Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2018-19

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 18: Rodney Hood #1 and Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers exchange a high five in Game Two of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacerson April 18, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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3. Tristan Thompson

Tristan Thompson has been much maligned for quite a bit of time now. Not only is his production hard to quantify, but many believe the only reason for his $82 million contract signed back in 2015 was due to the presence of a certain player who also happened to be represented by the same agency.

Following a fairly successful 2018 NBA Playoffs in which he played a key role in the Cavaliers’ run to the Finals, Thompson seems to have re-proven his worth just a little bit, but that still won’t stop people from believing his value only exists next to LeBron James.

Tristan Thompson asked about the Cavs being written off post-LeBron. Points out all the other times the Cavs have been written off in the past four years - series by series. “We’re used to that” #3Cavs pic.twitter.com/YXGo4Gl6VZ
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 24, 2018

He’s never really been much of an offensive threat aside from uncontested looks right at the rim, but more often than not he brings a lot of energy to both ends of the court by relentlessly attacking the glass.

There’s still a role for Thompson in Cleveland, but if he isn’t able to find his niche, it will be hard to convince anyone he isn’t who James made him out to be.

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