David Blatt is a former NBA coach

[gym]

Do you really believe this?

One hundred percent!

I am convinced that a huge list of coaches out there (including some that are promoted by the media as great ones), would not have this record after all the injuries suffered,
having said that, I did mention in my original post that there are some elite coaches that I think would do as well or even better than this, but that's not the majority of them IMHO.

 

[Kizzle]

Mike Brown wouldn't ever play a lineup of Delly, Shump, LeBron, Jones, TT.

Hed be too afraid of getting outrebounded and playing bad D inside. Blatt aint the best coach but god damn he'll try ANYTHING at least once. some coaches do the same shit and refuse to change because they feel it should work. Blatt has no ego. If he trots out a shitty lineup he'll own up to it and change it

 

[NasstyNate]

So , the same team with Mike Brown would be up one game on a road trip in the ECF?
Good to know, now pass to kool aid.

Wow. So Lebron would have been bounced by Boston or the Chicago team that everyone here said was incredibly overrated? I see why you Blatt guys stay in this thread.

 

[buzzdog]

How many head coaches would have successfully managed the egos, the mid season trades and additions, the molding of teamwork and cohesion, the injuries, and the outside drama as well as Blatt has? I'd be willing to be that many more coaches would fail than succeed given the exact same conditions. Blatt is one of the more mentally tough SOBs out there in the coaching ranks and it shows.

And I'm not sure if I'm the only one noticing but I'm reading a new and increasing level of respect coming from Lebron towards Blatt that doesn't seem to come up much.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The facts are what they are - this team completely rejected Blatt's offense, was incredibly disappointing offensively and especially defensively for a large portion of the year,

I think that's a bit misleading.

The Cavs lost 3 of their first 4 games, then went 15-7 even though Delly missed more than a month with a knee problem. So that was 16-10 with a brand new team that most observers acknowledged before the season lacked defensive talent. It was only after Andy went down against Minnesota, leaving us with absolutely nobody in the middle, that things went off the rails.

and had a sudden turnaround immediately after significantly upgrading three positions via trade and a fourth via two weeks off. Occam's razor says the influx of talent is the reason for the turnaround, not Blatt all of a sudden getting the team to listen to him.

Clearly, players are more important than the coach. The Cavs went 33-49 in 90-91 under HOF coach Lenny Wilkens, then went 57-25 the next year. Only difference was that injured guys got healthy -- Lenny didn't suddenly become a better coach.

Blatt certainly gets some credit for recent success,

Okay, exactly what credit would you give him? Honestly, a lot of Blatt's critics are essentially arguing that the Cavs are winning despite Blatt. And you stated below that LBJ was "the coach of the Cavs." If that is really true, then Blatt deserves no credit at all.

but this team is not playing right now without the addition of Moz/Shump/JR. We are a defensive juggernaut because of Delly, Shump, JR, Lebron and Mozgov. What are we doing differently now that we were not at the beginning of the year? We are running the same sets except now we have an elite perimeter defender in Shump, a rim protector, and Lebron actually trying.

That almost sounds like you're saying that Blatt's defensive sets and concept were absolutely correct from the start, but he just lacked the players necessary to correctly implement them....Isn't that still to his credit?

Anyway, here's a link to a recent Pluto article about an interview he did with Blatt, talking about significant defense adjustments/changes they made coming into the playoffs, specifically on how to defend the high-pick and roll:

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2015/05/cleveland_cavaliers_coach_davi.html

In any case, it goes beyond just talent. In that Pluto interview, Blatt talked about Mozgov's personality and how to get the most out of the guy. He also clearly managed to connect with JR Smith and help him be productive. That kind of "soft" coaching is incredibly important.

Lebron is the coach of the Cavs. Let's take the game yesterday. He decides to play in the post and utterly dominates. Anyone with eyes can see that he should be doing this every game. Blatt almost certainly has shown Lebron the tape and told him to work down there. Yet he does every few games at most. So who is actually in charge? Or look at the 4th quarter. Leiso once again stalls us and makes the game way closer than it should have been. Did Blatt make that call? If so, how can you defend that? If not, who is actually in charge?

So the only thing a head coach does is call offensive plays?? Because those are the only kind of facts you've offered in support of your claim that "LeBron is the coach of the Cavs.. I think you normally post pretty astute stuff, but I can't believe you're serious on this.

What about everything a head coach does before/between games? Like devising offensive/defensive sets, setting practice schedules and deciding what things are going to be worked on at each practice, when to rest/give players time off, breaking down film and covering all those issues with the members of the team, etc. etc. etc.? Is LBJ the guy who makes all those decisions as well? Does he conduct film briefings for every other player on the team?

And the most important thing a head coach does during games isn't to call the offensive plays, but managing minutes and rotations. Does LBJ decide when Delly goes in for Kyrie, or if Perk is going to get a few minutes at the 5? That's not even mentioning that reducing "head coach" to offensive play calling completely ignores the entire defensive side of the game. It's like saying Terry Bradshaw was the head coach of the Steelers because he called the plays. It's....ludicrous.

 

[NasstyNate]

If he trots out a shitty lineup he'll own up to it and change it

Totally agree. I really like that about Blatt.

 

[gigabyte056]

Wow. So Lebron would have been bounced by Boston or the Chicago team that everyone here said was incredibly overrated? I see why you Blatt guys stay in this thread.

Again, you resort to the same crap, this isn't I like Lebron so Blatt has to come down.
Lebron is amazing, one of the best, Blatt is a good coach, one doesn't affect the other, this isn't a scale where one must tip the other.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

With a couple of exceptions, LBJ's jumper has been broken for much of the playoffs. His biggest contributions have been in terms of ball distribution, rebounding, and defense. But on the offensive end, we've generally had to rely on guys other than LBJ to get the higher percentage offense you need to win.

Having schemes that let those role players take advantage of their opportunities, having worked with guys in practice so that they know how to move the ball, and creating an environment that fosters unselfishness are all things for which the HC certainly deserves some credit.

 

[NasstyNate]

I think that's a bit misleading.

The Cavs lost 3 of their first 4 games, then went 15-7 even though Delly missed more than a month with a knee problem. So that was 16-10 with a brand new team that most observers acknowledged before the season lacked defensive talent. It was only after Andy went down against Minnesota, leaving us with absolutely nobody in the middle, that things went off the rails.

I said we were disappointing. 16-10 in the East with Lebron/Love/Kyrie is disappointing, full stop.

Okay, what credit would you give him? Honestly, a lot of Blatt's critics are essentially arguing that the Cavs are winning despite Blatt.

It is hard to say how much credit he gets without being involved with the team, but I think he is a really good coach and deserves some. I am not one of those critics and would appreciate it if people would actually read the words on the screen as opposed to making all kinds of assumptions and putting words in my mouth. You are one of the few here who don't do that, so thank you.

That almost sounds like you're saying that Blatt's defensive sets and concept were absolutely correct from the start, but he just lacked the players necessary to correctly implement them....Isn't that still to his credit?

Sure. Again, Blatt is a good coach. But your question really just shows that the talent is the real, or biggest, reason for our success, right?

In any case, it goes beyond just talent. In that Pluto interview, Blatt talked about Mozgov's personality and how to get the most out of the guy. He also clearly managed to connect with JR Smith and help him be productive. That kind of "soft" coaching is incredibly important.

I agree about Mozgov. Disagree about JR. That's on Lebron.

So the only thing a head coach does is call offensive plays

?? because those are the only facts you've offered in support of that.

Nope! I did not attempt to post anything comprehensive, just justification for the line that Lebron is the coach. He does what he wants and the team follows. I think that is not typical of a coach/player relationship. Do you disagree?

What about everything a head coach does before/between games? Like devising offensive/defensive sets, setting practice schedules and deciding what things are going to be worked on at each practice, when to rest/give players time off, breaking down film and covering all those issues with the members of the team, etc. etc. etc.? Is LBJ the guy who makes all those decisions as well? Does he conduct film briefings for every other player on the team?

And the most important thing a head coach does during games isn't to call the offensive plays, but managing minutes and rotations. Does LBJ decide when Delly goes in for Kyrie, or if Perk is going to get a few minutes at the 5? That's even mentioning that reducing "head coach" to offensive play calling completely ignores the entire defensive side of the game. It's like saying Terry Bradshaw was the head coach of the Steelers because he called the plays. It's....ludicrous.

I think you misread my meaning, so I won't really get involved with this. Suffice to say, I do not think Lebron is the real head coach behind the scenes making all of the traditional coaching decisions and think Blatt does a good job for the most part for what you described.

 

[NasstyNate]

Again, you resort to the same crap, this isn't I like Lebron so Blatt has to come down.
Lebron is amazing, one of the best, Blatt is a good coach, one doesn't affect the other, this isn't a scale where one must tip the other.

No, this is Lebron is amazing and we would be in this position right now with most of the coaches in the league. THAT IS NOT A SLIGHT ON BLATT.

 

[gym]

Wow. So Lebron would have been bounced by Boston or the Chicago team that everyone here said was incredibly overrated? I see why you Blatt guys stay in this thread.

Take away Delly's performance in Chicago game 6, do we win the game?
Now remind me who showed confidence in Delly when all of us were scratching our heads and ranting at the playing time he's getting?

So the answer to your question is yes Lebron by himself might have been bounced by Chicago without the backup of the rest of the guys being prepared and ready for the moment to step up.

Fortunately enough we had Lebron AND Shump AND Delly And the other guys AND Blatt, so that now here we are.

 

[Aron]

Blatt deserves the credit, no, Lebron deserves the credit, no, Blatt deserves the credit,
Do you realize what this thread looks like - it's ridiculous.
Fan's are supposed to enjoy success and cheer on the TEAM for more success.
Blatt is a great coach, Lebron is a great player. Together, and with everyone else, they are a great TEAM, and they are proving this almost every time they go out there.

In other words, the entire TEAM deserves the credit.
Give it to THEM, forget all the other crap, cheer on and enjoy these times.

Later on in life, James will retire, Blatt will move on, and darker days will be upon us, so enjoy the moment, and stop talking SHITE.

Fuck the media - Cavs is our team - not theirs!

 

[Paul]

At this point, I'm convinced that Douglar is a NEOMG member.

Seems like every day is another chance for Douglar to take a veiled dig at Blatt and any poster here that supports him.

I guess it's kind of like the "Bulls" vs "Bears" in the stock markets. There are times where if you stick to your guns, your contrarian opinion does eventually play out to be correct. I think males especially enjoy this feeling of going against the grain and then being proven right later. As the season progresed, the contrarians were those who stuck up for Blatt and felt that he was doing the best he could in a difficult situation. Now sentiment has shifted some and the contrarians are now those who have sort of doubled down on the idea that Blatt is hurting the team/is nothing more than a figurehead being controlled by T Lue and LeBron. Maybe Blatt has some sort of meltdown in this series and the Blatt haters will be vindicated.

My best guess is that we will win this series and lose in the finals. If it plays out that way, I think everyone in the Cleveland organization should be praised for an amazing run and never giving up despite the adversity. And if we win it all, it would surely be LeBron's most remarkable championship ever.

Come what may, I am very happy to have Blatt on our side for this year and going forward.

 

[gym]

No, this is Lebron is amazing and we would be in this position right now with most of the coaches in the league. THAT IS NOT A SLIGHT ON BLATT.

OK at least by now you made your point clear,
You think that the team would have the same record with Mike brown, or let's say Derek Fisher or perhaps Mike Woodson (OHH I forgot Mark jackson).

You know what, everyone in entitled to have a opinion, and I respect that,
But I am also am entitled to TOTALLY STRONGLY AND FULLY DISAGREE !

And BTW if you are so convinced in what you said, I think you should propose to the FO to get rid of the whole coaching staff and perhaps donating their salaries to charity, instead of wasting it on unneeded positions (sorry for the sarcasm).

 

[Paul]

There is a big difference between denying Blatt any credit and saying he is receiving too much credit. I've followed Lebron's career for a decade, and everything you said in your second paragraph applies to him too. So why are you attributing the turnaround to Blatt and not Lebron?

The facts are what they are - this team completely rejected Blatt's offense, was incredibly disappointing offensively and especially defensively for a large portion of the year, and had a sudden turnaround immediately after significantly upgrading three positions via trade and a fourth via two weeks off. Occam's razor says the influx of talent is the reason for the turnaround, not Blatt all of a sudden getting the team to listen to him. Blatt certainly gets some credit for recent success, but this team is not playing right now without the addition of Moz/Shump/JR. We are a defensive juggernaut because of Delly, Shump, JR, Lebron and Mozgov. What are we doing differently now that we were not at the beginning of the year? We are running the same sets except now we have an elite perimeter defender in Shump, a rim protector, and Lebron actually trying.


Who gives a fuck about what the media says? Seriously. What does some keyboard jockey have to do with our play on the floor? I will never understand this need that people have to fervently defend our team against guys who get paid to piss you off.

Lebron is the coach of the Cavs. Let's take the game yesterday. He decides to play in the post and utterly dominates. Anyone with eyes can see that he should be doing this every game. Blatt almost certainly has shown Lebron the tape and told him to work down there. Yet he does every few games at most. So who is actually in charge? Or look at the 4th quarter. Leiso once again stalls us and makes the game way closer than it should have been. Did Blatt make that call? If so, how can you defend that? If not, who is actually in charge?

This sounds harsh, but I do not mean it as a criticism of Blatt. I have consistently said that he is in an impossible position because of Lebron's lack of buying in. People can talk about how good of a coach Blatt is, and I agree that he is, but the facts show that we started playing well when we got some talent and we go where Lebron takes us. To give Blatt credit for Shump's incredible defense or JR's shooting or TT's hustle is really disrespectful to the players.

Despite being a "Blatt supporter", I essentially agree with what you're saying. I think it's of course possible to swing in the opposite direction and reach a point where Blatt is getting too much credit, but I don't think we're nearly at that point. I've really just been put off by people saying that the team was winning in spite of Blatt's errors or that Blatt's effect on the team was essentially nil, because others were making all the decisions. I agree that LeBron is a handful and is difficult to coach because he will try and overrule some things that a coach wants to do. But I think Blatt has done a good job dealing with all the egos and also has done a good job drawing ideas from his coaching staff. It's been a true TEAM EFFORT from top to bottom. Even the bench dudes like Miller and Haywood should receive some credit for their mentoring, etc. The players are obviously a huge component in the team's success and everyone including Blatt said that the trades made the team better and more complete. I don't think anyone is trying to argue that the trades were not beneficial and that Blatt somehow just flipped a switch and made us awesome sometime in January.

But Blatt deserves his share of credit, and he should be respected for weathering the storm and dealing with life as a coach being thousands of miles from home with no real ally in his corner.