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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 3, 2015J.R. SmithOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Practice Day Q. Is that the best thing that you make sure you take care of business, because you're not sure you'll ever get here again, that kind of stuff? J.R. SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of guys always think they're going to get to this point. You look down the line, so many people had long, tenured careers and never been to The Finals or been to the playoffs a few times. So we have to take advantage. Q. What do you feel your role will be defending the Splash Brothers, and how big of an assignment will that be for you? J.R. SMITH: It will be huge. I think I have a big role and assignment. Hopefully I'll do my job to a tee. That's what I plan on doing, and we'll see how it goes. Q. Do you feel you've improved a lot more defensively than early on in New York? J.R. SMITH: Not really. I think it's just highlighted because of the situation I'm in with the team. I think I've always played defense, it just wasn't highlighted. Q. You threw out the line a few weeks ago "one man's trash is another man's treasure" on Instagram. Did you feel that way, like you were discarded by the Knicks? J.R. SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. Saying you're just a throw‑in and a trade just to get you off the books, and then we come here and thrive. I think that's absolutely how I feel. Q. Can you say something nice about the other team? J.R. SMITH: Can I say something nice about the other team? Q. Yeah. J.R. SMITH: I could, but I don't want to give them any confidence. Q. What is your favorite dinosaur? J.R. SMITH: My favorite dinosaur? My favorite dinosaur would be a raptor, velociraptor. Q. Oh, yeah? Mine is Barney? J.R. SMITH: My kids like Barney. Q. Yeah, it's fun. It's good, I like it too. Can you sign my net, please? J.R. SMITH: Your net? Q. Yeah, my net. Everybody signed it over there. Does that help lighten the mood a little? J.R. SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. I needed that. Q. What's it like playing LeBron? How does he make your job out there easy do you think? J.R. SMITH: It's unbelievable. All I've got to do is shoot spot‑up shots and play defense. So it makes it so much easier. It's kind of unreal. Q. Obviously it would be silly to ask you can you win the title? We've been asking you that all year long, but what is the confidence of your team right now getting the job done and finally delivering a title for Cleveland? J.R. SMITH: I think our confidence is high. It's high enough to where we feel like we gave ourselves a chance, but we're still humble in the sense to where we don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. We've just got to take it one game at a time and try to get the job done. Q. (Indiscernible) is it a step above some of the others that you played for? J.R. SMITH: Oh, without a doubt. The old Warrior teams when I played with Denver and Baron Davis and those guys, it was so loud. (Indiscernible) earlier this year right after the trade, and it's ridiculous now. So I see why those guys play so well here. Q. How hard is it going to be to defend the Warriors when they have shooters like Curry and Thompson and those guys? J.R. SMITH: It's going to be extremely tough. That's what they do. They get out, run, create defense, create turnovers. Race to see whoever makes it to the three‑point line fast enough. And they shoot the ball extremely well, so it's going to be tough. Q. One of their players called you the X‑factor in this series. What's that mean to hear that? J.R. SMITH: I appreciate it. We've got a pretty good guy in 23 too, so we'll see. Q. What has Tristan Thompson meant to this team? When you lost Kevin Love, you needed something. What's he given you to take over? J.R. SMITH: He gives us nonstop effort. That's exactly what we need. Somebody who understands his role, if anything. He wants to come in and help the team. That's exactly what he's doing. Helping the team in every aspect‑‑ rebounding, shot blocking, runs the floor well, gets open when he can and then makes shots. When you have somebody that knows their role and knows what they want to do and what they expect, that's pretty great. Q. (Indiscernible) given Cleveland hasn't had a championship since '64, and you know about the Indians and the Browns, now you guys in this position? J.R. SMITH: Well, I think a lot is riding on it for us, not only for the city. But this is the reason we play the game, for ourselves and the city. A lot is riding on it. Hopefully we can bring it home. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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