Cavaliers Make Lineups Changes, Crowder Sits

With the hope of patching up one of the NBA’s worst defenses and shaking off a slump that is now a month long, the Cleveland Cavaliers made changes to their lineup by moving Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup and sitting Jae Crowder, said coach Tyronn Lue on Thursday.

Lue said the team will start Thompson and Jae, who has played well the past few games, is not sitting because of anything he did, it is about the team in general and making it better. Lue added that the changes may not be permanent and he spoke to Crowder who told him he was all in.

Lue said with Thompson starting Kevin Love would move back to power forward, which is his natural position. Lue added that Thompson should mesh well with point guard Isaiah Thomas both covering the pick and rolls defensively and executing the same on offense.

Cleveland is No. 29 in NBA in defensive efficiency giving up nearly 110 points per 100 possessions. Of late, things have become worse. While the Cavaliers have lost 10 of their last 13 games, what seems even more worrisome is they have given up 114 points or more in six of their last eight games played. Included in that run is 148 points during regulation, they gave up to the Thunder.

Thompson, who over most of the past three seasons had been the starting center for the Cavaliers, opened this season sitting, but for five games in November started before a strained calf muscle caused him to miss time and since then he never returned to starting.

Star LeBron James took the change in stride saying the team would be starting a player who has started for them many games prior to how so it is not a big deal.

Lue said the coaching staff had also considered making a change at guard as Isaiah Thomas has not yet found his rhythm after missing 7 ½ months, while JR Smith has been struggling most of the season, but they decided the time was not right to make any other changes.

One reason Lue is not changing Smith is that he wants Dwayne Wade to remain as the second unit’s leader and says the bench is one of the best the team has had in its history and wants to keep it intact.