The small-ball Warriors jumped to an 8-2 lead in Game 5, practically running Timofey Mozgov off the court for most of the rest of the game.
David Blatt defended the strategy of sitting Mozgov, but the Cavaliers coach also wouldn’t say whether he’d repeat it in Game 6.
LeBron James let the cat out of the bag – at least about the first few minutes of the contest.
Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com:
LeBron James says they will start the same starting lineup and see what happens from there.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 16, 2015
That’s be LeBron, Mozgov, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson.
I’m not sure whether LeBron is revealing Blatt’s plan, dictating the plan himself or even telling the truth.
Starting Mozgov might be the right move. I don’t think it will work, but I don’t think benching Mozgov would work either. The Warriors are the better team, and most Cleveland strategies are bound to fail.
The Cavs just don’t have enough depth to tinker too much. Their perimeter players are already overextended, and the more Mozgov sits to go small, the more they play.
Blatt has shown a willingness to adjust quickly. Just because Mozgov starts doesn’t mean he’ll play major minutes. But it at least buys J.R. Smith a few minutes extra rest. If Cleveland goes small, Smith will have to play a lot.