NBA
Stephen A. Smith warned by Paul George after making teammate dig on live TV
STEPHEN A. Smith received a message from NBA star Paul George after the ESPN personality took a shot at Kawhi Leonard.
The moment occurred on Wednesday when the First Take star Smith appeared alongside George during ESPN’s NBA Finals coverage after the Boston Celtics‘ Game 3 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
During the live TV broadcast, Stephen A. complimented George while also taking a dig at Los Angeles Clippers teammate Kawhi Leonard.
“Nobody on the planet knows what it’s like to play without a star [more] than Paul George. I’ll leave it at that,” Smith said while looking away from George and the rest of the ESPN cast.
George quickly responded, saying,” Don’t do that,” while smiling and finger-wagging at Smith.
ESPN panelist and former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers replied, “This is what he does,” seemingly referring to Smith’s brutally honest opinions.
The shot toward Leonard appears to concern the six-time NBA All-Star’s lack of availability.
Since George and Leonard both joined the Clippers in 2019, the latter has played in just 229 of a possible 410 games.
George hasn’t had close to a clean bill of health either as he’s appeared in 263 of a possible 410 contests.
Leonard played in just two of the Clippers’ six first-round games against the Mavericks.
He did play in 68 of 82 games this year, averaging 23.7 points per game while also making the All-Star team.
However, Leonard only played in 52 games in the previous campaign in 2022.
And he missed the whole 2021 season due to a torn ACL.
Stephen A.’s comment came after a topic concerning the Celtics being without the injured power forward Kristaps Porzingis.
The 7-footer has a “rare” leg injury.
Boston still was able to win without him as superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 61 points.
The Mavericks responded with force in Game 4 to avoid getting swept, beating the Celtics 122-84 in the blowout victory.
Luka Doncic scored 29 points in the contest.
George made his debut as a Finals analyst on Wednesday.
NBA Finals schedule
Thur 6 June – Game 1 – Dallas Mavericks 89-107 Boston Celtics
Sun 9 June – Game 2 – Dallas Mavericks 98-105 Boston Celtics
Wed 12 June – Game 3 – Boston Celtics 106-99 Dallas Mavericks
Fri 14 June – Game 4, 8.30pm ET – Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks
Mon 17 June – Game 5, 8.30pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics
Thur 20 June – Game 6, 8.30pm ET – Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks
Sun 23 June – Game 7, 8pm ET – Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics
(Boston leads Dallas 3-0)
The 34-year-old joined the ESPN broadcast on Friday as Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embid also joined the coverage.
Game 5 will take place on Monday night in Boston as the Celtics will try to close out the series and win their 18th championship.
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