National Basketball Association

Cleveland Cavaliers player watch: J.R. Smith's milestones to look for in 2016-17

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Mar 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) celebrates his three point basket late in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

With less two weeks left until the 2016-17 NBA season, here are the milestones to look for from J.R. Smith this year, assuming he re-signs with the Cavs.

Last year was an incredible season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had their ups and downs, from Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert‘s injuries to chemistry issues later on in the regular season and a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.

Despite the rocky road, the Cavs came out on top. They united and prevailed, giving the franchise its first ever NBA championship and giving Cleveland its first major sports title in 52 years.

While last season was a dream for Clevelanders and Cavs fans everywhere, it ended more than three months ago. Now we’re ready for more basketball and are counting down the days until the 2016-17 NBA season begins.

Fortunately there’s less only a few weeks until the start of the new season. So while we wait patiently, we’re taking a look at all the milestones that various Cavs players can reach this upcoming year. Although J.R. Smith remains unsigned, we’re hoping that he returns to Cleveland. So we’re going ahead and looking at Smith’s upcoming milestones. And at the age of 31 and after 12 seasons in the NBA, he has milestones in almost every category.

Jun 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrates with Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

900th Game

J.R. Smith is a veteran player who has spent his many years in the NBA on four different teams. Although he has never played all 82 games, he’s played the majority of each season. With a total of 839 games over 12 years, Smith has a career average of 69.9 games per year. If he can play that number of games next year, he will wind up with 908.9 by the end of the season, passing the milestone for his 900th game.

Apr 11, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) drives on Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) during the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

24,000th Minute Played

With well over 800 games already in the books, Smith has also logged a lot of minutes. Smith has accumulated 22,543 minutes and has a career average of 26.9 minutes per game. If he plays those minutes over a career average of 69 games, Smith can en up playing over 1,800 minutes this season alone. Adding that to his total, Smith would finish the season with 24,423 minutes. That puts him well past the milestone for his 24,000th minute played.

Apr 3, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) shoots a three-point basket in the third quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

4,000th Field Goal

Smith is known as a sharpshooter with a smooth jumper and a killer three point shot. So it comes as no surprise that he has upcoming milestones in field goals, as well as specifically in three and two pointers.

Smith currently has 3,983 total field goals, so with just 17 more to 4,000, it’s practically a given that he will hit that mark. Moreover, he has averaged 4.7 field goals over the course of his time in the NBA. At that rate over his career average of 69 games, Smith can get 328 field goals this year. That puts him at a total of 4,311, way past the 4,000th field goal milestone.

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1,800th Three Pointer

Smith also has an upcoming milestone in his specialty, three point shooting. He has 1,679 total threes in the books, which puts him at No. 17 on the list of all-time three point leaders. He averages 2.0 per game (and averaged even more last year at 2.6). If he averages 5.0 per game over 69 games, Smith can end up with 1,818 by the end of the year, putting him past the milestone for his 1,800th three.

2,400th Two Pointer

But Smith doesn’t just have an upcoming milestone for threes, he also has one for two-pointers. He has 2,304 twos and averages 2.7 over his career. If he can get that 2.7 over 69 games, he can finish the year with 2,492. Smith, however, averaged slightly less last year at 1.9 two pointers per game. Even at that rate though, he would hit the milestone for his 2,400th two pointer.

Feb 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) shoots against Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

1,400th Free Throw

Smith currently has 1,399, which means with just one more, he can hit the 1,400 mark. So unless he does not go to the free throw line once this year, Smith will hit this milestone. In fact, Smith can hit even a bigger milestone, his 1,500th free throw. He has a career average of 1.7 free throws, so at that rate over his career average of 69 games, Smith would end up with 1,517 free throws.

However, Smith doesn’t get to the free throw line as much in his current role with the Cavs. He averages just 0.6 free throws in Cleveland, so at that rate, he would finish the season with 1,440 free throws. But that still puts him past the 1,400 mark.

Jun 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) go for a rebound against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the third quarter in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

2,900th Total Rebound

Although he’s no Tristan Thompson or Kevin Love, Smith can still rebound the ball. Because of that, he has a couple milestones in the rebound department. For starters, Smith has accumulated 2,702 total rebounds and an average of 3.2 per game over his time in the NBA. If he grabs that 3.2 number over his career average of 69 games per year, Smith would grab 223. That puts him at 2,925, just past the milestone for his 2,900th total rebound.

2,400th Defensive Rebound

Most of Smith’s rebounds are defensive ones, so it makes sense that he can also hit a milestone in defensive rebounding. He has a total of 2,254 and an average of 2.7. Grabbing 2.7 over 69 games would give Smith 188 defensive rebounds for the year. Adding that to his total puts him past the 2,400 mark at 2,442.

Jan 27, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) looks to pass the ball during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

1,900th Assist

While he’s Smith loves to score, he does not always shoot first. He contributes to the Cavs in other ways, like with assists, for example. With specifically 1,850, he needs just 50 more to 1,900, so it’s likely he’ll hit that milestone. To back that up, Smith has averaged 2.2 assists per game during his time in the NBA. At that rate over his career average of 69 games, Smith can dish out 153 assists this season. Not only would that put him past the milestone for his 1,900th assist, it would put him past the 2,000th. However, Smith averaged slightly less last year at 1.7 assists per game. At that rate, he would fall just shy of 2,000 but still hit the 1,900 mark.

Jun 13, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) go after a loose ball during the fourth quarter in game five of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

900th Steal

Although he is mostly known for his offense, Smith proved he can be a lockdown defender last season. It started when defensive specialist Shumpert was out for the beginning of the season and continued through Game 7 in the NBA Finals. Because of his defensive skills, Smith can hit a milestone in steals this year. As of right now, he has 854 steals and averages one per game. If he can get that number of steals over his career average of 69 games per year, he can finish the year with 923 total. That means he’ll hit the milestone for his 900th steal.

Jun 16, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) dunks the ball against the Golden State Warriors in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

11,900th Point

Lastly, Smith is a sharpshooter who knows how to score the basket. And with upcoming milestones in field goals, and specifically in both two pointers and three pointers, it’s no wonder that Smith can reach a big milestone in points. After 12 years in the NBA, Smith has accumulated just over 11,000 points (specifically 11,044) and an average of 13.2 per game. If he can score that number over his career average of 69 games, Smith can get over 900 points this year alone. Adding that to his total would put him at 11,966, comfortably passing the milestone for his 11,900th point.

Are you looking forward to having J.R. Smith back, or need to vent about him not being re-signed? Let us know in the comments section or on Twitter @KJG_NBA.

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