Cleveland Cavaliers swingman J.R. Smith think it’s only a matter of time before the Boston Celtics start throwing rocks.
After the Cavs defeated the Celtics in the opening game of their Eastern Conference Finals series on Wednesday, Smith was asked what he was expecting out of Boston in Game 2.
“For them to come out swinging, playing scrappy like they do,” replied the ex-Sixth Man of the Year, per Jordan Heck of Sporting News. “They’ve been playing like that all year. Whenever their backs are up against the wall, they tend to play better, just like we do.
“So we just got to expect that and understand there might be dirty plays, might be cheap shots coming from the other side just because they’re fighting for their lives at this point,” Smith continued. “So we just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Wednesday’s Game 1 wasn’t even nearly as close as the 117-104 final score suggested, and it was clear right from the opening tip that the Cavs were the far superior side. Things did get chippy in the third quarter though, and these two teams do have a history of bad blood dating back to the last time they met in the playoffs two years ago (including this infamous incident involving Smith himself). Thus, we really shouldn’t be surprised if the Celtics, one of the more physical teams in the league, make good on Smith’s prediction and try to mount some form of resistance against the Cleveland machine.
