Cavs coach keeps team cool under pressure
NBA: Players appreciate his ‘even-keel mentality’
CLEVELAND — Moments after the Eastern Conference championship banner was raised by the Cavaliers for the third straight time and the obligatory post-game interviews ended, Tyronn Lue slipped quietly away.
Cleveland’s coach ducked into the shadows, his preferred location. “I don’t like the attention,” he said. But Lue, once a journeyman point guard who steered the Cavs to an NBA championship last season, has grown more accepting of his frontman role. He’ll again be at centre stage this week as Cleveland meets Golden State in the third instalment of their title trilogy.
If the unassuming, easygoing Lue had his preference, the teams would duke it out for the Larry O’Brien Trophy on a playground court in a stifling hot gymnasium, with only a handful of onlookers present. A student of the game, he’s old school with a fresh perspective.
Of the many juicy subplots between the Cavs and Warriors, one that frequently goes overlooked is Lue, the former assistant who has blossomed in no time into one of the league’s brightest young head coaches and a playoff savant.
He’s 28-6 in two post-seasons with Cleveland. His players credit Lue’s soothing, steady influence — on and off the floor — as nearly as vital to their success as a clutch Kyrie Irving 3-pointer.
“It’s just his level of calmness no matter what’s going on,” LeBron James said following practice. “He always talks about, at the end of the day, he’s already won in life, so whatever else happens after this is extra credit. And I feel the same way. That’s why I relate to him so much.
“… So it’s the even-keel mentality about our coach and it definitely helps us as players when we’re going out into a war.”
Lue has been preparing for the biggest battle of his basketball career this week.
From the moment he returned home from Boston following the Cavs’ win in Game 5 of the conference finals, Lue has immersed himself in the Warriors, a virtual All-Star team featuring two league MVPs (Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry), a dead-eye shooter (Klay Thompson) and a triple-threat performer (Draymond Green).
Lue’s defensive strategy to this point in the playoffs has been to neutralize the opponents’ top player. The Cavs were able to do that with Indiana’s Paul George, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Boston’s Isaiah Thomas.
Lue was asked if it’s more difficult to identify who that is on Golden State.
“Hell yeah,” he said, his voice rising. “It’s tough.”
There are few weaknesses in these Warriors, the first team to head into the final round 12-0 and winning by an average of 16.3 points per game. The Cavs know Lue won’t panic. He stayed cool last spring when Cleveland fought back from a 3-1 deficit to win its first title. Lue made subtle tweaks to his rotation, drew up key inbounds plays, then isolated Irving late in Game 7 on Curry. The Cavs All-Star guard made his now famous go-ahead, step-back 3-pointer.
Pressure intensifies in the post-season, when possessions, turnovers and rebounds are magnified. As the drama builds, Lue stays composed, setting the tone for his players.