We were going to write a piece today about how Tyronn Lue is coaching the team he wishes he had rather than the team he had. We were about halfway done with it when the news came down that Lue was fired this morning, six games into the season.
We are sure many people will hammer on Dan Gilbert, but really, it was Lue’s inability to adapt to the talent he had on the roster.
Yes, Lue was the head coach when the Cavaliers won their only championship in 2016, but in our opinion, his chief role on that team is he wasn’t David Blatt.
That’s not as harsh as it sounds. The players, led by LeBron James, didn’t respect Blatt, but because Lue played the game, they would listen to him.
And it paid off with a title, and Lue will forever be remembered fondly in Cleveland for that reason.
However, Lue couldn’t adjust to life without James.
His mantra was to “play fast”, but the Cavs’ best player is Kevin Love, who isn’t built for playing that way.
He seemed obligated to play veterans like Tristan Thompson, who also cannot play that style either.
Instead of trying to play like the Golden State Warriors, who play up tempo and have defenders who can play the switching style favored by Lue, and his defensive assistant, Mike Longabardi, why not try to play like Boston, a team who stresses individual defense (aka guarding your man).
We watched the Atlanta game, where the Hawks just set screens until they got Trae Young being guarded by Love. Heck, the Cavs did the same thing to the Warriors in the ’16 Finals, waiting until Steph Curry was on James.
It is early, but Lue didn’t seem to realize who his best players were.
Certainly Love and Cedi Osman appear to be the best players, but Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. have shown they are among top guys, and they rank 7th and 8th in minutes per game, behind Rodney Hood, George Hill, and Thompson.
The firing may have come quicker than normal because of the owner’s impetuousness, but it does make sense because it was becoming increasingly obvious the coach and the front office weren’t on the same page about the future of the team going forward.
We are sure management wanted to see Ante Zizic play more.
One of the things we questioned over the last year was the ignorance of size for an NBA team. Lue and his staff seemed to ignore the need for size in today’s game.
Even, the Warriors had five big guys on the roster. If a team played a big man, the Warriors had alternatives. Lue never seemed to warm to having Zizic on the roster, until all his big guys were hurt.
Defense never seemed to be a priority either. David Nwaba had a reputation for being a solid defensive player with the Bulls, but he couldn’t get off the bench here.
Was it unfair that Lue was fired six games into the season? Probably not, but he probably shouldn’t have been brought back at all. That was on the front office, hoping Lue could be different.
It will be interesting to see what else happens in terms of personnel. Will Kyle Korver and Thompson, two Cavs with some trade value, be moved sooner than later.
Lue should be thanked for being a part of the group who brought a title to Cleveland, but he wasn’t a fit for where the franchise is now.
Now is the time for a teacher to be brought in.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 