A quiet preseason game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics got weird on Saturday night when J.R. Smith and Aron Baynes sparked a scuffle between the two teams that met in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring.
A battle in the paint with the score 18-11 in the first half between the two players quickly got chippy when Smith pushed Baynes after they got tied up under the basket. Other players quickly got involved, including Marcus Smart, who went right after Smith and made things very interesting.
Smith has a history with the Celtics, who do not like him very much. And given the tension between the two teams that carried into Game 7 of the postseason, and the preseason talk that the Cavaliers are still the team to beat in the East (according to Tristian Thompson), a bit of a scuffle between the teams isn’t surprising. But preseason is preseason, and it’s honestly weird to see anyone acting with any urgency on the floor.
Marcus Smart and JR Smith trying to fight after Smith grapples with Aron Baynes. pic.twitter.com/Tkr1yQaOC5
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) October 6, 2018
For his role in the altercation, Marcus Smart was ejected and drew a personal foul. This made Smith happy, as the Cavaliers’ guard got to wave goodbye to him as he left the arena.
https://twitter.com/world_wide_wob/status/1048726425921101824?s=21
There might be some fines from the preseason battle, but it will certainly amplify the bad blood between two teams that don’t like each other, even if LeBron James isn’t around anymore.
