Rookie Head Coach Tyronn Lue, who took over in the middle of a chaotic season, under some bizarre circumstances, is undefeated through the first seven playoff games of his head coaching career.
The Cavs haven’t just been winning, though.
They’re breaking records.
Lue is in an interesting position because simply sweeping the first two rounds of the playoffs, which for any other rookie head coach would be a glorious achievement, would all be for naught if the Cavs don’t win a title.
The bar is set so ridiculously high for him that he can’t really appreciate the milestones as much along the way.
He also may not get much credit compared to coaches on teams like Toronto and Miami, who don’t have as much talent on their roster.
But even the most ardent David Blatt supporters would admit, Lue has done a nice job through these first seven games.
Look back at the First Round against Detroit.
Lue used strategic moves like playing Kevin Love at center to keep Andre Drummond from having as big of an impact as he might have otherwise.
Lue implemented the “Hack-A-Dre” strategy until the Pistons got sick of watching their star brick one free-throw after another.
He even made an adjustment in Game 2 after a close Game 1 and started LeBron James in the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Pistons Head Coach Stan Van Gundy was asked what he thought about Lue’s coaching decision after Game 2, to have LeBron on the floor to start the fourth.
Van Gundy did not have much praise, saying, “Oh. Play LeBron. Yeah, that’s really smart coaching… That’s a brilliant coaching move if you wanna’ call it that.”
This is a theme that is going to be prevalent no matter what Lue does.
It’s relatively easy to look like a great coach if someone has great players to work with.
But some of the more impressive factors of this post-season have been what the role players are doing, and a significant amount of the credit for that has to be given to Coach Lue, knowing how to take advantage of mismatches.
In the Detroit series, Channing Frye barely even saw the floor.
Richard Jefferson made some big contributions off the bench, hitting timely three-pointers and playing anywhere from 12-23 minutes in the four games.
This is a guy who at times throughout the season did not get significant playing time, but Lue counted on his veteran savvy and experience to come up big in the playoffs, and so far it has.
Jefferson has continued to make nice contributions in the Second Round, putting up 20 points in the three games against Atlanta.
Back to Frye, though.
The mismatch that Frye creates against Atlanta is so obvious and the Hawks have literally no answer for it.
Detroit had several players who could match up with Frye, like Marcus Morris, Aaron Baynes, and Stanley Johnson, so Lue opted to only play Frye in three of the four games in the First Round, and when he did play it was only a grand total of 28 minutes in three games.
Lue still did not fully unleash Frye in the first two games against Atlanta, although the matchups were better suited for him.
Frye only scored three total points in the three games against Detroit, but in Game 1 against Atlanta, he scored eight points off the bench in just nine minutes.
In Game 2, the Cavs blew Atlanta out, so Frye played 20 minutes and scored 12 points, hitting 5-of-7 shots.
Game 3 was the first time that Atlanta actually was in control for a significant amount of the action.
It was the first time the Cavs really looked like they had their backs against the wall.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James were held to just 12 and 14 points respectively through three quarters, and the Cavs were down six heading into into the fourth quarter.
It was Frye, who scored 16 points off the bench in the first three quarters, that even kept the game close in the first place.
LeBron and Irving heated up in the fourth quarter, as each star ended up with 24 points, but Frye also had a great fourth, putting up 11 more points to reach a playoff career-high of 27 points.
This is a guy who only scored 23 points in the previous six playoff games combined.
Frye only scored 15 or more points four times during the 2015-2016 regular season.
That is a great example of a coach unleashing a “secret weapon” of sorts.
So let’s give Lue some credit. His team has not only taken care of business, but has done it in impressive fashion.
The one caveat that I will put on that, however, is to look at the big picture.
One year ago, the Cavs were taking on the #1 seed Atlanta Hawks, who won 60 games and had four All-Stars.
The Cavs were without Kevin Love. Irving only played two games in that series and was far from 100 percent. Their bench was not as well-rounded as this year.
They still swept the Hawks easily.
The 2015-2016 Hawks are now without one of their better players from last year, DeMarre Carroll, they finished the regular season with 12 fewer wins than last year, and oh, by the way, Love and Irving are both healthy playing lights out.
Not to mention the pieces around them are improved from a year ago.
So is it really all that surprising the Cavs are making easy work of the Hawks?
Were we all throwing praise on Blatt for sweeping the Hawks with a depleted roster?
Some were giving Blatt credit, but the overall theme was “LeBron is carrying the load.”
This April and May, the whole team is carrying the load.
Lue has made some great coaching moves, but until the Cavs go up against an opponent who are anywhere close to their talent level, it seems a bit pre-mature to be labeling Lue the next Red Auerbach.
The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are still not as talented as Cleveland’s roster, but they certainly are a step above the Hawks. Their coaches have also done a fantastic job of getting the most out of their players this season.
That series will be a better indicator of Lue’s coaching prowess.
Then, take it one step further. All indications would point to the Western Conference Champions being either the San Antonio Spurs, who have arguably the best coach of all-time with Gregg Popovich, or the Warriors with Steve Kerr, who won the NBA Finals in his first year as a head coach and was at the helm of a 73-win season, which has never been accomplished in the history of the game.
A series against either of those two teams, who have at least equal if not greater talent on their rosters than the Cavs, will be a true testament to Coach Lue’s brilliance.
It would be unreasonable to expect a rookie head coach to “outsmart” Kerr, or especially Popovich, but look back at the 2015 Finals.
The Cavs split the first two games in Oakland, barely losing Game 1 in OT, and it was a coaching adjustment by Kerr, going with the small lineup and inserting Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup for the first time of the entire season, that proved to be one of the biggest difference makers in the series.
That move did not only impact that series, but really changed the way the league operates now. “Small-Ball” is all the rage.
The Cavs even use that strategy now with Love, Frye, and LeBron on the court at the same time.
When the talent level of two teams is right around equal, it’s little adjustments of that sort that can tip the scales one way or the other.
I don’t want this to sound like I’m undermining Lue’s achievements.
Lue has some great experience despite being a rookie coach. He learned from Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers.
He won championships as a player and as a member of the Celtics coaching staff.
He’s been in the heat of playoff battles and knows what his players are going through.
There are plenty of positive signs going for him.
Anyone rooting for the Cavs has to be happy with the job Coach Lue has done through seven playoff games, but until we see the Cavs in a “fair fight,” it’s a bit too soon to be calling him a coaching mastermind.
But quite frankly, from what I’ve learned about Lue, through interacting with him at press conferences and seeing the way he carries himself, I’d be willing to bet he does not care who gets the credit at all. The end result is good enough.
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