Cavaliers need J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to stop playing like 'horses---'

The Golden State Warriors are stacked.

They have the luxury of bringing two former All-Stars in David Lee and Andre Iguodala off the bench. In Game 4, the Warriors benched Andrew Bogut and it actually improved the team. If there's a bad matchup, Steve Kerr has options with his malleable roster to play different styles.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not so fortunate.

It's back to 2007 for the Cavaliers. LeBron James is carrying a cadre of role players with his herculean efforts. Cleveland is down three of their opening-day starters in Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving, leaving James as the lone pillar to prop up the club.

But James can't do it alone for the entire series. He is only one man.

Take nothing away from Cleveland's limited grit squad. Timofey Mozgov, Tristan Thompson, and Matthew Dellavedova have stepped up. Dellavedova's defense has been excellent, Thompson continues to wreak havoc on the boards and Mozgov is playing the best basketball of his life. They have shown up for the Finals.

It's time for J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to join the effort.

Smith and Shumpert have been abysmal. After Thursday's four-point outing, Smith described his performance as "horseshit."

Shumpert hasn't fared much better. They're averaging a combined 14.3 points on 28.2 percent shooting from the field. Shumpert has a bum shoulder and Smith is notoriously inconsistent, but they're betraying the Cavaliers' scrappy efforts with their disastrous play.

The Cavaliers don't need the two New York Knicks castaways to play like superstars. They need them to play like they did in Rounds 1-3, because, quite frankly, Mike Miller and Shawn Marion are borderline unplayable.

For starters, the two need to hit their open shots. With James and the Cavaliers' bigs dominating the paint, Smith and Shumpert have been the beneficiary of open catch-and-shoot opportunities. But they've struggled immensely, even on uncontested field-goal attempts.

The two haven't fared any better on defense. Smith has the worst defensive rating out of anyone in the Finals while Shumpert is posting a mark that would rank second-last on Golden State.

From Shumpert, the Cavaliers need a shutdown 3-and-D wing. But he hasn't come through on either end. He's shanking jumpers and barely making a dent against the Splash Brothers. The Warriors are shooting significantly better with Shumpert off the court, per NBAWOWY.

From Smith, the Cavaliers need a playmaker. Smith is the only Cavalier outside of James who can create his own shot. But he has failed to score a single point during James's scant spells on the bench.

As a whole, the Cavaliers are scoring .52 points per possession without James. That has left David Blatt with little option but to ride his last remaining superstar into the ground. James is averaging 45.8 minutes per game while facilitating every single possession.

The Cavaliers don't need Smith and Shumpert to be spectacular. They need them to just show up.