Lloyd
http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/jason-lloyd-david-blatt-s-biggest-victory-must-come-in-the-locker-room-1.497985?localLinksEnabled=false&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
The biggest challenge facing David Blatt won’t be learning NBA personnel, the nuances of the game or even his own players’ names. Before he gets to that, before he worries about installing a defense and running offensive sets, the new coach of the Cavs must first win the locker room. It will be an ongoing battle from now until next April and beyond.
The NBA offseason hasn’t really started yet and there’s still plenty of time to change this roster, but as it is currently constructed, the Cavs have a locker room that at times has appeared to quit on its last two coaches.
At some point, it stops becoming a coaching issue and starts becoming an attitude issue.
Players have privately confided they could sense Byron Scott was going to be fired last year. It showed in the way they tuned him out near the end of the season and their lack of desire.
Then it was Mike Brown’s turn. Despite his best attempts at building relationships, particularly with star Kyrie Irving, Brown never seemed able to connect with this team. The players produced some of the most embarrassing efforts — and lopsided losses — in recent memory.
Now it’s on Blatt, a fiery 55-year-old who isn’t afraid to get in his players’ faces and deliver strong (shouting?) messages. He’s entering an NBA world of pampered players and fragile egos, but his former Euroleague players all seem to adore him.
They filled Twitter throughout Friday as news of the hiring spread. From former Cavs guard Jeremy Pargo (“One hell of a move,” he wrote) to Beno Udrih (“Well deserved! He is a great coach!!”), Blatt’s former players were gushing.
“He’s the best coach I ever played for,” former Cavs guard Anthony Parker said by phone Friday night. Parker won championships playing for Blatt with Maccabi Tel Aviv and dismissed the idea that his old coach is a hothead, but acknowledged he isn’t afraid to challenge players.
“I just think he’s very intelligent and has a great basketball mind,” Parker said. “That doesn’t come at the expense of having great relationships with players.
He’s a players’ coach that holds players accountable, but also has great communication and knows how to get the best out of guys.”
A big reason why Brown was brought back to Cleveland was to increase the accountability level in the locker room. But the players resisted — even rejected — his approach at various points last season.
Now it’s on Blatt, who at least on the surface seems to be facing a steep learning curve. He doesn’t have to simply learn the tendencies of his own 15 players, but the other 435 in the league as well.
Certainly Blatt is familiar with LeBron James and Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant. He is an American, after all, born and raised in the Boston suburbs with an Ivy League education. He reportedly first traveled to Israel as a sophomore at Princeton and knew he’d later return. Ultimately, he has spent most of his adult life there.
But Parker isn’t concerned about Blatt’s transition from international basketball back to the NBA and argues it would actually be more difficult for an NBA coach to transition to Europe, given the grueling travel schedule (constant international travel, trips through customs and five-hour flights), lack of facilities and nonexistent scouting departments. In Europe, Parker said, a lot of the coaches do their own scouting.
But there will still be adjustments, of course.
Euroleague games are 40 minutes, there are restrictions on how timeouts can be used, each player only gets five fouls and the goaltending rule is vastly different.
Blatt’s substitution patterns will have to change and he certainly has a lot of film work ahead of him, but Parker expects him to shine.
“The fact that he’s somehow viewed as riskier than younger coaches with, in some cases, no prior experience, that confuses me,” Parker said. “He’s coached in the Olympics. He’s coached at the highest levels in Euroleague.”
Much like Parker, Blatt is a legend in Israel for his work with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“This story right now is all anyone is talking about over there,” Parker said. “It’s big news. Maccabi Tel Aviv is the New York Knicks, L.A. Lakers and the Yankees all rolled into one. He’s not unfamiliar with this kind of environment and the pressures that come with that.
“I think of all the candidates that I heard discussed, he’s probably the safest pick.”
Blatt flew back to Israel in recent days while his contract with the Cavs was being completed. He’ll return in time for his introductory news conference on Wednesday and then participate in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Blatt will face immediate pressure to win. The Cavs improved by nine victories last season, but still missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Missing the postseason a fifth time, particularly with yet another No. 1 overall pick at their disposal, will be viewed as a failed season.
At one point while Parker was praising about Blatt, he caught himself and paused.
“I hope I’m not setting the bar too high,” Parker laughed. “I’m sure they’ll have struggles. He’s no different than anyone else in that sense. But I think he was the best hire. I don’t think he’s going to fail.”
In a prepared statement announcing the move, owner Dan Gilbert said Blatt has consistently done one thing throughout his career: win.
Before he can win on the court, however, he’ll have to win the locker room. Given the fate of the Cavs’ previous two coaches, it will be perhaps his toughest opponent.
http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/jason-lloyd-david-blatt-s-biggest-victory-must-come-in-the-locker-room-1.497985?localLinksEnabled=false&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
The biggest challenge facing David Blatt won’t be learning NBA personnel, the nuances of the game or even his own players’ names. Before he gets to that, before he worries about installing a defense and running offensive sets, the new coach of the Cavs must first win the locker room. It will be an ongoing battle from now until next April and beyond.
The NBA offseason hasn’t really started yet and there’s still plenty of time to change this roster, but as it is currently constructed, the Cavs have a locker room that at times has appeared to quit on its last two coaches.
At some point, it stops becoming a coaching issue and starts becoming an attitude issue.
Players have privately confided they could sense Byron Scott was going to be fired last year. It showed in the way they tuned him out near the end of the season and their lack of desire.
Then it was Mike Brown’s turn. Despite his best attempts at building relationships, particularly with star Kyrie Irving, Brown never seemed able to connect with this team. The players produced some of the most embarrassing efforts — and lopsided losses — in recent memory.
Now it’s on Blatt, a fiery 55-year-old who isn’t afraid to get in his players’ faces and deliver strong (shouting?) messages. He’s entering an NBA world of pampered players and fragile egos, but his former Euroleague players all seem to adore him.
They filled Twitter throughout Friday as news of the hiring spread. From former Cavs guard Jeremy Pargo (“One hell of a move,” he wrote) to Beno Udrih (“Well deserved! He is a great coach!!”), Blatt’s former players were gushing.
“He’s the best coach I ever played for,” former Cavs guard Anthony Parker said by phone Friday night. Parker won championships playing for Blatt with Maccabi Tel Aviv and dismissed the idea that his old coach is a hothead, but acknowledged he isn’t afraid to challenge players.
“I just think he’s very intelligent and has a great basketball mind,” Parker said. “That doesn’t come at the expense of having great relationships with players.
He’s a players’ coach that holds players accountable, but also has great communication and knows how to get the best out of guys.”
A big reason why Brown was brought back to Cleveland was to increase the accountability level in the locker room. But the players resisted — even rejected — his approach at various points last season.
Now it’s on Blatt, who at least on the surface seems to be facing a steep learning curve. He doesn’t have to simply learn the tendencies of his own 15 players, but the other 435 in the league as well.
Certainly Blatt is familiar with LeBron James and Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant. He is an American, after all, born and raised in the Boston suburbs with an Ivy League education. He reportedly first traveled to Israel as a sophomore at Princeton and knew he’d later return. Ultimately, he has spent most of his adult life there.
But Parker isn’t concerned about Blatt’s transition from international basketball back to the NBA and argues it would actually be more difficult for an NBA coach to transition to Europe, given the grueling travel schedule (constant international travel, trips through customs and five-hour flights), lack of facilities and nonexistent scouting departments. In Europe, Parker said, a lot of the coaches do their own scouting.
But there will still be adjustments, of course.
Euroleague games are 40 minutes, there are restrictions on how timeouts can be used, each player only gets five fouls and the goaltending rule is vastly different.
Blatt’s substitution patterns will have to change and he certainly has a lot of film work ahead of him, but Parker expects him to shine.
“The fact that he’s somehow viewed as riskier than younger coaches with, in some cases, no prior experience, that confuses me,” Parker said. “He’s coached in the Olympics. He’s coached at the highest levels in Euroleague.”
Much like Parker, Blatt is a legend in Israel for his work with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“This story right now is all anyone is talking about over there,” Parker said. “It’s big news. Maccabi Tel Aviv is the New York Knicks, L.A. Lakers and the Yankees all rolled into one. He’s not unfamiliar with this kind of environment and the pressures that come with that.
“I think of all the candidates that I heard discussed, he’s probably the safest pick.”
Blatt flew back to Israel in recent days while his contract with the Cavs was being completed. He’ll return in time for his introductory news conference on Wednesday and then participate in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Blatt will face immediate pressure to win. The Cavs improved by nine victories last season, but still missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Missing the postseason a fifth time, particularly with yet another No. 1 overall pick at their disposal, will be viewed as a failed season.
At one point while Parker was praising about Blatt, he caught himself and paused.
“I hope I’m not setting the bar too high,” Parker laughed. “I’m sure they’ll have struggles. He’s no different than anyone else in that sense. But I think he was the best hire. I don’t think he’s going to fail.”
In a prepared statement announcing the move, owner Dan Gilbert said Blatt has consistently done one thing throughout his career: win.
Before he can win on the court, however, he’ll have to win the locker room. Given the fate of the Cavs’ previous two coaches, it will be perhaps his toughest opponent.
