Cavs need a three-point threat

The Cleveland Cavaliers need a three-point threat to step up in the rotation.

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed many promising signs in their 102-99 victory over the Boston Celtics Tuesday night.

The Cavs showed off their newfound depth, with starter-caliber players such as Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith coming in off the bench and having an impact. They also showed some progress defensively, led by Jae Crowder’s visible impact on that side of the floor.

Of course LeBron James looked as strong as ever, nearly netting a triple-double.

While there were many positives to be drawn from the opening victory, the game also showed serious concerns. The issue that seems most glaring is the need for a three-point shooter.

It is hard to believe that after such a strong season from behind the arc in 2016 that Cleveland would be in need of another outside weapon but the Boston game was a perfect illustration of this concern. Cleveland shot only 5-22 (22.7%) from 3 in the win, and no Cavs player had multiple three-point makes.

As Boston scrapped its was back into the game in the third quarter, Cleveland’s offense became stagnant, reminiscent of the pre-Miami LeBron days. The Cavs’ offense needed a boost, but it could not get one.

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While I fully expect the Cavs to shoot better than 22.7% from three-point range this season, this game seemed more like a big-picture concern than just a fluke. When you look at the starting lineup, it does not seem like a threatening line up from deep; Kevin Love, the center, is the best shooter in the starting rotation.

This lineup also closed the game, which made the problem even more glaring. The unit stepped up defensively and got the job done with a big Love shot from the corner, but it seems risky to have both Derrick Rose and Dwayne Wade out there, given that neither are good outside shooters.

It would be nice to have Kyle Korver get more minutes, but he was having a hard time guarding Marcus Smart against the Celtics, making him too much of a liability to be out on the floor.

Smith seemed to be giving the Cavs good minutes, and arguably should have been in the lineup over either Rose or Wade at the end, given that he is a better shooter than both of them. Still, he is not quite consistent enough to carry too much of the three-point burden on a nightly basis.

It is hard to replace a scoring threat like Kyrie Irving; ironically, he was drilling three-pointers in Celtic green on this night. The return of Isaiah Thomas will certainly help, but who knows when that will be?

Cleveland needs to find another player that can help stretch the floor and play big minutes along side James. It may require another player acquisition; or it may involve further evaluation of the current roster and a redistribution of minutes.

While there are many things to like about this Cavs team and how they fared in the opener, three-point shooting is an issue it will have to address—at least, eventually.