The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs on Monday night when they defeated the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers aren't sure who they will be playing in the first round yet, but it will be either the Detroit Pistons or the Indiana Pacers, two teams they will be heavily favored against.
Despite all of the commotion surrounding the Cavaliers all season and the turmoil they have been through, they are still the heavy favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. When and if they get to the finals, that will be a different story, but a lot of people expect a rematch between the Cavs and the Warriors.
A big key to last year's postseason run, without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, was Tristan Thompson. Thompson is one of the best offensive rebounders in all of basketball, which is a nice asset for a team to have. Because of that and other factors, the Cavaliers have decided to go with Thompson in the starting lineup the rest of the way over Timofey Mozgov.
Thompson has been in and out of the starting lineup all season, but making this choice now makes a lot of sense. On the one hand Thompson is just a better, more valuable player right now. We already mentioned the rebounding (he's averaging 9.1 per game), but he also is a better and more versatile defender than Mozgov is. The 25-year-old forward/center won't score all that much, but the Cavs' starting unit doesn't need him to. Plus, his offensive contribution comes from getting extra possessions by crashing the offensive glass.
On the other hand this makes sense long-term, too. Mozgov is in the final year of his deal with the Cavaliers and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Cavaliers are not expected to bring Mozgov back, but they just signed Thompson to a long-term deal that will keep him in Cleveland through 2020. If Mozgov gave the Cavs a better chance to win a title this season he would be starting, but he doesn't, and Thompson is the future center anyway, so head coach Tyronn Lue is making the correct choice.
The bigger question regarding Mozgov for the playoffs is if he will have any role at all. The answer just might be no because he is actually hurting the team when he has been on the floor, and the Cavaliers like to go small to spread the floor. Mozgov played just eight minutes two games ago for the Cavaliers and was a DNP - coach's decision on Monday night, so he is clearly being phased out as the playoffs are set to start.
