JR Smith Reportedly Will Return from Thumb Injury vs. Detroit Pistons

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have extra help off the bench on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons when J.R. Smith makes his return. 

Cavaliers radio broadcaster John Michael and The Athletic's Jason Lloyd reported Smith's return. 

This will mark Smith's first appearance in a game since Dec. 20 when he suffered a fractured right thumb in the Cavs' 114-108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Smith had surgery to repair the damage to his thumb and was expected to be out for at least 12 to 14 weeks. His return on Thursday puts the timetable at 11 weeks, but it's unclear how many minutes he will be available for. 

In 21 games before the injury, Smith was struggling to find consistency with his shot. His 8.6 points per game marks his lowest total since 2005-06. He was still shooting a respectable 36.2 percent from three-point range, though it's still below his career mark of 37.5 percent.

The Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 42-20, 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics, despite losing four of their last six games. 

Cleveland has also been playing without star forward Kevin Love since Feb. 11 after he had knee surgery that is expected to keep him out for at least six weeks.

With the Cavaliers focused on getting healthy in time for the playoffs, Smith's return will provide a much-needed boost to the defending NBA champions as they play out the final 20 games of the regular season.