Report: J.R. Smith To Undergo Surgery on Fractured Right Thumb

The injury bug appears to have struck the Cleveland Cavaliers again.

Starting Shooting Guard J.R. Smith left Tuesday night’s game against Milwaukee in the first half after injuring his right thumb on a play involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Cavs updated Smith’s status on Wednesday.

Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith experienced a right thumb injury near the end of the first half of last night’s game in Milwaukee vs. the Bucks.

He was examined at halftime and images taken at the arena were inconclusive. He did not return to play. Smith received further imaging and examination in Cleveland this morning by Dr. Richard Parker at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.

The results of the imaging revealed a fractured right thumb. Surgery is now required and a treatment and return to play timeline will be established following the surgery.

For now, it seems that Iman Shumpert, DeAndre Liggins, and Richard Jefferson will see an uptick in minutes, but for a team that already has issues with lack of depth at point guard, it could speed up the process of adding a veteran via trade or free-agency.