Pistons' Smith responds to Faried's shooting criticisms: 'He's a clown'
Detroit Pistons power forward Josh Smith didn't exactly take kindly to Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried's postgame comments.
Following the Nuggets' 89-79 victory over the Pistons on Wednesday, Faried pinned Detroit's loss on Smith's insistence on shooting. Faried revealed that the Nuggets' strategy was to intentionally leave Smith open in order to goad him into taking ill-advised shots.
Smith fired back on Thursday, expressing his thoughts on Faried to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
"I don't respond to nobody with dreadlocks who plays basketball," said Smith. "He's a clown, quote me on that."
"He fears me," Smith said. "He's scared of me, so, of course, he'll talk about me in the paper. He won't do it to me in my face. If you have to hide behind a microphone or smartphone, so be it. I don't mind."
To be fair to Smith, his shooting wasn't abysmal, as he did manage to score 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting. He also chipped in with five rebounds and three assists.
However, the Nuggets did leave Smith wide open on a number of occasions. According to NBA.com, Smith sunk just three of nine "wide open" (defined as no defender within six feet) shots.
Faried, on the other hand, poured in 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and grabbed 17 rebounds.