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March 23, 2015The Cleveland Cavaliers obviously want to land in the second slot when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks are leading the pack by a wide margin, but landing at No. 2 means that the road to the Eastern Conference Finals would involve teams like the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks as opposed to the Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls. Cavs coach David Blatt iterated as much in a recent press conference, but LeBron James feels the team could do some damage regardless of where they fall come mid-April.
In a space typically reserved for ESPN, a panel at FOX Sports 1 took this difference in opinion as yet another chapter in James’ season-long place-putting of his head coach.
For those keeping score in the video above:
- LeBron left Miami due to Pat Riley pushing back
- Gregg Popovich is the only head coach to deserve respect from once-in-a-generation stars
- It was James’ relationship with Eric Spolestra that led to the Heat losing to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011
- And we’re at a point where we need to say: “Hey, LeBron: Can you be nicer?”
These types of discussions are difficult for me to analyze as, being a Cleveland fan, I’m admittedly too close to the situation. I can tend to be like Kevin Bacon in Animal House, screaming “Don’t panic!” when the entire situation is unraveling before my eyes. But in this one, I’m just not seeing it. I see a superstar player who plays for a rookie head coach and a rookie head coach who feels he is not a rookie. Beyond that, I think we’re at a point in the season where we feel the need to read a bit too far into every quote as we await the postseason to tip off.
Would the Cavs have a good chance of being successful regardless of where they finished? Yes. Would things be a bit easier if they were No. 2? For sure.
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Blatt: It’s important to gain the 2 seed
LeBron: I dont care where we finish, just get me in the playoffs
Media: LEBRON AND BLATT AT ODDS ON IMPORTANCE OF SEEDING.
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Yet another non story
It’s inane and they know it. LeBron isn’t any different with Blatt than any other coach he’s ever had in any way that is viewable to the public. He’s never been best buds with his coaches, he’s always displayed surly body language when the team is playing poorly, he’s always been primarily internally motivated, he’s always expressed leadership during games in ways that can be potentially seen as usurping a coach’s authority. If there’s a real issue between James and Blatt, it’s not going to obvious to anybody unless Blatt gets fired after a successful season during LeBron’s free agency. (not trying to reference Mike Brown there, necessarily – if a team exits earlier than they should for several straight years, the coach tends to get replaced)
Bonus points for SPvtW gif
It was a tough toss up for me between this one and the “THIS IS BOOOOORING” one from when he reads the email from the first evil Ex.
Can’t go wrong. I love that movie.
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“certainly there is tension there (between James and Blatt) to say the least!”
lol