CLEVELAND -- With the Cleveland Cavaliers facing a win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue is changing up his starting lineup Sunday to maximize the championship experience on his ball club.
Even though George Hill is available to play after missing the past three games with back spasms, Lue will start LeBron James at point guard and Tristan Thompson at center, as those two will join JR Smith, Kyle Korver and Kevin Love in the first five.
Four of those players -- James, Thompson, Smith and Love -- are the only remaining members of the Cavs 2016 championship team. And all five of them are the only holdovers from last year's team that lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in five games.
Lue has lamented Indiana's physicality throughout the series. Thompson's insertion into the starting lineup will be in hopes to combat that.
Hill, who has received at least five anti-inflammatory injections since Game 3 to try to get back onto the court, went through drills with the team Saturday.
"Just having the extra ball handler is big, especially in this series, the way they're trying to pick us up full court," Lue said of Hill's availability. "Pressure wing catches, pressure the elbow catches, so having extra ball handlers is key for this series."
