Marcus Smart didn’t flinch when JR Smith lowbridged Al Horford out of midair in Game 2. Within seconds he accelerated toward Smith’s face and spared no words of remorse for him at the podium after, comparing him to a bully who had to be stood up to. No punches were needed, Smart had already laid his fist in the game with 1,000+ words of productivity, while Smith finished 0-for-7 from the field.
Smart’s postseason could have transpired on the bench adorned in a jacket alongside Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, where he could not legally approach Smith.