BigTicket
12-29-2014, 12:55 PM
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12092236/divide-exists-cleveland-cavaliers-players-coach-david-blatt-sources
There is a growing level of worry within the Cleveland Cavaliers' organization about first-year coach David Blatt and his ability to reach the team, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that there is rising concern in team circles about the level of response Blatt is getting on the floor, with Blatt himself acknowledging that the Cavaliers "lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness" in Sunday night's embarrassing home loss to Detroit.
The Cavs would naturally prefer not to be forced into making an evaluation of their new coach just 30 games into Blatt's NBA career, cognizant of the fact that the job has quickly evolved into a much different job -- after LeBron James stunningly decided in July to return to his home-state team in free agency -- than it was when Blatt was hired away from Israeli power Maccabi Tel-Aviv in June with no NBA experience.
But the Cavs' effort level, especially defensively, is eroding noticeably, raising the volume on questions about just how much the locker room is listening to the 55-year-old Boston native, who has enjoyed tremendous success internationally but still began this season as a relative unknown to NBA players.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has proved in the past that he's unafraid to make coaching changes, dismissing Mike Brown last May with three fully guaranteed years left on Brown's contract in his second stint as Gilbert's coach. Yet it should be noted that Blatt was hired in the summer largely at Gilbert's behest after Cleveland made unsuccessful runs at a number of high-profile college coaches, including Kentucky's John Calipari, Connecticut's Kevin Ollie, Kansas' Bill Self and Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg.
Whether you think he is actually to blame for the Cavs struggles or not, the simple fact is that coaches usually get the blame, simply because they are the easiest to replace.
There is a growing level of worry within the Cleveland Cavaliers' organization about first-year coach David Blatt and his ability to reach the team, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that there is rising concern in team circles about the level of response Blatt is getting on the floor, with Blatt himself acknowledging that the Cavaliers "lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness" in Sunday night's embarrassing home loss to Detroit.
The Cavs would naturally prefer not to be forced into making an evaluation of their new coach just 30 games into Blatt's NBA career, cognizant of the fact that the job has quickly evolved into a much different job -- after LeBron James stunningly decided in July to return to his home-state team in free agency -- than it was when Blatt was hired away from Israeli power Maccabi Tel-Aviv in June with no NBA experience.
But the Cavs' effort level, especially defensively, is eroding noticeably, raising the volume on questions about just how much the locker room is listening to the 55-year-old Boston native, who has enjoyed tremendous success internationally but still began this season as a relative unknown to NBA players.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has proved in the past that he's unafraid to make coaching changes, dismissing Mike Brown last May with three fully guaranteed years left on Brown's contract in his second stint as Gilbert's coach. Yet it should be noted that Blatt was hired in the summer largely at Gilbert's behest after Cleveland made unsuccessful runs at a number of high-profile college coaches, including Kentucky's John Calipari, Connecticut's Kevin Ollie, Kansas' Bill Self and Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg.
Whether you think he is actually to blame for the Cavs struggles or not, the simple fact is that coaches usually get the blame, simply because they are the easiest to replace.