Kyle Korver’s role for the Cleveland Cavaliers is as a floor-spacing shooter and occasional microwave scorer from the bench — the kind of player who can thrive from the defensive chaos that follows LeBron James into the paint like a tornado. But in Wednesday’s Game 5 loss to the Celtics, he didn’t see the court in the first quarter and played just 19 minutes, all because of ...Semi Ojeleye?
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue only played Kyle Korver 19 Game 5 minutes due to ... Semi Ojeleye?
Tyronn Lue’s excuse for sitting Korver early in a loss was due to Brad Stevens’ rotations.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
That was Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue’s excuse when asked why his three-point marksman made his briefest playoff appearance since Cleveland’s first game of the opening round. He blamed Korver’s relatively sparse playing time — he logged seven fewer minutes than Jeff Green and just four more than bad shot robot Jordan Clarkson — on the fact Brad Stevens failed to insert bench player Ojeleye into the game.
“Initially [Celtics coach Brad Stevens] has been putting Ojeleye in, so that’s kinda been Kyle’s matchup when he comes in the game,” Lue told reporters after the game. “But [Stevens] didn’t play him tonight, so it kind of, you know, threw us for a loop.”
Ojeleye is a useful rotation piece for Boston, but he’d also averaged just 13.3 minutes per game vs. the Cavs heading into Wednesday’s showdown. Tying Korver’s playing time to a rookie forward whose minutes have yo-yoed anywhere from one to 31 this postseason seems like an unpredictable and low-yield gamble. In Game 5, that wager went bust for Lue.
Korver had been a key component of Cleveland’s resurgence in the Eastern Conference finals. The veteran sharpshooter scored 14 points in each of his team’s home court wins to tie the series at two games apiece. More importantly, he was uber efficient in the process, hitting nine of his 12 shots from the field, making 67% of his three-point attempts, and even blocking three shots in Game 4.
That hot streak ended in Boston as Lue struggled to find a role for him. Instead, Clarkson, Kevin Love and JR Smith served as the team’s primary floor spacers with little success. The trio went a combined 4-18 from long range. Korver, despite his limited minutes, was the only Cavalier to shoot better than 29 percent from behind the arc while taking more than two three-pointers.
But he only got 19 minutes to jump-start his team’s offense Wednesday. All because of Semi Ojeleye and Brad Stevens’ unpredictable rotations.
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