Perhaps the most interesting case of a player falling off this season has been Cleveland Cavaliers guard Rodney Hood who was dealt to the team prior to this year’s trade deadline.
Hood was enjoying a career season with the Utah Jazz, averaging 16.8 points on nearly 39 percent shooting from beyond the arc but all that changed once he joined Cleveland. The playoffs have been notably horrid for Hood as he typically sees minutes only during garbage time, culminating into an average of 4.4 points per game. Hood recently sat down with Undefeated’s Marc Spears and discussed his play declining, citing the increased expectations that come with being on a winning team.
Hood acknowledged it has been hard to adapt to the worldwide spotlight that comes with playing with James and the four-time reigning Eastern Conference champions. Hood also could have added stress from being a restricted free agent this offseason.
“This is something different. It has been tough,” Hood said. “The basketball stuff has been the easiest part. The stuff that comes out of it, you lose a game and everyone talks about it on TV the next day. They may say some things that you may not agree with. If you win a game, you’re supposed to. Those kind of things are something I kind of got on a much smaller scale and dealt with at Duke.
“You lose a game and you feel like the world is coming down. You win, it’s like, you’re supposed to win. It’s still a struggle to me to adapt to that.”
Though playing alongside an all-time great in LeBron James is vastly different from a small-market team like the Utah Jazz, Hood’s drop off is still puzzling.
The promising young guard went from a capable and dangerous scorer to an afterthought off the bench in Cleveland. While his playing time has dwindled and the DNP’s continue to rack up, he has grown more frustrated as the playoffs continued with the peak coming when he refused to enter a game during garbage time.
Though Rodney Hood has struggled immensely, it may behoove coach Tyronn Lue to give him another chance with the rest of the Cavs’ supporting cast looking weaker than ever. Jordan Clarkson has been a disaster off the bench and starter J.R. Smith has also been almost completely neutralized, setting the stage for Hood to maybe receive some real playing time.
