ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Shaq O'Neal For His Take On Portland's Bad Defense

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It's been a tough week for ESPN talker Stephen A. Smith after watching his beloved Steelers get bounced out of the playoffs Sunday by the rival Browns.

Smith now looks like he's taking some of his frustration out on TNT NBA commentator Shaquille O’Neal. Thursday night, Smith went after "Shaq Daddy" after some comments O'Neal made regarding the Portland Trail Blazers.

O'Neal simply said that the Blazers were terrible on defense during a 111-87 loss to the Indiana Pacers, a point that didn't sit well with Stephen A.

Smith went on offense against Shaq, taking to Twitter to call out the former NBA big man about his take on Portland.










The 7-5 Blazers will now have even more trouble playing defense, as the team lost center Jusuf Nurkic to a broken right wrist during the loss to the Pacers.

Portland has struggled all season on defense, despite still being two games over .500. Right now, the club is ranked 26th out of 30 in overall points allowed.



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Matt has been a part of the Cleveland Sports landscape working in the media since 1994 when he graduated from broadcasting school. His coverage beats include the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He's written three books, and won the "2020 AP Sports Stringer Lifetime Service Award."