The Cleveland Cavaliers are done playing small.
Without J.R. Smith and Kevin Love for Game 1 of Monday's Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Chicago Bulls, the Cavs opted to start Iman Shumpert and Mike Miller, effectively making LeBron James the team's power forward and sacrificing height against a sizable Bulls' frontcourt rotation.
That wasn't particularly effective, as the Cavs were down big in a hurry and never quite closed the gap, losing the series opener 99-92. The starting lineup was outscored by 11 points in their 10 minutes together, and a change has been deemed necessary for Wednesday's Game 2.
Cleveland will slide Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup, according to Chris Haynes from the Northeast Ohio Media Group, pushing Miller back to a bench role and James back to the small forward position.
Playing Thompson alongside Timofey Mozgov risks sacrificing some spacing on the offensive end, but it should improve the team's defense and could create an appreciable advantage on the offensive glass. The Thompson-Mozgov pairing played 15 minutes in Game 1, during which Cleveland outscored Chicago by 14 points and grabbed five offensive rebounds.
During the regular season, the Cavs outscored opponents by 8.9 points per-100 possessions with that duo on the floor, and the offense didn't suffer as logic would dictate.
For their part, the Bulls don't seem like they're too worried about the change.
Thibodeau on Thompson starting: "He played 37 minutes in the last game. So we have an idea of who he is and how he fits in."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 6, 2015
While Love won't be back during the playoffs, Smith will return from his suspension for Game 3, likely taking his starting two-guard spot back from Shumpert to put an additional shooting threat on the floor. Should the big lineup fail to deliver, it's possible both Smith and Shumpert could start, with James sliding back to the four.
