With Avery Bradley officially opting out of the remainder of the season, the Lakers suffer a big loss at the guard position. Especially on the defensive end. But as we hear the latest news, that none other than JR Smith is the most serious candidate to replace Bradley, I actually think it’s a great idea. Whaaat?! Ok let me explain. What up everybody my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it. Ok first things first, Avery’s primary job was just being a pesky defender, constantly chasing opposing guards, and disrupting their offensive flow. And he’s very good at that. I’ve been in love with his defense and especially his overall effort ever since his days in Boston. Add in the fact that Bradley is capable of hitting the open 3, you have a nice player profile that perfectly complements Lebron’s needs. Then you have JR. He hasn’t played a game in a year and a half. Yeah, not this season, but he sat out the majority of last season as well. With 34 years, he’s really at the tail end of his career. And also, before you say it, here it is- we all know that Smith can forget the score at the end of a freaking finals game. So let’s actually start there. To be honest, I’ve always liked what JR can do on the court, so to summarize his game to a blunder like this, is like summarizing the career of a hall of famer, the pound for pound goat in my opinion Allen Iverson to that practice video. I feel like that’s what casual fans do. They don’t really watch the games closely, and instead, they just bring up clips that blow up on social media. So, let’s put that aside ok? Next, when talking about the Avery Bradley player profile, I don’t know if you remember but JR is actually a willing and serviceable defender. Is he elite? Maybe not, but in my opinion when it matters the most, he gives you effort and chases guys all over the court. On the other end tho? We already know how quick JR can catch fire. And that can provide a great floor spacing for the Lakers. You have to keep an eye on Smith to a degree much higher than Bradley. When you look at their shooting percentages, it’s somewhat similar, but again, we’ve seen the zone that JR can get in, and teams know that. So all in all, more room to operate for Lebron, AD and the rest. So you might say that this can make sense on paper but still, he hasn’t played in a long time, and is getting up there in age. Well, Richard Jefferson was an important piece on the Cavaliers team that won the title, and he was 35 at the time. So 1 year older back then. Also, with the NBA being on hold for so long, the timing works out perfectly for JR, because now everyone’s coming back lacking rhythm. And last and most important thing in this whole story is the fact that Smith has actually been working out and stayed ready during this whole time. If his conditioning and his rhythm are ok, I know that the jumpshot is in his back pocket ready to be unleashed. At the end I just like to quote Richard Jefferson who said: best behaviour JR is the best JR. And I completely agree with him. The Lakers are stacked right now. With a possibility to win a championship. All he needs to do is to chase guys on the perimeter, and occasionally hit the open 3. And even with a few mishaps throughout his career, I feel like he is going to be up to the task. Let me know what you think. Is this a good idea? Comment down below. Subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.