There is no question that sometime this off-season, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be announcing a new head coach.
This is not to denigrate the job Larry Drew has done, because he has had to deal with a roster beset with injuries, and for the most part, the players who have been healthy are either inexperienced, or limited in terms of ability.
If you ranked the current roster from the best player on down, there wouldn’t seem to be too much of an issue that Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. would land in the top seven or eight.
The first two have missed considerable time this season, and the latter is rounding back into shape after a sprained knee.
The trio also consists of the Cavs’ best shooter (Love), likely their best rebounders (Love and/or Thompson), and probably their best passer (Nance).
That’s a tough situation for any franchise.
It has been reported that the front office has already started preparing a list of people to interview as possible coaches for the wine and gold next season. This isn’t a surprise because we assumed Drew would finish out the season and both parties would move on as soon as Game #82 was completed.
However, it does point out the mistake made by the organization after LeBron James announced he would be signing with the Lakers as a free agent. And that was bringing back Tyronn Lue at all.
This isn’t meant to bash Lue, after all, he guided the Cavs to their only championship, but it seems clear now, his heart wasn’t in guiding the post-James roster. We don’t blame him for feeling that way, but we do wish both sides would have analyzed the situation better before training camp started.
No one could have foreseen the injury to Love a week into the season, but Lue wanted to play at a fast pace, which might be appropriate for an experienced team, one that knows how to make the right pass and when to make it too.
And if you had Love, George Hill, JR Smith, Thompson, and Kyle Korver on the floor, it would have worked. But outside of those five, and perhaps Nance, who has a knack for passing, the rest of the roster were young players that couldn’t handle it.
The veterans knew “how to play”. Remember who struggled in the playoffs last season. Guys like Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood, who couldn’t adapt on the fly.
Unfortunately, you have to have a system for the entire roster, because how many times a game were the vets, who knew how to make the right play, on the floor?
With all of the young players on the roster, including your first round draft pick, Collin Sexton, you needed some structure on offense and a better defensive system.
Drew has tried to run more plays offensively and slow down the pace, but it would’ve been better had that been the plan when training camp opened.
And of course, a new coaching staff would have meant a new coach in charge of the defense, and that’s needed right now. Perhaps the Cavaliers would have a better foundation on that side of the ball had that happened.
It doesn’t seem to have been a lot of thought put into the decision, and parting with Lue amicably in July would have been the smart move.
Let’s hope the Cavs’ ownership and front office learn from this mistake.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 