Several Cleveland Cavaliers fans were confused by head coach Tyronn Lue's decision to not play Kyle Korver at any point in the first quarter of Game 5 last night against the Boston Celtics. Many were baffled even further by the reasons why he didn't play him.The Celtics won 96-83 against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night at the TD Garden in Boston. Jayson Tatum was the Celtics best player on the court, as he finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks while shooting 7-of-15 from the field.By the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers were already down 32-19 on the scoreboard, and they didn't really get back into the game after that. Arguably, Lue should have brought on Korver at some point in the quarter, but he decided not to.Korver failed to log a second of playing time in the first quarter, finishing with seven points and an assist in a little over 18 minutes of action. It was a confusing decision for the Cavaliers head coach to not play him, and his reasoning for not doing so is just as baffling
No Ojeleye, No Korver
According to Sporting News, Lue explained that the reason behind not playing Korver was down to the fact the Celtics didn't play Semi Ojeleye. Ojeleye was Korver's matchup in the game, so when they didn't play him, the Cavs head coach opted not to bring Korver in until later in the game.
He said: "Well, initially [Celtics coach Brad Stevens has] been putting [Semi] Ojeleye in, so that's been kind of Kyle's matchup when he comes in the game. When he didn't play him tonight, it kind of threw us for a loop."
It's fair to say that Cavs fans are definitely confused by Lue's decision.
The Cavs were outscored 32-19 in the first quarter and shot only 7-of-17 from the field, a statistic which Korver might have been able to help change. When he has scored at least 12 points, Cleveland is 8-0 in the postseason, and when he has hit at least four 3-pointers, the Cavs are 7-0.
He certainly doesn't play as big of an effect on the outcome of the game in the Cavaliers favour as LeBron James does, but history shows that it might not have been wise for Lue to sit Korver in the first quarter just because a guy who has averaged 2.5 points per game in the Eastern Conference Finals isn't on the court.
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