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Cleveland Cavaliers: Tyronn Lue deserves credit for the Cavs’ success

By Robbie Stratakos

NBA Los Angeles Lakers Tyronn Lue of the (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
NBA Los Angeles Lakers Tyronn Lue of the (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2018 playoff run has been generated by the play of LeBron James, but head coach Tyronn Lue’s importance to their team cannot be discredited

The Cleveland Cavaliers found a way to reach the NBA Finals for a fourth consecutive season after defeating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and LeBron James is the biggest reason why they were able to do as such. But it’s time to start giving head coach Tyronn Lue credit for the Cavs’ success.

Everyone knows the notion surrounding Lue and the Cavs: He’s not really the head coach, James is. Whether it be James screaming during timeouts, Lue telling him to shut something up, or the simple ups and downs, the two have been an interesting coach-player duo, to say the least. But when you look at everything that unfolded with the Cavs in the 2017-18 regular season, how can Lue’s coaching be overlooked?

Going into Training Camp, the Cavs were deprived of star point guard Kyrie Irving after he requested and was honored a trade out of Cleveland. And the focal part of the return from the Boston Celtics (who the Cavs traded Irving to) on Irving was point guard Isaiah Thomas -who didn’t play until January.

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Once Thomas got into the fold, he became a major distraction. He struggled to co-exist in the team’s offense and began the Real Housewives of Cleveland. After accusing Kevin Love of faking an illness minutes into a game, Thomas supposedly sparked a heated team meeting. To make matters worse, the Cavs went 7-8 in games which Thomas played.

At the NBA trade deadline, Cavs’ general manager Koby Altman decided to blow up the team’s roster. Trading away Thomas, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder, and Dwyane Wade, while reeling in Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., George Hill, and Rodney Hood, Altman tasked Lue with getting a new group of players on the same page just two months before the playoffs started.

Granted they were only the four seed in the East, Lue, James, and the Cavs got it together when it mattered most.

After trailing 2-1 to the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs bounced back to win back-to-back games and took care of business in Game 7 on home court. Two weeks later, they swept the one-seeded Toronto Raptors in convincing fashion. Then, they trailed 2-0 and 3-2 to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and found a way to even and ultimately win the series – which marks their fourth consecutive Finals appearance. Lue gets no credit for that run?

Individuals who have endured the experience of coaching James in recent memory have dealt with major adjustments and been criticized often whether it be Mike Brown, Erik Spoelstra, David Blatt or Lue. But out of those four names, Spoelstra has been praised to this day and rightfully so. He coached the Miami Heat to back-to-back championships alongside James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. But hasn’t Lue won a championship and been to the NBA Finals the last three seasons? Sure, there have been some fiery moments between Lue and James, but how is it any different than the Future Hall of Famer’s relationship with Spoelstra?

Remember when James ignored and decided to bump Spoelstra out of his way when walking to the bench? In fact, in the  book “The Soul of Basketball,” it’s noted how Miami Heat executive Pat Riley was of the belief that James wanted him to coach the team after asking a question about whether he still had a desire to return to coaching.

Look: James is the Cavs and the Cavs are James. But it doesn’t mean you can disregard Lue’s role in their success. What the Cavs have done this season is remarkable when you consider the overwhelming amount of adversity they had to overcome. Throughout it all, Lue had to find five players who could play with one another, juggling with an immense amount of rotations; James doesn’t configure the starting five. Meanwhile, the Cavs’ NBA Finals’ opponent, the Golden State Warriors, have a head coach who’s let his players take his clipboard to coach the team themselves. Imagine if Lue let James literally coach the team? The ridicule would be off the charts whether it be in joking spirit or sincere rage.

The Cavs are nowhere near the team Golden State is; they simply can’t match the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. Sure, they have Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, George Hill, and Jeff Green, but Cleveland can’t match the Warriors’ firepower even in James’ presence; it’s a series that all but likely ends in a Golden State sweep or a five-game series. But the fact that the Cavs are even in this position after the wild season they encountered is astonishing.

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The Cavs have made it to the NBA Finals in each of the three years that Lue has been the team’s head coach; it’s time to give credit where it is due: Lue has done a great job.

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