

Now, we basically have to reset and wait to see what kind of impact Lue can have, and if that impact is enough to take them to the next level, and I just don't think there's enough time for that to happen, and that's IF Lue can actually be the difference. I don't think the Cavs were beating the Warriors and I think that beating the Spurs was more possible but still unlikely. Changing the way you play drastically in the middle of the season, especially when pace is your largest change, is something that will set back the team's continuity, for better or worse. Trevor Magnotti ( ): I think what little chance they had has been totally nuked. We just literally don't know almost anything about the way he coaches, so I'm gonna hold off on answering this just yet. I think it's nice that Lue is well regarded and well-liked in the locker room, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to take the team to the next level. Is a coaching change going to help that? Probably not, at least not with a half a season left and the Warriors looking better than everyone by a large distance.Ĭarter Rodriguez ( ): We don't know yet. That being said, drastic change in the middle of the season isn't a great look for a team that hasn't developed a concrete identity in a season and half of basketball.

Lue has talked about making changes that on paper would make the Cavs better and if Blatt really did lose the locker room and Lue has its respect, it only has its help. After having some time to think about it, does this move help or hurt the Cavs' title chances or do they stay the same?Ĭhris Manning ( Maybe I'm being an optimist, but I feel like this can't hurt the Cavs. It's been a few days since the Cavs canned David Blatt and promoted Tyronn Lue. As a result, a team of FtS writers are here to break it all down.ġ. “Good thing I had great guys behind me to bail me out,” Blatt said, “and then a great player to bail us all out with a terrific shot.”īlatt has come under intense scrutiny at various points this season, particularly in late December and January when the Cavs were injured, losing and coaches and scouts around the league were puzzled by some of the Cavs’ mannerisms, particularly Lue’s ability to call timeouts from the bench.The Cavaliers are just past the halfway point in their season, and as typical in Cleveland, things are never dull. Assistant coach Tyronn Lue saved the Cavs from a technical foul - and perhaps from losing the game - by pulling Blatt back to the bench before any of the three officials could spot him. James said he knows why that is, but he wouldn’t share his reasoning.īlatt, for his part, said the timeout snafu was the first time it happened to him in all his years of coaching. When you are associated with me, you get a little heat.” “Kevin Love got no heat the first six or seven years he was in this league, but he teamed with me and he gets heat. … Whoever is associated with me catches heat,” James said. “He’s catching heat because he’s coaching me. James called Blatt the team’s general, said his relationship with his coach grows every day and added he isn’t surprised by the latest batch of criticism.

He is hobbled now not only by an injured right foot, but also by tendinitis in his left knee that was diagnosed Monday morning following an MRI, the team said. Of course, Irving was healthy in that game and enjoying a career night. “He’s a guy who can make the right pass in that situation.”īlatt pointed to the Cavs’ thrilling victory in San Antonio as another example when he used James as an inbounder to Irving. “He’s our biggest and best passer,” Blatt said. There were two primary targets on the original play, but Blatt didn’t divulge who they were. The Cavs struggled to inbound the ball moments earlier in the game - they had to burn their final two timeouts just to get the ball in play - so with no timeouts and no margin for error, Blatt’s original plan was for James to be the trigger man. James overruled Blatt’s original idea and instead made the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
