Minnesota is a state, not a city, Stephen A. Smith. Give us nitpickers a chance to call out the national media when they misrepresent Minnesota (it’s one of our favorite things to do) and we’ll race to the opportunity.
“First of all, I think that the behavior was idiotic. It’s an embarrassment to the city of Minnesota and the Timberwolves organization, that you’re about to play in the play-in game and this kind of divisiveness on the last game of the regular season is something that you allow to happen,” Smith said of the fight between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson.
The geographical error aside, Smith had some pointed things to say about the Timberwolves crumbling on Sunday, with Rudy Gobert punching his teammate and Jaden McDaniels breaking his own hand by punching a wall.
“Rudy Gobert had no business hitting Kyle Anderson, but Kyle Anderson did use the B-word at him. That is true, just what Adrian Wojnarowski reported. You could read Kyle Anderson’s lips and he did call him the B-word, which is what made Rudy Gobert react to him that way,” Smith said.
“That’s embarrassing, that’s juvenile, it’s stupid and they should be ashamed of themselves for finding themselves in that situation.”
.@stephenasmith reacts to Rudy Gobert swinging on Kyle Anderson:
"The behavior was idiotic and it's an embarrassment to the city of [Minneapolis] and the Timberwolves organization." pic.twitter.com/HLZdX1nSRN
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 10, 2023
Smith called Jaden McDaniels “dumb” for punching a wall and breaking his hand during Sunday’s game between Minnesota and New Orleans.
“I know he’s young. What the hell are you doing? I mean, you’re going to go and break your hand because you’re punching a wall. What could you possibly have been that upset about, on the last game of the regular season knowing you’ve got a play-in game coming up, that you’re going to go and punch a wall and break your hand and you miss the rest of the season? It’s just dumb.”
The Timberwolves and Lakers tip off just after 9 p.m. Tuesday. The winner secures the No. 7 seed and will face the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs.
The loser will play again Friday night in an elimination game against the Pelicans or Thunder, with the winner receiving the No. 8 seed and a first-round playoff series against the No. 1 Denver Nuggets.
“Ain’t no way in my mind the Lakers lose in this play-in game to Minnesota,” Smith concluded.
Related: Chris Finch on Gobert punch, McDaniels’ immaturity
Related: Draymond Green had 4 words for Rudy Gobert after punch
