It doesn’t sound like J.R. Smith will formally apologize to Jae Crowder for delivering a backhanded punch to the Celtics forward eight months ago. As such, the war of words between the two continues.
Earlier this week, Crowder said he would like Smith to apologize for the punch, which resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul for Smith followed by a two-game suspension in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Smith, however, wasn’t having any of it.
Here’s what the Cavaliers guard told ESPN’s Chris Forsberg and Dave McMenamin following his team’s win over the Celtics on Tuesday night.
“[Crowder] might want to wait on that… He can hold his breath, though. I’ll give it to him sooner or later… It’s pretty ballsy to ask for an apology from another man. I respect it.”
For those keeping track at home, Boston and Cleveland play again on February 5.
To be fair, Crowder didn’t actually expect Smith to say he was sorry. “You live with it, and you go on,” he told ESPN.
So there you have it. Crowder is moving on, and Smith doesn’t like the uber-aggressive Boston forward enough to give him a real response. Let’s see what happens the next time these two teams meet come February.
(Via ESPN.com)