J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
J.R. Smith is thriving inside the NBA bubble because of course he is.
J.R. Smith fully embodies that shooters are always going to shoot their shot, no matter what.
Inside of the NBA bubble down in Orlando, Smith has resurfaced as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, this is the same NBA franchise that LeBron James plays for. While they won an NBA championship together with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, their working relationship in Cleveland hit a snag when Smith forgot what the score was in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.
Even though we’re still a few days away from seeing NBA bubble games that actually count, Smith is absolutely thriving. In an exhibition game against the Washington Wizards on Monday, Smith had 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point land. He even made the dumbest 3-pointer you’ll ever see in your life. Only he and Nick “Swaggy P” Young would have attempted this shot, but you know it went in.
J.R. Smith is quickly achieving legendary status from inside the bubble.
We would have expected nothing less. If Smith wins NBA Bubble MVP, then he should celebrate harder than he did after the Cavaliers won the NBA Finals four summers ago. When you are dominating seemingly everyone inside of a basketball bubble in Central Florida, you should host your own Disney parade down Main Street, USA shirtless because why wouldn’t you?
So let’s break down what occurred on the NBA bubble hardwood between the Lakers and the Wizards here. Washington guard Ish Smith plays some pretty fine defense on J.R. Smith. Even with the pump fake, J.R. nearly has his shot attempt blocked by Ish flying through the air like a mad man. There’s now way J.R. Smith should have gotten it off, but it’s a swish past Ish Smith.
These are the types of things we deserve to see as NBA fans from inside the bubble. With these exhibition games not counting, get weird and get weird quickly. The NBA is an entertainment product, after all, and we demand to be entertained! This may not have been an almost big dude fight between Serge Ibaka and Jusuf Nurkic, but this type of viral content will suffice for now.
No matter where the court is, inside of a bubble or not, Smith will always try to get his from 3.