After coming off the bench in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 4 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, Kevin Love returned to the starting lineup on Monday. Cleveland won handily, cutting Golden State’s series lead to 3-2, but Love scored just two points despite the absence of Draymond Green. Green’s suspension should have opened the door for a monster Love game, since Green is uniquely equipped to hamper Love at both ends of the floor.
But despite Love’s struggles in Game 5, and Green’s impending return for Thursday’s Game 6, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue has already said that Love will remain in the starting lineup.
With Draymond Green returning for Game 6, Tyronn Lue says Kevin Love will remain in the starting lineup.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 14, 2016
There are a couple of questions here. First: Why? Love can’t guard Green in any way, and Green’s ability to defend all five positions inside and on the perimeter would figure to make Love ineffective once again.
Secondly, why would Lue commit publicly to a starting lineup three days before the next game, unless it’s as a ruse? Lue could be taking a page from Steve Kerr’s book.
Leading into Game 4 of the 2015 Finals, with the Cavs leading the Warriors 2-1, Kerr told reporters that he was sticking with Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup, despite the team’s success with a smaller unit in. But by game time, Kerr had pulled Bogut and inserted Andre Iguodala in his place, moving Green to center. From there, the Warriors won the next three games in a row and ultimately closed out the Cavs in six games. After that game, Kerr admitted to straight-up lying about his starting lineup.
It’s possible Lue is trying to do the same thing, to trick the Warriors into game-planning for Love as a starter before moving Richard Jefferson back into the first unit. The problem is, it doesn’t matter what he does: the Warriors are more talented, and they’ll be prepared for any lineup the Cavs decide to throw out there, especially with Green back in the picture. And Kerr, having pulled this same trick last year, isn’t dumb. He’s not going to take Lue’s words at face value and then be blindsided when the 35-year-old Jefferson is on the court at tipoff.
But when you’re facing elimination in the Finals, you have to get creative, and that’s what Lue could be trying to do here.
