The Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt on Friday after an NBA Finals appearance in his first season, and just 41 games into his second. Hood, who went to Arkansas, beat Lue’s 27-0 Raytown team in a classic double-overtime Missouri quarterfinal game at capacity-filled Municipal Auditorium. There’s a lack of spirit and connectedness that I just couldn’t accept. And frankly, halfway through the season, I think we have the time to right the ship. Should the Cavs consider searching for a head coach outside of the organization, there may not be many notable candidates.
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The wonderfully droll Jerry Wainwright, a gifted coach but perhaps an even better conversationalist, once said the two best jobs in his business would be at an orphanage (no parents to deal with) or a prison (no alumni wanting a say). Before and after Cleveland’s win on Thursday over the Los Angeles Clippers, Blatt said he was bothered by criticism directed at him and his team. Blatt said. “You don’t need the replay for everything”.
Cleveland GM David Griffin said he was confident Lue “will have the pulse of our team and the buy-in required to enhance the habits and culture that will foster the kind of identity and results we must have”. 675 winning percentage was the best of any coach in franchise history. James was told of the decision to fire Blatt about an hour before the news became public on Friday, but he was not consulted on the decision. The pair shared a smile, an innocent exchange without any hint of forthcoming change.
The dismissal is stunning because the team has generally exceeded expectations this season, compiling a 30-11 record despite injuries to Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert.
During college, Blatt played for a kibbutz basketball team in the summer and won a gold medal in the 1981 Maccabi Games with the USA basketball team.
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“Who’s to say we shook it off”, James said. What likely was the nail in the coffin was the loss Cleveland suffered to the Golden State Warriors. Guy grabs a guy in the backcourt with two hands, or rings his neck, with no connection to the game, it seems to me that shouldn’t be a common foul. But that they then lost three straight by an average of 13.6 points the rest of the way could also be pinned on the then-first-year head coach.
