During this past offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the more busy teams in the league making several additions to their roster.
This has shifted veteran guard J.R. Smith to the bench following the acquisition of All-Star guard Dwyane Wade. Because of that, Smith has become a firm believer, as he told Dave McMenamin of ESPN recently, that the Cavs own best second unit in the league.
“It’s two games in, but me having the full confidence in my teammates, I think we got the best bench in the league,” shooting guard JR Smith told ESPN after Cleveland’s bench outscored the Milwaukee Bucks 45-23 in a 116-97 win on Friday. “I mean, you can go around from 6 through 12 or whatever and mark it up against anybody else’s bench, and by far, we got the best bench. And we have more experience too.”
J.R. Smith is one of the primary contributors off the bench playing alongside Tristan Thompson, Jeff Green, Kyle Korver, and Iman Shumpert. With Derrick Rose holding the primary ball-handling responsibility, it opens up more scoring opportunities for Smith.
What has helped provide more depth to the second unit has been the Cavs’ decision to go to a small-ball lineup with Kevin Love now as the starting center. This has pushed Thompson to the backup spot while allowing for head coach Tyronn Lue to play more offensive-minded players in that lineup.
On top of that, things could foreseeably pick up even further once Isaiah Thomas returns from his hip injury as it will put Rose with J.R. Smith and the rest of the reserves. Although it’s a lofty praise, the Cavs have certainly put together one of the league’s most talented rosters.