JR Smith is the gift that keeps on giving

JR Smith may have cost the Cleveland Cavaliers a win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but his confidence hasn’t wavered.

JR Smith made a lot of people very angry with his performance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. With the game tied, a little over four seconds on the clock and George Hill’s second free throw rattling away from the rim, Smith snagged the rebound ahead of Kevin Durant.

The Cavs seemed poised for a big upset on the back of LeBron James’ 51-point performance, but lo! Smith, apparently under the impression the Cavs were winning, didn’t try to score, or pass, or anything else, and dribbled down the clock while his teammates screamed in his general direction.

Did he know the score? Ty Lue said he didn’t. Amateur lip-readers everywhere agreed with him. LeBron ducked the question. JR said he did. Then he said he wasn’t sure. What we can say was that the play was bad, whether he knew what was happening or not.

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But also, this being JR Smith, it was good, because it has gifted us with three straight days of JR Smith musing on the state of his own mind — which, even at the best of times, pretty dicey territory — during those fateful seconds.

In particular, Smith had some fascinating insight into what it’s like to play next to LeBron, who, lest we forget, went not inconsiderably far out of his way to ensure he got the privilege of playing with Smith these past few years.

As ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports, the incident in Game 1 hasn’t hurt Smith’s confidence or his sense of humor. Then again, his words may soon backfire as LeBron considers his pending free agency. The privilege of playing with JR Smith can only last so long.