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.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
