J.R. Smith: 'I’ve Forgotten So Much About This Game That Other Guys Will Never Know'
JR Smith recently called his father overwhelmed with excitement.
After a year and a half of uncertainty and depression without basketball, he's on the brink of a playoff run with a team that's a favorite to win the championship.
But his father quickly tempered his anticipation.
"I was telling him about it, the feeling’s like, ‘Man, we’re back, we’re back, we’re back,'" Smith said Thursday after the Lakers' 136-122 loss to the Sacramento Kings. "...And he kind of crushed it for me because I was kind of excited and he was telling me, ‘Man, that’s where you’re supposed to be. You should be doing this. This is what you were built to do.’ It was kind of like, ‘All right, dad, thanks. Appreciate it.’"
The Lakers signed Smith in July after Avery Bradley opted out of the restart at Walt Disney World near Orlando because of family reasons.
It was a giant sigh of relief for Smith, who recently acknowledged that he was in a "depressed state for a long time" after mutually parting ways with the Cleveland Cavaliers in Nov. of 2018 -- and then going 19 months without playing professional basketball.
Now Smith is playing for a Lakers team that clinched the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference for the first time since 2010, finishing the regular season with a record of 52-19.
Smith has struggled in the restart, averaging 1.2 points on 16.7 percent shooting, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 steals in 10.8 minutes over five games. Thursday was his best performance with 11 points on five-for-10 shooting
But he knows he will be invaluable to the Lakers in the postseason, regardless of how many points he scores.
"One thing at 34 going onto 35, I’ve learned my role as a player, as a person," Smith said. "I know who I am. I’m very confident with that. And whether it be [that I'm] out there 35 minutes or I don’t play at all, I know my contribution to the team is just as well as if I didn’t play, with my communication and with what I’ve seen. I’ve forgotten so much about this game that other guys will never know."
Smith, who is in his 16th season in the NBA, has career averages of 12.4 points on 41.8 percent shooting from the field and 37.3 percent shooting from beyond the three-point line.
Smith has played in 11 postseasons, winning a championship alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. He's ninth all-time in postseason three-pointers made and fourth all-time in three-pointers made in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers saw a glimpse of his streaky shooting during a scrimmage against Washington on July 27, when Smith had 20 points on six-for-nine shooting, including making six of his seven three-point attempts.
Even though Smith has only been with the team for a little over a month, he already feels very much at home.
"I know it hasn’t shown in the play, but I think I’ve definitely gotten acclimated to the players," Smith said.
Smith is prepared to help the Lakers in any way possible.
Whether it's with his shooting.
Or his veteran presence.
He's just happy to be doing what he loves once again.
"It just feels good to be back out here with my teammates," he said. "It feels good to be out here or in the atmosphere that I’m accustomed to. I’ve been around this game as a professional 16 years now. And it’s my life."
