The Cleveland Cavaliers should start J.R. Smith over Dwyane Wade

Although it’s just one game in the books, the Cleveland Cavaliers should give serious consideration to starting J.R. Smith over Dwyane Wade.

In the modern-day NBA, a backcourt pairing of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade is a risky proposition. With spacing and the 3-point shot the way of the future, pairing Rose and Wade, career 29.8 and 28.7 percent 3-point shooters respectively, is an unusual alliance on the part of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas sidelined indefinitely, Rose’s place in the starting shouldn’t come into question. But the same can’t be said for Wade.

With the Cavaliers seemingly having embraced small-ball with the insertion of Kevin Love at the center spot while relegating Tristan Thompson to the bench, this starting backcourt certainly raised the eyebrows of many onlookers.

Despite coming away with the 102-99 opening night win over the Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers had a vastly different feel to the team that has made the NBA Finals the past three seasons.

Coming off a regular season where they ranked second overall in averaging 33.9 3-point attempts per game, the Cavaliers attempted just 21, making a mere five. In fact, over the entire course of last season, 21 attempts was their lowest mark, which occurred just once.

In his first game as a Cavalier, Wade shot 3-of-10 from the field in posting eight points, three assists and two blocks in 29 minutes on the floor. And it wasn’t just on the offensive end that Wade hurt the team. Overall, the Cavaliers were 8.0 points per 100 possessions better off defensively when Wade was off the court.

On the flip side, J.R. Smith, the man Wade replaced in the starting lineup, made a notable impact. Overall, the Cavaliers were 22.0 points per 100 possessions better off in the 22 minutes Smith was on the floor. Overall, he posted 10 points and four rebounds, including hitting 1-of-3 from long range.

It was an unusual change in strategy from the Cavaliers, who tried to formulate a team that surrounded LeBron James with a plethora of shooters last year. But against the Celtics, they simply weren’t utilized.

Starting at center, Love played just 28 minutes and was only 1-of-4 from downtown. Kyle Korver, who averaged 5.7 3-point attempts per game after being acquired midseason, played just seven minutes. And then of course there was Smith, who led the team in 3-point attempts last season with 6.6 attempts per game.

Related Story: 3 takeaways from Cleveland Cavaliers' season opener

The trade of Kyrie Irving to the Celtics was always to shake things up with the Cavaliers. However, the inability to use Thomas for the foreseeable future makes Wade’s place in the starting lineup all the more untenable. In fact, moving him to a sixth man role would also help the second unit, empowering Wade to be a lead scorer and playmaker off the bench.

Although not a perimeter threat, Rose’s ability to penetrate and get into the heart of the defense still makes him a valuable asset on the offensive end. Last season as a member of the New York Knicks, Rose ranked 12th in the league in averaging 10.0 drives per game. In order to take some of the burden off James, the Cavaliers need to tap into this elite aspect of Rose’s game, and this starts with surrounding him with elite perimeter shooters.

Next: 2017-18 NBA season previews, predictions and power rankings

So while it seems the Cavaliers are going to persist with Wade at the 2-spot for the time being, and it’s normally best to avoid opening night overreactions, it would be a wise move to re-insert Smith into the starting lineup sooner rather than later.