![]() But his wild style clashed with old-school coaches Byron Scott in New Orleans and George Karl in Denver. With elevator bounce and no remorse from deep, Smith’s talent was undeniable. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark with the 18th pick in the 2004 draft, the last draft before the NBA required high schoolers to wait until a year after graduation to play. Forgetting the score at the end of a regular-season game. Tweeting a photo of a model’s thonged rear end from his hotel room. A one-game playoff suspension for throwing an elbow. Untying an opponent’s shoelaces during a game – make that two different games. ![]() There was the brawl in Madison Square Garden. Smith, on the other hand, had “messed up” many times. People make mistakes all the time.”īut when Webber called a timeout Michigan didn’t have at the end of the 1993 NCAA championship game, there was no history of bad judgment. The main thing was, OK, granted, you didn’t shoot the ball, but what if you ain’t get the rebound? Then what? We still would have been in the same situation. Talked to my coaches, everybody stood behind me 100 percent. For my teammates to know that and have my back, wasn’t that bad. I didn’t take it no harder than those losses just because I made a mistake,” Smith said. “It was tough, but it was the same after Game 2, 3 and 4. The entire episode made Smith the new Chris Webber - a gifted player branded by one devastating moment. Every time he posted something on Instagram for his 4 million followers, the comments filled up with cruel remarks. When the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens a social media wing, memes of James’ incredulous pose will be inducted on the first ballot. Then James left for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavs unraveled in overtime, then got swept. The blunder cost Cleveland a chance to steal Game 1 on the road against the heavily favored Warriors. Smith grabbed the offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds left but dribbled away from the basket instead of trying to make a play, pass to James or use Cleveland’s last timeout. With the score tied at 107, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard George Hill missed his second free throw. “That situation” came at the end of the fourth quarter of Game 1 at the Golden State Warriors’ Oracle Arena. “I think that situation just made him more focused.” “He’s an extremely mentally tough person,” Brickley said. … Some days, you can tell when he’s out there that that’s his getaway. This has been the most that I’ve witnessed him work on his game. “We’ve worked out at 7 in the morning this summer, 8 in the morning this summer. “This has been by far the most he’s been in the gym,” says Brickley, who has known Smith for 10 years. The type of move that has made Smith one of the NBA’s premier bad-shot makers and No. The next move is a blur of ball and body, too quick to record with the naked eye. Catch, dribble-dribble into a step back, money. Smith catches a pass from Brickley, rises and sinks the 3. Behind that arc is where the 6-foot-6 Smith is working on a July afternoon, the only player in the gym, supervised by his longtime friend and trainer, Chris Brickley. A two-story glass wall is built for gawking. The court at the luxe Life Time Athletic at Sky club in midtown Manhattan is the place that hosted superstar open runs with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The aftermath of Game 1 hasn’t been that hard, really. “I mean, I can’t just point at one thing to be mad at.” “I’ve messed up so many times in my life,” says Smith, 33. Smith’s 14-year NBA career has been filled with mistakes, so many that forgetting the score at the end of Game 1 in the 2018 Finals just seemed like J.R. Then he would make the 60-mile drive to a basketball court in New York City, where he drowned his sorrows in sweat and jump shots. In Millstone Township, Smith did what married fathers do: made breakfast for his girls, shopped at Walmart, played golf, took his eldest daughter to soccer practice. And he returned here this past summer after making one of the most colossal mistakes in NBA history. He lives here now with his wife and their three daughters. Smith grew up here with his parents and three siblings. The streets that made the man are wide and smooth, flanked by lush woods, cornfields, spacious lawns and wooden two-beam horse fences.
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