ATLANTA: Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue made a subtle but important change to his rotation early on in this postseason when he removed Kyrie Irving from the second unit and inserted LeBron James.
It has turned into the second-most productive lineup the Cavs have in these playoffs. James, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye have started the second quarter in every game since Game 2 against the Detroit Pistons. They entered Friday’s Game 3 outscoring the opponent by 4.6 points when they’re on the floor together.
The only lineup that’s better that the Cavs use consistently is their starting unit, which is outscoring teams by more than 10 points a game.