J.R. Smith: Is He The Cleveland Cavaliers’ X-Factor?
By Evan Massey
Is newly acquired shooting guard J.R. Smith the X-Factor for the Cleveland Cavaliers?
J.R. Smith was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers to bring in another legitimate scoring threat, and he showed that full potential against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Cleveland is finally beginning to play up to their potential, and have won three straight games to improve their record to 22-20. There are still some consistency issues, but they are beginning to gel as a team and play with much more passion than they have been this year. Smith was a troubled player with the New York Knicks up until the trade, but the Cavaliers appear to be a great thing for him.
On Monday night against the Bulls, Smith seemed to find his groove. He scored 20 points on 7-11 shooting, and nailed 6-9 from behind the three-point arc. If the Cavaliers can get that type of production out of Smith on a consistent basis, they are going to be extremely difficult for any team to beat.
During the games that he played with the Knicks this season, Smith averaged 10.9 points and shot 40.2 percent from the floor overall and 35.6 percent from behind the three-point arc. Since his trade to Cleveland, Smith has averaged 14.6 points while shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 39.2 percent from behind the arc.
Needless to say, his play has improved drastically since the Cavaliers made the trade to acquire him.
LeBron James is the type of leader that won’t put up with the type of antics and selfishness that Smith showed in New York. He holds his teammates to high standards and Smith doesn’t have the option of being the number one scorer. Having Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving ahead of him also has made Smith realize that he needs to be more of a spot-up shooter when they’re in, and then be more aggressive when one or two of them heads to the bench.
This is close to the version of Smith that won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award a couple seasons ago. He was one of the main reasons that the Knicks were looked at as legitimate title contenders that season, and was nearly unstoppable on the offensive end of the floor.
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So is Smith the Cavaliers’ X-Factor moving forward this season?
Absolutely. The Cavaliers are going to be a much better team with him playing his game, and Smith looks engaged with this team. His three-point shooting ability adds yet another dimension to the Cavaliers’ offense, and there aren’t many teams that can defend against James, Love, and Irving while also covering Smith outside the arc.
It is beginning to look like Cleveland may have found their swagger again after a rough start to the season. They went out and were very aggressive on the trade market, and may have found the perfect fits to help them turn things around.