J.R. Smith's basketball adventure in China appears to have ended before it could ever really begin. Playing in his first game in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), Smith was driving to the net in the fourth quarter when he went down on the court while attempting to pick up a loose ball. Check out the video below starting at the 25-second mark or so.
As we can see, this was a non-contact injury, which could potentially be even worse than had he injured it while colliding with another player. He got over to the bench before the pain got unbearable, which you can see in these photos. There has been no additional update on his injury.
Smith was unable to walk after that and had to be helped by his teammates to an ambulance outside the arena. Before the injury, Smith had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists in the game.
Certainly this might be a precautionary tale for players thinking of playing overseas during the lockout, but the same injury could happen during an NBA game. Of course, if a contract gets voided as a result of the injury, that's another matter entirely.
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