The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost six straight games, and panic is starting to set in. While fans shouldn’t be overly concerned about a 19-20 record halfway through the season, the fact that the players have reportedly begun to tune out head coach David Blatt is not a good sign.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, league scouts, executives and rival players have noticed several signs of defiance from the Cavs players in recent weeks.
They see players appearing to run different plays than the bench calls, see assistant coach Tyronne Lue calling timeouts literally behind Blatt’s back during games, and hear Cavs players openly talking about coaching issues with opposing players and personnel. Not once, not twice, but frequently over the past several months.
For weeks now, the small talk when league personnel run into each other at college games, airports or pregame meals has frequently started with: “What the hell is going on in Cleveland?”
The report comes on the heels of LeBron James literally pushing Blatt to the sideline on Tuesday night while Blatt was arguing with an official. While Windhorst notes that LeBron was simply trying to prevent Blatt from getting a technical foul and describes it as a “healthy” player-coach moment, we think it sends a bad message.
LeBron, who returned from injury on Tuesday night, is basically acting as player, coach and general manager at this point. James was reportedly consulted before the Cavs traded for JR Smith, so you know he has a hand in roster decisions. He also took over point guard duties last month without even telling Blatt.
As LB mentioned, LeBron had plenty of problems with Erik Spoelstra during their first season together. We all saw how that turned out. That said, something about LeBron’s icy relationship with Blatt just feels different. If the Cavs do anything less than win a championship this season, my gut feeling is that Blatt will be gone.
