The Cavs Need J.R. Smith To Shoot, But The World Needs Him To Score

This article is part of VICE Sports' 2016 NBA Playoffs coverage.

There is a great deal left to be decided in these NBA Finals. And no, I'm not referring to the question of who wins the title. Some things are more important than Golden State's record-breaking season or Cleveland's title drought. It is time for us to move beyond such petty pursuits and focus on what really matters: getting J.R. Smith paid. Crazy paid.

Burdened with a litany of disastrous performances over the past two Finals, the mercurial shooting guard suddenly rose from the ashes like a magnificently neck-tattooed phoenix in Cleveland's 120-90 win on Wednesday before quickly falling back to earth in a desultory Game 4 loss.

It's not over yet, but already the series scans as a microcosm of his career. When Smith's on, the three-pointers rain from the heavens on the wings of one of the most beautiful jumpers God ever created. When he's off—truly off, as opposed to just kind of dicking around—his shots are rushed and off-balance, he reminds the world that the chasm between how good a dribbler he is and how good he thinks he is stretches roughly the distance between Cleveland and Oakland. Oh, and there's a pretty good chance he could untie someone's sneakers.

That inconsistency, and that old shaky reputation, Smith's play in this series could cost him millions. And that isn't just bad for J.R. Smith. It's bad for the whole world.

Put quite simply, we all need to live in a world where Smith is handed an obscene amount of money. He's so much better at spending it than the average human, which we know because he is generous enough to provide us with a window into his unique consumer habits. When Smith buys the armored car The Rock used in Fast Five to ride around New York, he does it not for him, but for us. When he critiques $270 sneakers on YouTube, he does it for us. When he orders $3000 worth of room service in a Chinese hotel just to see how many times they would keep bringing him dishes … well, he actually charged that to the CBA owner who signed him during the 2011 lockout, but you get the idea.

Sadly, Smith has been reduced to accepting handouts, creating a Kickstarter page for his proposed reality show, "Team Swish," which will chronicle the exploits of Smith and his bodyguard, "Boom" Smalls. In the vein of one of those old Sally Struthers commercials, the page pleads, "don't have much to spend, but want to support our project? For $1, less than a cup of coffee, you'll have our eternal gratitude … "

I dare you to read the synopsis and say aloud that you wouldn't watch this show:

"His notorious NBA bad boy persona consisting of late night partying, women, and all-out brawls, proved to be casual tabloid conversation. But, since his run-ins with the law and the loss of someone who meant the world to him, he's learned his lessons and turned over a new leaf. Now, he is a loving father, a philanthropist, a reliable teammate, and engaged to his sweetheart. It's time to get to know 'The Real J.R. Smith,' and it all starts at home."

Keep in mind, this is the same guy who allegedly choked a 19-year-old heckler outside a Manhattan pizza place at 4 a.m. earlier this season. Still, this Renaissance man is, like any respectable Renaissance artist, in need of a patron. Is there an NBA owner out there willing to play the role of a modern-day Medici? That depends to a great extent on how Smith performs in these next few games.

Smith has been on the financial redemption trail ever since last summer, when he opted out of a the final year of contract that would have paid him $6 million in 2015-16. To his embarrassment, he discovered a bone-dry free agent market, and was forced to crawl back to Cleveland at $5 million per year.

Do last impressions make a difference in the free agent market? Smith had been an integral part of the Cavs' run to the 2015 Finals, only to flame out spectacularly against the Golden State Warriors. His shooting splits were drastic:

While Smith needed to shoot more in that series once Kyrie Irving went down, there was a certain "Bad J.R." character to those six games that probably turned off a few executives. Had Smith truly reformed? It certainly didn't help matters that he had been suspended for two games during the postseason for elbowing an opponent.

One year later, Smith blazed a similarly splendid path through the Eastern Conference playoffs, averaging 12.0 points per game on 45.5% from the field and an unconscious 46.2% from beyond the arc. He even managed to avoid an elbowing-related suspension for the first time in his last three postseasons! But the Finals opponent had not changed, and Smith once again appeared lost of the league's biggest stage, scoring just eight points combined in Games 1 and 2. This time it appeared the pendulum had swung too far in the other direction. Could it be that J.R. Smith of all people was afraid to shoot?

JR Smith has appeared in 923 games in his career. He'd never played > 35 minutes & attempted fewer than 4 FG's in any game… until last night

— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer)June 3, 2016

It was probably no coincidence, then, that Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue ran the first play of Game 3 for Smith. He missed that first jumper, but the tone had been set for an inspired 20-point night which saw him go 5-for-10 from downtown.

After the game, Lue stressed the importance of Smith's outside shooting. "It means a lot," the coach said. "When he's making those threes and making those shots, it really opens up the paint for LeBron and Kyrie and Kevin and those guys to have space around the rim."

Smith continued to let fly in Game 4, but only two of his eight three-point attempts hit the mark. And yet that is the line that he and the Cavs must continue to walk throughout whatever remains of this series. Smith must shoot for his team to win. The NBA Finals will, to some extent, be won or lost behind that.

So will we see confident J.R. or timid J.R., or irrationally confident J.R. or the triumphant return of elbow-happy J.R.? As consistent as he has been this season, you never truly know with this guy. For the sake of his wallet, and the future of reality television, let's hope J.R. Smith has finally put his Finals demons behind him.

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