The New York Knicks basically dumped J.R. Smith on the Cleveland Cavaliers. While David Blatt’s team no doubt could use the former Sixth Man of the Year’s long-range shooting ability, his acquisition was on the periphery of the three-team deal that sent Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder and brought Iman Shumpert to Northeast Ohio.
There’s a reason the New York Knicks only took back bit players in the trade while the Cavs got a protected first-round pick, plus Shumpert and Smith – Phil Jackson wanted to rid his team of the latter’s contract and needed a sweetener to do it. Shumpert was the prize of that swap for the Cavaliers, with shedding Waiters and adding a moveable draft asset close behind. The addition of Smith was mostly considered an unfortunate necessity.
But that was five weeks ago. And with Smith now firmly entrenched as a rotation player – and perhaps starter – with surging Cleveland, Blatt says the sharp-shooter’s acquisition is among the biggest reasons for his team’s turnaround.
Here’s the rookie coach via The Record’s Steve Popper:
“I really can’t comment on anything in the past, but I can tell you one thing: J.R. Smith has been a dream for us, as a team and for me personally,” said Cavaliers rookie coach David Blatt. “I love the guy. I love coaching him. He comes to work every single day. He’s a great teammate. He’s playing both ends of the court for us consistently.”
That doesn’t exactly sound like the player who was known for late-night partying in advance of game-days during his time in New York. But maybe Smith’s impact shouldn’t be all that surprising. After all, the 29 year-old admitted playing with the Cavaliers would improve his play because of Ohio’s lack of off-court entertainment.
“There’s video games, basketball, and basketball,” Smith said.
And though the majority of NBA players are laser focused on the task at hand during the season, others are wired differently – they want a life befitting the rest of us from late October to late April and perhaps June. Smith is obviously among them, and living in comparatively sleepy Cleveland has revived his once fledgling career.
His drastically altered role with the Cavaliers has helped, too. No longer tasked with creating offense, Smith has seen his rate of three-point tries per shot attempt spike from .36 to .66 and turnover rate drop by over five points. The overarching result is a four point improve in PER and true shooting percentage bump from a putrid 48.7 to a solid 54.0.
Of course, playing for a legitimate contender as opposed to the league’s foremost bottom-feeder helps, too. And while Smith is hardly a lockdown defender, his engagement on that end has been consistent for Blatt. Cleveland even allows 2.7 fewer points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor as opposed to the bench.
While this is still the honeymoon phase for Smith and the re-built Cavs, it’s easy to envision his success continuing. J.R. was stretched thin as a playmaker with the Knicks, and the lure of New York nightlife was real. Now playing the role for which he’s best accustomed in a working class town, Smith is suddenly a reasonable facsimile of the player he was two years ago.
Considering Cleveland’s likely expectations for Smith upon acquiring him last month, that development really does seem like a dream – and the Cavs no doubt hope to never wake up from it.
*Statistical support for this post provided by basketball-reference.com
