The end of the Knicks-Bobcats game in Charlotte last night gave us a crystal-clear look at the two sides of JR Smith.
In a 10-second span, Smith made a steal, inexplicably aborted a wide-open fastbreak that would have won them the game, and drained a 20-foot buzzer beater for the 100-98 win.
The craziness started with 12 seconds left. The Bobcats had the ball with the game tied 98-98, and just had to hold the ball on the perimeter until they could take the last shot.
But when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist threw a telegraphed pass back to the top of the key, Smith smartly jumped the pass for the steal with 10 seconds left.
The Knicks streaked down the court on a 2-for-1 fastbreak as the clock ticked down to zero. All Smith had to do was run straight to the hoop, receive a pass from Raymond Felton, and lay it in to take the lead.
But for some inexplicable reason that's only known to JR, he instead curled harmlessly out to the three-point line, killing the fastbreak and calling a timeout with three seconds left. Here's the sequence: (just watch the first 10 seconds):
So what play do you draw up after JR Smith passes up a wide-open, game-winning layup on a 2-on-1 fastbreak?
A JR Smith isolation, obviously.
Smith got the ball at the top of the key, dribbled hard to his left, and fired up his signature step back jumper with a defender hanging all over him. It swished through the hoop as time expired, thus concluding the most concise, complete JR Smith Experience in recent memory.
Never change:
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