerous play like that. Though that first round series was marred by bush league plays from both sides, most notably Kevin Love suffering a season-ending shoulder injury at the hands of Kelly Olynyk, even Olynyk reached out to Love after the incident to clear the air and apologize.
If Smith sticks to his guns and holds his tongue on Tuesday, we can safely expect to see some fire emojis on the court when Crowder, the one-man defensive wrecking crew, inevitably asks to guard Smith, the freewheeling flinger.
H/T NBA Reddit
