Coming off their Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be on the verge of making a major change. One day after his team's 108-83 defeat in Boston, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue revealed that he's considering inserting center Tristan Thompson into Cleveland's starting lineup.
"It's definitely something we have to weigh," Lue told reporters. "And we weighed it before the series started, but we had won seven out of eight and we weren't going to adjust until someone beat us and we had played well with that lineup and it got us to this point. Yes, we have to weigh that decision."
Given the blowout nature of the Cavs' loss, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that Lue would consider making such a dramatic adjustment after starting the same lineup throughout Cleveland's four-game sweep of the Toronto Raptors. After surrendering a 25-2 first-quarter run, the Cavs never inched any closer than to within 14 points of the Celtics for the remainder of the contest.
Al Horford was a big part of Boston's first-quarter run, scoring 11 points in what was ultimately a 20-point performance. Thompson, however, has a favorable track record against the Celtics center, who the Cavs are facing for the fourth consecutive postseason.
Prior to Sunday's Game 1, Cleveland laid claim to a 12-1 playoff against Horford from 2015-2017. In that regard, Thompson has been a big part of the Cavs' success against the 5-time All-Star, who was a member of the Atlanta Hawks prior to signing with the Celtics in the summer of 2016.
"Looking at the statistics, over the last three years of at least 30 possessions, out of all the guys that guarded Al Horford, Tristan is No. 1 in the league," Lue said. "That's a good thing to know."
But without Thompson in Cleveland's starting lineup on Sunday, Boston was able to matchup with the Cavs' relatively small lineup, with forward Marcus Morris guarding LeBron James with Kevin Love matched up on Horford. The results spoke for themselves, as it now appears to be Cleveland's turn to counter the Celtics' first tactical move.
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is slated to tip-off from Boston on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
