Tyronn Lue has been fired

[cavsfever]

What worries me most about Lue is how rudderless and without direction the team seems, at least from the outside. There are a lot of different things the team could be doing to prepare for the playoffs right now -- resting key players, experimenting with different lineups to use our newfound depth, developing new players like Derrick Williams, looking for an "all defense" lineup, experimenting with different defensive approaches, or even just busting our ass to get the one seed. We don't seem to be doing ANY of these things effectively. From the outside it looks like we are following the "busting our ass to get the one seed" (playing Lebron 40+ minutes in BtB games is totally incompatible with anything else), but the lack of defensive intensity means that strategy has been completely ineffective. And we don't seem to be making progress on any other priorities.

 

[buzzdog]

The anti-Lue lynch mob is starting to rear up once again.

We have 3 players coming back from time off.

Love is coming along okay, apparently at the cusp of being fully unrestricted in minutes. But he still isn't all the way back and he needs to get his confidence back.

JR's shot has been off since he got back so he can't be relied on to score on key possessions, but the team still HAS to keep feeding him and hopefully get his stroke and his confidence back.

Korver's stroke is a ways from being back but he has to get his attempts even though he's been off.

Kyrie has been unreliable with outside shooting, and recently he hasn't been able to finish close to the rim but he keeps forcing shit. I think Kyrie is getting worn down from this road trip but he should bounce back with the rest built into the playoff schedule. But Kyrie's fatigue showed all night last against the Wizards, his legs weren't all there.

Lebron couldn't hit from outside last night and he made some horribly sloppy passes. I think he is mentally and physically fatigued from the road trip.

Lue came right out and said after the game that he is keeping the defense vanilla so the only way we're going to stop anyone is with individual effort, more toughness, better fundamentals like boxing out, and timely defensive rotations.

I think Lue is letting this team take their lumps right now so they get it through their heads just what they need to do as individuals on the defensive end, and so they understand their roles and effort level that it will take to get stops.

We've seen flashes of solid defense but the team hasn't been able to sustain it for more than a few runs here and there. I think the brutal March schedule has a lot to do with it, along with the fact that players are making a calculated decision to save themselves for the playoffs so they're not going all in on these games.

 

[buzzdog]

One thing to illustrate where the team feels they're at in terms of effort and cohesiveness... after the Charlotte game Kyrie said something to the effect that even though they looked better, that wasn't anything close to being their best effort, and that they had a few more gears they could get to.

 

[LeShaq]

One thing to illustrate where the team feels they're at in terms of effort and cohesiveness

Glad you put this up because it's clear we're hardly even trying right now. And that's not to mention regaining chemistry with JR just back in the starting lineup, Deron Williams still figuring things out, Korver recently back from injury and Love recently back from surgery.

I just ran through some more data (going to put it in the "worried" thread) and it seems very clear that the team has put out almost zero defensive effort in two of the last three games (@DEN and vs WAS).

It actually makes me feel better, because it shows that we can be a lot more formidable when we actually try.

 

[cavsfever]

Kyrie has been unreliable with outside shooting, and recently he hasn't been able to finish close to the rim but he keeps forcing shit. I think Kyrie is getting worn down from this road trip but he should bounce back with the rest built into the playoff schedule. But Kyrie's fatigue showed all night last against the Wizards, his legs weren't all there.

Lebron couldn't hit from outside last night and he made some horribly sloppy passes. I think he is mentally and physically fatigued from the road trip.

Why are we even letting key players get so fatigued at this point in the season? Especially when, as you point out, we have lots of guys on the bench who need reps to develop their games? That's what I mean that our strategy just seems without direction at this point. I wouldn't mind losing some games or even losing the one seed if it looked like we were making progress on team priorities going into the playoffs.

And I don't think you can automatically assume that players magically bounce back with the rest in the playoffs schedule.

 

[buzzdog]

If I had any criticism of Lue for last night, it's that I would have thrown Liggins out there to guard Wall just to see if he could stay in front of him and get him off his game.

Otherwise, the team was stuck in second gear for most of the night. Like Lue said, the whole team was a step slow all night long. During the short spurt where they did exert themselves on defense we closed the lead to 3 points but they team ran out of juice and gave it back. That won't happen during the playoffs, effort will be sustained over longer periods of time.

 

[LeShaq]

If I had any criticism of Lue for last night, it's that I would have thrown Liggins out there to guard Wall just to see if he could stay in front of him and get him off his game.

Otherwise, the team was stuck in second gear for most of the night. Like Lue said, the whole team was a step slow all night long. During the short spurt where they did exert themselves on defense we closed the lead to 3 points but they team ran out of juice and gave it back. That won't happen during the playoffs, effort will be sustained over longer periods of time.

Last night was our worst DRTG of the entire season when any of the Big Three played.

It's an anomaly. That's not going to happen in the playoffs when we are focused and rested. At least not with any regularity.

 

[buzzdog]

Why are we even letting key players get so fatigued at this point in the season? Especially when, as you point out, we have lots of guys on the bench who need reps to develop their games? That's what I mean that our strategy just seems without direction at this point. I wouldn't mind losing some games or even losing the one seed if it looked like we were making progress on team priorities going into the playoffs.

And I don't think you can automatically assume that players magically bounce back with the rest in the playoffs schedule.

I think Lue still wants to try to steal wins where he can and he's too quick to bring Lebron back into the game at times. Not looking at the minutes it did seem like he sat Kyrie and Love for big chunks, but I'm guessing Lebron gets excited sitting on the bench and forces his way back into the games.

If I were to have another criticism of Lue, it would be that when Lebron sits at the end of a quarter, and if the guys who are out there when he sits are holding their own, Lue should ride with it until the replacement unit starts to backslide even a little. Instead Lue brings Lebron out to start the next quarter almost automatically. I think this is Lebron getting antsy and wanting back in, Lue needs to chill him out for longer breaks during the heart of the game.

 

[buzzdog]

Last night was our worst DRTG of the entire season when any of the Big Three played.

It's an anomaly. That's not going to happen in the playoffs when we are focused and rested. At least not with any regularity.

Yeah, but when a player is scorching hot like Wall was, why not throw something different at him to see if we can knock him off his stride a little? Liggins could go in for a spurt, get inside Wall's shirt for awhile, hack and hold him a few times, knock him down a few times. Leave some shooters out there for offense and use a pest to knock the Wizards off their stride for even a few minutes, instead of just letting them roll us while most of the Cavs are coasting on defense.

 

[LeShaq]

Yeah, but when a player is scorching hot like Wall was, why not throw something different at him to see if we can knock him off his stride a little? Liggins could go in for a spurt, get inside Wall's shirt for awhile, hack and hold him a few times, knock him down a few times. Leave some shooters out there for offense and use a pest to knock the Wizards off their stride for even a few minutes, instead of just letting them roll us while most of the Cavs are coasting on defense.

I'm with you. Not sure what Lue was thinking. Maybe he wanted to rub Kyrie's nose in it a little bit. I have to watch the game again and get a feel for it. Was kind of out of it last night when I watched.

Going through the data, and knowing last night was a back to back, I feel better.

Still, I think the coaching staff needs to start looking at the Wizards closely. I think they may be our biggest issue in the East. Particularly after they acquired Jennings and Bogdanovic.

 

[buzzdog]

I'm with you. Not sure what Lue was thinking. Maybe he wanted to rub Kyrie's nose in it a little bit. I have to watch the game again and get a feel for it. Was kind of out of it last night when I watched.

Going through the data, and knowing last night was a back to back, I feel better.

Still, I think the coaching staff needs to start looking at the Wizards closely. I think they may be our biggest issue in the East. Particularly after they acquired Jennings and Bogdanovic.

I think Lue is doing this to some degree with the whole team right now. Then he gets game film he can use to teach the schemes and adjustments that will be used in the playoffs. I think Lue would rather see the team take their lumps now instead of in the middle of a playoff series.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

I think Lue is doing this to some degree with the whole team right now. Then he gets game film he can use to teach the schemes and adjustments that will be used in the playoffs. I think Lue would rather see the team take their lumps now instead of in the middle of a playoff series.

You are giving Lue way too much credit. Just look at his face.. he doesn't think... only thing he does is dream.
All I see is excuses for Lue, it's quite amazing.

 

[Thunder]

Our stars need rest more than anything. No way LeBron should be playing 40 mins back to back...

 

[buzzdog]

You are giving Lue way too much credit. Just look at his face.. he doesn't think... only thing he does is dream.
All I see is excuses for Lue, it's quite amazing.

I decided to come in here and provide a counterpoint to the lynch mob mentality posts that show up here from time to time. Go ahead and keep your pitchfork sharp, and your torches ready if that floats your boat. But if we win it all keep your crow recipes ready once again, and we can lather/rinse repeat it again next year.

 

[K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's]

Tyronn Lue on the Cavs’ defense improving: “I’m not confident, but we have to.”

WTF did he actually say this lmao