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Cleveland Cavs’ J.R. Smith has advice for kids: Always shoot, never pass

Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith reacts to a foul call during a game against Milwaukee.

Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith reacts to a foul call during a game against Milwaukee.

(Aaron Gash / Associated Press)
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Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith has yet to find a shot he didn’t like.

Though he prefers contested shots, calling open shots “boring,” when the ball goes into Smith’s hands, he would much rather hoist up a shot rather than pass to a teammate.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Smith is fully behind his shoot-first style of play and recommends it for others (as long as they aren’t his teammates, we presume). In an article for an upcoming edition of GQ Magazine, Smith is asked for assistance by a young basketball player.

Smith agrees to help, but then asks if the child ever passes. After the kid says yes, Smith quickly retorts: “Man, don’t pass it. Shoot! Every time you get it, shoot.” We know Smith practices what he preaches.

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The 12-year NBA veteran is a key reserve for the Eastern Conference’s first-place Cavaliers (17-7), who are trying to get back to the NBA Finals after losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games last season.

Smith is averaging 11.1 points per game this season, down from his 13.2-point career average and way less than the 18.1 points he averaged in 2012-13 when he won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award coming off the Knicks’ bench.

Smith also discussed teammate LeBron James’ hairline: “I tell him all the time: ‘You can’t have it all! You have to give up one thing, and it just so happened it’s your hair.’ ”

And Smith equated his own career to an unsatisfying Christmas morning, telling GQ that after coming into the NBA straight out of high school at 19, he expected it to be full of accomplishments, but instead of a “lightsaber” and a “G.I. Joe with the kung fu grip” he’s received a couple of articles of clothing.

“You write your Christmas list out. And you’re going to get everything. And then you get clothes.

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