After the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Celtics forward Al Horford said that the Celtics made lineup changes in order to pair up successfully with the Cavaliers. According to Horford, the Celtics went small and it worked great, with Marcus Morris helping shut down LeBron James while Horford himself had one of his best outings against a LeBron led team in the playoffs. With the Celtics making lineup changes and winning big, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that Tyronn Lue is making some changes as well to try to offset what Boston did in Game 1 of the series.

Cavaliers lineup changes for Game 2

When the Cleveland Cavaliers were struggling against the Indiana Pacers, they were one game from elimination and made a significant change in their lineup. The Cavs brought Tristan Thompson -- who had struggled throughout the regular season and ended up at the backend of the rotation in the playoffs -- back into the starting lineup. Cleveland won that series.

In the Cavaliers second round against the Toronto Raptors, Thompson headed back to the bench, and Kevin Love was moved back to center, despite playing better as a power forward. It worked, and Love excelled through the series with Thompson getting little playing time. Now, with the Celtics looking dominant after one game, Lue is bringing Thompson back into the starting lineup for Game 2.

The changes will send Kyle Korver -- who was a key starter in the Toronto Raptors series -- back to the bench. Kevin Love will move back to power forward, with LeBron James in his natural small forward position. The starting lineup should also include George Hill at point guard and J.R. Smith at shooting guard.

What will the lineup changes mean for Cleveland?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have to rebound from that first-round loss. It was the biggest loss for a LeBron James-led team in recent playoff memory, and they have to play stronger. According to Tyronn Lue, "advanced analytics" show that Tristan Thompson has guarded Al Horford well over the years.

Al Horford, who averaged 12.9 points-per-game through the regular season and only eclipsed 20 points once in the Philadelphia 76ers series, scored 20 for the Boston Celtics in the opening game win. It is also important to know that the Celtics outrebounded the Cavaliers in the game.

Tristan Thompson only played 21 minutes from off the bench in the loss but still led the Cleveland Cavaliers with 11 rebounds and had four of the nine total offensive rebounds for the Cavs. With the Celtics playing small, bringing in the big and dominating center might change the way both teams play in Game 2.
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