Four days after an embarrassing loss to the defending champs on home court, second-year Cavaliers coach David Blatt is paying for that humiliation with his job.
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| David, I hardly knew ye... |
At least that will be a major part
of the narrative in the days ahead as fans and local media try to deconstruct Blatt's
deep-sixing by team brass this afternoon. If anything, the evisceration by the Golden State
Warriors may have been the fatal blow in a coaching tenure that had been bleeding
for some time.
According to ESPN's Chris
Broussard, Cavs players were not convinced Blatt could take this team to a
championship level. Early
word from beat writer Brian Windhorst claims LeBron James was not consulted
on the decision, a bit of lip service so egregious as to be comical.
Regardless, the Cavs have even more
pressure on them now to bring this title-starved city a summertime parade, with
assistant coach Tyronn Lue taking the hot seat. The Blatt-led Cavs' gaudy
record masked some problems, no doubt, namely an offense where ball rotation
was shunted aside for one-on-one hero ball.
Whether that's on Blatt or the
players is a question. Both sides are to blame, most likely. However, it's
apparent these players didn't respect Blatt, and that was an issue that could not be ignored. Blame the
diva-licious NBA era we live in if you will, but as a prisoner of the moment,
at least, it's evident Blatt would have been canned at season's end barring a
title run.
It sucks, but them's the breaks on
a team built to win immediately. After today's controversial move, Cleveland fans can do
nothing but hope the gamble pays off big time.