PHILADELPHIA: The play that saved the Cavaliers’ one-point victory Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers and salvaged their unbeaten record may not have happened at all last season.
In order for J.R. Smith to reach in and poke the ball away from Gerald Henderson in the game’s final seconds, he had to trust the officials. That hasn’t always been easy for him to do.
There was a time last season when Smith was so frustrated with officiating that he said he stopped talking to referees. Smith has always felt that his reputation prohibited him from getting the benefit of the doubt on calls, but not anymore.
“Probably up until last year I would be really concerned, but I think obviously the referees watch film as well and see that I’ve gotten a lot better defensively,” Smith said. “So I think a lot of that has to do with it. I mean, the ref was standing right there. He had a great, clear eye on it.”
Rookie referee Brett Nansen indeed was stationed on the sideline and had an unobstructed view of Smith, who reached across Henderson’s body to knock the ball away. Henderson fell to the ground shocked he didn’t get the call and the sold-out home crowd booed the officials and players off the floor.
“I got fouled, they didn’t call it,” Henderson said. “And that’s the end of the game.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue has long praised Smith for his defensive play, referring to him as the Cavs’ best perimeter defender. Smith has acknowledged he takes defense more seriously and has worked hard to become a better defender since joining the Cavs.
The Cavs struggled badly to put away the Sixers on Saturday, but came up with big defensive stops when necessary. Philadelphia committed turnovers on each of its last five possessions, but the biggest turnover was forced by Smith, whose game day routine got off to a bizarre start.
Smith, Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert had to take an Uber from the side of the highway to the arena Saturday after the team bus was caught in Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade.
Biden was leaving a speaking engagement in nearby Bucks County and was headed for the airport, which stopped all traffic.
After Smith estimated the bus sat still for 10-15 minutes, General Manager David Griffin — another passenger on the bus — suggested the three players get in an Uber.
Teams offer two buses to the arena. While most of the regular players were on the first bus Saturday, Smith, Irving and Shumpert were stuck on the second. They didn’t arrive at the arena until about an hour prior to tip-off.
“I couldn’t stretch or nothing like that, so I had to just get out there and pretty much get in my routine,” said Smith, who thought Irving was most impacted by the delay. Irving shot just 3-of-17 against the Sixers and scored eight points. “[Irving] is very routine-oriented. He sticks to his routine no matter what, and he wasn’t able to go out there and shoot the ball like he normally does in pregame.”
If Smith wanted to file a complaint, he had the opportunity Sunday.
He appeared on stage with LeBron James campaigning for Hillary Clinton during a rally in Cleveland. It’s just another new chapter in the evolution of Smith: Defender, truster of referees and now political activist.
The most surprising might be his trust with officials.
“We’ve put in enough calls [to the league] trying to balance it out a little bit more,” Smith said. “And fortunately I think they took heed with it.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.