The Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls have battled it out through the first four games of their seven-game series, sitting in a deadlock with two victories apiece. In what was expected to be one of the more one-sided first round series of the 2017 NBA Playoffs, we have instead seen a resilient Bulls team that seems to match up well with Boston. This has been a physical and hard-fought series as expected when two blue-collar teams face off.
One of the more interesting headlines within the context of the series has been the brewing feud between backup Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Bulls star Jimmy Butler. Both are known around the league as two of the more hard-nosed players in the NBA, playing a physical and defense-oriented brand of basketball.
After some words were exchanged between the two in a Game 4 victory for the Celtics, Butler took to the postgame presser to blast Smart and his supposed tough guy act:
Jimmy Butler on Marcus Smart: "He's a great actor…." ? pic.twitter.com/FrnpOHAnej
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 24, 2017
As you can imagine, Butler’s comments probably didn’t sit too well with Smart, who’s always been a player that plays with a ton of pride. However, when asked about what Butler had to say, Smart took the high road and said he just laughed it off and that he’s focused on the Bulls vs. Celtics matchup instead of Marcus vs. Jimmy. Following from ESPN’s Chris Forsberg:
Marcus Smart responds to Jimmy Butler’s comments: “I laugh at that.” Then he literally did. pic.twitter.com/7McYDycomO
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) April 25, 2017
There have been plenty of critics of Smart’s game early on in his career, but for Butler to question Smart’s toughness was probably unwarranted. While there have been flaws in Smart’s career such as the lack of a consistent outside stroke, the toughness and edge that Smart brings to the Boston Celtics night in and night out has been his calling card.
Look for things to heat up even more between the two during Game 5 on Wednesday night now that the series is knotted at 2-2 and the intensity will likely be upped from here on out.
