Cavaliers' JR Smith Had MRI on Elbow Injury, Doubtful vs. Raptors

Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith had an MRI on his injured elbow Monday and has been ruled doubtful for Wednesday's season opener against the Toronto Raptors, according to Marla Ridenour of Ohio.com.  

Smith was durable in 2017-18, appearing in 80 games and averaging 8.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game behind 37.5 percent shooting from deep.

He is a critical piece of Cleveland's rotation because he can take advantage of openings created when opposing defenses collapse on penetration elsewhere.

Smith drilled 43.0 percent of his three-pointers during the 2016 playoffs as Cleveland marched to a title and 50.0 percent of his playoff threes in 2017 on the way to the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers will likely give more minutes to the combination of Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Korver and Cedi Osman if Smith is forced to miss significant time, but they could use his postseason experience and touch from the outside if they are going to make a surprise playoff run in the absence of LeBron James.