Cleveland Cavaliers: What lineup change will Ty Lue make?
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue says a lineup change is coming; what will he do?
The Cleveland Cavaliers, losers of 10 of their last 13, are in desperate need of some answers. Head coach Ty Lue believes he may have one.
After their most recent loss to the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night, Lue noted that he will make a change to the team’s starting lineup. He didn’t specify what change he would make, though.
At this point, it would be more surprising if Lue elected not to make a change. It’s pretty clear that the Cavs need something to jump start them; something to light a fire under them. Right now, Lue hasn’t been able to push the right buttons.
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And the team meeting certainly didn’t help things. If anything, it made everything much worse. Plus, it leaked to the media, unloading everyone’s dirty laundry
So, what could be the lineup change that Lue was hinting at after losing to the Spurs?
Well, it could a number of changes. We know it won’t be LeBron James, though. That’s for sure. It could be Isaiah Thomas, but my better judgement suggests that it won’t be him either. After all, is the team going to start Jose Calderon?
What could make sense, if it’s Thomas, is they could start Dwyane Wade alongside J.R. Smith in the backcourt, with LeBron playing the de facto point guard.
I also don’t believe that Kevin Love will be benched.
That leaves us with J.R. Smith, who ironically started the season coming off the bench, and Jae Crowder as the possible move. If I had to guess, I’d probably assume that Lue is going to bring Tristan Thompson back into the starting 5 and move Crowder to the bench.
Thompson would give this team rebounding and defensive help, while having a nice option of Crowder off the bench. The Cavs sport the league’s second-worst defense, and this wouldn’t be the worst move in the world, especially if they’re trying to re-discover their identity on that side of the ball.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a huge slump, and I’m not sure there’s a lineup change that can bring them back but it’s at the very least worth trying at this point.