Ty Lue backs JR Smith, says he will start Game 2

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue isn’t worrying about J.R. Smith going forward, despite his massive blunder at the end of Game 1 of regulation.

Lue said Friday that he hasn’t lost confidence in Smith, and that he will start Game 2, believing he can shake off the mistake he made when he seemed to forget the score in the final possession of regulation.

Tyronn Lue defends JR Smith on a conference call saying, “JR can shake off anything,” and points out that had Smith not grabbed the offensive rebound off the missed free throw, the Warriors could have had a chance to win it in regulation.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 1, 2018

“He will start. And no, I haven’t lost confidence. JR (Smith) can shake it off,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) June 1, 2018

Smith and Lue couldn’t even get their stories straight on what actually happened. Lue knows it does Smith and the Cavaliers no good to keep talking about it, though, so he’s going to praise his player and try to move on as quickly as possible. The team has no other choice.