With the Cleveland Cavaliers still struggling to find consistency as we near the halfway point in the regular season, there is a growing concern that head coach David Blatt is losing the respect of his players. More specifically, people are wondering about Blatt’s relationship with LeBron James.
According to Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN, the Cavs are concerned about the lack of response Blatt is getting from the team during games. A prime example of that would be LeBron’s open admission that he took over point guard duties without consulting his coach.
Whispers about the lack of attention that various Cavs players are paying to Blatt during some timeout huddles, as well as their apparent preference to communicate with Cavs assistant and former NBA player Tyronn Lue, have been in circulation for weeks. And James acknowledged recently that he did not formally request permission to assume the bulk of the Cavs’ playmaking duties, which triggered Cleveland’s eight-game winning streak earlier this month.
“No, I can do it on my own,” James said of his role change. “I’m past those days where I have to ask.”
That sounds like a blatant statement of defiance from LeBron.
While the Cavs were initially successful when LeBron took the liberty of changing up their offensive approach, the are just 5-5 over their last 10 games. During that span, Cleveland ranks 27 in the NBA in defensive efficiency and 28th in field goal percentage. The Cavs aren’t getting it done on either side of the ball.
“We’re not a very good team, as far as on the court, where we’re still trying to find our way,” James said after Sunday’s loss to the 7-23 Detroit Pistons. “Right now we’re just not very good in every aspect of the game that we need to be to compete every night.”
It’s easy to overreact while the Cavs aren’t dominating the NBA, but there is still a long way to go. The team’s struggles aren’t all on Blatt, and Kyrie Irving recently admitted as much.
We heard the same stuff about Erik Spoelstra when the Miami Heat first assembled their Big Three, and that turned out just fine. That said, this isn’t the first indication we have gotten that LeBron and Blatt aren’t getting along (see: LeBron’s answer to this question). If James eventually decides he wants a new coach, the Cavs will deliver one for him.
