A comment from JR Smith shows the subtle difficulty of playing with LeBron James

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October 12, 2017 10:06 PM

J.R. Smith would prefer to start for the Cavaliers, but coming off the bench also gives him a bigger role without playing next to LeBron James.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made several changes to their roster this offseason, and with them, several changes to their rotations.

Early in training camp, the Cavaliers decided to move starting center Tristan Thompson to the bench and slide Kevin Love to center.

This week, the Cavs decided to move J.R. Smith to the bench to start newly acquired Dwyane Wade next to LeBron James.

The change is not necessarily a surprise, as some of Smith's best years came as a reserve and there was some question about how Wade would handle coming off the bench. However, it's also a bit of a blow to Smith, who performed capably as a starter for the Cavs over the past three seasons, all of which resulted, of course, in Finals appearances. Smith not only spaced the floor effectively, but defended well, helping shed a reputation as a hapless, indifferent defender.

Smith admitted his frustration with moving to the bench to reporters, but it was a comment about the upside of coming off the bench that may have been more revealing.

James makes every player around him better, but there is also a sacrifice to playing in the way James wants. For Smith, it often meant staying ready on the perimeter for open shots and attacking closeouts. That was a good role for Smith, as he posted a solid 62.9% eFG (which accounts for twos and threes) off catch-and-shoots during a strong 2015-16 campaign before posting a 53% eFG in 2016-17 in an injury-riddled season.

But that doesn't mean that is the only role Smith wanted to play. Kyrie Irving went through the same thing with Cleveland, and his desire to get out from under James and act as the No. 1 playmaker on a team led him to request a trade from Cleveland. James ceded plenty to Irving over the years and even looked to Irving to carry the team for big stretches, but at the end of the day, the Cavs were always James' offense. When James went to the Miami Heat, he did not adjust to Chris Bosh and Wade so much as they adjusted to him. When Wade moved into a clear No. 2 role behind James, the Heat took off.

James commented on Smith's new role off the bench after a preseason game, saying: "

The Cavs certainly are not locked into any one rotation; head coach Tyronn Lue can change it at any time depending on the results. For now, while Smith would rather be starting and, presumably, playing more minutes, the upside of coming off the bench is simply getting to do more when he's on the floor.

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