J.R. Smith will come off the bench tonight as the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Detroit Pistons.
According to ESPN’s official injury report, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith will come off the bench against the Detroit Pistons.
While he was listed as questionable, and then out, the Cleveland Cavaliers clearly felt his physical health was good enough to give it a go. There is a caveat though, he’ll be coming off the bench with a minutes restriction.
Typically, Smith would start and play 30 minutes per game. Now, with a deeper team, a need to be patient and work himself into the group, and of course the matter of getting back his wind back after missing two and a half months of the NBA season, he’ll be restricted to an unspecified amount of playing time.
Smith’s presence will be an emotional boost for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Smith has become a fan favorite in a short time, with his swagger and tough shot-making. He’s been going through a particularly difficult year, between his thumb injury and the premature birth of his daughter, so this will be a great night for “Swish”.
Smith has made 37.5 percent of his three-point attempts in his career and is 16th all-time on the NBA’s three-point list. His efficiency, reputation and 6.6 three-point attempts per game will figure in nicely to replacing the impact of Kevin Love, who will be out until April. When Love returns, this figures to be an extremely dangerous team on offense when considering that Kyle Korver, who is out for tonight’s game with a sore left foot, and Channing Frye shoot 48.7 percent and 40.5 percent from three-point range respectively.
Smith will also provide a nice boost defensively with his size, athleticism, larceny on the perimeter and his effort to play great team defense. Head coach Tyronn Lue, who missed the Cleveland Cavaliers last game with an illness, also returns tonight. He had this to say about Smith’s return, per Chris Fedor of cleveland.com:
"“We know that, but he brings defense. He can guard 1’s, 2’s and 3’s and also the ability to be able to knock down shots and timely shots. Having him on the floor is going to be a big momentum boost for us. Be good to have him out there.”"
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What do you expect to see from J.R. Smith tonight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.
*All stats referenced from www.basketball-reference.com