Last season, center Tristan Thompson started in all of his 78 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his six years with the team since he was drafted fourth overall in the 2011 Draft, Thompson started 316 of 466 outings. In the coming season, Thompson will be pushed to the bench after the Cavaliers coaching staff decided to start Kevin Love at center and newly acquired Jae Crowder at power forward. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic first reported the Cavaliers’ latest moves while David Aldridge of Turner Sports said his sources confirmed the changes in the starting lineup.

Aldridge added that Thompson has no problems coming off the bench, saying he’s “okay with it.” The Cavaliers now have LeBron James, Love, Derrick Rose and Crowder as starters. However, the Cavaliers have yet to answer whom they will start at shooting guard. Will it be Dwyane Wade or J.R. Smith? Lloyd said that Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue that he’s still evaluating on who will start at shooting guard. It was reported that Wade signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Cavaliers because he was promised a starting spot.

Love could create matchup problems for opponents

Lue has the flexibility to use Love as the center with the entry of Crowder to the Cavaliers. As a versatile player, Crowder can play at No.

4 and guard the power forwards of opposing teams. Aside from that, Love and Crowder could also cause matchup problems for their opponents with their outside shooting. Last season, the 6-foot-10 Love made 37 percent of his attempts from three-point range, aside from averaging 19.0 points and 11.1 boards. Crowder, for his part, made 39.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and averaged 13.9 points, 5.8 boards and 2.2 dimes in 72 games for the Celtics last season.

Wade considered as backup playmaker

Earlier, it was mentioned that Lue was experimenting in putting Wade as backup point guard in the Cavaliers second unit, composed of Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Kyle Korver and Jeff Green. Rose will join the second unit when Isaiah Thomas returns from injury. The Cavaliers have never been this deep despite the trade of Irving to the Boston Celtics for Thomas, Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick.

The Cavaliers acquired Wade after he got a buyout of his $23.8 million contract from the Chicago Bulls for the coming season. Several teams pursued Wade, including the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, and the Oklahoma City Thunder but he chose a reunion with James with the Cavaliers. During their four-year run with the Heat, James and Wade won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, James returned to the Cavaliers while Wade joined the Bulls last season.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED