Iman Shumpert played injured, was shot up with painkillers in NBA Finals

When the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a trade on January 5 to acquire J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, initial speculation was that Shumpert was the main target while Smith and his contract were part of the cost of the completing the trade. Shumpert’s main assets were considered to be his athleticism and defensive acumen, but perhaps grit should be added to that list, as it has been revealed that Shumpert played through a shoulder injury that required painkiller injections in the last four games of the NBA Finals.

NEOMG’s Chris Haynes reports that the injury occurred in Game 3 of the Finals when Shumpert jammed his left shoulder — the same one that was separated earlier in the season — trying to get around a hard Draymond Green screen.

The initial fear was that he separated his shoulder again, but a thorough evaluation disclosed a deep bruise.

Though he was still in agonizing discomfort, he returned to [Game 3] in the second quarter. An MRI exam the next morning confirmed the bruise. Had it been the regular season, I’m told he would have been sidelined 2-3 weeks.

After Game 3, Shumpert received some help from the needle.

He was shot up with painkillers before Game 4 of the NBA Finals in order to continue playing through the excruciating pain of a bruised shoulder, a source revealed, and he may have been injected more than once during the Finals.

He will not need offseason surgery, just rest and treatment.

Shumpert’s numbers fell during the Finals, and WFNY’s Scott Sargent wrote about Shumpert’s obvious pain in his look into the Cavs locker room just after their season had ended:

As teammate Iman Shumpert emerged from the shower, making his way to his locker, the guard winced as he got dressed. The simple act of raising his arms to put on his tank top undershirt caused pain.

While his numbers fell, Shumpert’s willingness and ability to continue playing through an injury in the NBA Finals may lead to more competition for his services in the restricted free agency market this summer. The Cavs have said that they intend to offer Shumpert the one-year qualifying offer, worth about $3.7 million. If he chooses to seek a more lucrative deal with another team, the Cavaliers have the right to match any contract offer. The Cavs could also negotiate a longer-term deal after extending Shumpert the qualifying offer.

Shumpert proved to be a valuable asset off the bench for the Cavaliers as he demonstrated his skills as a wing defender and finished the season with the best individual defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions, per Basketball Reference) of any Cavs rotation player, ahead of even noted defenders Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson.

Both style of postseason play and injuries led to a significant increase in playing time for Iman Shumpert in the playoffs. Shumpert went from averaging just over 24 minutes per game to over 34 minutes per game in the playoffs and he improved in most measures during the Eastern Conference Playoffs.