3.) The Cavs Really Really Like Lue
If you are going to be a NBA Finals contender and you want to fire your coach mid-season you better have somebody capable of leading your team there. The Cavs could have waited until the end of the season and said it wasn’t working and gone after a top name coach like Mark Jackson. The fact that Cleveland fired Blatt and immediately hired Lue, not even giving him a trial as interim coach means they must be super high on him. It also must mean that this has been in the works for a while now and the team was just waiting to pull the trigger. They have had plans with everything since Griffin has taken over and this must have been the plan because I don’t see Blatt getting fired if Lue wasn’t going to be hired. The Cavs made Lue the highest paid assistant in the NBA for a reason. LeBron was very high on him and he helped saved the Cavs in the playoffs when he pulled Blatt off the court from getting a technical late in a playoff game against Chicago. Now’s the time for him to step up to the plate and deliver a title.
4.) More Changes Will Be Coming
Anytime there’s a coaching change there are usually other changes that follow. Coaches prefer their players and systems and they will make changes to accommodate that. The team has struggled throughout the year despite revamping their roster and having a 30-11 record. Kevin Love has still struggled to carve out a defined role on the team and has not benefitted from it. Timofey Mozgov has also had his struggles this year after being such a difference maker defensively near the basket last season. Sasha Kaun was a Blatt guy and he could very well be on his way out too. The Cavs have struggled against the teams they will likely face in the playoffs so I wouldn’t be surprised if they make some trades to try and get better before the trade deadline.
5.) The Pressure Is at an All-Time High
The firing just goes to show that nobody is really safe besides LeBron. Even leading the team to the NBA Finals and the best record in the East the following year is not enough to guarantee your job. With every person that gets let go, the pressure on the ones that remain becomes higher and higher and the scapegoats decreases. The Cavs are no longer at the luxury of saying that they did not connect with Blatt and the option of blaming him for substitutions and schemes are gone. The bulk of the pressure right out of the gate will be on LeBron, Kyrie, and Love. Love can see a different role now and needs to show that he was worth the trade and resigning because he has not been the player Cleveland was hoping he would be so far. Kyrie is also going to be relied on to score and help the offense that has been struggling recently. LeBron is going to get everything thrown at him. Most already pretty much consider him the coach and his shot has been bad this year and some think he might be getting past his peak and starting to trend down. Any way you look at it, the Cavs are in win now mode and there’s no room for error.
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