The NBA Finals started with a dramatic game 1, which after a curious ending went to the Golden State Warriors. SPOX and DAZN asked star journalist Stephen A. Smith (ESPN) for his analysis, which was particularly pissed off by J.R. Smith’s referee performance and mistakes.
Smith also spoke about the future of LeBron James – and about Dirk Nowitzki.
SPOX/DAZN: Stephen A., we need to get started: J.R. Smith. What comes to your mind about this action?
Stephen A. Smith: I don’t know what to say. That was one of the stupidest mistakes anyone will ever see. J.R. is a great guy, a very nice guy – he’s inconsistent as a shooter, but extremely competitive – but I just can’t believe he made that mistake. According to me, he not only wasted Game 1 and a sensational performance of LeBron James, one of the best we’ve ever seen in the finals, but most likely he also cost them the chance to win that series. It’s sad to see a great player like LeBron lose because of an action that had nothing to do with him. It’s really hard to put into words how sad that is.
SPOX/DAZN: Do you think the series has already run?
Smith: Of course! You don’t recover from a story like that if you also have the weaker team. If something like this had happened to the Warriors, they would still have the opportunity, because they are obviously much more talented. But in my opinion, if Cleveland had won this game and gained the home advantage, it would have changed this series dramatically. After missing this opportunity, Golden State: We got you. And when they do, the lights go out.
SPOX/DAZN: What do you think of the call in the action between Kevin Durant and LeBron James, which was first considered an offensive foul and then a foul by James?
Smith: You don’t make a call like that to LeBron James. The referees first made a decision and then reversed it – against him. If they had decided that way at that moment, it would have been okay for me, it looked like the right decision to whistle an offensive foul. But what I don’t understand: You take the time to watch the video for two and a half minutes and then you have the nerve to make this call against LeBron? Think about it for a moment: It was an action that was very difficult to evaluate, you can’t say 100 percent which call would have been right and which call would have been wrong. Then why take the decision back without knowing for sure? And in addition: Why not give one of the best players this sport has ever seen the justified doubt? A player who has been in the finals eight times in a row, won three titles and four MVPs, the face of the NBA? I don’t know if this would happen in any other sport or league, but it happened here. And they should change this rule – not next season, but tomorrow. This must not happen again. That was inexcusable – it was the wrong call against LeBron.
SPOX/DAZN: In the end James looked very frustrated by his team…
Smith (interrupting): Wouldn’t you be?! Who the hell wouldn’t be frustrated in this situation? You know – I have never been to Germany, I don’t know all about it, but I know what competition looks like in Europe. I saw people getting whacked for much smaller mistakes. Can you imagine what would happen to someone who would make such a mistake in a decisive game in a European league? We need 24/7 security for this person! I’d be afraid for him. It’s just so: You can lose games because the other team is better, you can miss because you can’t hit, something like that happens. But that you lose your team because you don’t know the score… my God. At such moments I am happy to live in the USA, because in Europe the reaction would be quite different. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but the passion that sports fans in Europe have for their teams is yet another. You’re not kidding – and I don’t blame you!
SPOX/DAZN: Do you think LeBron will continue to play with the Cavaliers next season?
Smith: No, I don’t expect it. I don’t know for sure, but it’s hard to imagine, there are just too good other options and I don’t think he’ll get what he needs for another title in Cleveland.
SPOX/DAZN: Which teams are possible?
Smith: Houston, Philadelphia, L.A. or Boston would be my options, although I don’t know what’s on top of him. This has to do with what is possible and what other moves and trades take place. He himself can wait and see, because he is a free agent and can do whatever he wants. For me personally, it would be the sunshine of Los Angeles – I would like the challenge of being the next player to bring a championship to the Lakers. But there are definitely better options in the short term if he wants to become champion directly, Boston and Houston are certainly at the top.
SPOX/DAZN: One last question: Did you enjoy playing another season when Dirk Nowitzki announced?
Smith: Personally, I would have wished Dirk to stop. He’s a fantastic player and had a fantastic career. But he’s obviously not the player he used to be. Age has caught up with him. When he was in his prime, he was a really special player, he is a champion and a clear hall-of-famer. Unfortunately, the Mavericks have not been able to provide him with a winner in recent years, the help he needed and so deserved. Why don’t I know – I’m a fan, I’m good friends with coach Rick Carlisle and have known Mark Cuban for ages, I also love the city of Dallas. But I can’t understand why they haven’t been able to get him help for years. And now Dirk is at a point where he not only needs help, but actually someone to carry him – because he himself has done that long enough. I’ve admired him for a long time and I think he deserved better. And personally, I’d rather not see the end of his career going like this with a team that isn’t in the playoffs and has no chance of winning a title. He has nothing more to prove. If you don’t stand a chance, why are you still playing at that age? For money?
SPOX/DAZN: That doesn’t sound like him.
Smith: I don’t know him that well, but I’ll take you at your word. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be a shame. What I just want to say is that he was such a great player and winner, so clutch that I just don’t like seeing him run into meaningless games for a meaningless team at a meaningless time of the year. Someone like him I want to see in the post season, as a champion riding into the sunset. Just as he deserved. I’d rather not see him in this situation.