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Not even in Smith’s own mind.
”I can’t say I was sure of anything at that point,” Smith said.
All he and the Cleveland Cavaliers are sure of now is this: They’re down 1-0 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, with Game 2 on Sunday night and Smith knowing that he’s going to be booed, made fun of, mocked and probably worse by the crowd at Oracle Arena.
Smith became one of the big Game 1 stories for all the wrong reasons . He grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw in the final seconds of regulation with the game tied, then ran toward midcourt as if he was running out the clock and thinking Cleveland had a one-point lead. The Cavaliers wound up losing in overtime.
”He probably took that loss as hard as anybody on the team,” Cavs star LeBron James said Saturday. ”But one thing about J.R., he has an uncanny ability to bounce back. I think people have seen that throughout our postseason runs, where he hasn’t played well or played to his ability that he thinks he should have played, and then the next game he comes on and shoots the ball extremely well.”
That bounce-back tendency for Smith will be tested now like perhaps never before. This wasn’t just a gaffe. This was a huge gaffe, in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the game on the line. And in the immediate aftermath [url=http://www.giantscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-cody-latimer-jersey]Cheap Cody Latimer Jersey[/url] , it appeared Smith said to James on the court that he thought the Cavs were leading – something he denied afterward.
”I might have said that,” Smith said. ”Not sure, but I might have.”
To say Smith was the reason Cleveland lost Thursday night isn’t right, or fair. There’s no guarantee that Cleveland would have scored to win the game in those final seconds if Smith had done anything differently.
Still, he was blamed.
”I’m glad it happened to me as opposed to anybody else on my team,” Smith said. ”To be in that situation is tough and it’s not a situation everybody can handle, so I’m glad it happened to me.”
Smith spent Friday in his hotel room for the most part, watching the Memorial (”Tiger played really well,” Smith said), talking with Kyle Korver and visiting with his kids over FaceTime.
He knows he’s a punch line. He’s been there before.
”That’s pretty much who I’ve been my whole life,” said Smith [url=http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/taven-bryan-jersey-cheap]Taven Bryan Jersey Jaguars[/url] , who bonded with a therapy dog earlier this season during a rough stretch. ”I’ve always been the one guy who’s the butt of the jokes, or that one guy who does something crazy and everybody’s got to look at or whatever the case may be. And then I come back and be myself and play the next day. I don’t really dwell on things too much. It’s been like that my whole life. That’s what it looks like it’s going to continue to be.”
The Cavs have made clear that they’re not quitting on Smith.
They need him.
”He’s going to start. And no, I haven’t lost confidence,” coach Tyronn Lue said. ”J.R. can shake off anything, and when everybody tends to count J.R. out, that’s when he comes through. So he’s definitely going to start again. He’s a big part of what we do. That last play is over, it’s behind us and now we’ve got to move on.”
A bounce-back game would be more than welcomed by Cleveland. When Smith is good, the Cavs are really good.
Cleveland is 10-1 this season, including playoffs, when Smith scores more than 15 points. The Cavaliers are 19-5 when he makes more than half his shot attempts. They’re 20-9 when he makes at least three 3-pointers. Those are some of the many reasons why Lue still has confidence in him, and Smith clearly appreciates that.
”I’ve been playing like dogcrap all year and he’s stuck with me [url=http://www.coltscheapstore.com/braden-smith-jersey-cheap]Braden Smith Jersey Colts[/url] ,” Smith said. ”So he’s one of the people who gives me the most confidence.”
And he’s due, too.
Smith has missed more than half his shots in eight straight games – his longest such cold streak since November. The Warriors expect that Smith and the rest of the Cavaliers will be more than ready for Game 2. And Smith said his teammates still believing in him is helping.
”Everybody says it’s not just the one play or the reason why we lost,” Smith said. ”Take it however you want it. My teammates have been great. Very supportive.”
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The Green Bay Packers are promoting director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst to be the team’s next general manager, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
The person requested anonymity because the team has made no formal announcement. Gutekunst would replace Ted Thompson, who is transitioning to a senior advisory role in the front office.
Gutekunst has been Green Bay’s player personnel director for nearly two years, though he has been with the Packers’ player personnel department for nearly two decades.
The Houston Chronicle first reported Sunday that Gutekunst had taken the job.
Gutekunst interned in the Packers’ scouting department in the summer of 1997. His first full-time scouting job came the following year as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs. He returned to the Packers as a college scout on Dec. 30, 1998, when he was hired by then-general manager and Hall of Famer Ron Wolf.
The Packers had several strong in-house candidates including Gutekunst.
”My goal is to find the right person and general manager who will be able to get us back to where we all think we should be and that’s winning Super Bowls,” team president Mark Murphy, who led the search, said last week.
Green Bay (7-9) finished with a losing record and out of the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The offense struggled after two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers missed nine games because of a collarbone injury. On defense [url=http://www.giantscheapstore.com/nate-solder-jersey-cheap]Nate Solder Jersey Giants[/url] , veteran coordinator Dom Capers was fired after a season in which the unit failed to generate consistent pass rush and had to rely on inexperienced players at cornerback because of injuries and turnover.
Gutekunst has also experience working with coach Mike McCarthy, who received an extension during the season to put him under contract through 2019.
”I have the best job in pro football, and no disrespect to the other 31 clubs, I love it here, I want to be here, but it has to fit for me, too, McCarthy said last week. ”I’ve done this job long enough, I wouldn’t want the GM to hire me or partner with me if we don’t fit together.”
McCarthy is also filling several assistant coaching vacancies, including both the offensive and defensive coordinator positions.
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