First- place Cavaliers fire Blatt as coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t connected on or off the f loor under Coach David Blatt.

On Friday, he paid the price for that lack of unity.

Blatt was fired by General Manager David Griffin, who didn’t think the Cavaliers were handling expectations well or acting like a championship team under the second- year coach. Blatt took them to the NBA Finals last season and a current 30- 11 record, but Griffin sensed his team was going in the wrong direction.

“Sometimes you can win games in the regular season and get worse,” Griffin said at a hastily arranged news conference at the team’s practice facility. “We were regressing over a period of time. There’s a lack of connectedness and spirit that I just couldn’t accept.”

Griffin said he did not consult superstar LeBron James or any players before making the move to dismiss Blatt.

Tyronn Lue, who was hired as the team’s associate head coach shortly after Blatt came to Cleveland, will make his debut Saturday night when the Cavaliers host the Chicago Bulls. Griffin stressed that Lue is not an interim coach and said the team is discussing a contract with him.