(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Did you know that J.R. Smith once committed to Carolina?

If you did not stay up late last night, and you care who won the opening game of the NBA Finals, you know by now that it was Golden State in overtime. You also probably heard that Cleveland’s J.R. Smith was guilty of being dumb in the closing seconds of regulation. He didn’t know the score of the game.

In his 13 NBA seasons, Smith has been one of the more controversial players for reasons that go beyond his being a long-range gunner. In one game, he stepped back and shot a 3-pointer when he had a wide-open two point shot – while his team was only down by one. Another time, he was talking to someone on the opposing bench while his man was scoring a basket.

Smith was among the first players Roy Williams signed at UNC in the fall of 2003. But in the last year high school seniors could go directly to the NBA, Smith turned pro the following April. Perhaps had he come to Carolina and played at least one season for Ol’ Roy, he might have gotten a little smarter.

It appeared that Smith thought the Cavaliers were ahead by a point when he snagged the offensive rebound off a missed free throw, because he dribbled out to mid court instead of shooting or passing the ball to a teammate. The Warriors won going away in OT, and Smith has been the goat ever since.

The chaos that ensued all the way through overtime will overshadow one of the best NBA Finals openers ever, including 51 points by LeBron James and sensational scoring by the Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who is from Charlotte and starred at Davidson.

James tried to cover for Smith after the game, which only added to the confusion because Cavs coach Ty Lue had told the media Smith thought they were ahead. James walked out of his press conference when Mark Schwartz, a respected ESPN reporter, pressed him on the issue — which is Schwartz’s job.

That was noble of James to do, but his facial expressions on the court had already spoken volumes about what he really thought of Smith’s bonehead move. Now, the question is whether Cleveland can regroup from a game it should have won and make the series competitive?

My guess is no. Most of the talk will still be about Smith heading into Sunday’s second game. But let’s go ahead and cut Smith some slack because, after all, he was almost a Tar Heel.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
None