The Cleveland Cavaliers have pretty much run the Eastern Conference with an iron first for most of the regular and postseason, so it’s hilarious that so much drama has surrounded them. First, it was the midseason firing of head coach David Blatt, despite the team winning 30 of their first 41 games. Then, it was LeBron’s social media antics, which may or may not have involved him unfollowing his team and shutting down a press conference after being asked about it. The Cavs endured that, fended off a late-season rally by the Toronto Raptors to keep the #1 seed in the conference, and are currently 9-0 in the playoffs, including a whooping of the Raptors in last night’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 1.
Part of the reason the Cavs were able to weather their late-season storms was the promotion of Tyronn Lue from assistant coach to head coach, where he’s apparently gained control of the team in a way David Blatt was unable to. That might be due to the fact that Lue isn’t afraid to check LeBron James, and doesn’t allow him to dominate meetings or huddles the way he might’ve been able to in the past.
According to CBS Sports’ Ken Berger, Lue once told LeBron, “Shut the f*ck up. I got this,” in a huddle. It was an exchange that made Lue’s mission as head coach quite clear, and one that set the tone for the rest of the season and the playoffs for the Cavs.
Read Berger’s full report here.
