Cavaliers Tristan Thompson changed game 4 by changing his game

Cavaliers Tristan Thompson changed game 4 by changing his game

OAKLAND — Through three games of his third NBA Finals, Tristan Thompson had been varying degrees of trash (his word) and has been on the receiving end of some trash talk, too.

The Cavaliers’ spark plug, their selfless energizer, seemed low on batteries. His production was down, his minutes were down, and his team was down 0-3 to the Golden State Warriors.

And he was hearing about it. Some commentators — former Toronto Raptor Jalen Rose — went so far as to invoke the “Kardashian Curse” as an explanation for his poor play, a reference to his celebrity girlfriend and how being swept up in the drama that surrounds one of television’s first families has, coincidentally or not, been an issue for previous NBA players in their orbit.

But there was a perfectly good basketball explanation for Thompson’s struggles. In a way, it was a compliment to the 26-year-old from Brampton, Ont.

After two Finals in which his brand of havoc had tipped the balance in so many games, the Warriors have altered their tactics this time around. They assigned Zaza Pachulia, their most physical frontline player, the task of keeping his wide body between Thompson and the basket, and it worked. Where in the past they would help off Thompson and he would exploit the space for put-backs and tap-outs, in the first three games of this series they stymied him by paying attention to him. The Warriors also did a good job making sure that he was accounted for when he sprinted the floor looking for easy baskets in transition.

The new approach worked as Thompson was rendered a non-factor, averaging just 3.7 rebounds a game and shooting just 36.4 per cent from the floor. Warriors guard Steph Curry had more than twice as many rebounds (29) through the first three games as Thompson did. Last year against Golden State, Thompson averaged 10.3 points and 10.1 rebounds on 63.6 per cent shooting while leading all the regulars on both teams in both offensive rating (137 points per 100 possessions) and net rating (+28).

In Game 4, Thompson finally looked like his old self, generating 10 rebounds, four on the offensive end, to go with five points and a playoff career-high five assists.

He changed the game by changing his game.

"They’ve been doing a good job keying on me and keeping me off the glass [but] it’s a long series," said Thompson in a jammed and lively Cavaliers dressing room late Friday night. "I’ve been being active, using my quickness, moving my feet and not so much trying to power, muscle to muscle. Every series is different. The series before [against Indiana, Toronto and Boston] I was physically stronger than those guys so I was able to out-muscle them. But this one I have to be a little smarter, use my legs and quickness to get open and free myself to get offensive rebounds."

But it wasn’t just the numbers. With his girlfriend Khloe Kardashian, her sister Kourtney and mother Kris Jenner in attendance — the sisters sat courtside in matching Cavs No. 13 jerseys while their mom shared a suite with Thompson’s mother, Andrea — Thompson played like he wanted to make an impression.

His first touch came when he out-jostled Pachulia for an offensive board and slickly dished it to a cutting LeBron James for a basket and a foul. His next offensive rebound was deftly sent out to Kevin Love on the weak side for a three. He was a thorn in the side of Warriors’ agitator Draymond Green all night, running him down in transition on a couple of occasions and forcing a turnover from him on another.

Thompson’s best quarter was the first quarter, and it was part of the reason the Cavaliers set a Finals record with 49 points in the opening 12 minutes.

As the game went on and the tempers flared, Thompson stood tall, giving it right back to Green, one of the league’s loudest trash talkers. He wouldn’t comment about the nature of the conversations, but one can imagine.

"It’s the Finals. You know? Guys are going to talk, you’re going to respond," said Thompson. "But he’s not going to punk us. Not me. S**t. You ain’t going to punk Tristan Thompson. You got your game f****d up with that, so you can talk all you want, I’m definitely going to bark back, that’s just how I was built."

And as for the Kardashian clan showing up in numbers?

"It’s great to have the family come out in support," said Thompson.

On the ABC broadcast, Jeff Van Gundy made a point of calling out those who tried to make the connection between Thompson’s struggles and the Kardashians, saying those that did owed them an apology.

Whatever the source, Thompson’s renewed fire was noted and much needed by the Cavs as they faced elimination.

"He played with a chip on his shoulder," said Dahntay Jones. "He let everything go out the window and he played his best. He was a big part of our win because he played with an edge and he fought back. He was intense and he was ferocious out there and that’s how we need him to play."

James had noted Thompson’s slump. The Cavs star is a mentor of sorts to Thompson; they share an agent in Rich Paul and often have their lockers side-by-side on the road. The two spoke before Game 4, and James stressed how much the Cavs needed Thompson at his best.

"He knows what I expect out of him," said James. "He’s a big piece of our puzzle. We all know that. He’s been huge for our success the last three years, and they did a — they have done a great job of putting him in the game plan and neutralizing what he does best, and that’s offensive rebound and giving us extra possessions. And it’s been very tough on him in this Finals so far. But he didn’t get down on himself. He came through when we needed him the most, and that was tonight, getting 10 rebounds and also dishing out five assists. So that was big time."

The Cavs will need Thompson at his best again in Game 5 as Cleveland tries to extend the series to a sixth game with a win at Oracle Arena, repeating their success last year after trailing 3-1.

Having solved the Warriors’ approach to defending him for at least one night, Thompson is eager to go at it again.

"One game at a time," he said. "Most important game is Game 5 at Oracle, but guess what? We’ve been here before."