Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 adjustments for Game 4 vs. Warriors
3. Give Rodney Hood more minutes
It’s crazy to think that a player who has barely seen the court for the entirety of the playoffs might be the only hope for the Cavs to win Game 4. The most newsworthy thing Rodney Hood did this season was refuse to play in garbage time against the Toronto Raptors in the second round. Other than that he has been completely irrelevant since being traded to the Cavs back in February.
However, after Jordan Clarkson‘s disastrous play in the first two games of the series (and just in general, really) head coach Tyronn Lue made the decision reach deep into his bench and give Hood a chance in Game 3. The gamble paid off surprisingly well, as the veteran guard went for 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with two blocks and zero turnovers in 25 minutes off the bench.
Rodney Hood deserves a ton of credit for being physically and mentally ready to play in this game after such a long break. What a game.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 7, 2018
Hood was huge for the Cavs in this game, playing with tremendous energy and coming up with some very timely buckets in the fourth quarter. He was so good that Lue opted to leave him on the court in crunch time. He scored the third-most points of any Cavalier, behind LeBron James and Kevin Love. This is mostly a testament to how awful the supporting cast around LeBron is, but the fact remains that Hood was ready to play and had an immediate positive impact for his team.
If the Cavs want a chance of winning Game 4, they have to find a way to get Hood more than 25 minutes, because right now he is one of the only role players on the team capable of hitting a shot.