The narrative with LeBron James is that he's his own coach and won't listen to the person hired to be the team coach. That narrative was only strengthened this season when David Blatt was fired midseason and replaced by Tyronn Lue. It was strengthened even more when James appeared to be doing the coaching during a game in which he wasn't active.
Assistant coach LeBron. pic.twitter.com/n6fP4fuRcM
— Dan Labbe (@dan_labbe) March 30, 2016
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It appears this was partly accurate when Blatt was in control. In a new report by CBS Sports' Ken Berger, part of the Cavs' initial problems this season was Blatt losing control of his players. One team source told Burger the Cavs were a "fractured team" and they just didn't function properly.
By letting James overwhelm him in the huddle during timeouts, Blatt unwittingly ceded control — and demoralized the rest of the team. By not being comfortable enough to rein in James, the dynamic of the team became one of LeBron and then everybody else.
"They felt they were doing this for LeBron," the person familiar with the internal workings of the team said, "instead of with LeBron."
Lue changed that the moment he first told James in a huddle, "Shut the [expletive up]. I got this," according to a person who heard the exchange -- and a few others like it. If Lue was going to get the stars and the role players to buy into the strategic changes he was determined to implement — play faster, space the floor, move the ball, take full advantage of Love's versatility — he was going to have to restore order first.
Lue's ability to control James appears to have made quite the difference. The Cavs swept their first two opponents in the postseason and had a dominating win over the Raptors in Game 1 Tuesday night.
