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LeBron James may have had another great postseason performance last night, but it was J.R. Smith who stole the show. He accounted for all 28 of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ bench points and his hot shooting really helped put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter. Smith outscored the entire bench of the Atlanta Hawks, which accounted for just 19 points. If the Hawks are going to make this a series, their bench, specifically Dennis Schroder, must play better.
Had it not been for DeMarre Carroll‘s knee injury, the production from the Hawks’ bench would have been worse. Carroll’s injury forced Mike Budenholzer to play Kent Bazemore for the final five minutes of the game. To Bazemore’s credit, he made some shots during that stretch and aided a late Hawks rally that ultimately fell short. He wasn’t the problem last night, as he provided 10 points and a lot of energy in just 16 minutes.
Schroder, on the other hand, appeared to get swallowed up by the moment. He was a liability on the floor for the Hawks as the team was a minus-13 when he was on the floor. Knowing Schroder is not a strong jump shooter, the Cavaliers’ focus was on keeping him away from the basket and daring him to shoot. It worked. Schroder was an abysmal 2-for-10 from the field and missed all of his three-point attempts. He was indecisive, lacking in confidence and appeared lost at times.
If Carroll’s injury keeps him sidelined, that’s going to put even more pressure on Schroder and Bazemore. Given Bazemore’s performance last night, I would anticipate Budenholzer sticking him in the starting lineup. That means any and all bench production will have to come from Schroder. Pero Antic and Mike Muscala may see minutes, but they won’t be relied on nearly as much. They are in there simply to hold down the fort while Al Horford and Paul Millsap get a breather — any production from them is a bonus.
It may not seem fair to expect one player to carry the entire production of the bench, but Smith didn’t seem to have a problem doing that for the Cavaliers last night. His career night helped mask underwhelming performances by James Jones and Matthew Dellavedova.
It’s only one game, but if these struggles for Schroder continue, the Hawks won’t stand a chance. Shelvin Mack is another option Budenholzer could explore. He is a better shooter than Schroder who had success against the Cavaliers earlier this year, but he has spent most of the postseason on the end of the Hawks’ bench.
The Cavaliers’ bench was a combined plus-29 in their collective time on the floor. On the flip side, the Hawks’ bench was an atrocious minus-35. You don’t have to be an NBA expert to realize those numbers only work in the Hawks’ favor on the golf course. If these numbers become the norm, that’s exactly where the Hawks will be in a few weeks.
Derek McVay is a Boston Celtics beat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mcvay34, or add him to your network on Google.
