Cavaliers will stick with J.R. Smith as starter

J.R. Smith and Tyronn Lue

J.R. Smith has disappointed for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals so far, but he will be in the starting lineup for game three of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Amid speculation that Iman Shumpert might take Smith's starting spot with the Cavs down 2-0 to the Warriors, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said no such change will be made.

"I'm not doing that," he told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

Smith has only attempted six shots from the field in 42 minutes of court time through the first two games of the Finals, making one of them.

However, Lue emphasised that the whole team needed to shoot better from beyond the arc - the Cavs are 19-of-60 from three-point range in the Finals - and improve as a whole.

He said: "It's not just LeBron [James], it's our whole team, we all have to play better and we will.

"We have to make some shots, but they're closing out hard to us so we got to be able to read when we have shots or when we have a chance to attack the basket.

"We've got to do a better job of shooting the three, but if it's not open driving the close-outs and making the extra pass at the rim."