J.R. Smith Is Upset Because He Wanted To End The Warriors’ Winning Streak On Christmas

With all due respect to Bulls-Thunder and Spurs-Rockets, without a doubt the marquee matchup on Christmas Day this year is the Finals rematch between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

Even though J.R. Smith was part of the Cavs roster that lost to Golden State in the finals last year in six games, he found himself rooting for the Warriors as they built their undefeated streak to start this season. That’s because he wanted Cleveland to be the team who ended their undefeated streak on Christmas, as he told ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:

“I was upset. I’m not going to lie,” Smith said of the Warriors’ streak ending. “When it was a tough game against Boston, I was home watching the game and I was like, ‘Man, y’all got to pull this out. Y’all got to pull this out.’ I wanted them to go undefeated until they played us.”

Unfortunately for Smith, Golden State fell to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday to end their unblemished streak to begin the season at 24 straight. If the Warriors had gone unbeaten until Christmas, they would have been going for 29-0 against the Cavs (and 33-0 if you include their four regular-season wins to conclude the 2014-15 season).

Unsurprisingly, Smith’s teammate, LeBron James, did not share his public disappointment that Cleveland would not break the streak. LeBron, ever in the moment, was more worried about the four games on the calendar before their matchup on the Holiday.

“I’m too much of a guy that sticks in the present. I would be cheating the situation, I would be cheating the progress by worrying about a Christmas Day game when we’re not there yet.”

Even without the Warriors’ unbeaten streak concluding on Saturday night, the matchup between the two current Conference leaders in Oakland will certainly force some rescheduling of Christmas dinners in many households due to its 5 p.m. ET start. It’s a must-watch for NBA fans, especially with Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving likely back in the lineup and the Cavs near 100 percent.

(Via ESPN)

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