NFL
By: Nick Andre
The lack of JR Smith’s playing time in the bubble just doesn’t seem to make sense to me. Outside of the fact that he hasn’t played a basketball game in over a year, the Lakers are in need of some backcourt production from somebody soon. With the loss of Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley, it’s been a struggle on both ends for the Lakers backcourt and things need to change.
Through most of his career, JR has always been a guy of energy. He has the ability to light up the floor on offense and has evolved into a great defender during his time in Cleveland. There’s not many people in the NBA who have complained about having JR Smith on the floor with them. Regardless of what’s going on in the game, JR always seem to bring energy on the floor and it rubs off on his teammates as well.
A good reason for putting JR Smith in the basketball is due to the history that he already has with LeBron James. Everyone understands how gifted of a passer LeBron James has been. He knows how to find an open man better than everyone else. But to have a guy like JR who can create opportunities for himself puts a lot of pressure off LeBron to play at a comfortable level.
It’s obvious that the starting backcourt the Lakers have now is not fit to get the job done. Both Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope haven’t shown the effort and agility that is needed for this Laker team to win a championship. And they showed that after a gruesome performance in Game 1 against the Blazers Monday night. Frank Vogel is going to need to make adjustments soon. If this Laker team finds themselves down 2-0 to the Blazers, everything will be in jeopardy from there.
JR Smith needs to be inserted into the starting lineup. The athleticism and activity that this guy displays will only give the Blazers problems on the defensive end. If JR sees more minutes on the floor for LA, good things can happen going forward.
