Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was not too happy after his team fell behind 2-0 to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. The Cavs bench boss took it out on a reporter with a snarky comment after he was asked about his decision to keep Rodney Hood in the rotation.
“I want him there…I’m going to keep playing him, so he’ll be better. In Game 1 he played well…so that’s why I went with him.”
In Game 2, both LeBron James and Kevin Love played well, but Hood and the rest of the Cavs bench were nowhere to be found. He played 11 minutes, putting up two points, two rebounds, and one assist. His play wasn’t terrible, but he didn’t offer much in terms of positives to help the Cavs win.
Hood has found himself back in the rotation, even after he refused to enter Game 4 of their series against the Toronto Raptors. He later apologized, and the organization decided not to punish him.
The Cavs and Lue are going to have to find some guys off the bench that can help James and Love, or they will be falling behind in this series 3-0. James put up 42 points and Love added 22, and these weren’t enough and the Cavs can’t expect much more out of those two guys.
The only improvement the Cavs can muster will have to come from the supporting crew. Lue also had some interesting lineup combinations in Game 2, especially during the third quarter, and those are going to need to be figured out. From the sounds of Lue’s comments, it does seem like Hood will continue to be a part of the lineup.
