On Monday, Tyronn Lue all but revealed he was planning on making a change to his starting lineup heading into the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 2 matchup with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
As it turns out, the Cavs head coach is following through with just that.
Prior to Cleveland's 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off in Boston, Lue revealed that he has indeed inserted center Tristan Thompson into the Cavs' starting lineup. As a result, forward Kyle Korver will move to the bench as Thompson joins LeBron James, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and George Hill in Cleveland's starting five.
Following the Cavs' 108-83 loss in Game 1, Lue hardly hid his hand regarding potential adjustments for his team. Speaking to the media at practice on Monday, Lue pointed out that Thompson is one of the best big men in the NBA at defending Celtics center Al Horford.
"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."
This series marks the fourth time in as many years the Cavs have faced Horford, between his time and Atlanta and now Boston. Prior to Game 1 on Sunday, Cleveland laid claim to a 12-1 record vs. Horford's teams since 2015.
The 5-time All-Star, however, found plenty of success against the Cavs on Sunday, scoring 20 points, 11 of which came in the first quarter. In playing with a bigger lineup, Cleveland could force Boston to make a similar adjustment after the Celtics defended the Cavs as effectively as they did with their smaller lineup.
