J.R. Smith continues to shine for Cavaliers

Prior to getting traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this year, J.R. Smith had fallen on hard times with the New York Knicks. Known more for playoff meltdowns, poor shot selection, social media antics and untying opponents’ shoes during free throws, Smith was basically a thrown-in to the deal that also brought Iman Shumpert to Cleveland.

Now Smith is one of the Cavaliers’ most important players, and he helped steal home-court advantage with a sublime performance in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks. Smith scored a playoff career-high 28 points in a 97-89 triumph, and he got there by knocking down eight three-pointers, a franchise playoff record.

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Smith hit all of his threes in two flurries. The first three threes came during a key stretch early in the second quarter when the Cavaliers were struggling. The Hawks ran out to an eight-point lead at the outset of the frame, but Smith buried those threes to get Cleveland back in it.

The game stayed competitive throughout the rest of the second quarter and most of the third quarter before Smith struck again. In a span of about five minutes, he knocked down five three-pointers to help turn a two-point advantage into an 18-point lead. The Cavaliers nearly blew the lead as the offense got stagnant, but LeBron James sealed the game with a huge dunk. James finished with a game-high 31 points.

This type of performance from Smith was especially important considering Kyrie Irving wasn’t all that effective and tweaked his left knee injury in the third quarter. Irving briefly returned to the game, but sat out most of the fourth quarter, which helped contribute to some of the late offensive struggles.

Smith has been known as an erratic playoff performer over the course of his career, and he was flat out awful with the Knicks, failing to make even a third of his shots over three playoff series. Things didn’t start well this postseason for Smith, as he struggled against the Boston Celtics and then was suspended for two games for taking a swing at Jae Crowder.

But ever since serving that two-game suspension, Smith has been a consistent contributor, providing a spark off the bench with his outside shooting. He has scored in double figures in all five games since the suspension.

If Irving remains hobbled, Smith becomes that much more important to the Cavaliers because of his scoring ability. LeBron will usually get his points, but it’s key to have that secondary scorer as well, and that was Smith in Game 1.

Looking ahead to Game 2, Cleveland will try and take a commanding 2-0 series lead before heading home. The Cavaliers opened as a 1½-point favorite, but the line has since shifted in favor of Atlanta. The Hawks are now a 1½-point favorite at most sportsbooks, and that may be because DeMarre Carroll’s knee injury isn’t as serious as many thought when it occurred late in Game 1.