2. Thompson Shows Shades Of 2016 In First Start Of 2018 Postseason- It wasn’t until Saturday that Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue decided to make his fourth lineup change of the first-round series. Thank goodness for the last-minute thinking or the Cavs could be spending their Monday a whole lot different.
After logging all of 24 minutes combined in the first six contests, Thompson amassed all of his previous time spent on the floor in Game 7. In 34:54, the former starting center turned back the clock for Cleveland and gave them a showing that made most remember the 2016 postseason. It was then when Thompson became the Cavaliers’ version of the Energizer Bunny, running all around the parameters of the court to snatch up loose rebounds and track down pesky guards. After waiting all season for it, that “Double T” came out to play.
A double-double performance gave life to a team that had none of it in the post. Cleveland couldn’t manufacture much out of All-Star power forward Kevin Love and it became a real issue for the other bigs trotted out there to not even score, but rebound. Thompson checked both boxes.
It hasn’t gone as planned for Thompson this season, both on and off the court. But when his number was called, he came through. That’s what a player familiar in the playoff environment does.
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