Count Sir Charles among those who believe Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith should be suspended in the NBA playoffs.
If you missed it, Smith took a swing at Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder late in the second half of Sunday’s 101-93 Cavs win at TD Garden. Crowder was injured on the play, awkwardly falling and spraining the ACL in his left knee.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said on “NBA on TNT” that he believes Smith should be suspended for 10 games because of the egregiousness of the offense, his status as a repeat offender and his gestures at fans after being ejected.
“I want to see what happened to Jae Crowder, first of all,” Barkley said. “They say he has a sprained knee. If it’s more than a sprained knee, I’ve got to throw the book at (Smith), to be honest with you. I hope it’s only a sprain. I thought he blew out his ACL or something, the way he went down on it.
“If it’s just a sprain, I’ve just got to look at the punch, and I might have to suspend him for 10 games. You can’t punch people in the head. He punched a guy in the head.”
Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith agreed Smith should be suspended but differed in their assessments of length.
Check out their full comments in the video below.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GM7fLlXw9vQ%26feature%3Dyoutu.be%26t%3D1m30s
UPDATE (7:47 p.m. ET): Sorry, Charles, but Smith was suspended for two games, not 10.
