Friday’s Hot Clicks: The Best Memes of J.R. Smith’s Outrageous Blunder

At least J.R. Smith gave us a good new meme.

At least there were memes

J.R. Smith’s inexplicable decision to dribble out the clock with the game tied and four seconds to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals will go down in history as perhaps the worst brain fart in the history of sports. Chris Webber calling a timeout he didn’t have in the 1993 NCAA tournament is right up there, but that happened with 20 seconds on the clock. Plus, Webber was only 20 years old. Smith is 32. He’s played in the NBA for 13 years. But he’s also J.R. Smith—he’s forgotten the score in a clutch situation before.

In the video of the play, you can see J.R. turn to LeBron and say, “I thought we were ahead.” After the game, though, Smith tried to say he knew what the situation was all along. 

JR Smith: "I was trying to get enough to bring it out to get a shot off. I knew we were tied, I thought we were going to call timeout. If I thought we were ahead, I'd have held onto the ball and let them foul me."

— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 1, 2018

Even if that was true, that’s still a terrible decision. There wasn’t even close to enough time to execute that plan. You know how I know that? Because the shot the Cavs got off was a fadeaway three that didn’t even look like it beat the buzzer!

Anyway, I could go on about this all day—and Ben Golliver already wrote a really great piece about the play—so instead I’ll just say that I’m glad this moment at least produced a good meme. 

#NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/A1UPKNEzRQ

— Natto (@natt0) June 1, 2018

Although, the more I think about it, the more I start to agree with this take.

Mmm, Canadian cuisine

Don Cherry, the hockey analyst you probably best know for dressing like that, apparently has culinary tastes to match his fashion sense. 

Here’s an excerpt from Steve Simmons’s column about Cherry in the Toronto Sun:

Every day on the road is seemingly the same. It doesn’t matter what the city is or what is around him. He has breakfast in his room. Oatmeal and all-bran in a glass, put together by his wife, Luba. Before practice or a morning skate, his longtime associate Kathy Broderick brings a muffin. Lunch, in his hotel room, consists of salmon sandwiches made by his wife.

“It’s the greatest thing in the world,” said Cherry, the eccentric. “Salmon, cheese, mayo, after a couple of days the salmon soaks into the bread.”

What follows next is a quote from Cherry’s broadcast partner Ron MacLean that will stick with me forever.

“It’s more like a pudding than a sandwich,” MacLean said. “But it is delicious.”

The thought of eating a congealed mess of fish and mayonnaise every day makes me want to vomit.

I hope Joel never stops doing this

You have to respect Joel Embiid showing off the versatility of his game down at the local park. Dunking on regular people is funny but it’s a one-note trick. I love that he’s switching things up. Next time he needs to start playing some hard defense. 

Bits & Pieces

The Sixers are buying into the theory that Bryan Colangelo’s wife posted those tweets and they’re considering firing him. ... You think people are sick of Warriors-Cavs? Game 1 didn’t even sell out. Sucks for them, they missed a classic. ... Here’s the full story of how that Russian journalist faked his death. ... Two girls swimming in a Michigan lake discovered a WWI-era practice bomb. ... Kanye debuted his new album at a listening party in Wyoming. ... Damarious Randall’s Finals bet has now surpassed one million retweets. ... This guy got kicked out of a concert and tried to swim back. ... A man in Florida had so many cockroaches in his apartment that one crawled in his ear and died.

Who wore it better?

Getty Images

I could finish that

J A V A L E pic.twitter.com/GX8s9So9Jl

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 1, 2018

(If you put me on a ladder.)

Another great New York Post cover

Frank Kaminsky looking like James Franco in Spring Breakers

You can laugh because he’s fine now

A singing bulldog

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A post shared by Walter Geoffrey (@waltergeoffreythefrenchie)

“The Great One on One”

The NHL is doing a new video series where Wayne Gretzky interviews celebrities. Pretty cool idea. 

A good song

Hot Clicks is everything you need to know in the world of sports and pop culture, ready for you to read right when you get to your desk in the morning. Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.