Former New York Knicks Chris Smith and J.R. Smith. Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

In Game 5 of the NBA Finals Monday night, Cavs guard J.R. Smith made the last basket of the 2016-17 season. A three-pointer with with 15 seconds remaining.

Smith, who went 9-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from downtown, finished Game 5 one 3 pointer shy of tying Ray Allen’s record for the most in an NBA Finals game.

Smith finished the game with 25 points.

He also made sportsbooks happy! According to Business Insider’s Tyler Lauletta, going into the game, the Warriors were listed in most sportsbooks as 9- or 9.5-point favorites, meaning that for Warriors bettors to cash in on their tickets, the Warriors had to win by 10 or more points. With Smith’s deep 3, he made everybody in Vegas happy as the Warriors won Game 5 129-120 and become the NBA Finals champs.

Smith, the 18th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft out of St. Benedicts High School in Newark, NJ likes to have fun. A former New York Knick, he was often the subject of criticism for going out and partying in the New York City area. He found solace in the change of scenery that brought both he and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland last year. They’d end up winning a championship too, and many got amnesia that they’d ever criticized Smith.

On an episode of Scoop B Radio released last night, Chris Smith, brother and former Knicks teammate of J.R. Smith schooled me on why that is so. “I think people got it confused about the hanging out and the partying,” Chris Smith told me on Scoop B Radio.

Check out Chris Smith and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’s chat on Scoop B Radio 

“It’s evident in New York everybody hangs out and parties it’s just the level and the platform of the people that you hang out with. Pictures are being taken and stuff like that so everybody is going to think that you’re always out. And if the media portrays you in one way, people will take it and run with it. So that only leaves people who are not in your life to believe that they are in your life.”

Chris Smith had a good high school career at St. Benedict prep. He averaged 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.8 steals in his final season at the school. During his junior year at the University of Louisville, Smith averaged a shade under 10 points per game for a Cardinals team that finished that season with a 25-10 record.

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The post Chris Smith on J.R. Smith: “If the media portrays you in one way, people will take it and run with it.” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Golden State Warriors hold a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals. Photo Credit: The Huffington Post

The Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a sweep in the NBA Finals Friday night, beating the Golden State Warriors 137 -116. The Cavs handed the Golden State Warriors their first loss of the postseason and the Warriors still hold a 3-1 lead in the series.

With the NBA Finals prolongoing to a game 5 after the heroics of the Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving’s 40 points and LeBron James’ triple double in game 4, the scene shifts back to Oakland, where the Warriors won the first two games of the series.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, his dad, Drederick Irving & sports and entertainment journalist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Credit: Will Robertson

Earlier this week, I checked in with DJ Tarzan and Cliff Po on the Henny & Redbull Podcast, to talk about the NBA Finals, LeBron James’ Michael Jordan comparisons and more.

Check Out The Conversation With RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson and The Henny & Redbull Podcast.

The NBA Finals resumes Monday with Game 5 in Oakland.

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The post Scoop B: NBA Finals, Kevin Durant & LeBron James On Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan’s Henny & Redbull Podcast appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Former NBA coach George Karl’s recently released book, Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection, drew much attention.

The book garnered much attention presumably because of the excerpts detailing his relationship with former his former players J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and retired NBA player Kenyon Martin.

In Karl’s book, he detailed Anthony saying: “Carmelo was a true conundrum for me in the six years I had him,” wrote Karl. “He was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it.”

Karl who coached Anthony from January 2005 to February 2011, also said of Anthony: “He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy. My ideal — probably every coach’s ideal — is when your best player is also your leader. But since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain he couldn’t lead the Nuggets, even though he said he wanted to. Coaching him meant working around his defense and compensating for his attitude.”

Karl also made reference to J.R. Smith’s friends as a “posse,” a term that was recently popularized in the press when New York Knicks president Phil Jackson used when describing Maverick Carter and Rich Paul, business partners of Cleveland Cavaliers forward, LeBron James.

Karl also stated that Kenyon Martin and Anthony not having fathers were flaws in their personality. “Kenyon and Carmelo carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man,” said Karl.

Karl has made media runs defending his comments, promoting his book and also apologizing. “I said it poorly and I’m sorry that I said it poorly and I’m sorry for the reaction,” said Karl on ESPN’s Mike & Mike. “Because I know Kenyon. The one thing I love about Kenyon Martin: he is a good father.”

Check Out RESPECT MAG’s Brandon ‘Scoop B Robinson discussing the book, Karl, talking Knicks and more on with Justin Spears on the University of Arizona’s 1570 AM KAMP.

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The post Scoop B: George Karl, Carmelo Anthony & The Knicks On 1570 AM KAMP w/ Justin Spears appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.