Thompson named Cavaliers' starting center for playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers have found their man in the middle for their upcoming postseason run.
Prior to the team's game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, head coach Tyronn Lue announced his decision to start Tristan Thompson at center moving forward.
"I just wanted to," Lue said when asked for his rationale.
Thompson, 25, started his first game for Cleveland since March 16 on Saturday in a 105-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls, scoring three points and grabbing eight rebounds in 30 minutes of action. It was his 32nd start of the season in 80 total appearances for the Eastern Conference leaders.
Thompson starter vs. bench (averages)
| Role | Games | MIN | FG% | REB | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 32 | 32 | 59.9 | 10 | 0.6 | 8.4 |
| Bench | 48 | 25.2 | 58.7 | 8.5 | 0.6 | 7.6 |
There's a level of comfort which comes from having Thompson man the five spot, as he held down that role for 15 of 20 games during Cleveland's run to the NBA Finals last season. He averaged a near double-double of 9.6 points and 10.8 rebounds on 55.8 percent shooting during that span.
The Cavaliers are also 3.7 points per 100 possessions better on offense and hold opponents to one fewer point defensively when Thompson is on the floor.
Timofey Mozgov, on the other hand, is one of the stronger rim-protectors on the team. However, the Cavaliers are considerably worse on both ends of the floor (5.9 points per 100 possessions on offense and 1.5 points on defense) when he's in the game, which certainly must have played a part in Lue's decision.
The Cavaliers will host the Hawks at Quicken Loans Arena before closing out the season Wednesday in a potential opening-round preview against the Detroit Pistons. The NBA playoffs will get underway April 16.