J.R. Smith, who has been sidelined since December 20 with a fractured right thumb, will return to action tonight against the Pistons. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Smith will be on an undisclosed minutes restriction (link).
Smith was listed as questionable in the days leading up to Thursday’s match-up. The 31-year-old woke up under the weather and was not at shootaround this morning, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (link). Smith, who signed a four-year, $57MM contract over the offseason, has had an abbreviated 2016/17 campaign. Through 21 games, J.R. has averaged 8.6 points while shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc.
Smith confirmed his return with a video on Uninterrupted (Twitter link).
“I am officially back. I will be playing tonight against the Detroit Pistons.” Smith said. “It’s been a good process…thankfully, it’s over. I get back to doing what I love to do more than anything. See you guys tonight at the Palace.”