LeBron has showed up all of the previous 6 playoff contests against Indiana, averaging 34.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 8 assists in 42.7 minutes played. In the final game of the series, he upped the ante even more, dropping 45 points and becoming the only player to do so in a game 7 enviornment.

In a effort to play a bit of chess, Coach Lue went with the "veteran" edition Cavs lineup, starting Bron at the 1, J.R. Smith, Korver, Love....and Tristan Thompson.

Before today, Thompson has only played a collective 24 minutes, and essentially out of the rotation. But given the opportunity, Thompson produced a quintessential muscle and hustle game, the type of effort that was vital to their 2016 championship run.

His energy was something Indiana clearly hadn't game-planned for and caught them a bit off guard. Thompson got off to a tremendous start with nearly a double-double after the first quarter. 

Love was struggling a bit in the first half so Thompson's biggest asset, his offensive rebounding, gave the Cavs multiple looks on the same possession which they often capitalized on.

Thompson finished the game with 15, 10 and 2.

These are the types of adjustments pundits were looking for out of Coach Lue, who at teams seems a bit aloof in terms of managing minutes and rotations. The lineup shift played a huge part in the overall intensity the Cavs showed today and was the perfect lift for a team searching for answers after a blowout loss in game 6.

Another huge key to today's matchup was Kevin Love stepping up when the Cavs needed him the most. LeBron sent a challenge out to Love (through the media) after game 6:

"Obviously, we can't make the shots for him. He has to step up and knock those down," said James after the game 6 loss. Those things you can't control. The shot-making, you're going to have games where you can't make shots and you can make shots, but we have to continue to let him know how important he is to our success, and if want to have any success, either in a Game 7 or moving on to the next round, Kev has to be a big part of that."

At first it seemed like Love might not have been up to this challenge and he struggled, missing wide open threes in the first half, even air-balling one from the corner. But ultimately he knocked shots down at crucial points in the 4th, helping fend off the run Indiana's Victor Oladipo and teammates attempted to mount.

Speaking of Oladipo, he just completed undoubtedly his best season of his career, maybe even his life. In his first playoff game 7matchup as "the man", going to toe-to-toe with King James, Oladipo scored 30, 12, and 6, with a majority of his production coming alive in the second half of the game when Indiana mounted their comback.

Although his season is now over, I'm sure he'll reflect on how far he's come. The following clip couldn't be more appropriate, with him (back in 2013), singing what he might be singing on his way home from the Quicken Loans Arena: 

The Cavs will now pivot to a rematch with the Toronto Raptors, who they faced last year in the semifinals as well. Last year the Cavs executed a sweep, although Kyrie Irving was still on still on the roster (averaging 22 and 9 in that series). 

The Raptors are legitimately a better team this year and the Cavs are kind of...not. It'll be interesting to see if the camaraderie and momentum established in the Cavs' game 7 victory will spill over into this next round, and it'll also be interesting to see if the Raptors are able to overcome the constant season eliminator, LeBron James.