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The Cleveland Cavaliers are heading back to the finals for the second time in franchise history after a season of ups and downs. After a 19-20 start alot of buzz around the league stated Blatt could be finished if the lack luster play kept up, and the rumors kept coming as the season went on.
In January after the Cavs acquired J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert then Center Timofey Mozgov the team really got rolling and rumors faded away.
Dan Gilbert once again shot down those rumors after the Cavaliers victory Tuesday night with Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Chris Haynes:
“It really didn’t,” Gilbert told NEOMG. “I don’t care what the expectations were, especially after we changed coaches twice in two years. This was a guy with a long-term record of success. You have to at least give a season, maybe more than just one. I think it would have destabilized the entire franchise and it would have been bad.”
The Cavs just needed time as you saw in a series sweep of the Atlanta Hawks this roster was remade, and the identity was changed with only Irving, Waiters(traded mid-season), Thompson, Varejao, and Dellavedova left from the previous season.
Championship teams aren’t just made overnight just like everyone thought The 2007-2008 Boston Celtics and the 2010-2011 Miami Heat. Cleveland added a lot of veterans to the mix some that were familiar with one another some not so much, and a rookie NBA head coach who needed to get more familiar with his players along with their tendencies.
Blatt’s rotation was getting settled, and the Cavs pulled the trigger on a trade that saved their season from possible failure. Which threw more veterans in the mix and had to learn Blatt’s system.
So The Cavs not only had a hurdle to get over, but Coach Blatt had to figure things out which he obviously did.
If The Cavs fired David Blatt after one season Owner Dan Gilbert would have been scrutinized and possibly lost the faith of the team. I truly believe Gilbert was not considering firing Blatt and that move would set Cleveland back a season at least.
Of course having LeBron James on your team helps out a ton, but I think David Blatt deserves credit for dealing with the rumors and the task of handling LeBron James’ personality and the pressure that comes with it is no easy task.
