Despite Silver Linings, J.R. Smith's Injury Is Bad News for Shallow Cavaliers
The Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers (21-6) don't have many flaws, but their primary weakness is about to come to light.
With starting shooting guard J.R. Smith now out 12-14 weeks following Friday's surgery for a broken thumb, an already thin Cavs backcourt will be exposed.
"We're going to miss J.R., his defense, his effort on defense, his tough shot-making," head coach Tyronn Lue said, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "But that's no excuse for us. Next man up; we've got to be ready to play, and we've got to be ready to help J.R. out until he gets back and gets healthy."
Depth has already been an issue in Cleveland with no proven backup to point guard Kyrie Irving. Now, with Smith unavailable until about a month or so before the playoffs begin, Lue will call on Iman Shumpert, DeAndre Liggins and Jordan McRae to lead the patchwork job until more capable help can be found.
The bright spot? Smith's injury should finally answer Lue's rotation questions. It will also put pressure on the front office to fix the Cavaliers' major flaw now before it's too late.
Why Losing J.R. Hurts
Smith stumbled out of the gate this season after missing training camp due to a contract dispute, but he was just starting to regain his lethal outside stroke.
Smith shot a pitiful 30.3 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from beyond the arc through his first 13 games. In eight December contests, however, he pushed those marks to 40 percent from the floor and a scorching 45 percent from three.
Because of a hyperextended knee earlier this month, Smith's defense has wavered from pretty good to atrocious. Still, he is perhaps the Cavaliers' best perimeter stopper when engaged. Only Shumpert can come close to replicating what Smith brings on both ends of the floor.
Even with some shaky defense and a dip in offensive production, Smith allowed the rest of Lue's thin backcourt to operate on schedule.
It would be easy for Lue to plug Shumpert into Smith's starting spot; he's more than earned the job. However, with no backup point guard, the second unit would become even more devoid of ball-handlers in that scenario.
All of this eventually comes back to members of the Big Three as well. With the start of the playoffs still four months away, the Cavaliers shouldn't be overusing LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
James has weathered through the past six NBA Finals, and Irving spent the summer competing on the U.S. Olympic team. With what we assume to be another long postseason run ahead, burning the trio out in December should be avoided at all costs.
Now without Smith, Irving is the only backcourt member who can create his own shot. His workload is only increasing as well. After playing 33.7 minutes per game over the first 16 contests, Irving is logging 36.3 ticks in December.
James' wear is even more pronounced. Although he's nearly on pace to become the NBA's first player over 30 to average 25 points, 7.5 rebounds and nine assists, per B/R Insights, he is too often already the one bringing the ball up the court. James' minutes have jumped from 35.9 during October and November to 39 in 10 December contests.
That's not ideal for a guy who's already spent more time on an NBA court than Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson.
But without Smith, the stress on Irving and James will only intensify.
The Good News?
Behind Irving, Smith and Shumpert is a trio of guards who bring an interesting mix of potential and inexperience.
DeAndre Liggins, Jordan McRae and Kay Felder are a group of Band-Aids in Smith's absence.
All three have drifted from the end of the bench to the rotation and sometimes back. None have appeared in more than 19 games, with only Liggins cracking double digits in minutes played (14.5). And the Cavs backcourt has been underwhelming to this point, even with Smith.
| Cavs | 41.8 | 43.2 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 3.1 |
| NBA Rank | 17 | 14 | 24 | 29 | 17 |
The silver lining is that Lue will find out exactly what he has in each player.
First up is Liggins, who was penciled in at starter when Smith missed time previously. Lue loves his defense, intensity and the fact that Cleveland doesn't have to run plays for the 28-year-old.
Through five games as a starter (25.8 minutes), Liggins is giving the Cavs 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.2 steals. He's also converting open shots, knocking down 62.5 percent of his three-pointers when in the starting unit.
"I'm playing with three great players, so they don't need my offense," Liggins said.
"But if I'm open, I'm going to take the wide-open shot. What I bring is the defensive edge. I try to help Kyrie out so he doesn't have to pick up guards full court. I try to save Kyrie some energy, and that's what I've been doing. ... [Playing with those guys is] great. It just makes the game so much easier for me, just being wide-open. Those guys get so much attention, and I'm honored to be able to play with them."
The Cavs are holding opponents to 103 points per 100 possessions with Liggins on the court this season. When he sits, that rating jumps to 108.2. His plus-7.7 on/off rating is also third on the Cavaliers, behind only James (plus-16.2) and Love (plus-10.2).
"His energy and his effort have been a huge part of [the team's success] as well," James said of Liggins. "He doesn't need much."
After Liggins comes McRae, who drew rave reviews in the NBA Summer League and preseason with his improved play. A natural 2-guard at 6'6", McRae has spent nearly half his court time running the point for Cleveland this season.
"He's doing a great job. He's learning on the fly," Irving told Bleacher Report earlier this season.
"I don't necessarily know if that's his natural position, but for us, we need him to play the backup 1. He's doing a good job of playing in the second unit with LeBron, getting guys shots as well as looking for his own shot. His ability to score is matched by very few. He still has to learn how to play off other guys, but I think he's doing a great job right now."
While neither is an expert ball-handler, Liggins' defense makes him the preferred choice over McRae. That and the fact that the latter is shooting onl 32.4 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three this season.
Finally, there's Felder, the only true point guard on the roster other than Irving. The second-round rookie has logged just 110 minutes all year, averaging 3.8 points and 1.8 assists. He's looked solid in limited appearances; he's able to get to the basket while still keeping his head up to find an open man.
But with backup point being the biggest area of need, Lue must feel Felder is not ready for everyday minutes, as the rookie continues to ride the bench.
With Smith out, this is Lue's time to finally sort out his three guards and see which ones deserve regular playing time, even on a healthy roster. Losing Smith hurts, but doing so with snow on the ground is far more preferable to spring.
Cavaliers' Insider Notebook
Irving the Distributor?
We know Irving as one of the NBA's best scorers, but the Cavaliers have been more successful when he focuses on passing.
With a career-high 13-assist performance during a 113-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 21, Cleveland is now 12-1 when Irving records 11 assists or more.
Lue has told Irving not to focus on assist numbers and just be aggressive, but it's clear the Cavs are nearly unbeatable when the three-time All-Star is in a giving mood.
LeBron Joins Three-Point Party
The Cavaliers lead the NBA with a scorching 40.7 percent success rate from downtown. Up until the past few weeks, this was in spite of James.
Lately, however, James has been en fuego from deep. Over his last seven games, he's knocking down 45 percent of his outside attempts.
For now at least, opponents have yet another aspect of James' game to fear.
NBA's Laziest Team?
According to the NBA's SportVU technology, the Cavaliers move the slowest and the shortest distance per game.
Cleveland players run a combined 16.15 miles per game, moving at an average speed of 4.02 miles per hour. Both figures rank last in the association.
Does this mean the Cavs are lazy? No, it's probably more of a combination of their love for the three-pointer and a tendency to watch James and Irving play isolation at times.
Playing fast doesn't necessarily mean playing better, either. The top two teams in total miles and average speed? The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, who are a combined 14-41 this season.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @CavsGregBR.
Stats via Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate through Dec. 21. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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