Good news for people who like the Cleveland Cavaliers and players who get buckets: J.R. Smith will officially make his return to the Cavs on Thursday night. Smith announced that he has been medically cleared to play in a video for UNINTERRUPTED.
.@TheRealJRSmith is back for the @cavs. pic.twitter.com/PS5GzwayJU
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) March 9, 2017
Cleveland is traveling to take on Detroit, and in the video, Smith thanked the fans and his wife for their support as he worked his way back from an injury – Smith suffered a fractured right thumb back in mid-December and had to undergo surgery. Additionally, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue announced that Smith will not start and will be on an undisclosed minutes restriction.
#Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said J.R. Smith will play vs Pistons will not start
— Marla Ridenour (@MRidenourABJ) March 9, 2017
#Cavs J.R. Smith will play on a minutes restriction, which Lue wouldn't disclose
— Marla Ridenour (@MRidenourABJ) March 9, 2017
There was speculation earlier this week that Smith would be able to make his way back onto the court in the near future. On Wednesday, Smith was cleared to fully participate in practice and was officially listed as questionable for the game against Detroit.
Since Smith went out, the Cavaliers have added some serious reinforcements to their backcourt in Kyle Korver and Deron Williams. While Williams is still feeling out his role in the Cavaliers’ offense – he’s averaging 5.5 points and 4.5 assists in four games – Korver has been exactly what the team has needed. The sharpshooting guard has averaged 11.1 points a game in Cleveland while hitting 48.7 percent of his attempts from three.
This gives the Cavaliers the ability to slowly work Smith back into the offense, should he need some time to get the rust off. Once that’s done and he’s back to 100 percent, the shooting guard trio of Smith, Korver, and Iman Shumper will be among the best in the NBA.
