J.R. Smith: I'm Better Now Because I Can't Really Party In Cleveland

J.R. Smith has been pretty good since joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 14 points per game and shooting 37 percent from behind the arc. While playing for the Knicks during the first chunk of the season, Smith was scoring just 10 points per game and shooting 35 percent from behind the arc. According to J.R. Smith, this improvement has more than a little to do with the fact that there's not much to do in Cleveland.

Smith sat down for an Q&A with NBA.com, and he freely admitted that his play suffered because he partied too much in New York:

I think this is the best situation for me, 'cause there's nothing but basketball. There's nothing you expect but basketball. There's nothing, there's no going out, there's no late nights. There's video games, basketball and basketball. So it's a great thing, 'cause I go back to where I came from. When I grew up, I never, I wasn't allowed to go out. I missed my prom because I went to an AAU tournament, and all that stuff. For me, it was basketball, basketball, basketball. And then when I got in the situation where I was at an early age, it was more, alright, let me see what this life is about, as opposed to just keep going. So now, I get the chance to get back to my roots.

[...]

When you replace that with stuff off the court, then you're taking away from what made you who you are, or what got you to a certain point. It was kind of pulling me down in a sense, of not getting enough rest, not doing things you're supposed to be doing, things you're used to doing. So when you start missing those shots you're supposed to make, especially wide-open shots, it was like, alright, what's going on, what's going on? Instead of looking at what it is, you're reverting to that even more, instead of going back to the basics. So I think that's the greatest part about being here.

If you think Smith out on a limb here, that a professional NBA player couldn't really be partying so much that his on-court performance suffered, I'd direct your attention to this hilarious statistic:

J.R. Smith remains the best.

[ NBA.com]