Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 adjustments for Game 4 vs. Warriors

2. Bench Tristan Thompson

Think I’m crazy? Hear me out.

In three games so far against the Warriors, Tristan Thompson has averaged a pitiful 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds. That’s fewer rebounds per game than Steph Curry has in this series (6.0 per game). The whole point of having Thompson on the floor is to take advantage of an undersized Warriors team on the glass. If he can’t pull down more rebounds than the opposing team’s point guard, then he has no business being on the court.

It’s not just the rebounding that’s the trouble with Thompson though. The trouble is that he is contributing absolutely nothing in any other category (unless you consider talking trash to Draymond Green a contribution). He doesn’t block shots (just two blocks in 77 minutes in this series), he can’t shoot the ball and he’s constantly getting man-handled in the paint and dunked on by players half his size:

I’m not saying Thompson should get zero minutes in Game 4, but the Cavs are on the brink of elimination and if he isn’t going to play like a big man, then it’s time to bring in someone smaller who can at least run with the Warriors. Kevin Love can slide over to center and Jeff Green can play power forward. At least this lineup has a chance to keep pace with the Warriors.