Cleveland Cavaliers: Larry Nance Jr., Tristan Thompson Won’t Start In NBA Playoffs

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue revealed some big news after the Cavs came from behind in the fourth quarter to score a huge win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night. Lue stated that he would not start either of his big men, Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr., in the playoffs.

According to an April 6 report by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Cleveland Cavaliers will continue to play Jeff Green along with LeBron James, Kevin Love, and the rest of the starting five. Coach Tyronn Lue made the announcement on Thursday saying that he likes Green’s “versatility,” adding that they can play him on any number of their Eastern Conference foes, such as DeMar DeRozan, John Wall, Bradley Beal, or Victor Oladipo.

Coach Lue added that starting Jeff Green gives the Cleveland Cavaliers “another ball handler on the floor” and makes them better. Although Cavs fans know that Tyronn and Jeff have a personal friendship off the court, the coach says that the decision doesn’t have anything to do with playing favorites, adding that he believes Green has gotten comfortable playing with LeBron James and Kevin Love in the first unit.

Jeff Green will be starting in the five spot over Cavs big man Tristan Thompson, who used to be the team’s starting center. However, lackluster play and injuries have led to Thompson losing the spot. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s newest big man, Larry Nance Jr., who was acquired at the trade deadline, is a huge fan favorite among the crowd and always brings energy off the bench. Nance, whose father also played for the wine and gold, has fit in nicely with the second unit as well as the first five and could be a major factor come playoff time.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have to figure out their playoff rotation quickly, as in recent years they have only been running an eight-man rotation for the postseason. However, over the course of the regular season fans have been seeing healthy doses of Cedi Osman, Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jose Calderone, Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., JR Smith, Kyle Korver, and Jordan Clarkson along with their All-Stars LeBron James and Kevin Love.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night before finishing up the regular season with two games against the New York Knicks next week.