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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v HAWKSMay 21, 2015J.R. SmithATLANTA, GEORGIA: Practice Day Q. How did you sleep last night? J.R. SMITH: Honestly, I couldn't really sleep. I just kept replaying the game over and over again. More of the shots I missed than the ones I made. Hopefully, I'll get more sleep tonight. Q. When you get in a rhythm like that, is there a feeling that you just won't miss no matter what the defense is? J.R. SMITH: Yeah. It's kind of a weird feeling because you take‑‑ for me, anyway, it ends up being taking the tougher shots than the ones I made. Those are the ones I missed. Last night I replayed the ones I should have hit. Q. LeBron said you probably deserved to take four or five more shots based on how well you were playing. It must be nice to hear a guy have that much confidence and encourage someone like you to just let it fly. J.R. SMITH: It's great. It's great to hear. It's great to be a part of. They put so much trust into me, just more or less for me to make sure I make the right decisions instead of taking step‑back threes with a hand in the face. Even though it's going in and it's working, still make the right basketball play. Q. How do you guys delegate who's going to be the step‑up guy? It was Delly in Game 6 against the Bulls. Last night it was you. It seems like it's always somebody different. How do you guys balance that? J.R. SMITH: We just let the game come to us, and the game will play itself out. One day it's Delly, one day it's Shawn, myself, Tristan. He's been pretty much doing it the whole playoffs. So we really just dictate our play upon our opponents. Q. J.R., we've seen LeBron roll his ankle really badly a number of times, even recently. When he does that, what goes through your mind when you see him limping off like that? J.R. SMITH: It's kind of nerve‑racking, you know. It's like when you see Superman got a Kryptonite chain around his neck almost. You know he can overcome it, but it's for a two, three‑minute span, it's going to be hell. When he does come back, though, we're a little more confident. Q. How do you know he's going to come back? A lot of guys certainly would not. J.R. SMITH: No, a lot of guys definitely wouldn't. Just his drive and determination to lift his teammates through whatever, whether it's injury, making the tough shot, making the great passes, defending the best offensive player, whatever it is. I mean, he's always willing to step up and take the challenge. That's one thing you've got to commend about the guy. Q. Do you think there's any contagious effect with something like that, where, if you roll your ankle badly, you want‑‑ J.R. SMITH: (Inaudible). I think so. For me, I always try to play through as much pain or adversity as I can until I literally can't play. So when you see other guys doing stuff like that, that's what trickles down. It's definitely contagious. Q. So 28 points was a career high for you. Have you thought about where that game ranks among all the games you've played at any level? J.R. SMITH: Actually, I haven't thought about it. I'm sure it will come sometime this summer, but I try to stay humble about it, take it one game at a time. It's just one game. Just trying to go out there and get Game 2. Q. Are you aware you set the Cavs franchise record for threes in a playoff game and you topped LeBron when you did it? J.R. SMITH: I wasn't aware until I hit the shot, and LeBron told me about it. He wasn't the happiest about it. He had enough records to let me get one. Q. J.R., how early in it your basketball life did you understand that those low percentage shots were your kinds of shots? What kind of conversations/debates have you had with coaches to let them know that is your game? J.R. SMITH: I've never really had a conversation with coaches about it. They're not too fond with those shots, period, let alone with me taking them. I don't really have those conversations. I learned that early on in my career. Jordan was probably one of the best toughest shot makers there was, and I try to idolize my game after him as much as I could. It's never really panned out for me like that, but I've always been accustomed to taking those shots. Q. Are you more comfortable taking those shots than a wide open? J.R. SMITH: Yeah, I like to take a tougher shot. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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