Iman Shumpert Proving His Worth in Playoffs

When Iman Shumpert was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the New York Knicks in early January, along with J.R. Smith, the Cavs had a pretty simple plan set out for the duo. Shumpert was supposed to slide into the starting line-up and provide the perimeter defensive presence that Dion Waiters failed to do. The erratic Smith was projected to be the Cavaliers spark plug off the bench and the clubs new sixth man.

After Shumpert sat out his few weeks in Cleveland due to his dislocated shoulder though, the roles were reserved. Smith was put right into the starting line-up and after his impressive shooting and surprising defensive efforts; Coach David Blatt had no reason to replace him with Shumpert. The Cavs were winning and while Shumpert wasn’t starting, his all-defense mindset was a pleasant change for the Cavaliers off the pine.

In 38 games for the Cavs during the regular season, Shumpert averaged 7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game, while shooting an underwhelming 41% from the field and 33.8% from downtown. But as LeBron James has stated, “What we get from him as far as points is extra credit for our team,” (per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com), as Shumpert was never brought in to give the Cavs offense- that was Smith’s job. Cleveland’s defense was dramatically better with Shumpert on the court, as the team’s defense rating was 99.2 with him on the court and that number raised to 105.0 when Shumpert wasn’t on the court. Basically, the Cavs had the 2^nd best defense in the league when Shumpert was on and the 24^th ranked defense in the league when he was on the pine.

As rotations often become shorter and thinner during the playoffs, many expected Shumpert to be a major X-factor for Cleveland during the post-season. His teammates agreed that Shumpert would be a key part of the Cavs playoff push, as Kyrie Irving had this to say, again per McMenamin:

"“We know what he’s capable of. He’s not short of confidence. That’s why I love him. We need him to be himself and go out there and be locked in. I’m not going to have to worry about looking to my left and worrying about Iman being out there with us. He’s not going to miss a beat. He’s a professional. He’s been in playoff series against great teams. We need his experience out there. He’ll raise his level of play.”"

Shumpert had a little bit of hype heading into the first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics and he proved worthy of the hype during Games 3 and 4.

Isaiah Thomas, who craved Cleveland up during Games 1 and 2, was getting into the lane at will against the Cavs defenders and was getting countless open jumpers.

Shumpert though, was asked to contain Thomas and he did that in Boston, as the defensive talents of the former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket negated the impact of the Celtics pesky sixth-man. Thomas only managed five points in Game 3 and while he put up 21 in the final game, it came on a woeful 4 from 17 shooting performance. Shumpert was able to shut down Thomas by forcing him to his weaker side and playing him into ineffective, contested mid-range jumpers. Thomas no longer had the freedom to stroll into the middle of Cleveland’s defense and Shumpert was a major reason for that.

The defensive specialist used his length and world-class defensive IQ to shut down Thomas and frustrate him during Games 3 and 4. While his defense was sensational, Shumpert also was able to provide the Cavaliers with some much-needed offensive production during the closeout game at the TD Garden.

With Kevin Love in the locker-room nursing a freshly dislocated shoulder and Smith ejected due to his backhand to the face of Jae Crowder, someone else needed to step up in their absence. That man was Shumpert, who managed a double-double in the decisive final game, putting up 15 points and 10 rebounds, along with a handy three blocks and two steals, further evidence of his defensive pressure.

As the Cavs took care of the Celtics and were preparing for the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the news surfaced of Love’s season ending shoulder surgery and Smith’s two game suspension. Albeit with sorrowful circumstances, Shumpert finally got his chance to be inserted into the Cavaliers starting line-up for the opening two games against the Bulls and boy, has he been huge.

In the disappointing Game 1 loss, Shumpert was one of Cleveland’s only bright spots. Shumpert made a big impact on the offensive end in the Cavs Vs Bulls series opener, picking things up in Smith and Love’s absence. Shumpert put up 22 points on 8 from 17 shooting and an impressive 4 from 10 from three-point land. While many were surprised by Shumpert’s offensive output, Blatt knew the 6″5 guard had it in him, as he echoed his trust and faith in Shumpert’s offensive talents, per McMenamin:

"“I want everybody to be fair to Iman. He can score and he can put points on the board and we need him to do so given the situation we’re in right now. Now, is he going to be a guy that you’re running multiple screens for so he can come off and shoot like a [Mike] Dunleavy? No. Or a J.R.? But he’s a guy that can put the ball in the basket. He’s a guy that can create some offense. Is he going to be our first option? Probably not. But I think you should give him a little bit more credit. He’s a guy that has shown the ability to score the ball and we’re going to ask him to do everything in this series. Everything in terms of being prepared to contribute in all aspects of the game is a better way to do it because we need him to do so and he’s capable of doing so.”"

Shumpert still did a solid job on the defensive end though in the first game. While Derrick Rose was tearing Irving apart and the Bulls were abusing the Cavaliers with their pick and roll/pop, Shumpert did a nice job in minimizing the impact that Jimmy Butler had, the Most Improved Player in the NBA this season. Butler did have 20 points but it came on 16 shot attempts and was a silver lining on the defensive end in Game 1.

In Game 2 though, Cavs fans were exposed to the full Shumpert experience and it was great.

Shumpert was awesome in Cleveland’s dominant 15-point Game 2 victory. His energy in the first quarter was a major aspect in the Cavs getting out to a 20-point lead at the end of the first quarter, as he scored 10 opening quarter points, including three long-distance bombs. Shumpert’s effective three-point shooting allowed the Cavs to space the floor, creating space for James and Irving to work their magic. Shumpert was also a menace on the defensive end in the first quarter, grabbing two steals and containing both Rose and Butler.

Rose and Butler were held in check the entire game, not only by Shumpert but the rest of the backcourt had a hand in that as well, as Irving and Matthew Dellavedova also put in stellar performances on the defensive end. Rose finished with 14 points on 6 from 20 shooting and Butler shot only 5 from 14 in a 18 point effort.

After his excellent first quarter, Shumpert ended up with 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and zero turnovers. Shumpert shot 5 from 11 on the field and an outstanding 4 from 7 from three-point range. Shumpert is shooting 40% from three-point range during the playoffs and if he can establish that part of the game, it will be a huge help in making up the floor spacing that Cleveland lost when Love went down.

Game 2 was Shumpert’s third straight game of 15 points or more. For a guy who wasn’t meant to provide a lot of offense for the Cavs, Shumpert has averaged 17.3 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in his last three outings. Over that span, he is also shooting 50% from the field and 47.4% from beyond the arc.

Shumpert had an incredible defensive rating of 84.5 in Game 2, a testament to the defensive energy that he provided to the team in the win. If Shumpert can continue to keep this defensive intensity up, which lets face it, he will, Cleveland may have a better defense in the playoffs then many predicted.

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There was a scary moment during Game 2 for Shumpert though, as he suffered a groin injury during the third quarter. Cleveland fans everywhere were holding their breath when Shumpert went to the locker-room but he would return later in the game and Blatt explained his decision to insert him back in, per cavs.com:

"“Iman has given us a terrific series thus far. He’s obviously a very, very important player for us. I hope he’s going to be okay. He did stretch his groin and we’ll see if it’s not too serious. He was able to come back in as you saw. The moment we could get him out of there, we did. The idea of putting him back in was just because we’re going to need him and we didn’t want him sitting too long. Then once we saw we had our hands around the game, we were able to sit him back down again. Time for one of those miracle 48 hour recoveries. That’s what we’re hoping for.”"

After expecting to be Cleveland’s starter when he got traded to the club, Shumpert settled into a bench role for the regular season. Due to the current situation that the Cavs are facing though, Shumpert has been asked to step up into the starting line-up and he has responded in a big way.

Next: Cavs Already Recruiting Love Back for Next Year