Leave it up to the wisdom of J.R. Smith to put the Cleveland Cavaliers’ recent issues in the proper perspective. Yes, that J.R. Smith. The injured sharpshooter insists the Cavaliers have nothing to worry about, not the words of LeBron James or the struggles they’ve had recently. They’ll be fine, Smith says as they prepare to host Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder today (3:30 ET, ABC). Joe Vardon of the Plain Dealer explains:
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a typical January — at least for them.
Drama, finger-pointing, calls for change and trade rumblings have once again encircled the Cavaliers following LeBron James’ impromptu meeting with Cleveland-based reporters after Monday’s stunning loss to the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans, a get-together where James questioned management, called for another playmaker and wondered aloud if the Cavs had the proper personnel to repeat as NBA champs.
All of it, which James termed as a “good thing for our team,” put the Cavs back in the headlines.
On Saturday night, J.R. Smith, still sidelined with a fractured right thumb suffered on Dec. 20, wanted to shed some light on Cleveland’s most turbulent week of the season.
“We’ve been here before,” Smith said in a two-minute video for Uninterrupted.“We was in the same situation last year. We were losing games. I believe it was Brooklyn, we were in New York, and had a huge team meeting — a lot of team meetings last year about us losing and quote unquote stuff within the team and whatever. But it’s all good. It’s all love and we love each other. Just have to get back to what we’re used to — having fun, playing the game and playing each game like it’s your last.”
There won’t be a coaching change like last January. And a major roster overhaul is highly unlikely despite the Carmelo-Anthony-to-Cleveland rumors. It’s up to the Cavs to dig deep and quiet the nose with their play.
They took a positive step on Friday, snapping their three-game losing skid with a 124-116 win against the feeble Brooklyn Nets.
While the victory is exactly what the champs needed, stopping the bleeding temporarily, it hardly means things are back to normal.
“Just playing with that grit and determination to be the best every night,” Smith said. “We know we’re going to get people’s best shot and we know we’re the champs and as a competitor that’s what you want. We have to be more physical and everything else will take care of itself. As long as you play hard and play physical and adjust to your assignments and be ready for your assignments then we will be fine.”
