2017-2018 player preview: Kyle Korver

Kyle Korver will play a key role for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Kyle Korver last season, it was a godsend considering that J.R. Smith was in and out of the lineup and Mike Dunleavy was far from impressive midway through the season. Korver, a former second-round pick, is currently 5th all-time in career three-point field goals with 2,049 made.

Smith, a former first-round pick whose career has been a roller coaster ride, is 15th all-time with 1,774 three-pointers made.

Smith and Korver are the Cleveland Cavaliers two most reliable three-point threats but they have a different way of getting the job done. This season, they’ll both be coming off the bench.

Smith is a traditional catch-and-shoot threat waiting on a kickout as he spots up behind-the-line and 39.2 percent of his offensive possessions came as a spot-up shooter. Meanwhile, a bulk of Korver’s three-point attempts come as he’s in motion, coming off of screens. As a result, only 24.3 percent of Korver’s offensive possessions were spot-up attempts while 27.7 percent of Korver’s offensive possessions came off screens. For comparison, only 15.5 percent of Smith’s offensive possessions came off of screens.

Interestingly, Korver only had an effective field goal percentage (eFG%) of 40.5 shooting when coming off screens (29th percentile) but an eFG% of 79.9 as a spot-up shooter (99th percentile).

Although last season Korver’s efficiency coming off of screens wasn’t at the level you’d expect given his reputation and shooting mechanics, in the 2015-2016 season, Korver had an eFG% of 52.1 when coming off screens (64th percentile). If there’s any hope for Korver’s efficiency coming off screens to resemble the 15-16 season rather than last season, it’s that Korver’s shooting efficiency rose in general when he was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That’s in large part because of his on-court synergy with James, who passed him the ball for twice as many three-point attempts as any player on the Cavs or Hawks next season. Korver knocked down 50.6 percent of those attempts. This season, Korver would likely get plenty of playing time beside James, who thrives when he’s playing in lineups full of shooters like Korver. However, Derrick Rose will be commanding the second unit and be responsible for feeding the Korver Kounter.

While Smith causes defenders to gravitate towards him wherever he’s spotted up behind-the-line, Korver can free himself up with off-ball action involving screeners like Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. That type of action could result in drop off-passes to bigs if Korver is receiving the pass in the midrange area and, based on his percentages, a good chance at putting points on the board if he chooses to take the shot.

Last season, Korver averaged 10.7 points per game for the Cavs (in 24.5 minutes per game) while shooting 48.5 percent from three-point range. He shot 50.3 percent from the corners and has a career three-point percentage of 47.2 from the corners in the regular season. In the playoffs, Korver averaged 5.8 points per game (in 18.1 minutes per game) while shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range. He shot 39.3 percent from the corners and has a career three-point percentage of 37.0 in the playoffs.

Now, with more playmakers and slashers to collapse the defense and find shooters like him on the outside, Korver should at least be able to sustain his career efficiency from three (43.1 percent).

Look for the Cavs to use him at shooting guard and both forward spots and to use him as a shooter all over the court.

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On defense, while Korver functions well as a team defender because of his size, effort and basketball IQ, Smith is a better on-ball defender because he’s a better athlete but has similar size, effort and ever-expanding on-court awareness.

As a result, Smith can take pressure off of Korver defensively by guarding the better wing and Korver can still play impact defense by making timely rotations, communicating and helping when needing.

With Jeff Green seemingly filling in as the second unit power forward behind Jae Crowder (James will also get his minutes at the four), Korver shouldn’t be in a position where he’s being asked to guard great scorers.

That’s great for the Cavs because, with a defensive rating of 114 (a team-low for players who played at least five games for the Cavs) and a defensive box plus/minus of -2.2 (the fifth-lowest on the team), the numbers reflect the trouble Korver has guarding his man when he’s on the floor.

Next season, Korver will be key for a team that will rely on three-point shooting, so he’s one of the Cavs that actually needs to excel in his role for the team to be at their best.

Related Story: What to expect from J.R. Smith next season

*Unless otherwise referenced, all stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com