Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Adjustments For Game 2 vs. Warriors
5. Shorter Leash For J.R.
J.R. Smith has been tremendous for the Cleveland Cavaliers since the New York Knicks foolishly traded him away last season. But if he’s only going to put up three points on 1-of-3 shooting in 36 minutes during an NBA Finals game, is there any reason to be playing him over Iman Shumpert?
All three of Smith’s field goal attempts were three-pointers. He committed five fouls and one turnover, while only collecting one rebound and one assist in the process. This was a huge drop in production for a guy who had been averaging 12.0 points per game on .455/.462/.583 shooting splits in the playoffs.
The Warriors did a great job shutting him down and preventing him from getting any good looks, and to be fair to Smith, Klay Thompson is easily the best defender he’s faced in the postseason. But the Cavs have got to find a way to get him involved…or keep him on a shorter leash if his production continues to underwhelm.
Shump 16 mins. When JR goes 1-3 in 36 mins might as well give him more minutes
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) June 3, 2016
Of course, this isn’t anything new. Smith struggled in the 2015 NBA Finals too, averaging 11.5 points per game on 31.2 percent shooting from the floor and 29.4 percent shooting from three-point range. He was a complete non-factor for most of the series until a 19-point outing in the Game 6 loss. The Dubs are just a bad matchup for him.
But Smith was a complete ghost in Game 1, and if that trend continues, Lue has to take a more defensive-minded approach by turning to Shumpert off the bench and hoping he can knock down a few open looks.
Next: No. 4