“I’m kind of like an ocean. Everything is calm, calm, calm. I’m good. When the ball goes up in the air, the waves start rocking.”
That quote is J.R. Smith.
The NBA has become obsessed with structure and efficiency.
SportVU data has become the league’s Rosetta stone and analytics reign supreme. In 2015, you need pristine spacing, selfless movement and a high volume of threes and shots at the rim.
Those who doubt the importance of statistical data – “your table is ready, Byron Scott and Phil Jackson” – are laughed at in the same way that teenagers in 1969 scoffed at their parents for not understanding The Beatles.
Nowadays, the corner three is ‘Abbey Road’ and the antiquated mid-range jump-shot is some bad single that Buddy Holly released during the Korean War.
Let history make it known that J.R. Smith was one man who stood up in defiance of this efficiency-obsessed revolution. He’s a freedom fighter; someone whose very existence is an affront to the Daryl Moreys of the world. He rains down the inefficient step-back contested 20-footers that are anathema to analytics, and he does it with a smile on his face.
Smith is not bound by structure; to the contrary, he treats it as a cute play-thing. For all the meticulous calculation that goes into breaking down an NBA game in 2015, there’s J.R. Smith, the anti-structure, one hop-step and fade-away three at a time saying ‘guys, it’s OK. Let’s get some Mojitos’.
Trying to defend J.R. Smith is like closing a door to block Wi-Fi. It doesn’t matter how contested the shots are; they’re either going in or they’re not, and that’s entirely up to Smith and the basketball Gods. He doesn’t differentiate between shots. Good shots, bad shots, vodka shots – they’re all the same to J.R.
Smith’s talent has never been questioned. At 6’6″ he can play both wing positions, he’s quick, he can get to the rim and he’s an above average three point shooter. When engaged he’s a sound defender and he’s a better passer than he’s given credit. And, of course, he can make every shot in the book.
The problem with Smith is that his decision-making makes Dion Waiters look like a mixture of Steve Nash and Abraham Lincoln. George Karl, Smith’s coach in Denver, marvellously called Smith’s shot selection ‘an insult to the dignity of the game’.
Smith’s poor choices are not limited to the hardwood floor. He’s a guy that once ran a room service bill to $3000 on his team’s tab and didn’t touch any of the food; he just wanted to see if the hotel staff would keep bringing more.
Labelled the NBA’s ‘clown prince’ in a brilliantly and justifiably vitriolic piece by Adrian Wojnarowski, Smith isn’t ever going to get ‘it’. History has demonstrated that he can only go so long on good behaviour before reverting back to his J.R. Smith-ness.
Smith seemingly put everything together in the 2012-13 season with the Knicks, scoring 18 points a game and taking out the Sixth Man of the Year Award. But J.R. ultimately couldn’t resist the urge to be himself, getting suspended for an elbow on Jason Terry in the playoffs that ended up being the turning point in a failed Knicks postseason. That’s how it goes with J.R. He has a one step forward two steps back routine as inevitable as his step-back jumper.
‘J.R. Swish’ has been phenomenal for Cleveland this season. The Cavs are a ridiculous 18.5 points better this postseason with Smith on the court versus the time he’s off it, and they were significantly better on both offence and defence with Smith on the court during the regular season too.
But Smith cost the Cavs dearly when his mindless striking of Jae Crowder got him suspended for the first two games of the Bulls series. Smith’s stupidity depleted the Cavs already limited wing depth and allowed the Bulls to get a split in Cleveland. If the Cavs hadn’t been playing a team whose offence was stuck in the era when ‘Titanic’ ruled the box office, Smith’s brain fade could have effectively ended his team’s season.
Since returning from suspension, Smith has been less a basketball player and more a fire emoji. He’s hit 20 threes in his past five games at a 51% clip. ‘The Best of J.R.’ was playing full blast in Game 1 in Atlanta to the tune of eight made threes and a game-winning 28 points. His second three, with 9:57 left in the second quarter, in the far corner with Kyle Korver and Mike Muscala as close to him as possible, was like the resolution to a Russian novel – purity in a maze of confusion. Six of his eight makes were well contested, but they went in anyway, such is J.R.
Enjoy the ride while it lasts, because there’s very little like it.
A hot streak from LeBron, Durant or Curry feels like a statistical inevitability. These guys are so good that it’s only a matter of time before they ignite. Conversely, J.R. riding the wave feels like a gift; something that shouldn’t be happening, but it is, and it’s marvellous.
Unfortunately for Smith, history, the law of averages and universal order all dictate that this wave is eventually going collapse in on itself. Smith will once again be left drowning in the sea of himself. Sadly, structure will win.
Cavs fans, do not fool yourself. J.R. Smith hasn’t figured anything out in Cleveland and he hasn’t changed. LeBron James has not ‘fixed’ Smith. Smith played under the tutelage of Chauncey Billups in Denver, one of the most esteemed leaders in the NBA, and never matured. LeBron is not a panacea for troubled talent either, just look at Michael Beasley.
Smith’s good behaviour is constantly operating on borrowed time. He’ll fall off the ‘beneficial to his team’ wagon somehow.
Maybe he’ll get overpaid this summer and lose interest. Maybe he’ll be busted for drugs again or give in to the seemingly irresistible urge to untie the shoelaces of his opponents. Or maybe, God forbid, the city of Cleveland will invest in some nightclubs.
Whatever it is, it’s only a matter of time before the Step-Back King becomes the Clown Prince once again. Until then though, enjoy the circus – it’s the best show in town.
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