A Defensive Slip Up Caused J.R. Smith To Lose A Bet With Tyronn Lue


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To be a great defender in the NBA, players need to be disciplined and have great patience. These characteristics aren’t the type of descriptors commonly used for J.R. Smith but the Cavs guard is actually a solid defender, capable of slowing down an opponent’s top scorer. This has been Smith’s role in the playoffs for the Cavs as he had to guard Pacers All-Star Paul George in the first-round and Raptors scorer DeMar DeRozan in the second-round.

Smith was very effective against DeRozan whenever they were matched up against each other. Throughout the entire four-game sweep by the Cavs, Smith’s defense played a big role in Cleveland limiting DeRozan from every getting into a solid rhythm. But Smith did make one mistake while guarding DeRozan and it cost him. Literally.

Smith had a running bet with Tyronn Lue where every time he bit on a pump fake from DeRozan, he would owe the Cavs coach a hundred dollars. The pump fake is a big part of DeRozan’s offensive repertoire so the bet was a true challenge for Smith. However, Smith actually was very disciplined against DeRozan and didn’t bite on any of his pump fakes. That is until Game 4, where Smith got faked out by DeRozan one time. And since he messed up, Smith had to pay up.
From Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:

With a plate full of food in one hand, Lue called for and collected a crisp $100 bill from Smith.

“I knew it as soon as I did it,” Smith told cleveland.com.

Smith may have lost the bet but hey, it only happened once so it wasn’t that bad. Plus Smith truly embraced the challenge Lue presented to him and his coach is likely quite happy that he only made a hundred dollars from his starting shooting guard.

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