Kyle Terada- USA Today Sports
It was nice that J.R. Smith took accountability for his poor play in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, because it was his poor play that almost cost the Cleveland Cavaliers a game that they desperately needed to stay afloat against the Golden State Warriors.
Some of the errors that Smith committed last night were just pure mind-boggling, and he has been making mistakes like that not just in the playoffs, but throughout his career. Smith is a talented player who can take over a game with his scoring at any moment, but his tendency to make horrific plays at crucial moments has often made him a question mark among teams and fans alike.
Seriously, when the Cavaliers traded for Smith and Iman Shumpert at midseason, who would had thought that Smith would have the positive impact on the Cavs that he is having now? We all thought that the Cavs were getting “the bad J.R.” that we saw in New York over the past year and a half.
But amazingly, Cleveland has revitalized Smith, and he is one of the main reasons why the Cavs are playing for the NBA title.
But over the course of the playoffs, the “bad J.R.” has reared his ugly head. There was the elbow in round one against the Boston Celtics that cost him the first two games of the second round, and last night, two bone-headed plays that if you’re a Cleveland fan you have to ask yourself, “what the world was he thinking?!”
If the Cavs are going to pull off this upset in the Finals and help cement LeBron James’ legacy as one of the best players in NBA history, then Smith has to stop with the Jekyll and Hyde routine and become a consistent sidekick to King James.
You can’t commit as many dumb plays as Smith committed last night and expect to win, and the next two games will be crucial to Cleveland’s title chances. I’m a fan of Smith, but he must stop being the “bad J.R.” at critical moments and be the “good J.R.” who helps quench the thirst of title-starved Cleveland. He is just too valuable to continue making dumb plays.
Kareem Gantt covers the NBA and the rest of the sports world for Rant Sports. For more from this author, follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.
