The Cleveland Cavaliers don't have the depth or man-power to pull anyone from the rotation right now. They're probably still considering it given how J.R. Smith is playing.
Smith arrived to Game 4 in style but his night went all downhill from there. He'd finish the loss with four points in 28 minutes, shooting an abhorrent 2-of-12 from the floor and 0-of-8 from outside, picking up four fouls and posting a -27 rating.
This isn't really new. Smith has struggled for most of the series, shooting 29.8 percent overall and 25 percent on threes. He also has the worst on-off performance of any member of the Cavs' primary seven-man rotation. The Cavs have outscored the Golden State Warriors by 17.8 points per-100 possessions when Smith sits and been outscored by 24.4 points per-100 possessions when he's on the court.
"Horseshit," Smith said when asked to assess his game right now.
That's not the first time Smith has been critical of his play, admitting after a foul-happy Game 2 that he "did some dumb things." At least he's self-aware, and he really seemed to be wearing it as he left the arena.
But the Cavs need Smith to maintain his confidence. Shooters need to lack a conscience sometimes, and Smith's shooting has been of value earlier in the playoffs. Such is the plight of the gunner, requiring confidence to perform their job but often looking unjustified in it.
"It's just not falling, but you don't give up on anyone," teammate LeBron James said after the game.
And you can't when you're down to seven or eight functional bodies.
