There’s been jokes that LeBron James was the general manager, coach and star player of the Cleveland Cavaliers. With David Blatt as the coach, the Cavs were winning, in fact they had a 30-11 record leading the Eastern Conference but they weren’t winning the right way. They were dysfunctional and it was clear things needed to change. Tyronn Lue took over and did something that needed to be done, he told LeBron to STFU.
via CBS Sports:
“They felt they were doing this for LeBron,” the person familiar with the internal workings of the team said, “instead of with LeBron.”
Lue changed that the moment he first told James in a huddle, “Shut the [expletive up]. I got this,” according to a person who heard the exchange — and a few others like it. If Lue was going to get the stars and the role players to buy into the strategic changes he was determined to implement — play faster, space the floor, move the ball, take full advantage of Love’s versatility — he was going to have to restore order first.
He did it in every way possible, starting with James — calling him out in film sessions, barking at him in practice, seizing control back. Only then could the Cavaliers evolve into the juggernaut we are witnessing now.
So far the Cavaliers are 9-0 in the playoffs and are currently playing the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
