Tyronn Lue has been fired

[ACisKING]

Do you all think it was LeBron or Lue's decision to keep the bench on the floor with LeBron? I just feel like that's why LeBron doesn't criticize Lue because Lue let's him make all the decisions.


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Well based on all the post-game comments it appears to definitely have been Lue's decision.

I can't imagine LeBron is actually deciding substitution patterns for his teammates. At most he has say over his own minutes.

 

[ACisKING]

I posted earlier in this thread that there is no defensive scheme that will make this many bad defenders look good. And I still believe that. But the switching scheme used in the second half (which we also saw at key moments in game one and throughout last year's Finals) at least eliminates some of the wide open shots the Cavs have been conceding. Switching has it's own downsides (like having Frye or Korver or Kyrie matched up against a good offensive player one on one), and I have no doubt that a good offensive team will be able to take advantage of the Cavs poor individual defenders. But in my opinion, switching is preferable to the Longo-Lue trap (not sure whose idea this is) that we saw at times in January and February, towards the end of last year's regular season, and in the first half of game three of this series. I'd rather concede a mismatch, which at least takes time to take advantage of and requires great one on one offensive players, than have slow-footed Cavs try to trap or hedge and recover.

 

[LeShaq]

I think Love and Kyrie sitting the whole quarter was sending a message as well as it was trying to win the game. They were both horrendous in the minutes that they played. Kyrie went back to playing selfish no defense basketball and Love stopped doing everything once he missed shots.

Along with zero rim protection (besides LeBron playing the back line of defense as a roaming safety), this is the biggest issue on the team and will likely remain so until Kevin and Kyrie fully "get it" and exorcise all their bad old habits that came from years of playing on losing teams.

I said this in the Open Thread maybe two weeks ago -- Kevin and Kyrie are mentally weak. That was probably the wrong way to word it, but the point is the same. They are the Achilles Heel of the team, the spot you are hoping to force to crumble if you are to defeat the Cavs. At least among the "major" portions of the team.

In the grand scheme of things, this was an excellent year for both Kevin and Kyrie. Both had their best seasons with LeBron around. Kyrie has really come around, more and more, to moving the ball at a greater rate. Things look promising for both players' future.

Still, there is progress yet to be made by both Kyrie and Kevin as regards focus and defensive effort. And when and how to "turn the switch" and keep it turned, and so forth.

This is no surprise. LeBron, who is extremely mentally strong now, had to go through similar lessons in his own career.

Once Kevin and Kyrie fully "figure it out," we will be nearly unbeatable. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later. Last year was a giant step for them both in terms of 'mental toughness' development.

 

[Pioneer10]

Lue definitely has some balls when it counts: completely sat Shumpert in Game 1, both Love and Irving in second half of Game 3. Watched the NBA for years and that is always something that it seems coaches have very hard time doing - sitting rotation players is very difficult for most of these guys. Makes sense you don't want to destroy chemistry and the locker room for a guy presumably if getting minutes was well liked by both the coaching staff and players

 

[kookoo]

Lue definitely has some balls when it counts: completely sat Shumpert in Game 1, both Love and Irving in second half of Game 3. Watched the NBA for years and that is always something that it seems coaches have very hard time doing - sitting rotation players is very difficult for most of these guys. Makes sense you don't want to destroy chemistry and the locker room for a guy presumably if getting minutes was well liked by both the coaching staff and players

I appreciate all the adjustments especially since I felt he didn't have any balls to make in-game lineup changes during the season.

 

[fan0283]

Lue definitely has some balls when it counts: completely sat Shumpert in Game 1, both Love and Irving in second half of Game 3. Watched the NBA for years and that is always something that it seems coaches have very hard time doing - sitting rotation players is very difficult for most of these guys. Makes sense you don't want to destroy chemistry and the locker room for a guy presumably if getting minutes was well liked by both the coaching staff and players

Really good point. Even great coaches have a problem making ruthless deviations from their default gameplan till it torpedos their teams chances of winning. This is one thing I'll always love about Lue. In the postseason he seems to have quick responses to situations of adversity

 

[fan0283]

Was in the live game thread when some guy got dog's abuse for suggesting Kyrie be benched. Some people's idea of being good fans is to blindly defend the status quo. Lucky that our coach is not that foolish

 

[buzzdog]

Was in the live game thread when some guy got dog's abuse for suggesting Kyrie be benched. Some people's idea of being good fans is to blindly defend the status quo. Lucky that our coach is not that foolish

To be fair if the group on the floor at the end of the game wasn't having success then there's no doubt Lue would have put Kyrie and Kevin back in. Their absence in the 4th quarter was more a result of Lue riding a wave that was working rather than any kind of indictment against the 2 players who were fine with sitting as long as we got the win.

Having said that I disagree with abusing posters who have a divergent opinion as long as it's not too much of a knee-jerk over-reaction of a take. But for that very reason I avoid game threads like the plague. I usually see nothing of value in game threads and no good reason to waste my time there. Plus I usually watch the games on a slightly delayed basis so I can skip commercials and halftime bullshit. I normally skip the real time broadcast, at least until the finals.

 

[ACisKING]

Lue definitely has some balls when it counts: completely sat Shumpert in Game 1, both Love and Irving in second half of Game 3. Watched the NBA for years and that is always something that it seems coaches have very hard time doing - sitting rotation players is very difficult for most of these guys. Makes sense you don't want to destroy chemistry and the locker room for a guy presumably if getting minutes was well liked by both the coaching staff and players

This happened in last year's playoffs too. Lue took Mozgov out of the rotation when it was obvious that he was bad. While Delly was useful in the early rounds, Lue benched him as his play started to decline. Frye was a huge part of the success in the early rounds but when it became clear he didn't have the athleticism to play against the Warriors, he was taken out of the rotation too. Conversely guys like Jefferson who started off slowly but became more useful as the playoffs progressed got more minutes.

 

[mhi]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ia-portrayal-kyrie-irving-kevin-love-benching

Not a big fan of Lue bringing this topic up again and getting a little chest puffy with the media, particularly in public. A little too Blatt-ish for me.

A better coach shakes his head and leaves it alone, then moves on to focus on the next game.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ia-portrayal-kyrie-irving-kevin-love-benching

Not a big fan of Lue bringing this topic up again and getting a little chest puffy with the media, particularly in public. A little too Blatt-ish for me.

A better coach shakes his head and leaves it alone, then moves on to focus on the next game.

The only difference is that the players actually respect Lue so they're not going to give a shit about this story being out there.

 

[shoes22]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ia-portrayal-kyrie-irving-kevin-love-benching

Not a big fan of Lue bringing this topic up again and getting a little chest puffy with the media, particularly in public. A little too Blatt-ish for me.

A better coach shakes his head and leaves it alone, then moves on to focus on the next game.

I've never heard Lue come across so sassy before...

Truthfully I even agree with Lue's point, but he kept going on and on and on about it. Just say what you have to say and move on.

 

[MirORich]

Keep in mind a lot of these answers are spurred by reporter questions. So Lue may have been simply responding to a continuing line of questioning.

Either way, I'd say the same thing. Besides LeBron, there is no one on this team any head coach is "asking permission" to do anything. So he has every right to defend his reputation and I doubt that it bothers Kyrie or Kevin one bit.

If anything, that run at the end of game three solidifies a purpose and unity throughout the playoffs. How can Shump, JR, Frye, or RJ get sensitive or salty about evolving roles and minutes in a game by game, series by series basis when Kyrie and Love just sat out the entire 4th qtr because the circumstances called for it.

 

[chuck0609]

Lue definitely has some balls when it counts: completely sat Shumpert in Game 1, both Love and Irving in second half of Game 3. Watched the NBA for years and that is always something that it seems coaches have very hard time doing - sitting rotation players is very difficult for most of these guys. Makes sense you don't want to destroy chemistry and the locker room for a guy presumably if getting minutes was well liked by both the coaching staff and players

I see it a little differently. Hes spastic and rides LBJ as far as he can, throwing guys out there hoping to see who sticks.
They're in the playoffs and he's running five guys out there that have barely played together on the floor at once.
It worked out, but because Lebron played the entire second half.
He's developed nothing outside of Lebron. With two other alleged all stars and a wealth of shooting that's really unacceptable with the salary of this team. They acquired an athletic big in D Williams and he buried him in favor of an aging Richard Jefferson.
After Lebron, what has he done? (But he doesn't have LBJ complaining so there is value in that).

 

[buzzdog]

FWIW that "aging" Richard Jefferson is still pretty damn good especially in a playoff run. And that guy played 3 minutes in the last Pacers game.

I'm still trying to figure out why having Lebron on the team creates such a negative stigma for the GM and the head coach. They are penalized in every decision because they make the mistake of relying on the GOAT who would play 48 minutes of every game if he could at this point of his career. Lebron is cementing his legacy this season and he'll want to continue to do so as long as he feels he has his body under control. When Lebron himself feels like he is feeling negative effects I have no doubt that the expectations will shift. But for now the reality is Lue is using Lebron the way he wants to be used and as long as they're winning this will continue.