Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 20 of 53)

      The curse of the Coach of the Year award

      May 25, 2010 /

      DIME MAGAZINE noticed something very odd with the last few NBA COY winners…

      2005–06: Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks, 60–22 (Fired April 30, 2008)
      2006–07: Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors, 47–35 (Fired December 3, 2008)
      2007–08: Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets, 56–26 (Fired November 12, 2009)
      2008–09: Mike Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers, 66–16 (Fired May 24, 2010)
      2009–10: Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City Thunder, 50–32 (???)

      They were all fired within two years. The post goes on to speculate that the reason behind this trend is heightened expectations and I tend to agree. I’d go a step further, however. The award often goes to a coach who “got the most out of his team” (i.e. the team played “over their heads”). When this kind of outlier occurs, it’s far more likely that the team will return to the mean instead of continuing to develop into an NBA champion.

      In other words, all it takes is one bad/mediocre season and the guy is a bum again. And with 30 teams vying for a championship, a bad/mediocre season is far more likely than a great one.


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      Mike Brown fired

      May 24, 2010 /

      Per Brian Windhorst of Cleveland.com…

      In a move expected since the team lost three consecutive games to be upset by the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals, the Cavs fired coach Mike Brown on Sunday according to a league source. The news was first reported by ESPN.

      Okay, no shocker there. What was the reason for his dismissal?

      Some Cavs’ players, including LeBron James, also seemed to lose patience with Brown after some of his adjustments and rotations didn’t work against the Celtics in the playoffs.

      However, James is not believed to have made a personal push with management for a coaching change. He left it to the front office to make the final decision.

      Brown seemed to struggle with his rotations after having to incorporate Shaquille O’Neal back into the team in the playoffs after O’Neal missed the final six weeks of the season. He started a lineup in the first game of the playoffs that he hadn’t used all season and the turbulence from multiple players changing roles appeared to upset the balance of the team.

      Those problems plus, according to sources, some disagreement over some game plans for playoff games with some of the team leaders eventually led to some discord in the locker room during the Celtics series.

      I put that bit about LeBron in bold because it may hold a clue to his future. If it’s true that he left Brown’s fate up to management, then it seems like he’s not all that interested in who’s coaching the Cavs, and that’s a bad sign for Cleveland fans that are hoping he re-signs.

      Mike Brown will land on his feet. He bungled the playoff rotations, but that was partly because he had too many good players he had to play, especially when the Celtics started picking the Cavs apart.


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      Deadspin breaks down the LeBron/Delonte rumors

      May 22, 2010 /

      This is a good read. It certainly puts Terez Owens’ report and Calvin Murphy’s “confirmation” into some perspective.

      Friday, May 14, 1:30 p.m. Sports gossip site Terez Owens runs this item:

      It is, verbatim, taken from the chain emails circulating; though by calling it “exclusive” and claiming it comes from “[his] source in Cleveland,” it gains legitimacy in the eyes of those who don’t understand how this thing works, or just want to believe it.

      And…

      Wednesday, May 19 Calvin Murphy, who could not dig up a character witness for his own trial for allegedly molesting 5 of his 14 children, goes on a sports talk radio show. He says that the Delonte West/Gloria James story is “absolutely true,” that he’s got multiple sources, and that West wasn’t the only person intimately involved with James’s mother.

      Terez Owens cites this as confirmation.

      We’ll never know for sure what did or didn’t happen, but it sure seems like this report was false from the start. Deadspin certainly thinks so.

      The perplexing thing is Murphy’s confirmation. Why would he say what he said if he had any doubts? Of course, we’re talking about a guy who was accused of molesting five of his children. He was acquitted, but still.

      Where does this story/rumor go from here? Will we ever hear from LeBron or Delonte on the subject? Should they even bother to respond?

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      Calvin Murphy says the rumors about LeBron’s mom are true

      May 20, 2010 /

      Per Gather.com…

      During an interview Thursday with local ESPN Houston affiliate 97.5 FM radio station, retired Houston Rockets guard Calvin Murphy claimed that according to his sources inside the NBA, the rumored affair between LeBron James’ mother Gloria and Cavaliers teammate Delonte West is ”absolutely true.”

      In his interview with the hosts of “The Drive,” when asked what he thought of the rumor, Murphy was quoted as saying, “It ain’t no rumor. Unfortunately, my sources in the NBA tell me that it’s absolutely true. My sources, and they’re legit, tell me the only people that didn’t know it was happening was LeBron and me.”

      Listen to the interview here.

      He went on to predict that LeBron will sign with another team this summer.

      The rumor goes that LeBron learned about the news before Game 4, which could explain his suspect performance in that game. Let’s not overlook the fact that Delonte West went 0-7 for three points in that same game.

      I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer, but I’d bet the farm that LeBron and Delonte aren’t on the same team next season.


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      Cavs about to fire Mike Brown

      May 20, 2010 /

      Via Twitter, Sam Amico of NBA.com says the Cavs are planning to let Brown and his entire staff go.

      Official word of Mike Brown firing expected to be no later than Sunday, possibly as early as Friday. Entire staff expected to be let go.

      This really shouldn’t shock anyone after the Cavs’ second-round exit. Brown is a very good defensive coach, but has always struggled to get the most out of his team on the offensive end of the floor. Most recently, he played with his rotations to the point where the 8, 9 and 10 guys didn’t know if they were coming or going.

      The move clears the way for the Cavs to hire a new, presumably LeBron-approved, head coach sometime in the next few weeks.

      By the way, Mike Brown was the 2009 Coach of the Year. Funny how things work.


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