Cleveland Cavaliers: JR Smith ranked a bottom-five starting small forward

The Cleveland Cavaliers veteran JR Smith was recently ranked in the bottom five among all 30 of the league’s starting small forwards.

FanSided’s general NBA site, Hoops Habit, released a ranking of the league’s top 30 starting threes. It was not kind to Cleveland Cavaliers starter JR Smith to say the least.

However, to be frank, the Cavs may not even be confident who will get the node come opening night. They have an array of talented players to decide from including fan favorite Cedi Osman.

For Smith, HH’s explanation seemed to be at least reasonably descriptive of his play over the last few seasons.

"In any case, Smith is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons where he averaged single digits in the scoring column. That could change with more touches to go around, and Smith has remained a respectable 3-point shooter, but as he continues to decline and ride the trade block, it’s hard to put him much higher than this."

Smith has declined over the last two seasons which has often times been a pain to watch. After all, JR Smith might not even have a role on this Cavaliers team this upcoming season.

Surprisingly, the team possesses a deep backcourt, one of their few strengths headed into the season. That backcourt could spill over in the small forward position with players like Smith, Hood and Nwaba seeing time at the three.

That said, it’s difficult to predict who will be the Cavs starter opening night.

In recent history, Lue, especially in this past postseason, went with a more traditional lineup featuring veterans like Smith and Tristan Thompson in the starting lineup. However, without James, it might be time for him to switch things up.

He has to worry about player development now more than ever, and with a stellar, up-and-coming athlete like Cedi Osman also at the three, I’d personally be shocked if Lue allowed Smith to struggle before letting Osman have a crack at starting.

Smith, who has been putting in work this offseason with elite trainer Chris Brickley, could also be primed for a late-career breakout season. He’ll have the ball in his hands more this season along with an uptick in playmaking opportunities.

Many forget that at one point in Smith’s career he was averaging over 18 points per game. That player is still in there somewhere, and he’s only 32-years-old (nearly 33). He has the potential to transition back to his old self, but fans need to see that on the court before solely trusting his workout clips.

Regardless of his age, Smith might get the role opening night, but it’s certainly one he’ll have to work to keep.