Can you believe we finally made it to the NBA Finals?
It’s Cavs-Warriors
Chapter Three: Revenge of J.R. Smith.
No, seriously; although he has been
quiet in these playoffs J.R. Smith was “money”, as Vince Vaughn from “Swingers”
would say, in the 2016 NBA Finals against Golden State.
He
dropped 20 points in game three, 14 in game six and 12 in a decisive game seven
in which he spent 39 minutes on the floor. More importantly the Cavaliers won
each of those games as well as game five at the Oracle to make J.R. Smith the
unlikeliest NBA champion in the history of the sport.
Last
year’s NBA Finals showed how well the Cavs play when their farfetched hero is
casting threes like a Hollywood director gone mad with power. J.R. Smith is
lightning in a bottle of Tabasco. J.R. Smith plays basketball like Tom Cruise
acts; with reckless abandon and no regard for mankind.
Remember
after game seven when Smith’s daughter infamously threw shade on her father’s
parade of navy blue and gold confetti?
“I’m
just proud of him because he made the championship without getting kicked off
the team.” Smith’s daughter, Demi, said to reporters during the celebration.
God
bless J.R. Smith; he has had a tough road.
In June
of 2007 he was in a car accident in which he was ejected from his vehicle.
Andre Bell, a passenger of Smith’s who was also dislodged from the car in the
crash, died a couple days later from head injuries. While the toll of this
accident is infinitely worse for the Bell family, it also must weigh heavily on
Smith’s psyche.
Smith is
in the news again as his daughter, Dakota, was finally released from the
hospital after being born five months premature in January.
He has had a long journey to the peak
since coming into the league straight from high school in 2004 that includes
battles with coaches, countless DNP’s and a short stint in China during the
2011 NBA lockout.
You
already know all the household names from the Finals; Lebron, Steph, Kyrie,
Durant, Love and Klay. There is nothing more I can write about any of these
mononymous superstars that will change your opinion; that is why you recognize
who I am referring to with a single name. Their identities are already
ingrained into your basketball brain like Bird-Magic or M.J.’s winner in game
six against Utah.
Lebron
will dominate the game in all facets, Steph will bomb threes and unleash joyful
triumphs as he bounds down the court and Kyrie will be “The Layup King”. Durant
will be the best pure scorer on the court, Love will grab boards and stand in
the corner waiting to shoot and Klay will get hot one game and drop twenty five
in the third quarter.
Get to
know J.R. Smith.
Golden State’s squad remembers him
from last year’s June matchup. He rained threes on their defense like a soggy
spring day in the Pacific Northwest.
Sure Smith has been quiet in the
2017 NBA playoffs but I see him as more of a firework who is bound to explode
as soon as that fuse dissipates.
Remember Ang Lee’s 2000 martial arts
film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”? J.R. Smith is about to roundhouse kick
the Golden State Warriors back home.
I got Cleveland in seven with Lebron
winning the Finals MVP. I love J.R. Smith but c’mon; I’m not that crazy.
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