SACRAMENTO, CALIF.: Now that the Cavaliers have a capable bench scorer in Kyle Korver, coach Tyronn Lue is using it as an opportunity to try to restart Iman Shumpert.
Shumpert replaced DeAndre Liggins in the starting lineup for Friday’s game at the Sacramento Kings. Lue has resisted moving Shumpert into the starting lineup for weeks following J.R. Smith’s injury because he insisted he wanted Shumpert’s production off the bench, but the recent addition of Korver has given Lue more punch in his bench scoring.
“Just playing with the starters, I think Shump played a lot better,” Lue said. “That’s what he was accustomed to doing. He’s been trying to come in and help carry the second unit. It’s tough on him.”
Shumpert has been mired in a deep shooting slump since getting off to a hot start from 3-point range. He shot 48 percent from 3 through his first 21 games, but has been at 24 percent in his last 16 games in a slump that dates back to Dec. 13. Shumpert is averaging 6.9 points and shooting 37 percent from deep overall, while his .416 from the floor is still a career high.
The change in the starting lineup will also affect Lue’s rotation. LeBron James is expected to spend more time with the second unit now, meaning he’ll be on the floor more with Korver as Lue continues to play with rotations that will best fit his new sharpshooter.
Friday’s morning shootaround was Korver’s first court time with his new team in a non-game situation. Lue said he used it to walk through some plays that Doc Rivers used for Ray Allen with the Boston Celtics and J.J. Redick with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“He’s a smart player,” Lue said of Korver. “He understands some of the actions we want to put in we haven’t done before that I’m excited about. We’ve got to do it after timeouts right now, but we will get to the point this season where we’ll be able to run it on the fly and call plays on the fly for that second unit.”
Lue has liked the way Liggins picks up opposing point guards and defends them baseline to baseline, but Shumpert is also a capable defender who provides a little more offensive scoring. Shumpert also believes playing alongside the Cavs’ stars could get him more open looks, which is the main point of the lineup change.
“We’re still a team that runs off our Big Three,” Shumpert said. “The only thing that changes is being with the group, I might get a couple more wide-open ones playing with LeBron and them in the first rotation. That’s usually when LeBron and Kyrie [Irving] are really trying to feel out how the other team is playing them, so the ball may swing a little bit more.”
The timing of the move is curious since the Cavs play at the Golden State Warriors on Monday. Making the lineup change now seems to give this unit a game together before Monday’s much-anticipated rematch from Christmas Day and last season’s Finals.
Korver could eventually become the Cavs’ starting shooting guard, but he doesn’t provide that defensive presence Lue likes from both Liggins and Shumpert. General Manager David Griffin indicated Korver would already be starting if he had any practice time. Instead, Friday was Korver’s first shootaround with his new teammates and Sunday will be his first practice with the Cavs.
“The coaches have talked about starting Kyle,” Griffin said. “I think if we’d have had some practices with this group, Kyle may start now. There’s a whole subset of our offense that he just has no exposure to at all, so it’s difficult to start somebody like that. I think it’s just going to be determined by how Kyle grows with the group, and how all the pieces fit together. Ty and those guys will figure it out. We don’t have a game plan right now.”
Souvenir shopping
The Cavaliers will begin selling commemorative souvenirs Friday that are made from the court the Cavs played on during last season’s march to the championship. Fans can purchase items ranging from 1-inch square blocks up to larger pieces that include pictures of the key plays of the Cavs’ Game 7 championship.
Prices range from $20 to $300. All items can be purchased at cavs.com/shop, while some of the smaller items will be available in the team store beginning Saturday morning.
Smith family update
Smith revealed last week that his wife, Jewel, gave birth to their daughter five months premature. Dakota Smith was 1 pound when she was born. Smith posted a picture of his two daughters together to Instagram on Thursday.
“Mentally he’s great,” Lue said of Smith. “To go through something as tough as he’s going through over the past couple weeks, and him and his wife are doing really, really well. Just got to keep checking on him, making sure he’s OK. He’s in great spirits.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.