Based on the outcome of Game 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to make some adjustments to compete with the Celtics. And it appears at…
Based on the outcome of Game 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to make some adjustments to compete with the Celtics. And it appears at least one is coming — a lineup change that should potentially worry Celtics fans.
Starting Tristan Thompson.
“It’s definitely something we have to weigh,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters Monday .
Why now? Benching Thompson, who played just 17 minutes a game in the second round, worked fine against the Toronto Raptors. The Cavaliers easily took care of the Eastern Conference one-seed with a shooter-heavy starting lineup of George Hill, J. R. Smith, Kyle Korver, LeBron James, and, starting at center, Kevin Love. In the four-game sweep, the Cavaliers shot over 41 percent from three-point range and cruised into the conference finals.
Against the Celtics, that same group of starters did not fare well Sunday.
In their 25-point loss to Boston, Cleveland shot a miserable 4-for-26 from deep. That can happen when you play the team that had the best three-point defense in the league this season.
Additionally, Al Horford dominated against Love, who guarded the Celtics center on 62 percent of the offensive possessions he played, according to NBA player tracking data. On those 31 possessions, Horford scored 18 of his 20 points on a super-efficient 7-for-9 shooting, including two three-pointers.
However, when guarded by Thompson, the 6-foot-10 Celtics cornerstone was held scoreless on 12 possessions.
Small sample size? Sure. But it’s not a new story.
As impressive as Horford’s performance has been this postseason, he has historically struggled against Thompson.
In the last four playoffs, Horford’s postseason has come to an end against the Cavaliers. His Hawks were swept by Cleveland in 2015 and 2016, and his hobbled Celtics team lost in five in last season’s conference finals, as Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon noted Sunday:
Celtics coach Brad Stevens has lavished praise on the 6-foot-9 Canadian’s defensive presence and versatility in the past. With Horford on the court, the Celtics averaged 17 points less per 100 possessions this season when Thompson was also playing.
Boston countered Sunday by bringing Aron Baynes off the bench to match up with him. The 6-foot-10 Aussie guarded Thompson on more than 70 percent of his possessions. Still, Thompson finished with 8 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes, and, as The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor pointed out, the Celtics suffer on both sides of the court when their two big men are on the floor together (as opposed to just Horford).
Perhaps in retrospect the move to start Thompson seems obvious. But Lue said Monday that he had wanted to run with the lineup that worked so well against Toronto before making any big changes. He then broke out some analytics that further suggested his inclination toward starting Thompson in Game 2.
“Looking at the statistics, over the last three years of at least 30 possessions, out of all the guys who’ve guarded Al Horford, Tristan is No. 1 in the league defending Al Horford,” Lue said. With a laugh, he added: “So that’s a good thing to know, and you guys have a great day.”
Thompson already helped save Cleveland’s season once in these playoffs — in the first round against the Indiana Pacers .
“All series long we just told him to be ready,” Lue said after Thompson played 35 minutes and put up 15 points and 10 rebounds in the team’s Game 7 win.
Is he is ready to do it again?
If there’s one thing that is certain, it’s that Stevens heard Lue’s comments Monday and is already preparing to see Thompson on the court when the ball is tipped Tuesday.
