Late in the second quarter of the Grizzlies’ win over the Knicks on Friday, J.R. Smith and Jerryd Bayless got into it briefly, and received double technicals for the extracurricular activity.
Smith appeared to catch Bayless with an elbow after curling around a Rasheed Wallace screen, and Bayless retaliated with a shot to the face. Both players remained in the game.
Afterward, J.R. Smith didn’t seem to understand what all of the fuss was about. From Marc Berman of the New York Post:The 6-foot-2 Bayless shoved Smith in the face and then tried to get after the Knicks guard. A livid Bayless had to be restrained by teammates while Smith backpedaled away, laughing at the scene.
“Other than me trying to get the ball, I don’t know what he could’ve been mad at,’’ Smith said after the Knicks’ 105-95 loss to the Grizzlies, their first defeat of the season. “Some small guards have a little man’s complex. They got to work that out.’’
For the record, Smith is listed at 6'6", and Bayless is listed at 6'3" according to Basketball-Reference.
This “little-man complex” is apparently a thing, though, because last season Kobe Bryant said the same thing about Chris Paul after one of the games between the Lakers and the Clippers. While Bryant and Paul share the utmost respect for one another as competitors, however, it’s doubtful the same can be said about the relationship between Smith and Bayless.
[via Larry Brown Sports]