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Showing posts from March, 2016

Setting the Cavs Playoff Rotation

Coach Tyronn Lue--much like every Cavs coach since the days of Lenny Wilkens and Mike Fratello--has taken a lot of criticism for juggling the lineup. Fans are concerned that the Cavs do not have a set rotation, a lineup that they roll out day in and day out. The truth is that Lue is trying to do what he needs to do. Take a look around the league, not just this season, but every season. Even the best teams make changes to their lineup, and they do this throughout the playoffs.  Contrary to popular opinion in Cleveland, successful NBA basketball does not consist of sending out the same exact lineup every game. As the Cavaliers and Warriors know from last season, there are two obvious reasons for making lineup changes: injuries and matchups. While Cleveland changed its lineup to cover for injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, Golden State increased and decreased usage of David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, and Marreese Speights--including sitting all four of them--in order to g