5/20/2023 0 Comments David blatt fighter pilot![]() Many college coaches have joined the NBA only to find that they’re speaking a slightly different language, their dialect out of tune in a strange land. Winning doesn’t count for nothing when it comes to being a head coach, but it might count for considerably less than you’d think when LeBron James is the face of the franchise you’re coaching. In short, the Cavaliers have a good shot at ending the season as Eastern Conference champs or even winning the Finals and Blatt still might lose his job.īlatt’s doom in Cleveland was not preordained, nor is it entirely inevitable, at least not yet. The Cavs are up 3-2 in the series and could close it out tonight, meaning an Eastern Conference Finals matchup against either the Wizards or Hawks in which they’ll likely be the favorites. Oh, and he also compared being an NBA head coach to being a fighter pilot. He made his share of missteps in the regular season, sure, but this second-round matchup has raised them to a fevered pitch: he tried to defend Kyrie Irving’s inconsistent play by revealing that he’s playing with a right foot strain and tendinitis in his left knee, which Irving didn’t want made public he tried to call timeout at the end of Game 4 when he didn’t have one – a violation that would have resulted in a technical foul and a free throw for the Bulls had the referees caught it and he drew up a play where LeBron was inbounding the ball rather than shooting it, only to watch LeBron overrule him, take the ball and win the game with it. Trying to add his name to that list is Blatt, a renowned coach abroad who is getting a trial by fire in his first NBA postseason. You’re basically looking at three all-time greats, two tactical wizards (Spoelstra, Carlisle) and one master motivator of men (Rivers). Look at the last ten NBA championships and the coaches who have won them: Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Rick Carlisle, Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Pat Riley. ![]() So let’s examine the four major figures whose reputations are being burnished or tarnished by this series. The illusions, in fact, are all we really have, and it does no harm to embrace them – the experience of them – so long as we don’t become beholden to them. Oh, and Game 3.īut am I here to preach calm and order? Am I going to tell you that these wild swings in the fortunes of the Cavs and the Bulls are illusions, mere shadows on the wall cast by some greater and more consistent meaning? Well, yes. But that’s only after being written off following Game 1. Given that the Cavs won Tuesday’s Game 5 on the back of another strong performance by James (38 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks and zero turnovers), it would seem they have the momentum headed into Thursday’s Game 6 in Chicago. Game 3 went to the Bulls on a banked 3-pointer by Derrick Rose Game 4 went to the Cavs on a mid-range jumper from the corner by James. The next two games were decided by back-to-back buzzer beaters, for apparently the first time in NBA history. They’d given up home-court advantage, but they evened the series in Game 2 with a definitive 106-91 win behind 33 points from LeBron James, who had been held to 19 in the series opener. Smith (serving a suspension for striking Jae Crowder in the first round), the Cavs wilted at home and lost Game 1 to the Bulls. Without Kevin Love (out with a dislocated shoulder for the remainder of the playoffs) and J.R. The way it moves that wool can be a thing to be enjoyed in and of itself. But what about being caught up in the moment? A story – whether it’s a film, television show, book, or even a playoff series between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers – is not strictly a dodge, not purely an attempt to pull the wool over your eyes. Unraveling the threads of a whodunit is part of the enjoyment, sure. I’ve never totally understood this mind-set. “Well, I saw that coming,” they’ll say, or maybe just grunt a self-satisfied “Mm-hmm” when it turns out that Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. You probably have a friend (or a dad – this is a very “dad” thing) who prides himself (or herself – but probably himself) on predicting the plot twists of movies.
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