J.R. Smith has surgery, timetable for return now 12-14 weeks
2016-12-23Humbug. According to ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, J.R. Smith is now expected to miss 12-14 weeks of action instead of the original projection of 4-6 weeks after having surgery to repair a “complex fracture” of his right thumb.
If Smith does indeed end up missing 12 or 14 weeks, he would return to the lineup a month to two weeks before the playoffs began. Furthermore, there’s no telling how long it will take Smith to get his shot back after having his shooting hand incapacitated for at least 3 months.
Smith started the year slowly, but was beginning to find his 3-point stroke before injuring his thumb. DeAndre Liggins has been starting in place of Smith, and while his defense has been a very pleasant surprise, he’s nowhere near the kind of weapon from beyond the arc that Smith is.
It will be interesting to see if this forces David Griffin into making a move for a replacement wing — Mike Dunleavy has been a colossal disappointment, but the Cavaliers’ only real trade asset is Turkish wing player Cedi Osman, and they already have the league’s highest payroll by $11 million.
Kilpatrick is a guy that can burn you if you let him get going.
That missed layup was a four point swing.
Kevin finally gets one to go!
I think Cedi will get traded somewhere….I thought that even before this injury, but I think he’s gone now for sure.
I don’t think this changes much for Griff. Why? 1) JR is on schedule to return for the POs. 2) Liggins has proven himself worthy of more minutes & more starts 3) Shumpert has been excellent. He’s playing less minutes this year than last. That will change. 4) We get to see how Dunleavy performs with more minutes. Ditto McRae. If one does OK, we are fine holding pat on wings. If they both play well, we’re better off than we are now. If they both stink it up, then we might make a move. 5) Still think PG &… Read more »
You probably don’t want to waive anyone. You need them for salary matching and whatever else in trades. Why do you think Mo is still on the team?
Mo is on the team because if he’s not traded he’ll be medically waived and they’ll clear some of his cap penalty that way.
Sucks
Agree with Cols!