Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers: How J.R. Smith Injury Impacts Team

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:59 a.m. ET

Fansided, Kenneth Teape/FanSided via Hoops Habit

How will the Cleveland Cavaliers overcome the injury to starting shooting guard J.R. Smith?

The Cleveland Cavaliers knew coming into the season that repeating as NBA champions would be a tall task. One of the concerns with the team coming into the season was their depth, or lack thereof. That depth will be put to the test in the coming weeks.

Recently the Cavaliers lost backup center Chris Andersen for the season to a knee injury. He will now be joined on the sidelines by starting shooting guard J.R. Smith.

Smith has been diagnosed with a fractured thumb on his shooting hand, which will require surgery. The normal recovery time for an injury such as this is four to six weeks, but the Cavaliers will wait until after surgery to determine a timeline for Smith’s return.

With Smith joining Andersen on the sidelines for the next couple of weeks, the Cavaliers will have to figure out how to fill the void in their starting lineup. Do not expect one of those options to be a trade.

Head coach Tyronn Lue spoke Wednesday about how Smith’s injury does not mean he will press for a trade to be made.

“As of right now, no we haven’t,” Lue said before the Cavaliers faced the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. “It just happened yesterday, and I had a chance to talk to (Cavs general manager David Griffin) a little bit before I came in here, but we haven’t discussed it yet. I mean, we’re a good team, still. We’re 20-6, so I mean, it’s no excuses.

“So I told Griff take his time. We are 20-6 and we’re playing good. We’re a good team. And we don’t want to settle for just any point guard; we want to make sure that we have the right piece that we bring in here that could help us win a championship. That’s our goal. I mean, with Griff at the helm, I know he’ll get something done. He always pulls out something magical, so let him do his thing, and I just gotta to continue to coach the team with what I’ve got.”

Making a trade will not be an easy task for the Cavaliers. They are way over the luxury tax and have a full roster; three spots that are taken by players that cannot contribute on the court. In addition to Smith and Andersen, Mo Williams has been sidelined as well.

Williams was reportedly contemplating retirement and did not show up to training camp. He is owed $2.2 million this season, but eating that would cost the Cavaliers much more because of their luxury tax bill.

They have tried to find a trade partner for Williams, but nothing has materialized.

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With a trade unlikely, the Cavaliers will have to look in-house for a replacement for Smith. He has missed five games previously this season, so the Cavaliers have some experience playing without Smith.

Replacing him for a multi-week stretch is different than a game here and there.

The Cavaliers could place Iman Shumpert into the lineup to replace Smith, but that would have a trickle-down effect. Shumpert is the only other guard on the roster, along with Kyrie Irving, that has much NBA experience.

Placing him into the starting lineup would further diminish an already thin bench.

Shumpert will undoubtedly pick up extra minutes in Smith’s absence, but placing him in the starting lineup could cause more problems for Lue than solutions. Instead, the Cavaliers could go with DeAndre Liggins in the starting lineup.

Liggins would leave the Cavaliers rotation mostly intact and bring some value to the starting lineup. Smith has turned himself into a solid defender, which Liggins would continue to provide.

Liggins is actually the best defender at the 2 for the Cavaliers with a defensive RPM of 0.36 heading into Wednesday’s game; that is 14th best for shooting guards in the NBA.

While Liggins wouldn’t provide the same three-point shooting threat as Smith, he was 6-for-10 on the season heading into Wednesday’s game and went 1-for-1 in the game. He will not shoot over 60 percent all season, but he at least has to be paid attention to by opposing defenses.

Smith has struggled this season as he deals with the lower body injuries. He is shooting only 33.7 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from the three-point line, en route to 8.8 points per game; all below his career averages.

He will actually be easier to replace than in recent years past but is still a blow to the Cavaliers overall.

Smith remains an important part of the Cavaliers plans and they will need him if they want to make another deep run into the postseason. He should return in plenty of time to get right for the postseason run.