During the recent ‘Mind the Game Pod’ episode with JJ Redick, LeBron James recalled his iconic block over Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 finals. While detailing his observations in the build-up to the play, he credited JR Smith for helping him buy time for seizing the block. He pointed out how his 2018 finals Game 1 blunder has affected JR Smith’s legacy. During Game 1 of the 2018 finals, the scores were tied at 104 each.
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After a missed free throw by George Hill, Smith captured an offensive rebound and dribbled all the way to the three-point line, and gave a pass only when the regulation clock had expired. Ultimately, the Cavs lost by ten points in overtime. Despite this blunder, the 2016 finals MVP gave the former two-way hooper props for a decisive play in Game 7 of the 2016 finals.
While recalling that play where Kyrie Irving missed a floater, leading to a Warriors fastbreak, James admitted that he started his sprint later than he should have. However, he knew the ball would end up in Curry or Iguodala’s hands. Thus, all he needed was a teammate to delay the break and hamper an open-look drive. It turns out that Smith did exactly that which gave time for the chase-down artist to do his thing against the 2015 finals MVP.
“Swish gets a lot of sh** because of the blunder he had the following year or two years later, whatever the fu** of not understanding the time and score, whatever the sh** may be. He executed that shit to perfection. He made Iggy change his shot just a little bit and that’s all I asked,” the King told JJ Redick.
Thus, the famous chase-down block in Game 7 wouldn’t have been possible without Smith’s help. While the Cavs made full use of his scoring skills, it was his defense they needed the most. He was instrumental during the 2016 championship in a myriad of ways.
JR Smith played a key role in the 2016 finals
Throughout the 2016 playoffs, Smith landed key shots for the Cavs. His contributions during the 2016 finals were immense. He could act both as a spot-up shooter and rise around the rim. However, he acted as a floor-spreader alongside Love for most parts. Apart from that, he was regularly on display during fastbreak sprinting situations on either side of the court.
Thus, the 2x NBA champion was involved in a lot of action throughout the Cavs title campaign. The LeBron James-led squad needed his punch to complete a turnaround after being down 1-3.
In the finals series, that season, he tallied 10.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 steals, per game in seven games, per Statmuse. His best scoring performance came in Game 3 when his Cavs defeated the Warriors 120-90. The guard compiled 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals, nailing 5 of his 10 attempts from deep.
