The Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers (21-6) don't have many flaws, but their primary weakness is about to come to light.
With starting shooting guard J.R. Smith now out for an undetermined amount of time while he undergoes surgery for a broken thumb, an already thin Cavs backcourt will be exposed.
"We're going to miss J.R., his defense, his effort on defense, his tough shot-making," head coach Tyronn Lue said, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "But that's no excuse for us. Next man up, we've got to be ready to play and we've got to be ready to help J.R. out until he gets back and gets healthy."
Depth has already been an issue in Cleveland with no proven backup to point guard Kyrie Irving. Without Smith, Lue will call on Iman Shumpert, DeAndre Liggins and Jordan McRae to lead the patchwork job until more proven help can be found.
The bright spot? Smith's injury should finally answer Lue's rotation questions, as well as put pressure on the front office to fix the Cavaliers' major flaw now before it's too late.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Greg Swartz
Despite Silver Linings, J.R. Smith’s Injury Is Bad News for Shallow Cavaliers
December 22nd, 2016 by Greg Swartz Leave a reply »
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