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Cleveland Cavaliers: Ranking the team’s top 10 current players

By Nathan Beighle

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 22: LeBron James
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 22: LeBron James /
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DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 20: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers posts up against the Detroit Pistons on November 20, 2017 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 20: JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers posts up against the Detroit Pistons on November 20, 2017 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

No. 7: JR Smith

Team rank: 8th in ppg, 8th in rebounds per game, 3rd in assists per game

Slash line: .384/ .357/ .600

JR Smith, just like Jae Crowder, has had to get acclimated to a new role this season. Smith has been asked to do more playmaking, which is why he’s averaging the most assists per game during his three-year stay in Cleveland.

While Swish’s numbers might still be rather low, they are up from last season, where he posted several career lows across the board. Obviously, Smith still has the trust of head coach Tyronn Lue. He averages over 30 minutes per game and has started 26 of those games after being inserted into the starting lineup early on in the season.

Smith and Crowder are in the same boat. They are excellent defenders, but so far this season, they are far away from cracking the top six in terms of their team ranking goes. For the most part, you can just look at his team rank and slash line to understand why Smith is relatively low.