Tyronn Lue went small to start off the Cleveland Cavaliers’ second-round series-opening win over the Toronto Raptors, using a starting lineup of George Hill, Kyle Korver, JR Smith, LeBron James and Kevin Love in Tuesday’s Game 1.
It was the same lineup Lue used in Game 3 of the Cavs’ first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. cheap nike nfl jerseys china During that contest, Cleveland built a 17-point lead at halftime and ended up losing both Hill — who hurt his back after a hard screen by Indiana’s Trevor Booker — and the game.
The Cavs used a starting lineup of Korver, Smith, James, Love and Tristan Thompson in their 105-101 Game 7 win over the Pacers, and Thompson came up huge with 15 points and 10 rebounds after getting the promotion.
Hill, who missed Games 4, 5 and 6 against Indiana because of his back injury, also was instrumental in Game 7, coming off the bench to contribute 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block — all in the second half of the series finale.
“He’s feeling good, no pain,” Lue said when asked about Hill’s health. “So, that’s a good sign for us.”
Hill also had his best offensive game as a Cav in a 132-129 regular-season win over the Raptors on March 21, scoring 22 points on 10-for-11 shooting.
While Thompson didn’t start Game 1 in Toronto, Lue said he would give Thompson playing time in this series when asked about it at shootaround Tuesday. Prior to playing 35 minutes in Game 7 against Indiana, Thompson played just 23 minutes total in Games 1 through 6, collecting three DNP-CDs.
Cleveland has used four different starting lineups through eight games this postseason, after using 30 different lineups in the regular season, as the Cavs dealt with pervasive injuries and a midseason roster shuffle at the trade deadline.
“Just trying to find what works best for us,” Lue said of all the lineups. “Just who is playing the best at that time. As far as matchups go, the playoffs are matchup-driven. So, buy nike nfl jerseys cheap depending on the matchups, we like to roll our guys out first and just see what happens — and if we have to adjust, we will adjust.”
