Cleveland Cavaliers’ coach Tyronn Lue had some high praise for star Kevin Love, but is not ready to shake up the lineup too much from last season. Aside from Kyrie Irving, who was dealt to the rival Boston Celtics, expect to see a similar Cavaliers starting five. From cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, Lue stopped short of saying Love would start at center over workhorse Tristan Thompson. ESPN’s Zach Lowe mentioned in his article that the oft-forgotten Love could slide to center with newcomer Jae Crowder in the starting lineup.
“Right now we’re just trying to get all of our pieces together and right now Tristan’s our starter,” Lue told cleveland.com. “I’m just thinking we’re going to run a lot more stuff through Kevin, more at the elbows, like we’ve done the last year and a half. Just trying to figure out with our new pieces and our new players and just see what works best for us.” Since joining Cleveland in 2014, Kevin Love has slowly played better over the years. Last season in particular he averaged 19 points and 11.1 rebounds per game en route to being named an All-Star.
It may be early to discuss starting lineups and combinations, but Tyronn Lue touched on it briefly. “Got a lot of different combinations we can throw out on the floor,” Lue said. “So with Bron and Crowder playing the three and the four, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Kevin will be at the five. It can be Tristan, it can be Channing (Frye).” Out of all of the players, Lue has credited Love with sacrificing the most. Now, he also says the big man has endured more than his fair share of criticism.
“Every year I’ve been here Kevin’s name comes up in trade talks, which isn’t fair to him,” Lue continued. “It always comes up, which is what people want to throw out there every single time. But I think Kevin just being mature and being elite for so long he understands the business. He’s definitely progressing and has gotten better and better and better each year here. That’s what we love to see.” The Cavaliers are hoping that progression comes together now that Love is the second scoring option, at least until Isaiah Thomas comes back at full strength.
