It might not be Manhattan, or the home to a lot of Love and Hip-Hop New York vixens, but it seems that J.R. Smith has found a home in Cleveland. J.R. recently mentioned how boring it was in the 2-1-6 (see here), but it has helped his game immensely. Now– Cleveland isn’t New York, Los Angeles, or Miami, but you can still have some fun in the city (just holla The Good Guys). The fun that Smith had off the court didn’t translate to fun on the court as the New York Knicks were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference during the past few seasons. Smith was seen partying with the who’s who of the entertainment industry, but when it came to suit up on the floor something was missing.
Smith is just two years removed from winning the NBA’s Sixth Man Year Award, but if you watched him play the past two seasons you can tell he was a different player. Ironically, Smith was in a contract year the year he won the award, and the motivation to get a big pay day was on his mind more than anything. Did Smith mail it in after he got paid? I don’t think so, but his antics and lack of focus was a bad combination to who he played with on the court.
It seemed like after this play (see below) Smith was never the same in New York. After elbowing Jason Terry it seemed as if the rim became smaller for Smith and the spotlight became even bigger. It seemed as if he wasn’t chasing vixens or the prettiest women in Hollywood he was shooting ill-advised three pointers or showing acts of immaturity on the court.
After the Knicks drafted Tim Hardaway Jr in the 2013 draft it may have made him feel some type of way that the team was drafting a player that has a similar skill set as him. When looking at Smith’s career he has always played his best basketball alongside playmakers. While playing with Chauncey Billups during his last years in Denver he was regarded as one of the best streak scorers in the NBA, and in the 2013 season he played well with Jason Kidd. When playing with players who put you in the best position succeed makes ones job a lot easier.
To take nothing away from Carmelo Anthony, but he isn’t going to get Smith going, because that’s not his game. When it was announced that Smith would be traded to Cleveland, I knew it would be a great fit, because Smith would be playing with LeBron James. Playing with James is a treat, because he takes on all of the pressure, and he is more than a willing passer. When looking at Smith’s numbers they are similar to what they were in New York averaging a shade over 13.0 ppg, but his impact is felt in many ways. With Smith on the floor with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving it gives James the spacing to operate and it gives him three reliable shooters when defenses collapse on him. J.R. Smith still takes a lot of “Yolo” shots, but they are hid by the overall team play of the Cavs. Since coming to Cleveland, J.R. has bought into Coach LeBron’s system–( I meant to say Coach Blatt’s system) and he has been a willing passer, defender and shot maker. Now it appears that Smith has turned down off the court, but he is having fun on the court thriving with the Cavs.
It may be an unlikely fit, but it is a fit that makes sense– for now. Memo to J.R: Cleveland isn’t so boring, there is always Utah and Oklahoma City.
The truth be known, New York has a really crappy basketball team. It never was a good basketball team. And New York media or media around the globe will do just about anything to make New York look good and the guy that “got better” after leaving New York look like he wasn’t any good b/c there are ugly women elsewhere.
I’ve been to New York. Many times. The women there aren’t better looking than elsewhere. In fact, you’ll find more ugly gold diggers in New York then elsewhere.
Have fun with a crappy team in New York. … Or as this author believes, to all the players in New York, you’ll get better once you get out of there b/c all the women anywhere else are butt ugly.