It’s not a good time to be Tristan Thompson these days. Already embroiled in a controversial mess with alleged cheating on pregnant girlfriend Khloe Kardashian, Thompson is supposed to find a break away from his personal issues through basketball, but how could that be possible if the Cleveland Cavaliers are not even letting him loose on the court?
That’s one of the minor takeaways one could have following the Cavs’ 98-80 home loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the two teams’ matchup in the first round.
Tristan Thompson was left chilling on the sidelines by the Cavs for most of the game. He only broke a sweat very late in the game when Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue plucked him from the deep end of the bench when there only around two minutes left in regulation. In those pair of minutes spent running up and down the court, Thompson still managed to appear on the stat sheet by plucking down a defensive rebound. That’s it. He did not even try to attempt a field goal shot.
Instead of Thompson, the Cavaliers opted to give the bulk of the frontcourt minutes to Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr, who played 34 and 30 minutes respectively.
If Thompson’s minimal playing time in Game 1 was a start to a trend, then these playoffs is going to be a humbling experience for the 27-year-old big man, who a season ago averaged 31.2 minutes per game in the postseason.
The Cavs obviously need to make adjustments after getting ripped apart by Indiana in Game 1, but it remains to be seen whether Thompson is going to be part of Cleveland’s plan for Game 2.