Worst Gets to Know First: A Cleveland Cavaliers Discussion

Leading up to the season, it’s important to get to know all of the teams the Philadelphia 76ers will be facing. Why not start with the champs?

The Philadelphia 76ers are coming up on their regular season, and it’s time to get to know the opponents that they’ll be facing throughout the year. Although it would be foolish to expect tons of wins from the Sixers this season, we should be able to reasonably expect more than 10 wins — their total from last year — this season.

Getting to know the teams from the top down, we started with the Cleveland Cavaliers. To help, we brought in Mikaela Rakos, a writer from King James Gospel, as well as Aaron Ferguson, editor from KJG. Be sure to follow them both on Twitter (@MikaelaRak/@Sports_Aaron). Here is the conversation!

So, obviously the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers are hardly comparable as far as team caliber is concerned, given that the Sixers won just 10 games last season, and the Cavs are the reigning champs. Still, aside from that, there are some likenesses between the two teams. One of those is with coaching changes.

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The Cavs changed coaches last season (firing David Blatt partway through the season and promoting Tyronn Lue to his empty seat) and had the most seamless transition that I’ve ever seen from a head coaching change midway through the season. Although the Sixers are not bringing in a new head coach, they are bringing in two new assistant coaches and some new shooting coach staffers. What do you reckon was the recipe for the Cavs’ success amidst the coaching change (aside from having the world’s best basketball player on the roster)?

Rakos:

"I think the success of the Cavs’ with the coaching change had a lot to do with Tyronn Lue, LeBron James and the rest of the players. GM David Griffin made that mid-season change because there was a lack of spirit, connectedness and identity within the team. Lue was a better fit for the vision of the team and the franchise. Beyond that, Lue is people smart and basketball smart. Everyone (not just players) likes Lue, but he connects with the players because he played and won championships in the NBA. He is the Cavs’ rock, staying calm and composed whether they are winning or losing. This fits well with the Cavs, a team that seems to thrive under chaos but can lose its way when prospering. LeBron and the rest of the team respect his basketball smarts, game plans and team vision. They believe in him and you could hear it every time they talked to the media, crediting their coaching staff and the game plan. So I think the success of the Cavs’ mid-season change was a combination of a good situation and the people involved. I think coaching changes can be successful if the new situation is better than before, if it matches the vision of the team and the players believe in their new coaching staff."

Ferguson:

"I don’t think their successes post-Blatt is as big of a surprise to those who follow the Cavs closely. The locker room was frustrated because Blatt wasn’t great at communicating with players. Kevin Love made clear his frustrations because he was only required to stand in a corner and occasionally shoot a three-pointer. The transition to Lue becoming head coach was easy because he was already established in the locker room, knew the players and had been communicating with them already. It helps that Lue is a great basketball mind and put together a couple of great gameplans and made great adjustments against the Warriors to win the franchise’s first championship, too. So it’s a different situation than completely revamping the staff like the Sixers are. Will it help Philly? I’m sure it will, as long as the coaches begin developing good relationships with players and one another as a coaching staff. Ultimately, I don’t think people understand the locker room side of the game as much as they do the on-court stuff. Remember, the Cavs had the best record in the East when they fired Blatt, so off-the-court stuff is just as important, and that is why the coaching change was made and can be attributed to the Cavs success."

Next: Question 2