JR Smith on Tuesday night fracas: 'Just don't hit nobody'

J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers had to refrain from taking part in the Taj Gibson-Matthew Dellavedova scuffle on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.

J.R. Smith is one of the last players in the NBA who could possibly be expected to refrain from a fight on the floor. He is, in some ways, the epitome of a nut case on the court.

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And yet on Tuesday night, in the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ most important game of the season–Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals at home against the Chicago Bulls–Smith kept himself from entering the fray. By not doing anything more than simply responding to the Taj Gibson kick of his teammate Matthew Dellavedova, Smith showed restraint.

How did he do it?

“Just don’t hit nobody,” Smith responded when asked how he was able to keep his cool. “That was my main thing. There was definitely a fire lit, but I tried to keep my cool as much as I could.”

Smith kept his cool with said method, but perhaps he was motivated a bit by fear–the fear he’d become a repeat offender in the eyes of the NBA. He infamously missed the first two games of the Chicago series due to taking the Boston Celtics‘ Jae Crowder out of Game 4 in the first-round by hitting him.

Smith has been a key member of the Cavaliers’ run thus through the Eastern Conference playoffs, averaging 13 points on 54.3 percent true shooting in this series. He has been better in the Chicago series than he was against Boston, making it all the more important he remained on the floor.

His cooler head prevailing was incredibly important for the Cavaliers as they look to close out the series in Chicago on Thursday evening. To do so without Smith would have likely been impossible.

They won’t have to, though, as Smith will be available.

Instead, it will likely be Gibson who is suspended, if anyone is from Tuesday night’s game. And as poor as Joakim Noah has been in this series, and for that matter good as Gibson has been, it would be quite a loss for the Bulls, especially as they must win two straight games against the Cavaliers.

Sure LeBron James could probably overcome the loss of Smith, but the Bulls are going to be hard-pressed to overcome James, Kyrie Irving and Smith, if they are not at full strength. If Pau Gasol and Gibson were Out for Game 6, the Cavaliers would be clear favorites to win and end the series.

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JR Smith on Tuesday night fracas: ‘Just don’t hit nobody’

By Will Osgood | May 13, 2015

J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers had to refrain from taking part in the Taj Gibson-Matthew Dellavedova scuffle on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.

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