I was a Lue supporter when he took over the role.. I thought he did well with the Cavs defense during Blatt's first season; and I thought he did well in 2016-17, particularly in the playoffs.
At this point -- I don't know what it is, maybe it's the lack of a GM or PoBO that has the ability and gravitas to influence the team; but, Lue has at this point lost any confidence I think a reasonable and objective observer would have in him.
We're 3 games into the playoffs, and he's still tinkering with starting lineups, he's still not developed any offensive system worth much at all, he's been unable to maximize his players in the playoffs the same way other coaches seem to have done. And we seem to be far too overly reliant on individual talent coming out and making and converting plays rather than having a system in place to bring out the maximum and most optimal qualities in each player.
Effectively, the job of an NBA coach is to do bring a team together, while bringing out the best in each player; and all in all install a system to bring balance to the active roster, get star players rest, and create opportunities for players to contribute.
While it's notable that Lue has loyalty for his staff in Longabardi; the Cavs have now fielded one of the worst defenses in the NBA since his hiring. Lue's allegiance to Longabardi is commendable from a human standpoint, but neither a basketball nor a business nor managerial one. It's simply the wrong decision, and it's one of several bad decisions by this coaching staff, led by Ty Lue.
This team is already at too much of a disadvantage to continue to allow for these sorts of unforced errors. We already have the disadvantage of a meddling of owner, the firing of a successful general manager without replacement, the loss of our franchise player without replacement, the now-decidedly failed Kyrie Irving trade, the now obvious hedge of a trade deadline that threw away our best chances at contention in these playoffs, and the sacrifice of yet another year of James' prime due to a game of 'free-agent chicken' with the potential GOAT.
We're now forced to have James average 42 MPG in the first round of the playoffs because we're fielding a lottery team around him.
So with all that being said, given how poorly this team is playing, the coaching mistakes are simply magnified and brought to the surface. Where many, including myself, might rationalize or excuse Lue's mistakes during the regular season -- that excuse is gone, we're now in the playoffs.
The Cavs sit 2-2, but in 4 games that should not have been this close. Three 3rd quarters of bumbling, incohesive, incoherent basketball.
The tl;dr of this is that, barring a Cavs championship this year, Ty Lue must be fired. The entire coaching staff should be terminated. With that said, the Cavs need to (but won't) hire a President of Basketball Operations immediately -- someone to assist rookie-GM Koby Altman so that he can make some major trades this offseason to get LeBron some much needed help.
And FWIW, for those that feel like a win is a win; I'd rather write this post coming off a win, then to write it coming off a loss going down 3-1 against a team like the Pacers, with no superstar talent, but that has outhustled, and outplayed this Cavs team with two ostensible superstars.
