If you would’ve told us at the beginning of this season that J.R. Smith would be playing in the NBA finals in June, we might’ve wondered whether you’d recently undergone a very badly botched lobotomy. Yet here we are, one mind-bending twist of fate later and approximately three short days away from the glorious marvel that will be two former Knicks castaways making their inaugural appearances on basketball’s biggest stage.
Smith, in particular, is as unlikely a hero as there ever was. Just a few weeks ago, he earned himself a suspension for blatantly and unapologetically pimp-slapping Jae Crowder during the first round of the playoffs. That’s never a good sign, but what’s so exciting (and often infuriating) about Smith is that he is, above all, an entertainer, and he understands the first rule of showmanship better than almost anyone: don’t be boring.
And Smith, for all his faults (and there are plenty), is never boring, whether he’s violently and inexplicably lashing out at his opponents, untying other players’ shoelaces mid-game, trolling his former team via social media, or absolutely never letting us down when we can feel it in our bones that he’s going to take a heat check even, and sometimes especially, if that entails chucking up a terrible, off-balance shot with two defenders in his grill while the best player in the world looks on in wild-eyed wonderment just a few feet away. Never change, J.R.
And we’re not the only ones dying to see what sorts of antics he’ll come up with next. Former Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony has also apparently been texting words of encouragement to both Smith and Iman Shumpert during their run through the postseason. Via Marc Berman of the New York Post:
“I heard from him, he’s excited for us,’’ Smith said after Cavaliers practice Sunday in advance of Thursday’s Game 1 of The Finals in Oakland, Calif. “He’s excited for us. I talked to him for a while. I can’t say everything he said, I’d probably get fined. It was a great conversation.’’
Was Anthony lamenting the notion Smith and Shumpert are no longer in New York?
“Nah, he was happy,” Smith said. “He wanted me to go out and have fun. It’s a stage I’ve been waiting for. He told me to go out there and thrive on it. He’s happy for me.’’
Melo joined Phil Jackson, who also recently praised the trio of former Knicks he unloaded at the trade deadline, who were still fighting their way through the playoffs. Jackson was particularly accurate in his assessment of how players like Shumpert and Smith need to be in the right position to thrive. They’ve absolutely found that environment in Cleveland, where each has become a crucial factor in the Cavs’ evolution to championship contenders.
What remains to be seen is whether their contributions will be enough to catapult them past a Golden State Warriors team that has even more firepower and is much more cohesive as an all-around unit.
