After the Cleveland Cavaliers' lost to the Spurs in San Antonio Tuesday night, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue told reporters that he was going to make a change to the Cavs' starting lineup. Today, it was revealed that Tristan Thompson will replace Jae Crowder in the starting five as the Cavs look to get out of a funk that has seen the team drop 11 of their last 15 games.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Thompson will return to the starting lineup, which already includes Isaiah Thomas and J.R. Smith as well as LeBron James and Kevin Love. The new starting unit will return to the court tomorrow night in Cleveland when the Cavs, 27-19 host the 26-22 Indiana Pacers.
The Cavaliers' recent struggles on the court have been exacerbated by a recent team meeting in which several players questioned the legitimacy of Kevin Love's illness which caused him to leave Saturday's blowout loss to OKC early. According to reports, it was actually Isaiah Thomas who 'led the charge' against Kevin Love.
LeBron James was asked about the drama prior to the Cavs' loss to San Antonio on Tuesday night but he didn't want to talk about it, according to Tom Withers of the Associated Press. Withers also spoke with Love who said, "Did I feel like a target? I think everybody, most people, were a target. We’re trying to figure this thing out. People hold themselves to a very high standard on this team and we’re a team that can compete at the highest level."