This new chapter in the LeBron/Blatt is something that actually shouldn’t be a story. But because it’s Cleveland and David Blatt is a Rookie coach in this league, LeBron is king and you know the rest.
The coach/player relationship is all about leeway and trusting. That is even more important when you’re the best player in the game. And is it just me? Or was this particular story a little too close to David Blatt being named Eastern Conference’s Coach of the month? Are we now calling LeBron the player coach on top of the GM and part owner?
I kid about the last bit but here’s the thing. David Blatt knows about this. This is not news to him. According to Cleveland.com, he actually encourages it!
Blatt, named the Eastern Conference’s Coach of the Month for March on Wednesday, was asked if he encourages James to dial up his own plays.
“Why not? Especially if it works,” he said. “It can happen. It’s not an all-the-time thing, but certainly.”
James reveals he isn’t the only player calling plays.
“If I see something, I have the right to call plays. Kyrie [Irving] as well,” James said. “We kind of do the play-calling. Coach Blatt does the play-calling obviously throughout the game and timeouts, but it’s great to be able to have some type of freedom out there with Kyrie to be able to call sets that we feel best suit our team.“
Oh and the plot thickens! Not only does LeBron “kind of” does the play calling. But even Kyrie is getting in on some of the action! Well it’s only a matter of time before JR Smith starts calling some HORNS plays. Maybe Mozgov will call an isolation play down low.
As you can see I am being incredibly sarcastic. This is because too many cooks spoil the broth. What if Kyrie has the ball, calls a play and then LeBron shouts something completely different? What will happen then? I’m sorry but you hired a coach for a reason. What’s the point of having him if the players are calling the shots? Do I have to bring up the story of Tyronn Lue calling timeouts behind Blatt’s back?
