Cleveland Cavaliers: JR Smith, where have you been

Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard JR Smith has been struggling all year-long, but against the Indiana Pacers, everything was clicking for him.

JR Smith played his best game of the season last night as the Cleveland Cavaliers took down the Pacers to eliminate the possibility of a season sweep.

For Smith, this year has been a rough one for the 32-year-old guard. He has been in quite the slump as of late shooting 5-31 from three up until last night.

Smith shot a scorching 7-13 from three against Indiana. Of course, most of us know him for his streaky shooting. We’ll just have to wait and see if this is a one-time occurrence or if this game will jumpstart his shot to become more consistent.

If Smith can keep it up, the Cleveland Cavaliers may have to decide whether to trade him while his value is up or hold onto him. If his shot struggles again sooner rather than later, most would assume he’ll be moved before the trade deadline (Feb. 8th). Smith also displayed some pretty good defense racking up three steals.

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Truthfully, whether or not he shoots well over the next few games, he’ll still probably be apart of trade discussions. One player Cleveland should keep their eye on is Tyreke Evans.

A few maneuvers may have to be made in order to complete the trade due to salary issues. Evans is making 3.2 million dollars this year, and Smith is making 13.7 million dollars. Any pick Cleveland would have to include, other than the Brooklyn Nets’, is worth giving up for Evans. The Cavs could use Smith’s brief return to relevance to strength his trade value. Or, better yet, Smith just stays hot for the next 40 games.

Who knows, maybe as the games go on Cleveland will become confident enough in their guard to keep him. On the other hand, the damage may be done and they could be looking for trade options as you read this.

Time will tell how Cleveland handles the situation with Smith. One thing is for sure though, when he finds his shooting stroke, he can shoot the lights out.

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