Good move by the Cavs. Blatt is just not an NBA caliber coach. This point was driven home on a couple of occasions during the playoffs last year: First, when he ran on the court and tried to call a timeout against the Bulls close to the end of the game when Cleveland did not have any timeouts left. Luckily for him, Tyronn Lue grabbed him and dragged him back to the sidelines. Second, with hardly anytime on the clock at the end of the game with the Cavs down against Chicago, he drew up a play that had LBJ inbouding the ball. Lebron rightly intervened and drew up another play, which resulted in him hitting the game winning shot.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blatt verbally accepted an asst coaching gig w Warriors before taking the Cavs job. <a href="https://t.co/ey3ZuRlhUv">https://t.co/ey3ZuRlhUv</a></p>— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/HerringWSJ/status/690659743644409856">January 22, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I like lebron a lot as a player and respect his game a lot. But seriously this is the reason this guy won't ever win another ring. He won't allow himself to be coached. He had the same problem in Miami with coach Spo. I can't believe they fired Blatt after getting to the finals last year, playing the Warriors better than anyone expected and also having the 3rd best record in the NBA this season and tops in the east. The team didn't follow Blatt because lebron tuned him out early which forced everyone else to do the same. I feel bad for the guy, the cavs were playing good ball and were great on defense. The problem they have as does anyone else that's contending is that the Spurs and Warriors are just flat out better than them no matter what. Lebron can do any leading player movement trades he wants but it's going to remain the same. Your not beating the Spurs or Warriors. They along with everyone else is playing for 2nd place and the whole league knows it.
Blatt is a brilliant head coach, but LeBron never wanted him so his fate was sealed. I hope Morey reaches out to him and gives him his full support to take over the Rockets, because Blatt would do wonders. He's better than both Messina and Thibs, but Harden likes Thibs and Blatt already had trouble containing one star player...
I already posted something in the LeBron thread, I said that LeBron is going to blame someone else if the team is not going to win the NBA title. Now the game is already started after a bad loss to GS. Next step, Love is a possible target for blame. By the way, Lue is better than Blatt as a head coach? where is an evident for that?
i don't think giving up wiggins for love was a cavs mistake. lebron iso'd him as soon as lebron arrived in cleveland.
I can understand why...the city of Cleveland blows...Firing a head coach of an EAST leading 30-11 team. smdh... The firing of Mchale wasnt even comparable. Mchale was here for 4 years and was given an extension. And his Rockets were playing piss poor. At some point the "best" player has to take some accountability...actually MOST of the accountability. Blatt had a system that his star players DIDNT buy into. This is why some of the brightest minds in basketball stay away from coaching some of the world's greatest athletes, and would rather be in Europe/South America. These American stars are too full of themselves...too arrogant... too cocky... This has to be one of the most idiotic firings of all time. In order to win, players have to sacrifice...be less about themselves...and more about the team.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SVG on Blatt firing: Its like the theatre of the absurd. Can't comment on it b/c it is that absurd. I guess he should have gone undefeated.</p>— Matt Dery (@dery1051) <a href="https://twitter.com/dery1051/status/690665612171808769">January 22, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">REPORT: Cavs claim that Blatt was fired for underachieving. They were the 1 seed, however many believed they should have been the zero seed.</p>— NOT NBA Tonight (@NOTNBATonight) <a href="https://twitter.com/NOTNBATonight/status/690665989281845248">January 22, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Every top team in Europe, club or national team, is bound to come after him, but early sense I get is Blatt wants to stay and try NBA again</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/690669115351011328">January 22, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How surprised were Cavs players today? When team meeting was called, some players speculated Kevin Love had been traded</p>— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/690668130868195328">January 22, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
@WojVerticalNBA Cleveland coach Ty Lue's three-year contract is worth $9.5M-plus, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
I doubt if any two plays decided his fate. I think it's more likely in the day to day coaching of the team, Lue looked more like the head coach than Blatt did along with having the street cred of being an ex-NBA player. Cleveland must have thought Lue was ready signing him to a multi-year deal instead of making him an interim and deciding on the new head coach in the off-season.