J.R. Smith: New Opportunity For Redemption
By Joshua Howe
Somewhat lost in the excitement of two close-together Cleveland Cavaliers trades was the fact that J.R. Smith was being saved from basketball hell.
Smith was never the focus of the trade between Cleveland, New York and Oklahoma City. The excitement for the Cavs was the addition of Iman Shumpert (and for some, the subtraction of Dion Waiters). Everyone assumed that Smith would simply replace Waiters as the club’s resident good play/bad play guy.
So far, that hasn’t been the case.
In New York, Smith was lost in the Bermuda Triangle offense, and his frustrations mounted several times for different reasons. He had a couple nagging injuries that eventually led to him missing 12 games; 10 of them in a row.
He was also suspended a single game for doing this to Glen Rice Jr.:
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J.R. has always been a polarizing player. But here, now, in Cleveland, he has a chance to put his immense basketball talent to good use at the age of 29. He has more experience than Dion Waiters, his own level of sneaky-good athleticism and is a much better shooter.
There are a few very positive things for Smith that give him a chance to do something exciting in Cleveland:
- Lack of night life
- Playoff-bound team
- LeBron James
It is well documented that Smith is the kind of guy who loves night life, which is fine, so long as it doesn’t interfere with play on the court. In this rather funny Maxim article, it’s stated that the New York gentlemen’s clubs are “quietly mourning the loss” of Smith, while Cleveland’s own clubs are “more than ready to host the greatest partier currently in the association.”
Hilarious though this may be, it would be wise for Smith to avoid seeking out these places. Or at least, go to them less than he did the ones in The Big Apple. But Cleveland’s not known for these type of places, and it may very well be that Smith does indeed decide to focus on basketball over everything else.
A second motivation is the fact that he’s now playing on a playoff-bound team. No longer is he on the worst team in basketball (good for you, Philly!) and he actually has a reason to try hard. This Cleveland team has needed someone with his skill set to come off of the bench for them and deliver an extra scoring punch.
The Cavs tried to get that from Waiters, but deep in his heart he wanted to start and he simply wasn’t able to conform to a sixth-man type of role. Smith has actually won the Sixth Man of the Year award in the past (2012-13), and so he’s accustomed to the job and very, very good at it when focused and healthy.
He can be part of helping to right a rocking ship by giving the bench more stability, which it desperately needs since there are virtually no guards Cleveland can bring off the bench to add anything offensively when LeBron or Kyrie Irving need to rest.
J.R. providing stability! Who knew?
Smith is also already benefitting from probably the greatest playmaker he’s ever played with in LeBron. It was easy to see early on after James made his return from injury that Smith wasn’t actually used to getting such wide open looks. In New York, he’d had to work for every single shot he took, since the offense was just isolation play after isolation play; usually by Carmelo Anthony.
But since James’ return, Smith has averaged 17.8 points and 2.3 steals on 51.0 percent shooting from the field and 48.6 percent shooting from deep in 34.7 minutes. His true shooting percentage is through the roof at an insane 67.9 percent.
That crazy shooting certainly won’t last, but it’s a microcosm of the effect LeBron can have on Smith in Cleveland. He’s always been a good shooter and having a great passer only makes his game easier. Adjusting won’t be necessary it seems since Smith is still taking the same shots he usually does, just now they’re falling at a higher rate.
Heck, just look at his shot chart with the Cavs:
In his short stint with the Cavs so far, he’s already had three 20-plus point games over a total of seven contests. In New York, he recorded three 20-plus point games over a total of 24 matchups. His season high has also been with Cleveland, when he lit up Phoenix for 29 points (and had four steals) back on Jan. 13.
The simple fact is this: Smith fits Cleveland’s makeup better than Waiters did and, frankly, he’s a better player.
This may be the last opportunity for Smith to make a real impact on a team that has a chance to win it all (or at least the East). There’s no telling what could happen with his career if things blow up for him in Cleveland.
He needs them as much as they need him. This is his chance to shine and show people that the trade that included him wasn’t just about acquiring Iman Shumpert. It’s about more than just getting to play for a new team, or to play with LeBron.
It’s about redemption.