If J.R. Smith Broke His Right Thumb, It’s Time To Make A Splash Trade
J.R. Smith injured his thumb late in the first half of Tuesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Already ailing from knee injuries, this latest nick on the former Knick could force the team to make a splash trade.
J.R. Smith left Tuesday’s game after just 17 minutes of action after suffering an injury to his right thumb in the first half. He’ll have the thumb examined Wednesday in Cleveland.
Smith, who hasn’t been having his best season, has been having a tough time this season. Cleveland’s favorite son has suffered through the worst shooting slump in his career and has been injured for what seems like the whole season. While he passed Craig Ehlo in Cavs history in his last game, surpassing Ehlo’s 381 three-pointers made with four bombs against the Los Angeles Lakers, and was 2-of-4 from three-point range tonight before leaving the game, it seems as if Smith just can’t catch a break.
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/810306706945282052
Well not the right break, anyways.
On a larger scale, a broken right thumb would have major implications for the Cavaliers. A broken thumb usually takes three to six weeks to heal depending on the age of the person as well as the severity and location of the fracture.
Given Smith’s age, let’s just say Smith will be out for a month, if he does indeed have a broken thumb.
In that time, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have two choices, given that DeAndre Liggins assumes the starting role at shooting guard in Smith’s absence. Though Liggins isn’t a scorer, he’s shooting a super efficient 60.0 percent from behind the arc when he does decide to launch a three. He also played sensational defense on the other teams best backcourt player, exponentially improving the team’s perimeter defense.
Must Read: DeAndre Liggins Wins Game Ball In Smith's Absence
Because Liggins isn’t a three-point specialist or a volume shooter, the Cavs will have to rely on Mike Dunleavy Jr., Richard Jefferson and Jordan McRae to fill three-point void left in Smith’s absence.
However, the Cavs plan on using McRae in a trade to acquire a point guard. Dunleavy Jr. is another player who may be available, as his $4.8 million salary is enough to make the trades for Deron Williams and D.J. Augustin work. Earlier this month, Williams and Augustin were mentioned by Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon as two point guards the Cleveland Cavaliers could be interested in acquiring. It’s also long since been rumored that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been interested in acquiring point guard Ricky Rubio.
With the need, according to Tyronn Lue, for the team to have a veteran point guard to man the second unit, fans can only assume Jefferson will be replace the three-point threat that Smith is.
To be frank, that’s not enough. The Cavs aren’t blowing out every opponent. They’re scrapping for nearly every win. Their season won’t crash in a month without Smith. However, other teams may gain ground and the Cavs can’t afford to rely on players they’ll need for a trade down the line.
For the team to continue its momentum, a trade needs to be made now. A splash needs to be made. Not at the risk of sending off a piece of the current rotation. However, perimeter players like Monta Ellis could help the Cavs as playmakers in the second unit
Whether or not the champs can pull such a trade-off is another question. Whether or not they need to make a big trade, shouldn’t be a question at all.
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Do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers need to make a a big trade with the latest injury to J.R. Smith? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.