Requiem For a Dream was the saddest movie I’d ever seen, then I saw this extended video of J.R. Smith on the Cavaliers’ bench after his Game 1 screwup.
J.R. Smith on the Cavs’ bench after his Game 1 screwup is the saddest video you’ll see this year
LeBron James couldn’t bear to look at him.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
It’s one of the most unfortunate things I have ever witnessed. Here’s a dude who clearly messed up, he knows he did and there’s nothing that can be done. Sure, a few teammates come up and give him a fist bump or share a few words, but at this point the only person who really matters is LeBron, and he can’t even bear to throw a glance J.R.’s way.
Then, just when you think it can’t get worse, LeBron puts his head in his hands because he can’t even handle what happened. What can J.R. do at this point? He knows that it’s not the right time to try and make amends with LeBron — there’s still overtime to focus on, but it’s a mess.
James didn’t know the video went viral.
“It went viral?” James said, according to USA Today. “Damn cameras. I haven’t seen it. I’m not on social media right now. I finally got Game 1 out of my head. You’re taking me back, huh? OK. OK. Let me put myself back there.”
He continued, talking about what was going through his head on the bench.
“I was sitting on the bench and kind of just contemplating the last couple seconds of what just happened from J.R. dribbling the ball out to G-Hill missing the free throw, actually seeing Draymond (Green) step in early on the lane violation (and) asking myself did I have a lane to actually drive it,” James said according to USA Today. “So, there were a lot of things playing through my head.”
Smith’s moment is the basketball equivalent of getting into a fight with your significant other before a party. You know shit isn’t good, but you’ve gotta try to hold it together. It’s absolutely the saddest thing I’ll see this year.
