J.R. Smith has always had the reputation of a knucklehead and a player you can't rely on in the postseason. With his best playoff performance yet in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 97-89 Game 1 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Smith is doing his best to alter that perception of him.
NBA playoffs scores 2015: J.R. Smith busts out in Cavaliers’ 97-89 Game 1 victory
With Kyrie Irving limited due to injury, Smith stepped up to help LeBron James and the Cavaliers steal home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Smith scored a playoff career-high 28 points in the win, and he got to those 28 points by knocking down eight three-pointers, a Cavaliers’ playoff franchise record. He shot 10-of-16 overall, nailing a variety of tough jumpers from all over the court. The 29-year-old made an impressive 6-of-9 contested shots, per SportVU.
Also of note, Smith was the only Cavaliers reserve to score, as Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones both went scoreless and were the only other two subs to play. That duo combined to shoot 0-of-9 from the field and 0-of-7 from three, but interestingly enough, Jones was a team-high +11 and Dellavedova was right behind him at +10. Being on the court for Smith's three-point barrages certainly played a role in those numbers, although Dellavedova contributed in other areas.
Cleveland’s depth has come into question much of this season and especially of late with some of the injuries that have hit the team. However, the Cavaliers have gotten some sterling performances from their thin bench, with Smith providing consistent contributions since returning from his two-game suspension.
Smith’s first string of three-pointers in Game 1 helped stem the tide when it looked like the game was starting to get away from Cleveland. After falling behind by eight points early in the second quarter, Smith buried three three-pointers to get the Cavaliers right back in it.
The contest remained competitive throughout the rest of the first half and deep into the third quarter before Smith struck again. He buried two three-pointers to turn a two-point Cavaliers lead into an eight point lead, and at the outset of the fourth quarter, he knocked down three more threes and had a nifty alley-oop assist to open up an 18-point advantage.
This is the fifth straight game Smith has scored in double figures after reaching double digits just once in the series against the Boston Celtics. That first series looked like typical playoff J.R., as he shot under 37 percent overall and 27 percent from long range, and he capped off the series with the swing at Jae Crowder that cost him the first two games of the series against the Chicago Bulls.
Since coming back from the suspension, Smith is averaging nearly 16 points on 54 percent shooting overall and 51 percent from three. Keep in mind this is a guy who didn't make a third of his shots in his last two playoff series with the New York Knicks.
But Smith has found his niche in Cleveland after being traded midseason, and the Cavaliers will continue to rely on him for the quick-strike scoring, especially with Kyrie Irving still ailing. If Smith continues to consistently pick up the scoring slack, it’ll be awfully tough for Atlanta to beat Cleveland, and perhaps that less than sterling reputation of his can be built up a bit:
JR Smith said he wanted to change his reputation for his parents
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 21, 2015 3 other things we learned
The DeMarre Carroll injury could be a death knell for Atlanta: The Hawks are already down a key wing defender in Thabo Sefolosha, and now Carroll could be finished after a nasty-looking knee injury in the fourth quarter took him out of the game. The injury has been diagnosed as a knee sprain and an MRI is scheduled for Thursday, but many are fearing the worst and he left the arena on crutches.
If Carroll is out, that takes away yet another player to defend LeBron James, who scored a game-high 31 points on the night. Not only is Carroll a key defender on James and in general, but the soon-to-be free agent has been huge offensively all postseason by leading Atlanta in scoring through the first two rounds. Kent Bazemore would be forced into a much bigger role, and while the young guard played well in Game 1, he can't be expected to duplicate what Carroll provides. The Hawks must hope Carroll's injury isn't serious, otherwise they could be in big trouble.
Kyrie Irving's health still poses some problems for Cleveland: Supposedly feeling better after dealing with multiple injuries last series, Irving tweaked his troublesome left knee on a drive in the third quarter and limped off the floor. He briefly returned to the game at the start of the fourth quarter, but he didn't stay on the court long and didn't play down the stretch.
Irving plans to give it a go in Game 2, but he has noticeably not been himself of late because of his ailments. With this latest aggravation, that won't change, and the Hawks need to try and take advantage of a hobbled Irving as best they can. Not only does an injured Irving hurt the Cavaliers' offense, but it could mean big problems for the defense if he can't do anything to slow down Jeff Teague.
Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver must step up: Teague had his way with Irving and the rest of the Cavaliers' defense, scoring a team-high 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting. The always steady Al Horford added 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting, but there wasn't enough help from the rest of the Hawks, especially Millsap and Korver.
Millsap shot just 3-of-11 from the field and turned it over three times before fouling out. Korver shot 3-of-5 overall and 2-of-4 from three, but the fact that he only took five shots was a problem. Smith did a nice job defensively on Korver as Atlanta only made four three-pointers on the night. The Hawks need Millsap and Korver to step up regardless, but it’ll be of even more importance if the Carroll injury is serious.
Play of the Night
The Cavaliers faltered down the stretch offensively, but LeBron sealed the deal in the final minute with a thunderous slam. Where you going, Kyle Korver?
5 fun things
Final scores
Cavaliers 97, Hawks 89 (Fear The Sword recap | Peachtree Hoops recap)
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