JR Smith got two of the toughest assignments on defense in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first two playoff series. But he won’t be tasked with defending the Boston Celtics’ top scorer entering the Eastern Conference Finals.
Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday that Smith won’t start the series guarding Isaiah Thomas.
“He won’t be on Isaiah (Thomas) to start,” Lue said Tuesday, via Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. “He’ll get a chance, maybe, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Fedor believes that means Kyrie Irving will get the assignment for now.
Thomas has been the Celtics’ leading scorer this postseason by far. He’s averaging 25.4 points per game in the playoffs, over nine points greater than Al Horford, who’s next on the team.
Smith defended Paul George and DeMar DeRozan in the first two playoff series, both of whom are their respective teams’ leading scorers. The difference is those two play different positions from Thomas, who is a point guard.
