NBA: Lue confesses: Celtics lineup “threw us off course

The Boston Celtics won Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers partly because they changed their lineup as expected. That’s what Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said afterwards.

It was already speculated in the days before Game 5 that Boston would change the Starting Five and take in Aron Baynes, which they did. Backup-Forward Semi Ojeleye also dropped out of the rotation and was not used in the game.

As a result, the Cavaliers did not use Kyle Korver in the first quarter, which Boston clearly dominated. “Previously, Stevens had always substituted Ojeleye, and that was Kyle’s matchup when he was in the game, so to speak. The fact that it was not used today upset us,” Lue explained at the subsequent press conference.

Korver was Cleveland’s third best scorer in the playoffs after Kevin Love and LeBron James. If he scored at least 12 points, the Cavs are unbeaten in eight games. In game 5, the sniper scored only 7 points in 18 minutes.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the home team has always won, before Cleveland 3-2 for Boston. Match 6 takes place on Saturday night at the Quicken Loans Arena (2.30 live on DAZN).