J.R. Smith has been a lot of different things over the course of his 11-year NBA career, but self-effacing has rarely been one of them.
But playing in the NBA Finals for the first time, the Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard has looked a bit out of his depth, putting up forgettable performances in Games 1 and 2 against the Golden State Warriors.
After Game 1, in which he shot 3-of-13 from the field, he acknowledged his poor shot selection. After Game 2, in which he was slightly more discerning with his shots but committed three late, silly fouls that contributed to the Cavs blowing an 11-point lead with three minutes to play, Smith was even harder on himself.
"It was my fault," he said. "I did some dumb things."
Smith fouled out, the Warriors roared back to take the game to overtime, but the Cavs managed to eke out a win and even the series.
According to James Herbert of CBS Sports, Smith said that he apologized to his teammates after the game, and that LeBron James told him he needed to keep his composure.
"When you want it so bad, you stop focusing, you try to make plays and you make the wrong plays," James said.
Asked what he was thinking while watching overtime play out from the bench, Smith said: "Please win this game. I don't want the phone calls, the emails, Instagrams, tweets, memes. I don't want none of that right now."
His teammates saved him the indignity. He was duly grateful.
