JR Smith cleared to practice fully, questionable for Pistons

The Cavs have played most of the year without their starting shooting guard, but that may change soon. The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Wednesday afternoon that J.R. Smith has been cleared to participate fully in practice, and will be questionable for Thursday night’s game in Detroit with the Pistons.

In a separate announcement, the Cavs announced that Kyle Korver is experiencing foot soreness, and will miss Thursday’s game. That might give Smith a bit more urgency to at least try and come off the bench against the Pistons.

While Smith was having a slow start to the season before breaking his right thumb, few Cavs fans discount his importance to the team. Iman Shumpert has stepped into his starting spot and has played to mixed reviews, and DeAndre Liggins logged a bunch of minutes early on. Smith should help provide some stability to the position, which is an insane thing to write if you followed the first part of his career.

He has a bit of creating skills, but has thrived off the open looks created by LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving. Eventually Smith will be back to starting, and that will be very good for the Cavaliers.