Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue promised changes to the team’s lineup after the Cavaliers’ most recent loss. The one being made will be a familiar one for both fans of the team and the player himself.
Lue is moving forward/center Tristan Thompson back into the starting lineup and will bench forward Jae Crowder, starting with tomorrow’s game against the Indiana Pacers (7:30 ET, NBA League Pass). Thompson started five games of the 26 games he played in this season, but was pulled from that role early in 2017-18. He suffered a calf injury in early November that kept him sidelined for nearly a month, and when he did come back he remained in a reserve role. Last season, Thompson was a starter in all 78 regular-season games he played.
“It has nothing to do with Jae — he’s been great,” Lue said. “It’s all about the right things, it’s all about team. You hate to make these changes — not saying they’re permanent — but he’s about the team.”
“I talked to him [Crowder] this morning and he said ‘man, whatever is for the team, what’s best for the team, I’m all in.’ ”
This season, Crowder is averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 42.5 percent shooting (and 34 percent 3-point shooting) in 43 games as a starter. As a reserve, Crowder is averaging 6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1 apg on 27.3 percent shooting (14.3 percent on 3-pointers).
Lue said he will not make other changes to the lineup, which means shooting guard J.R. Smith, forward Kevin Love, forward LeBron James and point guard Isaiah Thomas will round out the starters alongside Thompson. Love is expected to move back to his old power forward spot; he had been playing out of position at center with Crowder starting.
