The Cleveland Cavaliers took a chance on J.R. Smith last season and it was mostly successful. How has Smith played on the offensive end in his second year in Cleveland though?
Always an enigma, J.R. Smith has been a mixed bag for the Cavaliers on the offensive end of the floor this season. The former St Benedicts standout, Smith was brought into Cleveland last season in January to provide the Cavs with an explosive offensive weapon off the bench.
Due to a number of different circumstance though, such as injuries, form and match-ups, Smith has been a starter for majority of his time in a Wine and Gold jersey and this season, Smith has actually started in all 35 games he has suited up in.
There was plenty of risk surrounding the acquisition of Smith last season, due to his negative track record off the court. Smith has been publically known as a nutcase and an immature athlete but with the backing of LeBron James, the Cavs rolled the dice. Now, in terms of keeping his head, Smith has been up and down. He was suspended in the playoffs for punching Jae Crowder, picked up a flagrant foul in the finals and most recently, was ejected during the Cavaliers 34-point loss to the Golden State Warriors. Coach David Blatt spoke of Smith’s mental breakdowns, via Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.
"“That does concern me,” Blatt admitted. “That’s not a situation that he can allow himself to get into, because he’s an important player for the team and what he does and what happens impacts the team. But what I do know with him is he’s very, very competitive. He wants to do well, he wants to succeed. He wants to help this team, and at times his emotions get the better of him. That’s something that I’ve got to reconcile with him and together we’ve got to channel that in the right way, even in the tough times like tonight.”"
Although, let’s not focus on Smith’s bonehead plays, nor his inconsistent defensive effort. We are here to breakdown how Smith has been on the offensive end of the floor this season for the Cavs.
First off, lets pinpoint what Smith’s role with the Cavaliers offense is. He isn’t here to create off the dribble or be the focal point of the offense. Smith is in Cleveland to be a simple, but effective and important, part of one of the NBA’s most devastating offensive attacks.
For Smith, it is all about catching and shooting and spacing the floor. For the most part, Smith has been effective in this role.
On the season, Smith’s raw three-point shooting percentage stands at a solid but not great 37.9%, while averaging 12.1 points per game. Just looking at his three-point shooting percentage is foolish though; as Smith has been much more effective when shooting the shots the Cavs need him to.
As aforementioned, Smith is in Cleveland to mainly attempt catch and shoot jumpers and has done so efficiently this season. On those attempts, Smith is shooting an excellent 42.4% on three’s- for comparison, Stephen Curry is a 45.1% three-point shooter, so Smith has been shooting catch and shoot jumpers at an elite rate this season. On the contrary of the catch and shoot jumper, Smith has been poor when attempting pull-up shots this season, connecting at just a 24.5% rate from downtown.
Catch and shoot is one thing but another aspect the Cavs need from Smith is for him to get his shots up quickly. Smith is known for doing too much at times on the offensive end, which leads him to attempting plenty of bad shots. Now to be fair, Smith is a bad shot maker. He has earned that mantle throughout his career, as the amount of tough shots Smith has made has been pretty nuts. Plus, when Smith has been guarded very tightly (which, by the NBA.com/stats page is when a defender is within 0-2 feet of the shooter), he is hitting on 42.9% of his three-point attempts, which is fairly ridiculous.
Back to the point, Cleveland needs Smith to catch and shoot quickly, not play around with the ball and try to create his own shot. The Cavs already possess those weapons with the likes of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. To Smith’s credit, he has been a reliable option for the Cavs.
When Smith takes a three-point shot when taking zero dribbles before shooting, he is hitting at a 42.2% clip, which is a mark that the Cavaliers cannot complain with. Exactly 50.0% of Smith’s shots are taken with zero dribbles before the shot, which is an encouraging sign but a number that could potentially rise in the future. On the other hand, the more Smith dribbles before a three-point shot, the worse his percentage becomes. When taking one dribble, Smith shots 34.8%, 12.5% when taking two dribbles and 15.0% when taking three to six dribbles.
Touch time before the shot is an element that goes hand in hand with the amount of dribbles before a shot. For Smith, dribbling less and holding the ball for a shorter amount of time is exactly what Cleveland requires from him and it has yielded better results.
On shots taken when Smith touches the ball for two seconds or less, he connects on a 41.4% clip on three-point attempts, again, a percentage that the Cavaliers would be more then happy with. It is no coincident that the longer Smith touches the ball, the worse he shoots. When he holds the ball for two to six seconds, he shots 23.5% from three and when it is six seconds or more that three-point percentage dips down to 20.0%.
How about the locations where Smith is taking his shots? Let’s check out his shot chart.
Couple of things to analyze here.
First off, how about the stark difference between the right and left corner threes? Smith is connecting on just 30.0% of his right corner three-pointers but in the left corner, he drills a brilliant 47.8% of his long-balls. Smith has taken just 23 shots from the right corner this season but with the way he is hitting them, the Cavs will wish that number increases.
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Smith’s mid-range game has been pretty poor this season but take a look at the hot zone between the dotted line and the free-throw line. Smith has added a little floater to his offensive arsenal this season and it has paid dividends so far, as he is hitting on a crazy 70.4% of his floating jumpers this season. Opponents tend to close out quickly on Smith, so knowing that he can hit that floater on a consistent basis is a welcome sign.
So, in conclusion, Smith has been a pretty positive contributor to the Cavalier offense this season, despite his poor shooting start. When Smith does what the Cavs ask him to do- catch and shoot quickly and not do too much- he has been effective and efficient and Cleveland hopes it stays that way come playoff time.
All stats via NBA.com/stats and shot chart via http://www.austinclemens.com/shotcharts/