The drama within the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room continues as Tristan Thompson addressed the team’s issues. After getting tapped to reprise his old role as the Cavs’ starting center, Thompson made sure everyone knew that all he cares about is playing well on the court.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue decided to make a change with his starters after losing to the San Antonio Spurs 114-102 on Tuesday, their sixth loss in seven games.
Tristan Thompson will replace Jae Crowder, who has not played consistently coming over via trade from Boston, in the starting lineup. With Thompson at center, Kevin Love will slide back to his natural position of power forward with LeBron James playing small forward again.
Asked about the team’s fragmented locker room, Thompson’s answer revealed much about their chemistry issues right now.
“Finger-pointing? Just because y’all are reporting everything doesn’t mean that’s facts, unless someone was in there snitching,” Thompson said. “But I wouldn’t say it’s finger-pointing. I think we all have to be better. Everyone has to look in the mirror and be 1 percent better for the team. That will help us out a lot.”
“I mean, you go to work every day, and you might not like a guy,” Thompson said. “You might not like the guy you work with. So it’s part of life, but at the end of the day when we’re between these lines, we got to play for one another and that’s all that matters. I don’t care if X don’t like X off the court. I really don’t give a s—. As long as you’re on the court playing hard and playing for each other, that’s all that matters to me. We don’t got to talk to each other off the court. As long as we talk on the court, on the defensive end, that’s all that matters to me.”
The Cavaliers play the Indiana Pacers at home Friday night.
We’ll see if the Cavs take Thompson’s words to heart and if he is going to do the same.