J.R. Smith Makes Us All Happy in Win Over Detroit

AP Photo/Mark Duncan

When the Cleveland Cavaliers made the trade for Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, the idea was that the former was the piece the Cavs needed and the latter was simply baggage to get the former.

In the 43 games to follow, the opposite has proven true. Smith has looked like the Sixth Man of the Year award winner from two years ago instead of the partying troublemaker that usually gets attached to his name.

Tonight was just another example of Smith's importance in Cleveland, as he hit 8 three-pointers and finished with a game-high 28 points in the Cavs 109-97 win over Detroit.

Smith has been firing away ever since he arrived in Cleveland, averaging 7.3 three-point attempts per game, the third-highest mark in the league since Jan.
7, when Smith made his debut for the Cavs. And more than just firing them up at an outrageous rate, he's converting too, hitting 38.4 percent of his three-point attempts in that span.

His ability to stretch the floor has been crucial to the Cavs success over the last 40-plus games. I covered it more here, but in short, Smith (and Shumpert too) has opened the driving lanes for guys like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to attack the rim.

But the great thing about Smith is that he's been more than just a knockdown three-point shooter, as playmaking and defense have looked as good as they have in years. Those two qualites are a big reason as to why coach David Blatt has stuck with him in the starting lineup instead of bringing him on the bench, something he has done for the majority of his career.

Of course, all Smith needed was a little motivation to turn in a career-year in Cleveland. Instead of being surrounded by clubs and bad teammates, he's surrounded by video games and teammates that won't stand for his previous acts that got him into so much trouble in New York over the past few years.

In Cleveland, Smith has the world's best player and three other guys with championship experience, something he has never had before.

Also, there's a certain level of fun that Smith has brought to the Cavs that they had lacked before he was here. Smith jokes on the bench and in the post-game interviews, leaving Cavs' fans with plenty of photos and videos to joke around with.

Above all of that, Smith has made the other guys on the team become more relaxed. When James first came back to Cleveland, there was a sense that the team was too uptight with expectations that have been skyrocketed for the first time in most of the young Cavs' careers. But by bringing in Smith, he has unintentionally brought a weight of everyone's shoulder.

And as much as we want him to stay away from the clubs, we truly want to see his partying if the Cavs are able to bring home a championship in June.

Three Things:

1. This win was not needed, but it was kind of needed.

In no way, shape or form am I saying that losing this game would have any effect on the Cavs, but I am saying that after Sunday's beatdown by the Celtics that a game like this was kind of needed before the playoffs. Obviously none of the Big 3 plus Smith played against the Celtics, but that gives us more of the reason as to why the Cavs needed to come out strong tonight, which is exactly what they did. Instead of just going through the motions, the Cavs came out and put the game out of reach early, dominating both ends of the court. The effort was as good as it has been all year, most notably from James. He was very aggressive on the defensive end and active on offense, and the rest of the team followed. Now that the Cavs got their tuneup out of the way, they can fully say they are ready for the playoffs in just a few days.

2. LeBron is in playoff mode.

This has been a small theme over the last few weeks, but it appears that James has officially turned it on for the playoffs, at least on defense. James has received his amount of criticism for how his energy level has been on that end of the floor, but he has put those arguments to rest over the last few weeks. He's been all over the court defending, and like we said in the previous paragraph, he made more than his fair share of defensive plays tonight, including a steal that led to a behind-the-back pass to Timofey Mozgov for a dunk. Don't expect him to be the super athlete he once was on defense, but he still is one of the best on that end when he plays like he has now and when the playoffs start.

3. Holy cow the Cavs will playing in the playoffs.

I was a freshman in high school the last time that the Cavs were in the playoffs, and I'm a sophomore in college now, showing how long it has been. But the last time they were in the playoffs, I didn't really care too much for the Cavs. It's different now considering that the first four years that I truly cared about the Cavs, they stunk. And after dealing with those four painful years, it feels good knowing that all that suffering has finally paid off. I've been waiting four years for this moment, and good god it's almost here.

Stat Line of the Game:

LeBron James: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 7-of-17 field goals.

As much as I wanted to pick Smith for this, James technically had the better stat line. This is James's second triple-double in four games and did achieved this one with relative ease. Let's just hope these kind of numbers appear the rest of the way out.

What's Next:

April 15, home against the Washington Wizards, 8 p.m.