No one can fault LeBron James for his actions in game four on Monday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers star forward put the team on his back, overruled head coach David Blatt’s initial play call and sunk a jumper to tie their second round series with the Chicago Bulls, 2-2.
In this case, the end seems to justify the means.
One can’t help but wonder if James and co. could have gone about it with a little more tact, though. It’s fair to ponder how Blatt and the Cavs as a whole would look if James and the rest of his teammates opted not to throw their head coach under the bus.
Sure, James was supposed to throw the ball in from out of bounds and, being the superstar he is, wasn’t down with that. He told Blatt to “scratch” the initial play and let him get the ball, and for everyone else to “get out of the way”. He’s a superstar and probably still the best player in the NBA, so that only makes sense. NFL quarterbacks change plays all the time and in the NBA, star players overriding poor play calling in the final moments isn’t exactly news.
The fashion in which we all found out about it, however, might be.
Not only did James overrule his head coach in a crucial situation, but following the game, he and multiple teammates seemed far too open about how the final play call went down. Per reports, both Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith both openly admitted without much prodding that James stepped up and changed the play. James later admitted it himself, when asked by reporters.
To understand the full impact of this, let’s break it down:
Lack of Respect
At the very minimum, it’s become fairly obvious that James doesn’t have much outward respect for his coaches. We all remember the nice shoulder bump he delivered to Erik Spoelstra (he did it to Blatt, too)and we’ve seen countless instances of at least a minor disconnect between James and Blatt. Perhaps that’s just the maturation process between a star player and a first year coach, or maybe it’s something bigger. The more important question isn’t whether or not James respects his coaches, though. It’s when it really matters, does he even listen to them?
In game four against the Bulls, James didn’t. It worked out just fine, though, and that’s why this isn’t a bigger issue than it absolutely could be. More on that later.
Talking Head
Another take is if James is just going to overrule Blatt and the coaching staff in games, specifically late in games during crunch time, where is Blatt’s value? James has always been regarded as a head coach on the court and in the huddle, but if he can’t combine his efforts with a supposedly bright mind in Blatt, what is the point in having him around? The link above that breaks down the Blatt bump by LeBron also mentions a rumor where some assistants have more pull than Blatt.
The point isn’t necessarily in discovering what is true when it comes to rumors, but if there is any foundation at all in the first place. Is Blatt just a guy holding a title, or is he actually someone the Cavs are going to listen to?
Future Success
The latter question will be answered in time, but it’s possible it was already at least partially answered on Monday night. James ultimately made the right call and hit the game-winner, but what if he bricks it and the Cavs go on to lose? Suddenly they’re down 3-1 and his overruling doesn’t look so smart. Perhaps Blatt’s drawn up play that didn’t have James involved would have thrown off the Bulls, drawn a stud defender like Jimmy Butler to the ball (on Lebron, who isn’t in the play), and free up a play that leads to a far easier basket.
We can’t know any of that. All we know is what we saw break down at the end of that game, the tension we’ve witnessed all year long and the chatter about James trumping Blatt following the game.
Will it play a hand in Cleveland losing this series, losing next round or getting beat in the Finals? It’s tough to say. However, it’s at least arguable that there is a sign of clear disrespect here and it could bleed into something bigger and much worse as the playoffs go on. Or, even worse, if the Cavs don’t move on to the next round.
Think the rift between James and Blatt is over-hyped or even non-existent? Let us hear your take in the comments below!
