Defeat by lowly Philadelphia on Monday is the latest sign that LeBron James homecoming season is descending into chaos
Nobody, well hardly anybody, expected the Cleveland Cavaliers to simply sail to the NBA title once hometown hero LeBron James announced his sojourn in Miami was over.
The arrival of All-Star forward Kevin Love, traded from Minnesota at the cost of this year’s No1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins, only heightened expectations that Cleveland would eventually be very good after a potentially bumpy getting-to-know-you period to start the season.
But the Cavs’ hopes of even making a serious bid for this year’s title look to be in the balance after a rocky start that threatens to spill over into all-out shambles. It could lead to the dismissal of first-year head coach David Blatt.
Hold up, I hear you say.
LeBron’s first season with the Miami Heat began 9-8 as he learned to fit in with fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and they ended up with a 58-24 record and a place in the NBA Finals. It won’t be so easy to turn things around in Cleveland, however.
Currently sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs started 5-7 but then reeled off eight straight wins as it appeared James, Love and existing Cleveland star Kyrie Irving were getting on the same page.
Now 19-16 after six losses in nine games, they are on the back foot once again and the search for answers is already well underway.
The primary focus has been on Blatt, an American coach who made his name in Europe, where he is universally respected for his 20-year career at club and international level, which included leading Russia to a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Blatt was named Cleveland coach prior to LeBron’s decision to return, and the team he took over was merely a fringe play-off contender in the weaker Eastern Conference.
He was hired with the understanding that he may have some teething problems learning the NBA game but that he would be given time to grow with a young, talented squad led by Irving and Wiggins.
James’s arrival blew up that timetable, and the team’s win-now attitude has exposed some of Blatt’s naivety. For example, in Europe, games consist of two 20-minute halfs and the 55-year-old had never before coached a 48-minute game. It is an important distinction when it comes to in-game strategy and substitution patterns, and one which you probably don’t want to be learning under such a glaring spotlight.
In addition, there have been reports of increasing concern amongst team officials that Blatt is not able to command the attention and respect of his players, including (and perhaps especially) James, who has not publicly criticised the coach but has equally not been exactly ringing in his endorsements either. (When asked a few weeks ago if Blatt was the right coach for Cleveland James replied: “Yeah, I mean, he’s our coach. What other coach do we have?”)
In fairness to Blatt, other factors have conspired against him. Defensive lynchpin Anderson Varejao has been lost for the season, exacerbating an already obvious weakness under the basket, while both LeBron and the struggling Love have dealt with niggling problems that have kept them out of games. James is currently on the shelf for a fortnight with a knee injury, but prior to that had not looked his explosive self, the result of either minor injuries, pressure, a lack of motivation or possibly some combination of the three.
The major problem, though, is a lack of leadership at the top of the franchise. Miami were able to ride whatever waves came their way due to the presence of Pat Riley, winner of NBA titles as a player, coach and general manager. When coach Eric Spoelstra was struggling early on, Riley had the power and the conviction to stick with him. Blatt has no such backer in Cleveland.
Equally, Riley was the architect of the Heat’s super-team, strategically putting together pieces to complement the big three of James, Wade and Bosh. There is no sense that any master plan is being followed in Cleveland, instead the exact opposite, it looks as though the team was taken aback by James’s return and is now catering to his every whim out of fear he may once again depart.
In case they have forgotten, it was that sort of short-term thinking which contributed to LeBron’s exit in the first place.
It was James who campaigned for the trade for Love, conveniently ignoring Wiggins in his letter announcing his return. And he was likely consulted about, if not the instigator of, the trading away of shooting guard Dion Waiters (below).
The former top-10 pick continued to show no signs of maturation this season, displaying over-confidence and petulance on the court while appearing nigh-on uncoachable. Waiters was shipped off to Oklahoma City in a three-team deal that returned the as yet unrealised talent of Iman Shumpert and the streaky shooting of JR Smith, the latter another loose cannon with the potential to further destabilise the locker room.
With Waiters gone, Blatt will again become the focus of frustrations, both inside and outside Cavs headquarters. The coach faces a make-or-break fortnight that includes trips to Golden State, Houston and Chicago and needs to arrest the current tailspin before owner Dan Gilbert bites the bullet and moves to employ a coach more to LeBron’s taste.
For now, King James has yet to get his castle in order.
