Cleveland Cavaliers Considering Starting Kevin Love at Center Over Tristan Thompson
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has previously said they would continue to start Tristan Thompson at center this season even though they're planning to play Kevin Love more at the position. However, that statement was made before the start of training camp and it seemed that he might have changed his mind since then.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Lue is now considering relegating Thompson to the bench in favor of Love.
"Spacing opportunities, spacing the floor. Being able to play through the elbows with multiple guys," Lue said of the benefits of playing Love at center, via ESPN.
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Love has manned the pivot in stretches before when the Cavaliers utilized a small-ball lineup in the past few seasons, but he has never been used as a full-time center. That may change this season.
"We did a lot of that last training camp, but as far as how the sets are put together right now throughout training camp I am seeing a pretty significant amount of time there," Love said, according to cleveland.com.
"Tristan is a very dynamic roller, guy that plays a lot as a dunker. Myself, I have to play inside-out, mix that up and really take what the defense gives you. But it gives us a different look," he added.
Thompson is an excellent offensive rebounder and his defense has continued to improve over the years. However, he's still largely known as a one-trick pony who doesn't do much on the offensive end of the floor, and opposing centers tend to sag off of him when he's at the elbow.
Defenders cannot do that when they are guarding Love since he's a legitimate threat from the perimeter. Thompson is a better defender, but Love can lure opposing centers away from the paint to free up more space for LeBron James to operate, and it will also allow the Cavaliers to start Jae Crowder at forward.
