David Blatt is a former NBA coach

[DougHeil]

LeBron will reign in himself. Watch his post game presser.

 

[enigmatic]

Masterful job by Blatt tonight. The only guy truly on offensively was JR and he rode him as he should have. The switching D and especially getting Ky out of there when Teague was blowing by him was the right move. Going small to counter ATL, too.

Much props to Blatt tonight.

 

[LeShaq]

THE BEST DAMN PART OF ALL OF THIS BLATT DOMINATION (AND IT IS DOMINATION; HE OWNED BUD TONIGHT) IS THAT...


...he's relying on role players to get the job done. Just as his reputation and European coaching background would make you think he would.

Atlanta makes a run early in the 4th. Irving out, Delly in, lead goes back up to 16 points.

How many coaches have the stones to do that? Have the brains to do that?

- Tristan Thompson
- JR Smith (who praised the coaches after tonight)
- Delly
- James Jones

Think about this seriously -- we have a great shot to make the Finals this year AND JAMES FREAKING JONES IS PART OF OUR 8-MAN ROTATION. Then try to tell me that Blatt can't coach.

I love this guy. I love this dude. I do. I just hope we make the Finals because I want to see the media look like the punks they are when we hopefully beat Atlanta.

 

[Freilauf]

I have noticed that Lebron, JR and the other players when complimenting the coaching, usually refer to it as "the coaching stuff", "the coaches" etc. rarely "coach Blatt". Lebron does it all the time and others too. post game press tonight with JR and Lebron of example.
Do you think it is got to do with their relationship with Blatt? that maybe they value the assistant coaches a bit more? Is it rather common among players? did lebron refer to the coaching in the same manner in the past, while in Miami, or before with the cavs?

 

[teamballer]

http://www.foxsports.com/ohio/story/cavs-blatt-crushing-critics-one-meaninful-win-at-a-time-052015

Sam The Bullshit Whisperer - Fox Sports Ohio

No first-time NBA coach has been as analyzed and criticized as the Cavaliers' David Blatt -- maybe ever.

During theCavs' series vs. Chicago, a national writer who's covered the league for more than 30 years told me he's never seen a coach so loathed by the media. The writer wasn't saying that for the record, but the point remains the same -- it's clear Blatt has some people with poison pens working against him.

Sometimes, I look at Blatt during his news conferences and think, "This poor guy truly is all alone up there." And that's not just because Blatt sits at the podium by himself. It has more to do with the fact reporters and Blatt often appear to be at odds.

Some of this is because Blatt can indeed be condescending. He can be snarky even when answering a non-pressing or non-controversial question. Such as: "What did you think of the team's defense?"

Rather than just going ahead and providing a simple answer, Blatt might smile and fire back with a question of his own: "You were there," I heard him answer once. "Didn't you see it?"

That's actually not a terrible way to go about handling things. Blatt likes to have some fun. It's just that not everyone sitting across from him sees it that way.

So when Blatt makes any sort of perceived blunder -- such as trying to call a timeout when his team has none, or comparing himself to a fighter pilot -- reporters can deliver the news with a vengeance.

They analyze, they criticize.

As for Blatt's team winning 34 of its final 43 regular-season games, or compiling an 8-2 record in the playoffs despite the loss ofKevin Loveand injuries to Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, well, that's no credit to the coach.

At least, that's too often how the media portrays things.The Cavs are only winning because ofLeBron James, the critics insist.Anything good that happens is solely because of assistantTyronn Lue, the detractors maintain.Blatt is about to be fired, the national pundits exclaim.

It's true, as Cavs general manager David Griffin and owner Dan Gilbert have each been forced to come to Blatt's defense in just his first season -- using words such as "ridiculous" and phrases such as "parade of silliness" to describe reports of Blatt's demise.

Griffin and Gilbert are right. A lot of the things written and said about Blatt have been downright childish. And a lot of it is solely because he doesn't cater to reporters in the buddy-buddy manner that they sometimes demand.

Coaching matters

Blatt isn't the first coach to be perceived by the media as pompous. San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and former Chicago andLA Lakerscoach Phil Jackson have been extremely difficult at times. As another reporter once told me about Jackson: "He's more important than you and his priority is to let you know."

The difference is, Popovich and Jackson have been in the NBA forever and own lots of championship rings. Blatt, on the other hand, never coached or played in the NBA. Instead, he spent years overseas. But he too won and won a lot -- it's just that no one in the United States really knew about it.

Still, what really matters about Blatt as the Cavs enter the Eastern Conference finals vs. Atlanta on Wednesday: His team is very confident and extremely united.

And that's a major assist for the coach.

Think about all the tall tales, all the doubts. Think about how Love was lost for the postseason, how Irving is playing on one good leg (if that), how LeBron hasn't been able to find the range on his jumper.

Yet the Cavs keep defending. They keep fighting. They keep winning.

Along the way, Blatt has defeated coaches such as Popovich and Media Golden Boy Steve Kerr of Golden State in the regular season. Then Blatt's team bounced another media favorite, Brad Stevens of Boston, from the playoffs. Then the same thing happened against the highly respected Tom Thibodeau of Chicago.

That's not intended to rip other coaches. Most do fine work.

But some of them couldn't have overcome the rumors, hints of discord and random allegations that always surround Blatt.

They would've taken it out on their players. They would've pointed their fingers at ownership. They may have even lost their jobs. And most of them would receive a pass from the media.

Not Blatt. He only has Cavs management, his staff and the players in his corner. He only has his team's success to show he belongs.

So go ahead. Analyze and criticize. But you should also recognize, and perhaps even appreciate, that David Blatt is beating most everyone in spite of it.

 

[Tazoz]

I have noticed that Lebron, JR and the other players when complimenting the coaching, usually refer to it as "the coaching stuff", "the coaches" etc. never "coach Blatt". Lebron does it all the time and other too. post game press tonight with JR and Lebron of example.
Do you think it is got to do with their relationship with Blatt? that maybe they value the assistant coaches a bit more? Is it rather common among players? did lebron refer to the coaching in the same manner in the past, while in Miami, or before with the cavs?

It most likely shows that Blatt has a good relationship with his assistant coaches and works together with them well, so the players see them as one unit. It also shows that the players appreciate the hard work that the assistants do.

 

[ThirdWorld]

I do believe we still need to actually win the ECF before considering the Finals.
Let's at least split in ATL before we start discussing the finals.

Did game 1 earlier give you an impression that the Hawks has a chance of winning the series against an already hobbled team?

Blatt also rode Delly throughout the 4th and left Kyrie on the bench. Kyrie was completely unable to keep Teague in front of him, and I respect the coach being able to keep an all-star down when he's not up to task in the game.

Even when Delly was bricking so bad, still Blatt didnt pull him out due to Delly's defense. Teague was missing shots cept those near the rim attempts

Smart coach indeed

 

[mrbeaks]

The Cavs do have a unique situation, what with Tyronn Lue as the "associate head coach". And then you've got LeBron doing pretty much whatever he pleases on offense (which sometimes includes listening to his coaches). All season, I've felt that Blatt has distinguished himself by drawing up effective plays coming out of time outs, but good luck getting the national media to notice this shit.

I think the Cavs have a dysfunctional coaching staff, but there's no real animus; it's just an odd fit. They need to simplify the chain of command, and that means either committing to Blatt, or letting him go and promoting Lue. It's been a goofy season, but here we are, seven wins from the Cleveland title in over fifty years.

 

[gigabyte056]

Did game 1 earlier give you an impression that the Hawks has a chance of winning the series against an already hobbled team?



Even when Delly was bricking so bad, still Blatt didnt pull him out due to Delly's defense. Teague was missing shots cept those near the rim attempts

Smart coach indeed

The way we handled ourselves, the way D took care of their O and the injury Carrol sustained all lead me to the conclusion that we will probably win the ECF.
That being said, I can't believe we will get a sweep, if we do we can rest up and that is great.

I think we need to consider if we want to play Kyrie at all, he was a liability on D and I think he is hurting his self confidence the way he shoots now.

Great win, great coaching and I hope we take the next one, then we can discuss broom action.

 

[Adam]

Great job by blatt especially defensively. They decided on the Steve Nash approach of single coverage on Teague and letting him get his but starving the rest.

TT got trusted to single cover mil sap and did a great job.

I've always thought the players use coaching staff term due to the collaborative nature of the staff and teams in the NBA

 

[K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's]

Loved the game plan especially on D, another masterful job by coach blatt.

Teauge was killing us with penetration though, I wounder what coach will do to address that.

Teauge is the best player on the hawks squad, you stop his penetration and their offense is crap

 

[Benedict_Boozer]

Defense was much better in the 2nd half, particularly in the 3rd quarter. Kudos to Blatt because the D has really progressed overall under his watch. We were a little lax at protecting the paint but it's clear that when we need to amp up the D - we can lock it down for stretches and Blatt is getting it done with injured guys all over the floor.

 

[enigmatic]

Love it, just love it. Maybe The Bullshit Whisperer truly believes this; maybe he's just trying to curry favor, I don't know. I'm just glad that somebody in the Cavs beat writer's pool other than Chris Parker is saying this and hopefully those who have been so childish will finally put their big-boy pants on and do their jobs in a professional way, not as part of some junior high lunch room gang.

http://www.foxsports.com/ohio/story/cavs-blatt-crushing-critics-one-meaninful-win-at-a-time-052015

Sam The Bullshit Whisperer - Fox Sports Ohio

No first-time NBA coach has been as analyzed and criticized as the Cavaliers' David Blatt -- maybe ever.

During theCavs' series vs. Chicago, a national writer who's covered the league for more than 30 years told me he's never seen a coach so loathed by the media. The writer wasn't saying that for the record, but the point remains the same -- it's clear Blatt has some people with poison pens working against him.

Sometimes, I look at Blatt during his news conferences and think, "This poor guy truly is all alone up there." And that's not just because Blatt sits at the podium by himself. It has more to do with the fact reporters and Blatt often appear to be at odds.

Some of this is because Blatt can indeed be condescending. He can be snarky even when answering a non-pressing or non-controversial question. Such as: "What did you think of the team's defense?"

Rather than just going ahead and providing a simple answer, Blatt might smile and fire back with a question of his own: "You were there," I heard him answer once. "Didn't you see it?"

That's actually not a terrible way to go about handling things. Blatt likes to have some fun. It's just that not everyone sitting across from him sees it that way.

So when Blatt makes any sort of perceived blunder -- such as trying to call a timeout when his team has none, or comparing himself to a fighter pilot -- reporters can deliver the news with a vengeance.

They analyze, they criticize.

As for Blatt's team winning 34 of its final 43 regular-season games, or compiling an 8-2 record in the playoffs despite the loss ofKevin Loveand injuries to Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, well, that's no credit to the coach.

At least, that's too often how the media portrays things.The Cavs are only winning because ofLeBron James, the critics insist.Anything good that happens is solely because of assistantTyronn Lue, the detractors maintain.Blatt is about to be fired, the national pundits exclaim.

It's true, as Cavs general manager David Griffin and owner Dan Gilbert have each been forced to come to Blatt's defense in just his first season -- using words such as "ridiculous" and phrases such as "parade of silliness" to describe reports of Blatt's demise.

Griffin and Gilbert are right. A lot of the things written and said about Blatt have been downright childish. And a lot of it is solely because he doesn't cater to reporters in the buddy-buddy manner that they sometimes demand.

Coaching matters

Blatt isn't the first coach to be perceived by the media as pompous. San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and former Chicago andLA Lakerscoach Phil Jackson have been extremely difficult at times. As another reporter once told me about Jackson: "He's more important than you and his priority is to let you know."

The difference is, Popovich and Jackson have been in the NBA forever and own lots of championship rings. Blatt, on the other hand, never coached or played in the NBA. Instead, he spent years overseas. But he too won and won a lot -- it's just that no one in the United States really knew about it.

Still, what really matters about Blatt as the Cavs enter the Eastern Conference finals vs. Atlanta on Wednesday: His team is very confident and extremely united.

And that's a major assist for the coach.

Think about all the tall tales, all the doubts. Think about how Love was lost for the postseason, how Irving is playing on one good leg (if that), how LeBron hasn't been able to find the range on his jumper.

Yet the Cavs keep defending. They keep fighting. They keep winning.

Along the way, Blatt has defeated coaches such as Popovich and Media Golden Boy Steve Kerr of Golden State in the regular season. Then Blatt's team bounced another media favorite, Brad Stevens of Boston, from the playoffs. Then the same thing happened against the highly respected Tom Thibodeau of Chicago.

That's not intended to rip other coaches. Most do fine work.

But some of them couldn't have overcome the rumors, hints of discord and random allegations that always surround Blatt.

They would've taken it out on their players. They would've pointed their fingers at ownership. They may have even lost their jobs. And most of them would receive a pass from the media.

Not Blatt. He only has Cavs management, his staff and the players in his corner. He only has his team's success to show he belongs.

So go ahead. Analyze and criticize. But you should also recognize, and perhaps even appreciate, that David Blatt is beating most everyone in spite of it.

 

[boogie-havoc]

Coaching did a good job tonight, but the story is still JR hitting crazy contested jumpers, and that isn't anything to do with coaching, other than that coaches hate it when players take those shots. Hope we can say that the next win is all on the back of a solid game plan.

I strongly disagree.

The most pivotal game-changing aspect of this game was the defensive adjustments made by Blatt in the 2nd half.

If the Cavs continue to play the same defense they did in the 1st, where the Hawks simply dismantle them at will - no amount of crazy shots by JR would've mattered.

Blatt's ability to adjust on the fly during the break (an ability he has shown to be one of the best in the NBA at throughout the season and these playoffs) won that game.

It was extremely impressive to watch.

 

[David.]

37 points in the second half. To the hawks.

Take out goaltending and bogus free throws.

Absolutely incredible.

Where's your coach of the year again?