NBA fans have commented on Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson‘s notable lack of playing time in today’s playoffs loss to the Indiana Pacers, speculating that his omission may have something to do with the scandal engulfing his personal life.
Read: fans reckon backlash to the allegation Thompson cheated on partner Khloé Kardashian, while she was pregnant with their first child, may have kept him off the court.
Thompson was given exactly 1 minute and 59 seconds of playing time at the very tail end of the Cavs’ 80-98 loss, down from an average of around 14 minutes of court-time earned in the previous ten games, and way, way down from the average of 31 minutes per game he notched during 2017’s post-season.
The 27-year-old was greeted with a chorus of boos during the previous game, a 98-110 loss to the New York Knicks. His first appearance on the court that game also went unannounced over the PA, apparently to mitigate any further booing.
Commenting on Thompson’s lack of minutes today, Inside The NBA pundit Kenny Smith said “they gotta play Tristan Thompson. I don’t care about his love life, this dude gotta play, man.
“He’s been playing in the rotation for two years to get into the NBA finals, and he plays a minute and fifty nine seconds. To me, that doesn’t make any sense either.”
Fans have a somewhat more conspiratorial take on the matter. Instead of believing coach Ty Lue made the call for gameplay reasons – or even to cut back on distractions to the other players – some have joked the Kardashian crew had something to do with his lack of gametime.
Just realized Tristan played 1 minute and 59 seconds.
The power of Kris Jenner is too real. She probably told Ty Lu that he had a 2 minute max.
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) April 15, 2018
Tristan Thompson only played two minutes today and for some reason I feel as tho Kris Jenner had something to do with it
— Owen Foos (@big_foos) April 15, 2018
Put Tristan Thompson in the game, We need all the cheaters we got????????????????????????????????
— Hotboy Chuckie (@___envied) April 15, 2018
Tristan Thompson really ain’t play at all. Kris Jenner JUST MIGHT BE the hardest working person in the world ????????
— Mr. Williams (@ArrogantDarrin) April 15, 2018
Kris Jenner is somewhere laughing at Tristan Thompson. https://t.co/TXMATFfuCV
— DJ Square (@Th0masTheSquare) April 15, 2018
Surprise, surprise. Tristan Thompson’s Team is getting their ass kicked at half time. Don’t mess with Kris Jenner. #KardashianKurse #Cavs
— Challenge Rewind (@ChallengeRewind) April 15, 2018
The Cavaliers will face the Pacers again on Thursday Australian time. No word on whether Thompson will catch more game time next time around.
Image: Jason Miller / Getty Images
