The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten back on track after a close loss on opening night to the Chicago Bulls, as they have now won three in a row including Monday night over the Philadelphia 76ers. It was a great day for Cleveland, as it won and LeBron James became the youngest player to ever score 25,000 points, but it ended on a somewhat somber note as J.R. Smith had to leave the game with a knee injury. And there is some concern it could be serious, according to Jason Lloyd of Cleveland.com.
Smith was unable to pinpoint the exact moment when he hurt his knee, but he was only able to play five minutes before being ruled out for the rest of the game. The 76ers training staff checked out Smith's knee but thought there was nothing wrong structurally and diagnosed him with a bone bruise, but that still didn't ease their minds. Head coach David Blatt said Smith was in a considerable amount of pain on Monday night and that they might send him for an MRI on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers believe that Smith has a high tolerance for pain, which is why they are more concerned than the 76ers training staffs evaluation says they should be so they are in "wait-and-see mode." It seems highly probable that Smith will undergo an MRI to ensure there is no structural damage to the knee.
If Smith were to miss significant time it would be a huge loss for the Cavaliers, as they are extremely thin at the guard positions. Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving are both still out with injuries, so that would mean a lot more of Jared Cunningham and James Jones and possibly some time for Joe Harris. Another option for Cleveland, which seems likely should Smith miss time, would be to play Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova together more, as the shooting guard position is extremely thin now.
The fact that the 76ers training staff didn't find anything wrong with Smith is a good sign for Cleveland, but Smith is still not out of the woods. It is also possible that he wakes up and feels great, but Smith will probably undergo an MRI and those results will be big for Cleveland, as one guard after the other continues to go down with injuries and eventually it will catch up to it.
