|
TORONTO -- The Cleveland Cavaliers, at least for the time being, will stick with Kevin Love as their starting center despite the All-Star's individual struggles at the position this postseason, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said Wednesday. "Whatever is good for the team is what we're going to do," Lue said. "I think it spreads the floor out for us. [Jonas] Valanciunas is going to go to help and try to block shots. Kevin is going to have open shots all night, so, whatever is best for the team is what we're going to do." Love had a rough go of it in Cleveland's 113-112 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors, starting just 1-for-8 from the field before settling in to finish with seven points on 3-for-13 shooting (1-for-4 from 3) and 13 rebounds.  Valanciunas, at 7 feet tall and 265 pounds, dwarfs Love's listed 6-foot-10, 251-pound frame, and it showed on the court early in Game 1. Valanciunas began the game 6-for-12 from the field through the first three quarters as the Raptors controlled the flow through him. Lue brought in Tristan Thompson to play center alongside Love late, shifting Love back to his natural 4 spot, and Valanciunas slowed down significantly, shooting 1-for-7 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined (and 1-for-6 with Thompson guarding him in that stretch, according to data compiled by ESPN Stats & Information). Love was asked after the game if he was more comfortable playing power forward. "It's been my whole career I've played at the 4," he answered. "I would say absolutely. Ty sees something different, and I think offensively, once I get myself going, we could use that to our advantage. As of right now, I need to find some easy buckets. They were right there tonight, I just couldn't put them down." Love, who hurt his left thumb in the Cavs' playoff opener against the Indiana Pacers, is averaging just 10.9 points on 31.9 percent shooting overall (38.5 percent from 3) in eight games in the postseason thus far. Thompson, dusted off and back into the rotation, is averaging 14.5 points on 71.4 percent shooting in the Cavs' past two games -- one of them a start in Game 7 against Indiana on Sunday, and one of them off the bench against Toronto on Tuesday. Yet even though Love is seemingly begging to have Thompson beside him at the 5 and Thompson is seemingly in enough of a rhythm to deserve starter's minutes, Lue wants to keep Thompson in a reserve role. "I like his impact off the bench," Lue said of Thompson after Game 1. "Just his physicality. He changed the game with offensive rebounding, his energy. It was big for us. I just like what he's doing off the bench right now. If we have to adjust at some point, we will. His presence off the bench has been huge." Lue also points to Love's late-season success at center after he returned from a fractured left hand -- including two wins against the Raptors in which he averaged 20.5 points on 52.2 percent shooting -- as evidence that it's worth sticking with this formation. "We played Toronto twice, right? And he played the 5, right?" Lue asked rhetorically. "We need Kevin to play the 5 for the spacing, and I think it helps us offensively. And showing the tape and the film this morning with what we showed the guys, their bigs are coming to help. So when JR [Smith] drives or Bron (LeBron James) drives or [George] Hill drives, their bigs are coming, so we're going to have open shots on the perimeter. We just have to knock them down." Lue admitted that the Cavs have to "do a better job of trying to protect" Love when Valanciunas posts up, so that Love doesn't get "so worn down." But the coach added that by Love making that physical sacrifice, it tempts Toronto to keep going through Valanciunas and gets the Raptors' two All-Stars -- Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan -- off their games. "If we can get the ball out of Kyle and DeMar's hands and make them play the post-ups, I think it helps us a lot," Lue said. "I think having them taking 2-pointers, two-point shots, helps us out a lot. So, we'll see." Jeff Green, who was the Cavs' starting 4 when the playoffs opened against the Pacers, also volunteered to mix it up with Valanciunas. "I can't out-tough him; I'm going to compete against him," Green said Wednesday. "He's not going to go out there and bully me; he's going to have to work hard. But I'm not going to back down from a challenge, I don't care who's on the floor. I'm going to make that person work hard, and I'm going to leave it out there." As for Thompson, he said after Game 1 that he has no plans to lobby Lue to get back in the starting lineup. "My job is to come in and play whenever my number's called," Thompson said. "That's what I'm here to do."
|
