Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers: What Has Gotten into Iman Shumpert?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:32 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Nathan Beighle/FanSided via King James Gospel

The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost 6 of their last 8, but somehow Iman Shumpert has found a way to start coming to life in that span.

Iman Shumpert has had a terrific season, but he has still not been the scorer that the Cleveland Cavaliers have needed. Since transitioning to the starting lineup, Shumpert has been scoring at a better rate.

In his last six games, Shumpert has set his season-high 17, and he has matched his previous season-high 16 twice. His minutes have slightly gone up to 29.8 in this stretch from his 24.9 season average. It seems that Shumpert is gaining more trust and therefore getting more opportunity from Lue, and it is paying off.

Through these games, Shump has averaged 14.2 points per game on an insane 57.4% shooting and 3.3 (!) threes per game. He has been on a new level, but somehow the Cavaliers continue to slump.

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It isn’t just scoring that has Shumpert shoulders above the other Cavs. He has committed just 0.3 turnovers during this stretch and has averaged 1.8 steals. Shump has also had the team’s third best +/- over the last six games only behind Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. He continues to shine, but it has been completely overshadowed by the team’s failure.

Iman Shumpert has been up there with both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in terms of rating. For the Cavaliers’ past six games, Kevin Love and Kyrie both have over a 7 net rating. Shumpert’s is 6.2, and the next closest is Tristan Thompson at -0.5. Wow. Not only is his rating exceptional, but Shumpert has an insane 76.2 true shooting percentage which is the best among the Cavaliers.

Here are some of Shump’s highlights from the Phoenix Suns game in which he scored his season-high 17 points. He even showed some playmaking potential splashing home a three after a screen.

The Cavaliers have been looking for a spark, and James even went out of a limb and said that the team needs a playmaker. What if that playmaker is Shumpert? Maybe the problem is an internal problem and not a personnel problem.

The Cavaliers have to figure it out, and hopefully when they do, Iman Shumpert can finally get praised for his incredible play.

Tell us. Do you think the Cavaliers problem is an internal issue or a personnel issue? Do you think Iman Shumpert gets the praise he has definitely deserved?

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