CLEVELAND -- Throughout the 2017-2018 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had to do plenty of shuffling when it comes to the roster because of injuries, and that has continued during the current west-coast trip.
With guard Rodney Hood suffering through back issues and missing much of the last two games, veteran sharp-shooter Kyle Korver was elevated into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s 129-107 win over the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena, and the results were positive, as he scored 22 points.
“It went alright, I guess,” Korver said after the win. “I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t know if this is a one-game thing or whatever. I really have no idea. I told Ty (Lue) I’m just ready to do whatever he needs. ‘Just tell me before the game starts.’ Rodney’s still out, so I think just trying a couple new things.”
In just 23 minutes against the Suns, Korver converted six of his seven attempts from the field, including a five-for-six showing from three-point range, in addition to all five of his shots from the free-throw line. Korver added four rebounds and one assist in the win.
Over his last two games, Korver has knocked down nine of his 11 three-point attempts.
“We always work well together since the time he got here, and if he’s on the floor, we’ve got to find him,” Cavaliers small forward LeBron James said. “He works well without the ball, with his body movement. A lot of teams kind of mess up the coverage when they’re trying to track him, and our bigs do a great job of getting him open too. We run a lot of actions for him, and he was able to knock them down. He played exceptionally well.
“A lot of his stuff is kind of random. We don’t call plays. It’s a lot of random stuff, but the random is something that I guess is a play for him because we all know what we’re doing.”
Korver credited his success to James’ ability to get to the basket and create shots not only for himself, but the entire team.
“I think I’m always just trying to find the open spot,” Korver said. “He commands a lot of double teams. He commands a lot of traps. He commands a lot of attention, so we’ve got a couple sets where we’re trying to set up shots for me, but a lot of it’s just playing the game and reading the game and him playing attack mode like he was (Tuesday) and me just trying to find the open spot.”
As for Korver’s role going forward when and if the Cavaliers get healthy, he is ready for anything.
“It really doesn’t change anything for me,” Korver said. “I’ve always felt like I could do both, and I try to do my job well. I really don’t think this is going to be a long-term thing. Maybe it is, but I just try to fill in whenever I can.
“I told Ty, ‘Don’t worry about me. Just let me know before the game. I don’t need the whole day to prepare for anything. You just let me know. I’ll do it and I’ll do my best.’”
