King James Gospel
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Cavs must re-think their lineups to ensure success in Game 3

By Nathan Beighle

BOSTON, MA - MAY 13: The sign behind Cleveland Cavaliers J.R. Smith (far right) read "You Seeing This", and the players on Cleveland's bench in the fourth quarter, including LeBron James (far left) were certainly seeing the Celtics dismantle their team in Game One. The Boston Celtics hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game One of their NBA Eastern Conference Final Playoff series at TD Garden in Boston on May 13, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 13: The sign behind Cleveland Cavaliers J.R. Smith (far right) read "You Seeing This", and the players on Cleveland's bench in the fourth quarter, including LeBron James (far left) were certainly seeing the Celtics dismantle their team in Game One. The Boston Celtics hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game One of their NBA Eastern Conference Final Playoff series at TD Garden in Boston on May 13, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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 The Cleveland Cavaliers must play to their strengths, not their weaknesses. That means keeping the floor spaced and living with it defensively.

Over the course of the entire postseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers have forced their opponents to alter their play to combat Cleveland’s lethal offense. Well, against Boston, Tyronn Lue abandoned that strategy and tried to create a formidable defense at the risk of losing their dynamic offense.

Inserting Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup did exactly that.

Following the first-quarter onslaught by LeBron James, the Cleveland eventually entered the half up seven. However, then the third quarter happened. Boston found a way to exploit the Cavaliers both offensively and defensively. They were outscored by 14 points in the third.

The Cavs were SO worried about Al Horford that they changed their lineup. They changed what made them successful and it backfired. Hordford had ZERO points in the third quarter; meanwhile, Terry Rozier lit the Cavs up for 14. Cleveland faltered offensively and the Celtics burned them in transition.

With the Celtics balanced attack, it’s easy for Brad Stevens to conduct a fluid offense. He can run plays through Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, or Terry Rozier. More importantly, with the Cavs offense lacking, he can push with the C’s incredible speed and burn Cleveland in transition.

The balance that the Celtics showed, putting six players in double figures, limits the Cavs ability to win a game by locking down just one or two, the opposite of their first two postseason opponents.

That said, Lue needs to reconsider his lineups moving forward. The Cavs created a team to surround LeBron James with enough weapons to single-handedly take the team to the Finals, but they’re moving away from what has worked for them all season.

LeBron James plus shooters is still the key to success.

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This postseason, the Cavs best five-man lineup that seen at least thirty minutes of court time has been JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, and LeBron James. However, instead of benching George Hill to create this lineup, Lue opted to bench Kyle Korver.

Now, the George Hill, JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, and LeBron James is the worst of the four lineups considered, excluding one with Jose Calderon since he’s been taken out of the rotation.

So, Lue opted to go from one successful lineup, not to a lineup that has seen postseason success, but actually the Cavs worst five-man unit.

Is trying to limit Al Horford that necessary? He isn’t the C’s key to offensive success. The key to Cavs defensive success is scoring. They must score on the offensive to get their defensive setup and Lue limited their scoring by starting Thompson over Korver.

Even if Lue still considers taming Big Al key to success, he has lineups that have been consistently better than the one he played. LeBron James isn’t just another star. James can handle the role of any player on the court, and Lue must allow him to operate the offense without Hill in the game.

In Game 2, we saw a couple things from Lue. He opted to value Hill’s offensive and defensive versatility over Kyle Korver’s dynamic shooting. Then, he opted to value Thompson’s offensive hustle and defensive tenacity over Korver again.

The Cavs are down to a seven-man rotation. Korver averages the least minutes, yet the third most points. Is it a coincidence that the Cavs have yet to hit 100 points against the Celtics and Korver has continued to see fewer minutes?

I don’t think so.

Surrounding LeBron James with shooters doesn’t always mean just four shooters and James. But, James does need the distraction of Kyle Korver on the court.

Next: Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 30 all-time greatest players

Tristan Thompson has his use; George Hill has his use, but their traits are not worth sacrificing Korver’s shooting. James’ best offensive weapon is a sniping JR Smith and Kyle Korver, and if Cleveland wants to get back in this series, that’s what must happen.