Cleveland Cavaliers: Iman Shumpert Another Cav Down

I think this tweet is a good way to start things off:

LeBron on Iman Shumpert: "Like I told you guys yesterday, injuries are probably the only thing that can stop us longterm."
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 29, 2015

Now, it was only a few days ago that I wrote about how the Cleveland Cavaliers’ No. 1 concern this season will be health. With it, they’re nearly unstoppable in the East and an assured favorite to reach The Finals. Without it, they’re a “What could have been” club.

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Iman Shumpert (or as Tas Melas from The Starters calls him, EY-MON SHOOMPERT!!!) is the first Cav to go down this season, and with both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving still recovering from previous injuries, training camp might be a bit skimpier than usual to kick off the 2015-16 season.

Shump will have surgery to repair his extensor carpi ulnaris sheath, and if you’re like me and suddenly become dyslexic when you see science-related terms, that simply means that he hurt his wrist.

Or, you can just read it this way:

Iman Shumpert (jet skiing with Sean Kingston) will miss 12-14 weeks.
— NBA Injury Report (@NBAInjuryR3port) September 29, 2015

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That would be totally worth it.

Anyway, Shump harmed himself last week when he tried to catch a lob in practice and hammered his wrist on the rim. Now he’s going to miss 12 to 14 weeks. That has to make Cavs fans wince, since they just saw him sign a four-year, $40 million deal this summer.

The team is really going to miss his presence on the floor. He’s a very mobile player who is especially good at defending on the perimeter, and he can knock down open three-pointers off catch-and-shoots. He is always active on the defensive end, his quick hands at the ready, and often makes things happen by playing the passing lane.

Without him, Cleveland is going to have to step things up on D. This club isn’t really known for their defensive prowess (though they did step it up in the playoffs last postseason) and it hurts them to lose a guy whose initial mindset is shutting down opponents.

Thankfully, this is where the re-signing of J.R. Smith looks really good. Getting that deal done means that he can slide into the starting spot that Shump would’ve occupied. Smith has done this before; when the trade that sent Smith and Shump to Cleveland happened last year, J.R. stepped into the starting role until Shump recovered from an injury he had at the time.

J.R. Swish isn’t as strong of a defender as Shump, but when locked in he’s not bad at all. He definitely provides more offense than his teammate, although that’s not something the starting lineup really needs. Still, in the interim (with Love and Irving possibly sitting out for a while too) his scoring might be welcomed.

That will leave the bench with less of a punch than it’ll normally have when all hands are on deck, and newcomer Mo Williams might be expected to score a little more. Sophomore Joe Harris might also see some time, since Shumpert’s 24.2 minutes per game will need to be spread around (I know what you’re thinking and no, they shouldn’t all go to LeBron James).

The way things are going, we might not get to see the Cavs at full power until around Christmas. That means the first half of the season will be Survival Basketball for them–in other words, they’ll be eking out wins in any manner possible until they are healthy and raring to go.

Certainly, the Cavs of the second half of the season should be fantastic and a bunch of fun to watch. But don’t expect the play-style of the beginning to this season to be very enjoyable. This team is thinking about a title, not about how many wins they can rack up.

Indeed, it doesn’t really matter if key players are hurt right now. What matters is going to come next spring. Still, it would be nice to be able to see this team play at least half a season together in their entirety.

Next: 25 Best Players to Play for the Cleveland Cavaliers

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Iman Shumpert: Another Cav Down

By Joshua Howe | Sep 30, 2015

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