The Cleveland Cavaliers have won 12 straight games and are cementing their place at the top of the Eastern Conference along with first place Boston Celtics and the third-place Toronto Raptors. The most impressive thing about this is that they are winning all these games despite numerous injuries, including Iman Shumpert, who will miss the next three months following surgery.
However, the good news is that three of their injured players should return very soon, although two of them will likely hold different roles with the team.
Who is returning next for the Cavaliers?
Originally, some thought that Tristan Thompson would be back sometime this week, but while the exact date of his return is not official, the team likely will feature Thompson in a new role.
When the 2017-18 NBA season started, Tristan Thompson moved to the bench and Kevin Love started out at center. However, the Cavaliers struggled to open the season and head coach Tyronn Lue chose to make a move to bring Thompson back into the starting lineup and move Love back to power forward.
Ever since Tristan Thompson hit the injured list with a strained left calf, the Cleveland Cavaliers moved Love back to center and started Jae Crowder at the power forward position. It looks like even when Thompson returns that won't change and Lue will bring the big center off the bench.
The future lineup for the Cavaliers
The lineup of the Cleveland Cavaliers won't change too much when Tristan Thompson returns. Kevin Love will continue to start at center and Thompson will come in to spell him from the bench. The Cavs could also play Thompson and Love together at times, but only in a reserve role for Thompson.
Tyronn Lue said that the team's routine is putting their players in a good rhythm and letting them play.
He also has started to rotate players in and out, evident by reserve point guard Dwyane Wade excelling from the bench. Thompson has the same opportunity as Wade to come off the bench and put in some good work for the Cavaliers. This is smart because Cleveland is 15-3 with Kevin Love starting at center.
The same is likely to happen when Derrick Rose comes back from injury. While he has started at point guard for the Cavaliers this season, why mess up a good thing? The one thing that will change is when Isaiah Thomas arrives later this month. He will definitely start for the Cleveland Cavaliers and things should get very interesting after that.