In 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers were inches away from winning the championship against the star-studded squad of the Golden State Warriors. It was their fourth consecutive Finals trip, and the team was led by the Akron Hammer. But the Cavs lost the bid without winning a single game in the series, even though LeBron James gave it all to earn another ring. The Cavaliers were very close to winning the first game of the series. However, due to the blunder caused by J. R. Smith, the game turned upside down.

Reminiscing on it, former NBA champion Jordan Bell spoke on the same during his appearance on the Tidal League podcast and spoke about the 2018 championship win and how, due to Jr. Smith, they were able to win the championship. Answering a question about the victory by host Jeff Teague, Bell said, “I always say, if they won that game one and that Jr. Smith situation wouldn’t have happened, that was a whole different series.” He further said that the Cavs’ loss “killed him[LeBron]. How do you not win when you have 50?”

Bell said that this series loss mentally messed up James because he did everything in his power to aid his team in glory. In the first game, Bron put up 51 points, 8 rebounds, and assists, and yet his team could not capitalize on the situation, which was disheartening for the 19x All-Star. Even then, he averaged a double-double in the 2018 finals with an average of 34 points, 10 assists, and 8.5 rebounds.

The L-Train led in points throughout the playoffs, but the Dubs just annihilated the City of Light in the series. Except for the first game, the Cavaliers did not stand a chance in any other game, and till today J. R. Smith’s botch is blamed for the loss.

The mistake that haunts J R Smith

In game 1, the score between the Cavs and Dubs was 107-107 in the fourth quarter. With only 4.7 seconds left on the clock, the Cavaliers get a free throw opportunity and squander it. But even after missing it, they got the possession in the final seconds of the match and the ball was with Jr. Smith.

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Once in possession of the ball, Smith goes toward the three-pointer line, where everyone thought he might attempt a shot. But instead, the player was going to score a basket on the Warriors’ side.

LeBron James could not believe what he was witnessing and pointed at the basket where Smith had to shoot. Understanding his mistake, Smith passed the ball to a teammate, and by the time he could shoot, the match ended and went into overtime. To this day, this mistake is one of the most talked about. After the game, Smith had to lie low and missed out on much game time. The following season, he had a reduced role in the team and was eventually waived off.

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