The fact that he had to handle the ball with Melo basically harkens back to the reason Melo has the rep he has: he's never had a good supporting cast. If JR Smith is handling the ball that much, something is wrong. JR gets to be the bench player he truly is on a Cavs team that doesn't need as much from him. As a Knicks fan, I've watched practically every possession that Melo's had with this team. He's not the black hole he's made out to be. The few times Amare has been healthy and able to play significant minutes, Melo's been a willing passer to him. The dude has vision and can make some nice passes, it's just a case of who does he pass to? Shumpert looked like he could turn into a spot up shooter/great defender who could occasionally create plays with his athleticism. That was the case for a while but then injuries turned him into a guy that might have bright spots every now and then. JR is JR. Tyson Chandler was a pick and roll guy who thrived with point guards that could run that play. Tyson was supposed to be a coup that the Mavs stole off of the bumbling Knicks. He lost in the first round to the Rockets. The Rockets, brehThis isn't the regular ol Knicks fan defending the Knicks to the death. I was one of the few sitting on Shump the last two seasons and one of the very few defending JR. But I know what JR is and what you're seeing from him is what should be expected from a guy with the talent he has, and the flaws he has, who isn't being asked to do too much.
He had to handle the ball because Melo isn't very good at setting people up, his usage rate is through the roof for a guy that averages so few assists for how many possessions he gets. JR was starting for the Cavs until he was suspended, and this isn't just about JR either, cause Iman just had a very good series vs the Bulls, both guys look much better with the Cavs because of LeBron's playstyle. I have to disagree with you about Melo not being a black hole, his usage rate says otherwise and he's almost always the highest usage wing player with the lowest assists per game in the entire league.
There are 3 former Knicks on the Cavs right now, two of them played with Melo and another was traded for him, it's not really a good time to say he never had a good team around him when the Cavs are in the ECF with an injured Kyrie and Knicks castaway
I'm not a fan of Melo's game and the Knicks should have dumped him when they had the chance to, building around him is difficult because he needs the ball so much while also not being able to really set anyone else up. You don't really play off of Melo, you basically play around him.
That motivation
