TORONTO: Kyle Korver said his cellphone had not blown up with voice mails and texts after his return from Cavaliers’ oblivion.
“No, it’s Toronto,” he said before Saturday’s practice, perhaps more a reflection of his friends’ lack of international calling plans than the impact he made in Friday night’s Game 3 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
In the Cavs’ first six playoff games, the 36-year-old guard who ranks fifth in NBA history in career 3-pointers had been merely a decoy. But at the end of the third quarter, Korver hit two key 3s, then another to start the fourth as the Cavs opened the final period with a 20-3 run and cruised to a 115-94 victory in the Eastern Conference semifinal series at Air Canada Centre.
It set up the Cavs for a possible closeout Sunday afternoon, when LeBron James will try to extend to eight his streak of consecutive Game 4 victories when his team holds a 3-0 lead.
James’ otherworldly play has deservedly drawn the most attention in the Cavs’ 7-0 playoff start. But perhaps more so than ever since James returned to Cleveland in 2014, the sacrifices of his teammates have been spotlighted as their roles become more specialized.
J.R. Smith is no longer just “Swish,” concentrating first on defending the opponent’s top scorer.
Iman Shumpert, admittedly longing for chances for spectacular dunks, is becoming a defensive stopper.
Korver, while still getting plays scripted to free him beyond the arc and drawing foes’ attention, has accepted the fact that he might score enough to attract media mention once every two weeks.
Such are the demands of playing with James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
What Smith, Shumpert and Korver are being asked to do — or not do — is not uncommon at a point in some players’ careers. But along with James’ dazzling performances, the ego-busting element of the 2016-17 Cavaliers is what makes them capable of repeating as NBA champions.
“Super team sacrifice. Everybody’s been doing it,” Channing Frye observed Saturday.
“When you play with LeBron and Kyrie and Kevin, your role becomes more simplified,” Frye said at the Raptors’ practice court at Air Canada Centre. “I’m a shooter, but I may have to roll sometimes. I’m out there to shoot, but I also have to play a little bit of D. What we need is for Shump to play defense as hard as he can, anything on offense is a plus. We need Kyle to shoot and defense is a plus. Just doing our job and making sure we’re providing opportunities for each other is making us dangerous.”
Korver didn’t have delusions of grandeur, except for Larry O’Brien Trophy grandeur, when he arrived in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 7. There is a sense of irony for Korver, whose Hawks were eliminated by James and the Cavs in the playoffs the previous two years. He said his teammates bring that up all the time.
When Korver played in Utah, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were the Jazz’s roadblock. In Chicago and Atlanta, Korver had to contend with James, whether the four-time MVP was playing for the Miami Heat or Cavs.
“It’s definitely nice to be on the other side,” Korver said. “Nothing is guaranteed and I know that, but this is an amazing opportunity for me at this point in my career and I’m just trying to take advantage of it.”
That’s why after Korver scored 14 points in Game 3, 11 in the second half, he said he enjoyed feeling “like a basketball player and not just a decoy out there,” but added that he knows his role and is not complaining.
The same is true for Smith, whom the team challenged to shut down the Pacers’ Paul George in round one and the Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan in round two. Shumpert is also picking up the defense-first mentality.
Three shooters are not being called upon to shoot constantly, and they’ve come to grips with the fact that’s what the Cavs need.
“Trust me, I would much rather wanna put my hands on that rim a little bit more,” Shumpert said after a spectacular slam in Game 1 against the Raptors. “Right now for this team, I just gotta continue to make those energy plays, continue to defend at a high level and we gotta continue to win.”
Smith, 31, said at practice before the East semifinals that he wished he had embraced defense as a younger player. But he realized the Cavs swept the Pacers with him averaging five shots a game. He’s not obsessing over his next 20-point performance; he’s had only one in his injury-plagued season. Against the Raptors, he’s averaging seven points per game.
“If it happens, it happens. But I’m not going to turn down my offense, hell no,” Smith said April 30.
James said he knew when the Cavs traded with the New York Knicks for Smith and Shumpert in January 2015 that they “would sacrifice and do whatever it took to win.” James thought Shumpert “has the DNA of a defensive stopper.” He knew what Korver was capable of after facing him in the playoffs.
Frye said Smith, Shumpert and Korver are “multifaceted,” which is why they’ve been able to morph into shooters who rarely shoot as the Cavs seek to defend their championship.
Before the Cavs’ playoff run is over, another of their facets may be needed. While the Cavs will go as far as James can take them, the roles Smith, Shumpert and Korver have accepted is freeing James to make that possible.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.