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Season Wrap-Up: J.R. SMITH

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Season Overview

Countless predictions surrounded last year’s new-look Cavaliers squad. But none of those predictions foresaw the Wine and Gold acquiring J.R. Smith as the squad’s starting two-guard.

After an offseason for the ages, the Cavs went into last campaign with lofty expectations. But they found themselves struggling around the .500 mark as the calendar turned to 2015. And after dropping a lopsided Sunday afternoon decision to Dallas at The Q, the season took a dramatic turn the following night in Philadelphia.

That night – minutes before tipping off against the Sixers – the Cavaliers announced a three-team deal that sent Dion Waiters to the Thunder, bringing Smith, Iman Shumpert and a protected first-rounder back to Cleveland while sending Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and their own 2019 second-rounder to New York. (Two nights later, the Cavs would package that first-rounder in another major deal that brought Timofey Mozgov to town.)

Smith was the first of the three new Cavaliers to see action for his new squad and he got off to a rough start – going 0-for-5 from the floor in a January 7 home loss to the Rockets. But Smith found his rhythm as the Cavs traveled West – and exploded for 27 points in his first start with Cleveland, going 11-for-23 from the floor and 3-of-8 from long-distance in a loss to Golden State.

From that point forward, about the only things that slowed Smith down were a suspension at the end of the Cavs’ First Round series with Boston and those same Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Drafted by the Hornets in 2004, Smith spent five seasons in Denver and just over three with New York. In 2012-13, after averaging 18.1 ppg with the Knicks, Smith was named Sixth Man of the Year. Including this past year, he’s canned at least 100 treys in eight of his last nine seasons and ranks 24th on the league’s all-time list with 1,475 three-pointers made.

In terms of heating up from beyond the arc, nobody has ever done it better than Smith. He has 14 games with at least eight treys, 25 games of at least seven – both NBA records.

During the 2014-15 season, Smith ranked 11th in the NBA with 163 three-pointers made, averaging 2.3 makes per contest. He hit three or more threes on 27 occasions; five or more in 11 games.

In 51 starts with the Wine and Gold, the New Jersey native notched double-figures in 39 games and topped the 20-point plateau on 13 occasions. He made at least one three-pointer in 38 contests for Cleveland, including a stretch of 19 straight games from late February through early March. No player in the Eastern Conference hit more bombs than Smith from January 13 forward.

In the postseason, Smith performed well against Boston in Cleveland’s First Round sweep. But a Game 4 incident with the Celtics’ Jae Crowder – in which Smith was tossed for decking him while boxing out for a rebound – resulted in a two-game suspension to start the Second Round.

When Smith finally suited up against Chicago – coming off the bench in his return and through the rest of the playoffs – he was the model of consistency, averaging 12.7 ppg (same as his regular season mark with the Cavs) – shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from long-distance.

Against the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Smith was even better – especially in Game 1 in Atlanta, going off for a game-high 28 points as Cleveland stole homecourt advantage from the Hawks. In Games 3 and 4, Smith was a combined 7-for-19 from beyond the arc – averaging 17.5 ppg and grabbing 10 boards in each of the final two contests.

In the NBA Finals, Smith struggled from the floor – shooting just 31 percent, including 29 percent from deep. Smith still netted double-figures in four of the series’ six games, but didn’t shoot the ball well until the final minutes of Game 6. By then, Golden State was already pulling away and eyeing their first NBA Championship in four decades.

Highlight

J.R. Smith had some big games shooting the ball this year – frequently tormenting the Cavaliers’ division rivals.

He broke the 20-point mark five times against the Central as a member of the Cavaliers – most notably his aerial assault against Milwaukee on March 22. In that contest, Smith helped the Wine and Gold overcome an 18-point deficit, going 3-for-3 from long-range in the fourth – 4-of-4 from the floor overall – netting 11 of his 23 points in the final period.

But Smith saved his best for the postseason, bombing the Hawks out of Philips Arena in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals – going 8-of-12 from beyond the arc (10-for-16 overall) to finish with 28 points, eight boards, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Smith, who hit five of his eight treys after intermission, was the only Cavalier reserve to score that night.

Lowlight

Although J.R. (and Iman Shumpert) – who saw their Knicks drop 31 of their next 35 games after beating Cleveland on opening night – might disagree, his season lowlight probably came in the Finals.

After returning from his two-game suspension levied at the end of the series with Boston, Smith – who relinquished his starting spot to Shumpert – got back to speed quickly. And he was very good against Atlanta.

But Smith was obviously pressing in his first career trip to the Finals, shooting 26 percent from beyond the arc in the first five games against Golden State – including an 0-for-8 performance in Game 4 and a 4-for-14 output in Game 5.

Odds and Ends

Even J.R. Smith admits that he doesn’t look like your average golf aficionado. But he picked up the sport six years ago and can’t get enough – even taking time to tee off with the PGA’s Bubba Watson when the squad traveled to Orlando this past season.

In the words of Smith himself, here’s how the sweet-shooting two-guard got his start on the links …

”Rashard Lewis had an outing in Houston. It was his first outing. And I was just riding around in the carts, just being, like, the ‘talent,’ so to speak. I was driving up on Moses Malone’s group and he was like: ‘Man, are you just gonna ride around the in the carts all day?’ And I said: ‘Yeah, I don’t play golf. It’s easy, it’s boring.’

He’s like: ‘Come on, man. Get out here!’

So I get out there, first swing, no kidding, 300 yards down the fairway. First time ever! And I said: ‘See, look? Easy, right?’ All (Moses) did was shot me how to hold a club, and he just said: ‘Swing.’ So I swung … 300 yards!

So, we drive around some more, come back, he says: ‘Try it again.’ I could NOT hit it right again! But after that, I was hooked. I wanted to go buy a set of clubs that day!”

By the Numbers

131 … Three-pointers made by J.R. Smith since joining the Cavaliers on January 7, most in the Eastern Conference and third-most in the NBA during that stretch.

Only the Splash Brothers – Stephen Curry (192) and Klay Thompson (149) – canned more treys during that span.

Quotable

J.R. Smith ... on the deeper meaning of what his success in Cleveland signified to him …

"It's a great situation for me. But it's more for my mom. She's probably my biggest fan. When all those negative things are being said and stuff like that, me personally, I really don't care. But for her, to see her hurting, to see her go through those situations, to feel the way she feels, it's a terrible feeling for me because I know I'm putting her in those situations. So if anything, it's just for her."

Looking Ahead

With J.R. Smith back in the fold, the Cavaliers club that finished two wins away from an NBA Championship is almost completely reassembled as Training Camp looms just three weeks away.

Smith’s revitalized his career with the Cavaliers last season. Known for his on- and off-the-court exploits, J.R. was the ultimate teammate last season. He and LeBron James had a particularly strong relationship, but the 11-year veteran known as “Swish” worked well in any combination – and was just as effective off the bench in the playoffs as he was as a starter in the regular season.

A seasoned, savvy veteran, Smith – the East’s top marksman last year – knows exactly what’s at stake on the North Coast this season. In either role – back in the starting lineup or relieving Shump off the bench – he’ll want to wash the taste of the Finals out of his mouth early as the Cavaliers take aim at the title that eluded them this past June.