In the wake of center Tristan Thompson’s injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be able to play the starting lineup they should have started the season with.
In Wednesday’s night game against the Indiana Pacers, Tristan Thompson left with a left leg injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. He was in crutches when he exited the arena. Now, The Vertical’s Shams Charania reports that Thompson will miss a month with a left calf injury.
Sources: Cleveland Cavaliers' Tristan Thompson is expected to miss one month with left calf injury he suffered Wednesday night.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 2, 2017
It’s unfortunate, as Thompson (while struggling this season) is not only one of the NBA’s best rebounders, the Cavs best rim-protecting big man and blue-collar worker, he’s truly one of the good guys in the league. In addition, the struggling Cavs need to build chemistry after making so many moves in the past year it seems like the only familiar faces in the rotation belong to Thompson, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love and LeBron James.
Nonetheless, while it’s not the way that I wanted it to happen, the Cleveland Cavaliers have finally been forced to put the most feasible five-man unit on the court. While Isaiah Thomas is out with a torn labrum and Derrick Rose starts, the Cavs have needed to surround Rose with shooters. Instead (after Rose spoke about how playing with Love creates space for him inside), the Cavs moved Thompson to the starting lineup because Love was working too hard and it was affecting his shot.
To be frank, while Love is capable of having explosive scoring nights, the focus should be on fitting the roster around their two primary ball-handlers: Rose and James.
When Thomas returns, Thompson can and should return – not for the least because of the rim-protection he might offer when Thomas allows an opponent to get to the rim. However, until then, surrounding Rose with shooters is imperative for the flow of the offense. As is starting Jae Crowder and Love with James in the frontcourt, so that the Cavs have three players that can pick-and-pop with Rose and three players that force opposing bigs to guard on the perimeter.
James is another player who is at his best with shooters around him and as the best player on the team, it would be prudent to make the game as easy for him as possible.
On the other side of the floor, Smith, Crowder and James have all had trouble defending early on this season but they’re the Cavs three best wing defenders and have athleticism and versatility that should allow them to fly around and make plays. Especially James, who in a “roamer” role on defense, will be allowed to make plays off-ball while Smith and Crowder take on the best perimeter scorers. This is something they haven’t been able to do all season as Dwyane Wade started the season at shooting guard and Rose was out with a sprained ankle when Wade was relegated to the bench.
By the time Rose returned, Crowder was on the bench and Thompson was starting.
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That’s a starting lineup that didn’t provide the best spacing for players to attack the rim, whether they were the ball-handler or cutting. It wasn’t a lineup that allowed James to be in the defensive role that he thrived at since the start of the 2017 postseason either.
The other issue with Thompson starting is his transition defense, as he and James would often watch their teammates run full-pelt up the court while they stood there. It’s truly bad enough that James does it but until he’s called out for it or makes the changes to his effort (and conditioning) to get down the court, there needs to be more than just Rose, Smith and Love playing transition defense.
Playing 3-on-5 rarely works, especially when your opponent has you backpedaling towards the rim without any player capable of making a block in transition (*cough*, LeBron), there to help them. Crowder is a high-effort player who’ll improve the transition defense through sheer virtue of being willing to get down the court.
The final benefit of Thompson’s absence is the opportunity that Channing Frye has to show he should stick in the rotation. Love certainly won’t be banging around with opposing bigs all game long but playing Frye, a three-point sniper who can be assertive and aggressive in the post and on the boards should give the Cavs an opportunity to keep the floor spaced at all times. Again, this should do nothing but help slashers and playmakers like James, Rose, Dwyane Wade and Jeff Green. The Cavs will also play more lineups with players like Green and James at center, lineups that will provide a prime opportunity for the Cavs to attack the rim.
When Thompson returns, he’s a player who may have to find a fit in a bench role – should the team excels in his absence.
With Love returning to center and Frye playing as his primary backup though, the Cavs will be able to have an offense that spaces the floor nearly as well as they did last year. Rose and James don’t compliment each other on offense as neither are known as great outside shooters but are known to attack the rim incessantly. With that being said, they can be a dynamic power punch duo if the Cavs put the right (floor spacing pieces around them).
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