J.R. Smith videbombing a Cavs sideline reporter: the sequel we’ve been waiting for
The Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of reason to feel good after beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. In the big picture, the victory clinched Cleveland’s first Central Division title since 2009-10 — a.k.a., the last season LeBron James played in his first stint in Cleveland — as well as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. In the micro sense, they had just finished off a scrappy Bucks squad with some pretty dope plays, including some wizardry from Kyrie Irving:
… and a “good night, y’all, drive home safely” dagger 3-pointer from LeBron James over Milwaukee defender Jared Dudley:
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Cleveland’s now won four straight, eight of nine and 18 of 23 since the All-Star break, coming on strong down the stretch to look like a legitimate threat to win the championship. That’s the kind of thing that makes you want to celebrate, and by “you,” I mean “J.R. Smith,” and by “celebrate,” I mean “get all up in the videos like Puffy.” Look out, FOX Sports Ohio’s Allie Clifton!
Whatever your general feelings about videobombs as A Thing All NBA Players Do Now, it’s worth noting that J.R. was out ahead of the curve on it. He turned in one of the classics of the genre back in 2011 as a member of the Denver Nuggets, using pretty much exactly the same moves he deployed Wednesday night:
The primary additions to his posedown? A double gun-show flex and sticking his finger in a reporter’s ear. The former: solid. The latter: less so. You don’t want to be the next contestant on that Delonte “dry willy” screen, J.R.
Clifton, for her part, didn’t seem to mind the interruption:
You can quibble with J.R.’s choice of moves, but it’s pretty hard to knock him for being so happy. He went from being a reserve and one of many fall guys on the worst New York Knicks team ever — which is saying a whoooooole lot — to being a starter and hand-in-glove fit as a shot-jacking fourth- or fifth-banana on a championship contender.
His primary job is to shoot 3-pointers at a higher clip than he has in his liberally gunning career — 7.3 long-range attempts per game, hitting 38.9 percent of them — and, so long as they come in the flow of the Cavs’ offense on open catch-and-shoot opportunities created by all the attention that defenses give LeBron and Kyrie, nobody’s going to get mad at him for chucking even more often than that. It’s a pretty good life. Why not smile, pose and dance? It’s important to have an attitude of gratitude, gang, and J.R.’s just thankful for getting the chance to ride along with the King and his court.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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