Cavs Notes: Ty Lue considering starting Tristan Thompson in Game 2

It's no secret that the Cavs' defense had big problems in Game 1. The Celtics attacked the paint at will against them and punished their lack of rim protection and mobility in the interior.

One player who provides an upgrade in both of those areas at the center spot is Tristan Thompson, and Ty Lue acknowledged that he is strongly considering going with a bigger look in his starting five on Tuesday.

"It's definitely something we have to weigh," Lue said. "We weighed it before the series started. But we won seven out of eight, and we weren't going to adjust until someone beat us. We had played well with that lineup, and it got us to this point."

Thompson had a solid Game 1 for the Cavs off the bench (eight points, 11 rebounds in 21 minutes) but his role in this postseason has been limited for Cleveland. He has started just one game for the Cavs over their first two rounds and is averaging just 5.2 points and 5.1 rebounds over 15 minutes per game.

The Cavs went away from Thompson in their series against the Pacers largely based on the need to add to their floor spacing. Thompson is a terrific offensive rebounder but does not have a reliable jump shot, which allows defense to pack the paint more.

That's a concerning factor for a Cavs team that scored just 83 points in Game 1 against the Celtics even after deploying an offense-first starting five. 

However, the bigger concerns for Lue right now might be on the defensive end and that's where Thompson can be deployed to try to slow down Al Horford. 

"Looking at the statistics over the last three years," Lue explained. "Of at least 30 possessions, out of all the guys that guarded Al Horford, Tristan has been No. 1 in the league defending Al Horford. That's a good thing to know."

Thompson spoke about what he can do to slow down the All-Star, who scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in Game 1.

"Just be myself, be active, be active early," he said. "Horford is playing very well right now, and he's shooting the crap out of the ball. When I do check into the game, whether it's him or (Aron) Baynes, I just try to run the floor, set pick-and-rolls, just try to work them on both ends so that hopefully by the second half his legs might be a little tired where he might not make that three that he makes in the first half. That's what I try to do."

If Thompson does start, look for Kyle Korver or J.R. Smith to be sent to the bench. At that point, the Celtics would need to make a decision about whether they want to use a more traditional big (Baynes) to match up with Thompson on D, or stick with their smallball starting five with Marcus Morris at power forward.

Boston would be very vulnerable on the glass against Love and Thompson with that group, but they would also have some considerable speed mismatches on the offensive end. It'll be a tough choice for Stevens to weigh heading into Game 2.

Teammates expect a big bounce-back from LeBron 

After playing his worst game of the postseason on Sunday, Thompson believes we'll see special things from James on Tuesday night.

"I mean, usually when LeBron has these kinds of games, the next game he does something legendary," Thompson said. "But at the same time, we can't rely on that. Our job is to be able to help him and be effective. The more effective we are, the more it opens up for him. Boston does do a good job clogging the paint, so if our shooters have to make shots, if our bigs have to get offensive rebounds and finish around the rim to open stuff up, that's what we've got to do."

"I expect him to have a big response," Kevin Love added. "He's always done it, even before he came back to Cleveland, he's always responded big, and I imagine it'll be a lot like -- what was that, Game 2 against Indiana, too, we had a really tough loss, and he came out and played very well and started that game off extremely well. So I just mean he's going to approach this game as one that he's going to have to lead and bounce back."