Cleveland Cavaliers: JR Smith will soon be the forgotten Cav

If he’s not already, the Cleveland Cavaliers former starting shooting guard JR Smith will ultimately be forgotten.

Since his one-game suspension for tossing soup at assistant coach Damon Jones, JR Smith has not been the player the Cleveland Cavaliers have expected him to be. To be fair, Smith has not been the player the Cavs have expected him to be for the last two full seasons.

Instead of using his short suspension to rejuvenate his season, Smith played five games of lackadaisical basketball. After those initial five games, Smith transition to the second unit. Since coming off the bench, Smith has three games in double figures and four games of five or fewer points.

The Cleveland Cavaliers need more from Smith, but with reduced minutes and a reduced role, it’ll be increasingly difficult for him to gain his traction back. That means it will be easier for him to be forgotten on the Cavs bench, which boasts being one of the league’s best.

Smith’s minutes, since his benching, have taken a slight hit. He’s down over five minutes per game, including taking a role on the second unit which significantly decreases his minutes alongside LeBron James. Smith thrives off the catch and shoots compared to creating his own shot, so not playing with one of the league’s best playmakers should hurt his efficiency even more.

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However, there is a case to be made that Smith should be forgotten. The Smith we knew that took over two games in the 2017 NBA Finals has been non-existent all season.

In 74 games for the Cavs, Smith has just six games of 5 or more triples. In the Cavs last three games in the 2017 NBA Finals, he has at least five in each game, almost singlehandedly propelling the Cavs to a Game 5 victory with his seven triples. If that proves anything, it proves a case to keep Smith happy. He can take over a game, but it’s few and far between.

Moving forward, not only will his minutes and role both be changed for the worse, but his opportunities will also be much more limited. Since his switch to the bench, Smith has yet to take more than five triples in any game. Smith, on the season, averages 5.0 threes per game. Nonetheless, Smith’s lack of aggression and shooting will limit his use which will limit his minutes and limit how noteworthy he is.

Also, moving him to the bench will ultimately mean that his production drops even more. The only downside to that is Smith is one of just a few Cavs that can virtually take over a game by himself. Smith, while it is rare, has shown his valuable, yet streaky jumper, making seven threes in multiple games this season.

To recap, Smith’s minutes, his role, and his opportunities have all taken a hit since his transition to the bench. Smith has been a ghost of the sharpshooter fans were used to just a few seasons ago, and that change in production should quickly make Smith forgotten.

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However, I’m not sure that’s necessarily a bad thing, especially given how poorly he’s been playing all season.