J.R. Smith doesn’t need an excuse to jack up what most people would consider and untenable number of questionable shots. The crown prince of irrational confidence honestly believes that he shoots better with a hand in his face and actually prefers it, because it’s more fun.
J.R. Smith: "I'd rather take a contested shot than an open shot any day … It's kind of boring when you take open shots"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 21, 2015
That’s from back in 2015, so we didn’t exactly require any further rationale behind his at times questionable shot selection. That said reporters can’t help but ask him about it and his general lack of concern with the quality of a shot, because his response is inevitably going to be golden.
At shootaround at Madison Square Garden on Monday prior to the Cavs’ game against the Knicks, Smith offered a pretty airtight argument that he learned from his father for shooting the ball every time you touch it.
JR Smith‘s dad taught him to shoot every time he touches the ball.
“Don't risk turning it over. Just shoot it." https://t.co/mFCJNkqxoe
— Thomas Duffy (@TJDhoops) November 13, 2017
Of course, there’s an argument to be made that a bad shot is the same as a turnover, but let’s not split hairs here. In a league that has progressively been moving toward spacing and ball movement, it’s comforting to know that the glory of hero ball still exists in a few brave souls around the league.
So, you heard it hear first, kids. By certain labyrinthine lines of logic, shooting every time you touch the ball is actually helping your team. Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently.
