One Adjustment That Could Change Everything for Cavaliers

It's no secret, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a battle now with the Toronto Raptors.

The Cavs took the first two games in Cleveland at Rocket Arena, but once the series shifted to Toronto, they couldn't add to their lead and gave Game 4 away. Now, the series is a best two out of three, while the Cavs have the advantage of two of the games being at home if needed, some necessary changes need to be made.

One of those is leaning more into the bigs and using a bit more help on the boards. That's where Thomas Bryant can be of help to the team.

While I'm not saying bench Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley by any means, the Cavaliers need a little bit more size and toughness in this series, and that's where Thomas Bryant comes into play. The up-and-down play of Dennis Schroeder has been highlighted in this series, and Kenny Atkinson is starting to take Keon Ellis from the rotation in this series, little by little. Here are the big reasons Bryant can help the Cavs.

Stretching the Floor:

Jarrett Allen obviously isn't a three-point shooter, and Evan Mobley's shot has been hit or miss through the season.

Bryant was a 36% 3 point shooter this season on 2.2 attempts per game. While that might not seem like a big sample size, the Cavs aren't necessarily going to use him for major minutes, a simple shift here and there to give one of the other bigs a breather can give the Cavaliers a benefit.

Playoff Experience

This one is more of, having someone that knows what it takes to advance in the postseason. Bryant was a member of the Indiana Pacers team last year that upset the Cavaliers, and won the NBA title in 2023 backing up Nikola Jokic for the Denver Nuggets.

He has been on successful teams, and knows what the pace of the playoffs can look like.

Providing Chaos

If there's one player that can bring a little bit of a wild card to the Cavs and throw the Raptors off their game, it's Thomas Bryant. Not necessarily saying it'll be good or bad, but sometimes you just need that guy to shake the game up.

Bryant is a guy who plays with zero fear, whether it's battling in the paint or in pick and pop, he's not going to shy away from the moment.

While the Cavaliers are searching for answers, it may not hurt for Bryant to get 5-7 minutes just to provide a bit of a spark to a Cavs team that looked lost in Toronto. Game 5 will likely decide who advances to the second round, so we will see how Kenny Atkinson and staff treat Game 5 in Cleveland.