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Cleveland Cavaliers: Five best starters of the 2010s

By Tyler Marling

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James looks on. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James looks on. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers’ guard J.R. Smith preparing for an NBA Finals game (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

#5 – J.R. Smith

For obvious reasons, J.R. Smith has a poor reputation among NBA fans. However, among the Cavalier faithful, he is a beloved former member of their beloved franchise. The simple fact of the matter is the Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn’t have an NBA title if it wasn’t for Smith.

In the deciding Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, the Cavaliers went into the halftime break trailing by seven points. Smith came out and scored eight of the Cavaliers’ first 10 points to start the half to get them back in touch before James and Irving took over.

Smith was thought to be a throw-in when the Cavaliers acquired him from the New York Knicks. At the time, it was thought to be that Iman Shumpert was the centerpiece. While Shumpert certainly had his moments, it was Smith who was the more impactful player with the Cavaliers.

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While he only averaged 9.8 points per game over 209 games in Cleveland (Basketball-Reference), Smith was a crucial piece for very successful teams in Cleveland. He provided excellent court spacing and his defense was actually really good and he oftentimes drew the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

Smith will forever be engrained in Cavaliers’ history and he deserves to be on the list of the best Cleveland Cavaliers starters of the 2010s for his role in the greatest run in franchise history.