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Home » Lose Weight » Lakers JR Smith took fatherly advice on his way back to the NBA – OCRegister

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. For a year-and-a-half, the fiercest competition J.R. Smith had was with his brothers not on the court, but on wheels.

It was at the start of the pandemic when the 34-year-old bought a bike, looking for a way to safely get out of the house and lose weight. Hed ride up and down Venice Boulevard. Hed ride through the Pacific Palisades. Hed ride to Manhattan Beach.

Always hungry for a contest, the Smith family tracked their biking miles on an app that they checked every day. Earl Smith Jr., J.R.s father, saw his sons Demetrius and Chris peddling along at about 12 miles a day; J.R. would hit 20 miles: After a while, Earl said, it wasnt even close.

With practice, J.R. said, he found his mind would simply settle as he rode.

It was a lot, but its funny, he said. Because once youre on a bike, and youre cruising, you dont really think about it too much until you gotta turn around and go back.

So yes, J.R. Smiths return to the NBA for the first time since November 2018 is like riding a bike.

Everyone is getting used to the strangeness of playing out the season in the Disney bubble, but returning to the structure the practices, the film sessions, the team dinners has felt easy for Smith, a 15-year veteran who has spent almost half his life in the NBA.

Even though he is the most recent Laker newcomer after signing in June, he has some of the most robust and complex handshakes with teammates that he executes at introductions before every game. He hasnt played much during the restart, only 54 minutes in five games, but that hasnt mattered as much as simply being in the league again.

When did it feel like Smith had blended into the Lakers locker room?

The first day he got here: Everybodys known him, said Danny Green, who came up in the same Northeast hoop circles as Smith. Weve all played against him for years. Hes played with most of these guys here. Theyve all known him, shown love, grew up in the same area with the guy, so first day he was himself, and he was happy and excited. And it was like, hes here, so hes just a part of the group.

By his own admission, Smiths comeback from the pits of a depressed state is a fairly remarkable one.

In his last year with the Cavaliers in the 2018-19 season, the franchise began to pivot to a rebuild after LeBron James moved on and was set to reduce his minutes. Smith pushed back. He publicly accused the franchise of tanking, after which Smith and the Cavs agreed to split, with Smith on his own away from the team while a trade could be worked out. The trade never materialized, and he was waived in July 2019, at which point he began to realize getting back in the NBA might be harder than he thought.

Smith declined to discuss the specific challenges of getting back into the league with the Southern California News Group, but he told the Inside the Green Room podcast that he believed persistent off-court rumors about his character were to blame which he and his family have said were unfair.

Smith has a reputation as an NBA wild card: His tenure with the Cavaliers included a famous anecdote of him throwing a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones, and he also was memed for a Game 1 mistake in 2018 when he allowed the game with the Warriors to go to overtime rather than taking a final shot. More seriously, in May, he was filmed in a fight with a man whom he accused of vandalizing his truck during a George Floyd protest in Los Angeles.

While Smith acknowledges these past incidents, he also wishes equal weight were given to his track record as an NBA veteran and key player on several title-contending teams.

It is what it is, honestly, he said. People are going to have that perception of me. Im convinced of it. Theres nothing I can really do to change that except just come every day and dedicate myself, and just be consistent.

But its hard to be consistent when the professional life youve known falls out from under you. Without basketball, Smith came unmoored living with his family in Warren, N.J. He stopped playing basketball, stopped watching basketball, stopped even playing basketball-themed video games. He gained weight. He became less interested in hearing from his agent, Rich Paul, if anyone wanted him because the news was increasingly grim. He got to spend a lot of time with his four daughters, but that was a silver lining as his career slowly kept drifting away.

One of the loudest voices in his corner was Earl Jr., who told his namesake son that his career wasnt over. Smith is close with his dad and listens my dad is probably right 90 percent of the time, but dont tell him that, he said and Earls message was some serious tough love.

If you aint gonna play, now you gotta find something to do, Earl said he told his son. I thought, Get your ass in shape, go to L.A. Do your thing. Go make some goddamn money for those little girls.

Smith made the difficult decision to relocate to Los Angeles, where he would have better access to training. Especially during the NBA hiatus, the combination of biking and a vegan diet made him lose 20 pounds in a show of support, Earl Jr. went vegan for a few months, too.

Without this renewed dedication, Smith said, he wouldnt have been physically ready to play when the Lakers came calling in June to swap him in for Avery Bradley.

The weight I was at, how my body would have had to respond to recovering to playing, I dont think it would have happened, he said. My body wouldnt have been able to handle it. At the end of the day, just thank God you have the opportunity to play this game again. Be thankful, be humble, and take it in stride.

Smith has undoubtedly been rusty in the restart. He said its also been difficult being away from his family again: He estimates he spends up to six hours a day on FaceTime with his daughters even the youngest at 2 years old brings the phone to her mother, eager to call Dad.

Earl Jr., like any sports father, thinks his son could benefit from a few more touches. But more importantly, he sees his J.R. fulfilled back on the job.

This is the happiest Ive seen J.R. in years the happiest Ive seen him since he won the championship, Earl Jr. said. It was depressing for a while. Every man cries for a reason, and he had a reason. But when J.R. is in something and committed to it, hes in it 110 percent.

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Lakers JR Smith took fatherly advice on his way back to the NBA - OCRegister

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Home » Lose Weight » Lakers JR Smith took fatherly advice on his way back to the NBA – OCRegister