Curry rebuts TNT’s Smith’s Lillard comments
Hot-shooting Damian Lillard had a good reason for “going dumb” for a second during the NBA playoffs Tuesday night, but what was TNT’s Kenny Smith excuse?
Like most people, Stephen Curry was incredulous after Smith reacted to Lillard’s longrange assault in a Game 1 upset over the Lakers by doubting the Warriors star could match Lillard.
“I don’t think you can shoot as deep as him, Steph. I got to see it when you come back,” Smith said on “Inside the NBA” while breaking down highlights of Lillard’s
34-point effort in a 10093 win.
He questioned Curry’s shooting range. That’s akin to disparaging Patrick Mahomes’ arm strength or Mike Trout’s swing.
Within minutes, Curry responded to Smith on social media.
“Love you @TheJetOnTNT ... but you trippin right now,” Curry wrote on Twitter.
Smith apparently got a bit carried away after Lillard nailed six 3-pointers, including a pull-up 35-footer that tied the game at 87. That was the short that prompted Lillard, who grew up in East Oakland’s Brookfield Village, to break into a dance when Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” was played.
“They played the East
Oakland anthem,” Lillard said. “So it was only right I acknowledged the East Oakland anthem and go dumb for a second.”
For his part, Smith did quickly snap out of his temporary fog. All it took was Curry’s tweet to serve as a reminder.
“Man it’s been a long time. I forgot,” read Smith’s Twitter response to Curry, which was followed by a laughing emoji.
Overwhelming visual evidence aside, ESPN did a study on Curry’s shooting range last year and found Steph is truly the game’s best long-distance shooter. He made the most shots from 30-35 feet in the NBA in the previous five seasons.
Curry was 45-for-94 during that time, good for a staggering 48%. Lillard’s 30 makes from deep distance were second best in the league, but the Blazers star made just 27% (30-for110) of his shots.