The Cleveland Cavaliers suspended shooting guard J.R. Smith for yesterday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers for conduct detrimental to the team. According to a report by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst, the reason of his suspension stems from Smith throwing a bowl of soup at assistant Damon Jones.
Jones, who was a former Cavaliers player and teammate of LeBron James, has been back with the organization since 2014 and worked his way up from an assistant coach position with the G League affiliate Canton Charge, to eventually becoming a part of Tyronn Lue’s staff, where he has proven a trusted voice for the locker room.
In light of the recent event, the Cavaliers plan to donate the full amount of Smith’s $94,897 fine to a soup kitchen in Cleveland, according to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks.
Rodney Hood, a recent acquisition via a three-team trade, started in place of Smith, recording his most well-rounded outing yet with 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting with five rebounds and five assists.
Smith is slated to return to practice on Friday, according to Lue, and will resume at his starting shooting guard spot Saturday when the Cavs host the Denver Nuggets after suffering three losses in their last five games.
The Cavs are 7.5 games behind the East-leading Toronto Raptors and seven games behind the Boston Celtics, making a race for the No. 1 seed a rather extremely tough task at hand with only 21 games left in the regular season.