The Cleveland Cavaliers can barely afford to dwell on the incidental details which led to a Game 1 loss against the Golden State Warriors. JR Smith, the team's current scapegoat, has finally proven his maturity in dealing with feelings of aversion. Could it be, that a therapy dog changed his mentality overnight? Or did he just grow tired of the party scene after watching lesser talents surpass him in terms of production? Whatever the case may be, JR Smith's decision to explain his egregious error is commendable, but that hasn't stopped members of the media from putting him on a stake. Not to mention, his mistake: wasting a perfectly good opportunity to seal a victory, is one for the ages.
Charlamagne tha God announced his decision to make JR Smith his "Donkey of the Day," sparing him no mercy in the process. Charlamagne compared JR's decision to run the clock, to "Drake (running) away from his responsibilities as a father," while also questioning whether Smith was under the influence of drugs when he made late-game decision. The Hot 97 host doesn't buy for one second that JR Smith was unaware of the Scoreline.
JR Smith told reporters he was idling so that LeBron could signal a Time-Out with less time on the clock, his full explanation being: "It was a tie ballgame and we had a timeout," Smith said. "I tried to get enough space because, obviously, KD was standing right there. I tried to get enough space to bring it out to maybe get a shot off. And then I looked over at Bron, and he looked like he was trying to call a timeout. So I stopped. And then the game was over." Obviously as the record states, LeBron wasn't in the process of calling a Time-Out, and what happened in Overtime feels obsolete after bearing witness to JR's stupidity.