Jason Lloyd's final thoughts

[David.]

That's the most lightly veiled slam writing I've ever seen.

Most of that shit is negative as fuck about him.

Still nope to Lloyd

 

[LeShaq]

That's the most lightly veiled slam writing I've ever seen.

Most of that shit is negative as fuck about him.

Yes it is.

But just the fact that Lloyd had to write it at all is a huge victory. No matter how Lloyd tries to spin it or qualify it, Blatt has won. Period. And now it's even clearer with LeBron doing what he's doing and saying what he's saying.

There's nowhere to hide now for Blatt haters like Llloyd has been this year. There is no bunker, only open terrain.

Erik Spoelstra knows all about how fickle LeBron can be. But Spoelstra had Riley to protect him. Blatt pretty much had to do all of this on his own.

Which only makes the win that much sweeter.

12-2 record in the playoffs as a rookie coach with one of the big stars out and another one dinged up. Team in the Finals.

Blatt won. Griff won. Gilbert won.

The Blatt hater brigade lost, no matter how they type it out on their keyboards.

 

[Randolphkeys]

This feels like the messenger getting shot. Lloyd reaches out to NBA people, both active front office executives and agents, and this is the feedback he received. He didn't publish it as he got it, he waited until the time was right. Now that Blatt has silenced the doubters, why not unload all that evidence? I felt like this article just explains why much of the narrative against Blatt was unjustly demonizing a good coach who wasn't invited to eat with the cool kids in the lunch room just yet.

 

[The Oi]

That's the most lightly veiled slam writing I've ever seen.

Most of that shit is negative as fuck about him.

Still nope to Lloyd

Agreed.

This is the equivalent of saying to someone,

"For a fat, stupid asshole that everyone has confirmed privately and publicly is a complete idiot...you're sure making it hard for me to call you a fat stupid asshole that everyone has confirmed privately and publicly is a complete idiot."

 

[The Oi]

the narrative against Blatt was unjustly demonizing a good coach who wasn't invited to eat with the cool kids in the lunch room just yet.

I didn't feel that anywhere in the article Lloyd was indicating that he was unjustly demonized. Seems like he was just reminding everyone that Blatt was demonized.

 

[LeShaq]

This feels like the messenger getting shot. Lloyd reaches out to NBA people, both active front office executives and agents, and this is the feedback he received. He didn't publish it as he got it, he waited until the time was right. Now that Blatt has silenced the doubters, why not unload all that evidence? I felt like this article just explains why much of the narrative against Blatt was unjustly demonizing a good coach who wasn't invited to eat with the cool kids in the lunch room just yet.

Of all people, Bill Simmons probably had it right when he said that tons of nonsense stories would come out this year to try to hurt the Cavs.

Sure did work, too. That 12-2 playoff record is only best so far this postseason.

There's all kinds of idiocy that's been out there from NBA sources regarding the Cavs this year. Real journalists will say "I'm hearing all kinds of stuff, but it's not necessarily what the people who should know best are saying." Like Love is supposedly leaving, except when Love himself says the opposite. Or Blatt is supposedly going to be fired, except Gilbert is supporting him.

There has been, in my estimation, a clear agenda against the Cavs and Blatt all season from the media and "NBA sources." Lloyd was part of that, in my opinion. Perhaps he was one of the perpetually aggrieved Cavs scribes who felt Blatt was condescending this season.

Whatever the case, I'm glad that all of the anti-Blatt and anti-Cavs people have gotten their comeuppance. And I hope that comeuppance will only become greater once the finals are over.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Still think that Lloyd should call his column, "Jason Lloyd's Studies in Wet Blanketry".

And Windy's column should be called "Even MORE Grandiose Studies in Wet Blanketry, by an Even Bigger Wet Blanket".

 

[Chris Parker]

Well, well, well.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/coa...ise-while-leading-cavs-to-nba-finals-1.596875

I got your "Isiah Thomas" right here, Jason Lloyd.

I love it when a narrative falls on its face and a journalist who helped push the narrative is forced to turn tail, whether they like it or not.

David Blatt wins. Fatality.

Imagine if we take home the trophy. Blatt might just become the king of Cleveland.

Ha ha ha. How sweet it is.

Jason Lloyd for a good writer you sure have turned South. So i guess we are basing our evaluation on a coach's quality on the comments they make to the teeming vultures without enough sense to develop questions and their noses so far up each other's asses that they can't tell where one's story ends and their story begins. Maybe he truly thinks he's a fighter pilot. Maybe he's got a sense of humor. Not sure how many beat writers would recognize it, or maybe they just don't care. Does it make any difference at this point?

Jason - you see me often, if you have any issues with this please come see me, I'd be glad to discuss different takes on reporting with you

 

[LeShaq]

Jason Lloyd for a good writer you sure have turned South

Well put, Chris.

Before this season, Lloyd was BY FAR one of my favorite Cavs writers.

The feeling I have had in reading Lloyd's work as regards Blatt this season has, however, left me shaking my head in scorn and disappointment. And the inability to give up the ghost when it was clear Blatt had won made things even worse.

But here we are. All veiled insults and cheap ploys aside, Lloyd knows Blatt has won.

This latest column is, to me, like the entire anti-Blatt brigade symbolically waving a collective white flag to the heavens.

I love that. Justice has been served.

 

[The Oi]

Jason Lloyd for a good writer you sure have turned South. So i guess we are basing our evaluation on a coach's quality on the comments they make to the teeming vultures without enough sense to develop questions and their noses so far up each other's asses that they can't tell where one's story ends and their story begins. Maybe he truly thinks he's a fighter pilot. Maybe he's got a sense of humor. Not sure how many beat writers would recognize it, or maybe they just don't care. Does it make any difference at this point?

Jason - you see me often, if you have any issues with this please come see me, I'd be glad to discuss different takes on reporting with you

The worst part is that the Cleveland media would gain so much MORE favor with the fans and the friggin team they report on if they didn't produce even more grist for the bullshit ESPN mill.

What's your take on Blatt from having interacted with him? Why do you seem to perceive him differently than these guys do? You seem to have the polar opposite opinion from these guys.

 

[David.]

My favorite is when he comp ares blatt to a Malaysian airlines pilot..who lost a plane off the face of the earth and killed hundreds of people. He compared him to Person so inept that he is the first in history to lose an entire airplane, while flying it, and mass murdering hundreds of innocent people.

"But blatt doesn't deserve all this. The real coach of the team, LeBron himself, has thrown him under the bus all year long, including up to a couple weeks ago when
he said the bulls exposed his stupid ass, jabroni gameplan. Lebron recently stated that the coach who almost cost them the bulls series by making a retarded decision to call a time out he didn't even have"gets unfair criticism".

Btw, Steve kerr is a lot cooler than him and we all think that, like it's not even close."

 

[Chris Parker]

Jason Lloyd for a good writer you sure have turned South. So i guess we are basing our evaluation on a coach's quality on the comments they make to the teeming vultures without enough sense to develop questions and their noses so far up each other's asses that they can't tell where one's story ends and their story begins. Maybe he truly thinks he's a fighter pilot. Maybe he's got a sense of humor. Not sure how many beat writers would recognize it, or maybe they just don't care. Does it make any difference at this point?

Jason - you see me often, if you have any issues with this please come see me, I'd be glad to discuss different takes on reporting with you

My big question is -- were they rolling their eyes at the comment or at the fact that you were asking about it?

I suppose we should be happy Isaiah Thomas went on the record otherwise we might be wondering about the basketball acumen of his sources.... [/eyeroll]

 

[Paul]

"That’s how it has gone most of this season for Blatt, who has even faced scrutiny within his own ranks. NBA head coaches are traditionally a tight-knit fraternity, yet a number enjoyed privately taking jabs at Blatt throughout the season..."

So we're to assume that Lloyd has worked his way into this tight -knit fraternity and gotten the info? Where is he getting this from?


"
When the league converged in Chicago for the NBA combine a couple of weeks ago, it happened to coincide with the Cavs’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Bulls.

Coaches, team executives and agents in town for the combine privately jabbed at Blatt for his rough Game 4 performance when he tried to call a timeout he didn’t have and the idea to use James as an inbounder on the final possession of a critical Game 4."

This part seemed a bit dodgy to me. Was Lloyd at that combine? Did he get this info first hand or is he going off of something Isaiah Thomas told him or what? Seems a bit unsubstantiated.

 

[MRMsix6]

That Lloyd piece was anything but praise for Blatt.

It's essentially Lloyd defending his consistent drumbeat of criticisms of Blatt by numerous appeals to authority, almost all which were apparently off the record. (which makes them next to worthless) (and for the record, Isiah Thomas is the absolute last NBA person I'd appeal to on anything involving coaching or management.)

Hmm, where have we seen this style of reporting before...

 

[LeShaq]

Since we're talking Cavs media people, here is my own "scorecard" for the year as regards a few of them.


Winner Of All Winners

Chris Parker

* Understands that the old media model of speaking down to your audience from authoritatively-on-high is long gone. It's much better to mingle with the people instead.


Won Big

Sam The Bullshit Whisperer

* Vindicated in his consistent defending of the Wiggins trade and his consistent support of Blatt. Probably the one Cavs regular journo whose stock has gone up the most for me, personally, this season


Neutral, perhaps slight uptick

Windy

* Was on the Blatt hate train early, I think. But was smart enough to know when the facts could no longer support the train and it was time to jump off before the train went over the cliff. Showed professionalism when others did not.


Lost, but never had a realistic shot at winning

NEOMG


Tanked completely in my eyes

Jason Lloyd

* Still connected, still a good writer, but just seemed a bit too complicit in the anti-Blatt narrative for my tastes. Personally boycotted his work probably around halfway through the season