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David Blatt is a former NBA coach

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Yeah... I think if LeBron could press a button and have Blatt fired and replaced by Mark Jackson, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Perhaps -- he may believe that fellow LRMR client Jackson would defer to him even more.

The best we're probably ever going to get with LBJ -- at least until his play declines noticeably -- is everybody else buying into what the coach wants to do offensively. And even there, LBJ is going to resist that to the extent he thinks it cramps his game.

On at least one mildly-positive note, LBJ does seem to have bought completely into the defensive schemes, so there is that.
 
Guess I didn't think that was as apparent as you did. Or at least, it didn't seem any different (or worse) to me than what happened between Spoelstra and the Big 3 in Miami.

Huh? I guess, but that's pretty bad in itself. Spolestra almost got fired.. Wade and Riley had to step in and have a meeting with LeBron to tell him Spo wasn't going anywhere.

That's basically what happened here with Griffin. But there's no Dwayne Wade figure here, with a ring, holding everything together as the team's spiritual leader. Kyrie doesn't have that gravitas or influence over LeBron or the organization.

In any case, I'd say that difficulties of figuring out how to get those three to mesh is different from the much broader attribute of being able to relate to players in general. That's where I don't see him having a problem, although again, I'd agree that getting the Big 3 to mesh is not easy.

Hmm.. ok.

I think there's a difference between what actually happens and what an indignant media may insinuate.

Unfortunately, we don't have any other sources to go by.

In any case, the point you made above about winning covering up problems (though not always) also works in reverse. All of the other problems -- personnel/injury/Dion/etc. -- this team had would have created tension with any rookie coach.

Riiight... but again, the other issues I mentioned were specific to Blatt and his approach. I guess you could say they'd have happened to anybody, but I dunno if that course of thought leads us anywhere.

I will say, as I always have, that there is a transition period, and Blatt went through his.

We still do both, depending on the situation and who is on the floor. Heck, the weave even makes an occasional appearance.

You obviously see the difference, right?

But as I said in response to Douglar -- LBJ isn't going to listen to any coach when LBJ believes the best play is him in isolation, or him initiating the PNR. But that's just LBJ, and I don't think it's fair to draw from how LBJ occasionally behaves a negative inference regarding Blatt's ability to relate to non-LBJ players in general.

Yeah, again, this isn't true... LeBron deferred to Wade/Spo/Riley in Miami for at least 2 years. There's a remarkable difference between LeBron on the Heat (not in the first year) and LeBron here in Cleveland.

A difference in maturity, playstyle, approach to the game, respect for his coach, his media presence. It's like we got LeBron from 2009 instead of grown-man LeBron that was a two-time champion.

I'd agree about LBJ here. His ego simply will not permit anyone to criticize him, even by inference.

But, he did take plenty of criticism in Miami, up to the point that his contract was up... lol!

And that may be related to the Love issue as well. We know that Blatt wants to see more ball movement and fewer 3's, which is something LBJ doesn't want to hear.

LeBron and Blatt differ on the analytics of it, I think. LeBron wants a more Houston-esque approach to maximizing eFG/TS% rather than utilizing the midrange game to space the floor and keep defenses honest.

They both have good points.

But of course, LeISO or him doing a PNR with someone else often cuts Love out of the offense. And I think LBJ prefers to see Love spreading the floor by standing out at the 3 point line, not posting up and "congesting" the paint for LBJ himself.

I don't agree with this though.

LeBron used to play a 2-man game with Wade and Bosh(designed by Spo/Wade) of multiple screens PnP/PnR from the top of the arc to the elbow and back out to the corner.

When they had it going, it was unstoppable, and it's one of the reasons LeBron was easily one of the most efficient NBA players until just last year.

Love and Kyrie would fit better in Miami's offense with LeBron than any of the three do with this silly ISO-heavy one-dimensional system we're running now.


I agree it's bullshit, but it's part of the inevitable price of having LBJ come back.

We totally agree on this.. I just thought we'd get back a more matured LeBron, the guy who we saw in Miami, not the kid who left to "go to college" in 2010.
 
Perhaps -- he may believe that fellow LRMR client Jackson would defer to him even more.

I dunno if it's only the LRMR connection. I think LeBron and many players genuinely like Mark Jackson. He gets a lot of shit on forums like this, but most of the players on Golden State (like Steph Curry) loved him and his paternal/big brother approach to coaching.

The best we're probably ever going to get with LBJ -- at least until his play declines noticeably -- is everybody else buying into what the coach wants to do offensively. And even there, LBJ is going to resist that to the extent he thinks it cramps his game.

I don't think Kyrie and Love bought into Blatt's system. Kyrie more so than most, but even he had reported issues with Blatt.

I think it's a given that Kevin Love is not happy with his role on this team, and would prefer to play a completely different style of basketball.

On at least one mildly-positive note, LBJ does seem to have bought completely into the defensive schemes, so there is that.

Has he?

I think LBJ plays defense when he wants to.
 
LeBron and Blatt differ on the analytics of it, I think. LeBron wants a more Houston-esque approach to maximizing eFG/TS% rather than utilizing the midrange game to space the floor and keep defenses honest.

They both have good points.

Agree. I think Blatt's concern is that maximizing eFG/TS% in some contexts may lead to the Cavs playing a brand of basketball that may not succeed against top level competition. LBJ is saying "let's take whatever is working tonight", and Blatt is saying "we have to remember to play the right way or it's going to bite us in the ass later." I think you're right about both POV's having merit. And arguably, Blatt should be the guy more concerned about the longer term, and LBJ more concerned about winning a specific game.

I think LeBron and many players genuinely like Mark Jackson. He gets a lot of shit on forums like this, but most of the players on Golden State (like Steph Curry) loved him and his paternal/big brother approach to coaching.

I think you're right, although there's more to good coaching than being liked by players.
 
Perhaps --

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Agree. I think Blatt's concern is that maximizing eFG/TS% in some contexts may lead to the Cavs playing a brand of basketball that may not succeed against top level competition. LBJ is saying "let's take whatever is working tonight", and Blatt is saying "we have to remember to play the right way or it's going to bite us in the ass later." I think you're right about both POV's having merit. And arguably, Blatt should be the guy more concerned about the longer term, and LBJ more concerned about winning a specific game.

I think you're right, although there's more to good coaching than being liked by players.

Agree on both points... But I don't think Mark Jackson is a bad coach, even though I would be uncomfortable with his style here in Cleveland.
 
For the remainder of our season we have just two more back to backs. Both are against teams with losing records. March 15-16 against @Orlando and @Miami(only a 45 minute flight) and April 12-13 against @Boston and Detroit(we may be resting guys by then if we have the #2 seed clinched)

In that same time span, we have have FIVE sets of two full days off in between games. Perfect for a smart veteran team just finally getting to know each other on the court and a smart coaching staff.

Additionally, after Thursdays game in San Antonio we have 8 home games, 7 road games, with 12 of those remaining games being in the Eastern time zone and the other three East of the Mississipi in the Central time zone. Minimal travel time and minimal jet lag.

It really couldn't set up any better for us in the final 5 weeks as far as scheduling rest and practice time.
 
That was our 6th 30+ point win, the most in the NBA. We have six of the 27 total 30+ point wins. We are also now the only team to win by 30+ twice on the road this year (we have 2 of the 5 wins). In the last 20 years, these teams have won on the road by 30+ twice in a season:

Toronto 1997
Bulls 1998
Houston 2007
San Antonio 2007 (on back to back nights)
Denver 2008
GSW 2008
Boston 2008-2009
Dallas 2009-2010
Spurs 2013-2014

NONE of those teams beat two winning teams and in fact, 17 of those 18 wins were against losing teams, mostly the dregs of the league. The one win was against an 8-7 Houston team.

As Wuck posted, this team hums after full practices and days off which bodes very well for the playoffs. We came out and destroyed the Wizards in similar fashion after the all-star break..

Loved the post feeds to Love when we saw the mismatches. Finally.

Loved how we valued the ball and didn't turn it over. When we don't turn it over, our offense really can't be stopped (ISO or no ISO although the ISO leads to many of the turnovers). In the games we have played since James came back and after the trades, we have committed 12 turnovers or fewer 9 times. In those games, we are averaging 116 points per game and are winning those games by an average score of 116-95.

Right now, full steam ahead and in Blatt I trust.
 
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