The Cleveland Cavaliers handily defeated the Boston Celtics Sunday in Game 1 of their opening round series, with playoff newbies Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both stepping up to the challenge in their post-season debuts. Teammate J.R. Smith, on the other hand, didn’t have such an easy go of it as he picked up four fouls in a span of just 19 minutes while guarding Avery Bradley. After the game, he had some pointed words about the officiating, according to Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report:
What did J.R. Smith learn during 4-foul, 19-minute game? "Don't touch Avery Bradley. Apparently he's like Kobe now, so I can't touch him."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) April 19, 2015
Despite finding himself in foul trouble, Smith was relatively effective at putting the clamps on Bradley, limiting him to just 3-for-10 shooting from the field and 1-for-6 from behind the arc. In limited minutes, Smith finished with nine points on 3-for-9 shooting and 2-for-7 from downtown.
It bears mentioning that only two of those fouls came against Bradley, and if you watch the video above closely, each of those calls could’ve gone either way. Regardless, Smith certainly deserves credit for ratcheting up his effort on the defensive end in the postseason.
(Video via Dan Feldman; H/T to ProBasketBallTalk)
