May 06--CLEVELAND -- Tristan Thompson began his session joking with reporters Tuesday morning speaking in French.
He'll hope his game translates better on the court in Game 2, when Thompson reportedly will receive the start at power forward against the Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena.
"I'm always going to be ready," Thompson said. "My job is pretty simple. Come out and play hard and be the energy guy."
More than Thompson's presence, the lineup change, which wasn't officially announced by the Cavs but through media reports, will impact LeBron James' role. The Cavs hopes that helps them crawl out of a 1-0 hole Tuesday night and even the series before it moves to Chicago.
James teammates' responses? Welcome back.
"We get our three man back," guard Kyrie Irving said at Tuesday morning's shootaround. "It was great seeing LeBron at the four but he's getting the rebound just like our bigs and giving right back to me. Our dynamic through the whole entire year and what we've created, we play off one another. All the energy dialed in on Joakim Noah and those other bigs can be afforded on Mike Dunleavy playing the three and also on the offensive attack."
James deemed his Game 1 performance of 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as subpar because of his 9-of-22 shooting.
"I expect to be much sharper than I was in Game 1," James said. "Offensively, I wasn't as sharp as I can be. I'm a very efficient player. When I'm inefficient, I take that very seriously."
Mike Miller, who started Game 1, will return to a reserve role.
The Cavs are working for solutions in the absences of Kevin Love (shoulder injury) and J.R. Smith (suspension).
sryan@tribpub.com
