The first five weeks of the 2017-18 NBA season have been an injury-plagued one for the Cleveland Cavaliers, though they announced some good news on Sunday regarding that situation. Veteran guard Iman Shumpert will be playing in Monday night’s road game against the Philadelphia 76ers after having missed the last three games because of soreness in his right knee.
Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reports that one slight change will be part of Shumpert’s return, as he’ll be coming off the bench as opposed to his previous status as a member of the starting lineup. Fellow veteran Jose Calderon will remain as a starter for the time being, with the Cavs undefeated since he was inserted in that slot last Monday.
“He fits in because we’ve been putting J.R. [Smith] back with the second unit,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said of Shumpert’s role. “That will be Shump’s position.”
Lue also indicated, according to Vardon, that Shumpert’s status within his rotation will be as the 10th man. Shumpert has made starts in six of his 12 games this year and is averaging 5.2 points per game. He’s connecting on 39 percent of his shots from the field, though only 28 percent from long-range.
Another Cleveland veteran guard, Dwyane Wade, spoke about how the rotation can ironically be less chaotic with fewer players. However, he cited the value that comes with Shumpert back on the court.
“From a coaching standpoint it sucks when you have guys out, but it helps the rotation, right? Because you don’t have to worry about playing everybody,” Dwyane Wade said. “So you can worry about playing eight guys or nine guys and those eight or nine guys know where their minutes are coming at and they get a little comfortable in the rotation, the rhythm and all these things.
“When you bring more guys that can play and they start getting in the lineup it takes guys out of their rhythm and rotation a bit. Then coach has to play different guys so it definitely changes things up a little bit. But for our team it helps us be deeper. Shump came back last time and who knew he was going to be the starting point guard for a while? We got some good wins with him in the lineup so you just have to be willing to play whatever role and position and I’m not saying you have to be happy with every role and position, but you have to play it.”
On Friday, another member of the Cavaliers’ backcourt, Derrick Rose, announced that he was reconsidering his basketball future as he recovers from a nagging ankle injury. Coupled with the fact that Isaiah Thomas isn’t expected to return from a hip injury until January, Shumpert’s presence aids the team’s depth immeasurably.
That depth will be tested since the Cavaliers will face the Miami Heat at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night, just 24 hours after their matchup against the 76ers.
