Cavs Star JR Smith Misses Carmelo Anthony, New York City; Has Moving To Cleveland Helped Focus For New LeBron James Teammate?

By Jacques Van Der Haar | Jan 29, 2015 08:30 AM EST

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard and former New York Knick JR Smith has attributed his recent career resurgence after being to traded to Cleveland on, well, the lack of quality Ohio nightlife... and that he misses Carmelo Anthony. Having been traded from New York City -- along with fellow Knick Iman Shumpert in a three-team trade between the Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder -- to the home of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and lakes that you can set on fire, Smith is training with his brother, fellow-former Knick Chris, and concentrating on "nothing but basketball," rather than pipe and who's trying to get it. Smith says his basketball discipline has returned and it's all because he's not partying... which begs one big question: has Smith not called Johnny Manziel yet?

In the chat with NBA.com's David Aldridge Smith said the move to Cleveland has helped immensely saying, "I think this is the best situation for me, 'cause there's nothing but basketball."

"There's nothing you expect but basketball," added the shooting guard. "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, 'All right, 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."

The shooting guard, who was traded to Cleveland along with Knicks teammate Iman Shumpert in a three team trade that included disgruntled Cavs guard Dion Waiters, is happy he's staying away from partying, but that he still misses Carmelo Anthony, after they played "together nine years." Smith told Alrdrige. "The bond, the camaraderie, the brotherhood that we gained, it's, I wouldn't say over, it's just discontinued. When you're playing with a person like Melo, you depend on him a lot, from on the court and off the court." 

Still, as SB Nation's Satchel Price points out, "Smith remains an inefficient scorer -- he's shooting 40 percent from the field with Cleveland -- but he's also happier and more comfortable now. A few weeks into the partnership between these two, things are looking good."

As ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk explains, since joining the Cavs, JR Smith is averaging 15.2 points "after scoring 10.9 per game as a Knick this season. He admits that the Manhattan nightlife was not the best thing for his game."

"Especially from the standpoint of making me better," Smith told Aldridge. "I always made myself better by staying in the gym. 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."

Like, say, seeing who's trying to get the pipe?

Either way, SB Nation's Trevor Magnotti also points out that Cavs coach David Blatt has been instrumental in Smith's resurgence, by "putting Smith in spots to succeed and asking J.R. to play to his strengths, and it's paying dividends."

What do you think? Is the JR Smith renaissance in Cleveland for real?

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