Ever since his transition to the bench, the Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith seems to be taking his game to a level we’ve yet to consistently see.
We’ve all seen it. There have been games where JR Smith frankly looks unplayable. He looked as if he could be the worst player on the Cleveland Cavaliers entire roster.
However, the JR Smith that has been coming off the bench is a far different, and better, player. Which, for the majority of fans, including myself, was not foreseeable when he was initially suspended for tossing soup at an assistant coach.
Just three games ago, JR Smith put up arguably his best performance of the season in his ninth game coming off the bench.
He scored 19 points and shot 8-for-9 from the field, a season-high 88.9% field goal percentage. Smith also chipped in five rebounds, three assists, and three steals while committing just one turnover. Smith was instrumental in the Cavs thirteen-point victory over Charlotte.
Since then, Smith has scored 8 and 15 in back to back games.
The Cavs currently starting shooting guard Rodney Hood has been playing well also, one reason they’ve been able to win five of their last six. Scoring double figures in four of his last five games, Hood seems to have finally found his groove in Cleveland.
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On paper, Hood looks like much more of a playmaker than Smith, and Smith, who thrives playing with LeBron, seems like he’d only be effect alongside a ball-dominant superstar. On court, it’s been far different.
So far, transitioning Smith to the second unit has made him a much more aggressive player. In Smith’s aforementioned 19-point game, he put up just two threes. Two threes on nine shots for a player that shoots 65% of his shots from deep is surprising.
On the other hand, Hood joining the starting unit has helped him get more open shots. For the season, Hood is shooting almost 50% of his shots with a defender either “tight” or “very tight”. Hood has taken much more contested shots than the Cavaliers main three-point threat, Kyle Korver, who shoots about 35% of his shots from those positions.
The switch to make Smith a second unit player has reaped dividends for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even with his success on the second unit, keeping these two in their positions and letting them thrive will be key for Coach Lue, Coach Drew, and their staff.
What will be interesting will be how Hood and Smith split minutes come in the playoffs. This postseason, will Smith get to the play late in games because of his ability to make virtually any shot?
Because, in the end, it’s about who finishes the game not who starts it.
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Who does Coach Lue trust more? The newcomer or the proven vet? That’s the question.