INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Walking into Cleveland Cavaliers practice on Friday afternoon, a familiar face could be spotted on the floor of Cleveland Clinic Courts. One day after being excused from practice following the birth of his daughter with Khloe Kardashian, Tristan Thompson returned to the Cavs facility.
Just how familiar Thompson's face will remain in the coming weeks, however, remains to be seen.
As the Cavaliers prepare for their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup with the Indiana Pacers, Thompson finds himself in an unfamiliar position heading into the playoffs. With Tyronn Lue expected to roll with a 10-man rotation against Indiana, Thompson could be the odd-man out, a drastic shift for a player who has served as a starter in each of the past three NBA Finals.
Lue hasn't tipped his hand at which 10 players will make up his playoff rotation just yet -- but the math isn't hard to do.
LeBron James, Kevin Love, George Hill and Jeff Green have each been confirmed as starters, with the fifth spot going to either Rodney Hood or Kyle Korver, both of whom will play regardless of their starting status. Jordan Clarkson and Jose Calderon will also play, per Lue, and despite his inconsistent season, it doesn't appear the Cavs have given up on J.R. Smith just yet -- unless they opt to go with rookie Cedi Osman instead, which seems unlikely.
That makes nine, leaving the final spot to either Thompson or Larry Nance Jr.
Lue has already stated he only plans on playing one big off the bench, which means that should he roll with Nance, Thompson could go from starting "C" to "DNP."
"Whichever one gives us what we need, I think, defensively," Lue said on Friday when asked about how he'll make his decision between Thompson and Nance. "They've both proven they can defend the basketball. We've just got to be great defensively. I think we've got to do a good job on the boards rebounding the basketball and we'll see what happens."
And although Thompson has traditionally been the Cavs' best defensive big man, his production has undeniably slipped throughout an injury-plagued 2017-18 campaign.
After laying claim to a defensive win share of at least 2.0 since his second season in the league, the number of Cavs' wins contributed to Thompson's defense has slipped to 0.7. He also boasts a career-worst -0.9 defensive box plus-minus (a box score estimate of the defensive points per 100 possessions a player contributed a league average player), after laying claim to positive scores in each of the past two years.
Nance, on the other hand, possesses a 2.3 defensive win share and 2.4 defensive box plus-minus this season. And in addition to each player being listed at 6-foot-9, Nance is perceived to be the more mobile of the two, which would be useful against the uptempo Pacers.
Of course, Thompson's role from series to series could change, especially if the Cavs face a team with a more traditional frontcourt like Toronto.
But for now, Thompson's immediate playoff future very much appears in doubt, which likely isn't how he wanted to escape the spotlight after one of the most public weeks of his personal life.
