Today, at 3:00 p.m. EST, the NBA’s defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers kick off their defense of the Larry O’Brien trophy with a first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers inside Quicken Loans Arena.
In the closing phases of the regular season, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue experimented with several different lineups when the team had the rare chance to practice. Some of those lineups actually came to fruition in games, including one with LeBron James at the center (five) position.
After Fridays practice, Lue, who has been staying up rather late to study his first-round advisary, was asked if James, a small forward, might be seen in the paint more often. The second-year head coach gave a cheeky reply.
Via Chris Fedor of cleveland.com:
“My thing is just touch on it and see how it looks so we can have a feel for how to play that way,” Lue said. “In the playoffs, it’s a game of adjustments and what you can do best and you throw the other team off. So we just tried a lot of things this season, just see what works best, a lot of different lineups. And it could play a role, it could play a factor in the playoffs.
“Just a game of chicken and you gotta see what happens.”
With all of the injuries to his team this season — especially the front-court — coach Lue’s hand was often forced. There were a few instances earlier this season in which James played the center position. According to nbawowy, the strategy has been efficient. The Cavs outscored opponents by 26 points in 83 total minutes when using James at center.
Inserting James at center creates a big spacing problem for the opposing side. While it’s true The King isn’t seven feet tall, he is extremely agile, 260 pounds, and would draw defending big men out of the paint, creating open driving lanes to the rim for his teammates. James would also be able to run up and down the floor with much greater pace than a traditional center. And let’s not forget his passing abilities.
“If he’s our biggest guy on the floor, he has to rebound a lot more,” Lue said of James playing the center position. “But then that also creates another mismatch for the team that’s playing against us. If Bron’s at the 5, then they’ve got to put a 5 on someone, a bigger guy on somebody.”
Coach Lue told reporters after Fridays practice that he doesn’t plan on using a James-at-center lineup right away. He wants to keep a few tricks in his back pocket for later use.
When asked about playing the center position, James says nothing changes and his leadership will remain the same.
“Nothing changes for me, not in the postseason,” James said. “I am who I am in the postseason. I am who I am all year, but I get even more locked in throughout the postseason, understanding the magnitude of the games. So nothing changes for me.
“I’ve got to be the leader of this team every night I step on the floor,” James continued. “I’ve got to command these guys and put them in the right positions to be successful and I’ve got to do it on both ends. If I do that, we’ve got a good chance.”