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Imagine, for a second, that Kyrie Irving is healthy throughout the playoffs. Imagine that Kevin Love doesn’t get his shoulder torn out of its socket by a reckless Kelly Olynyk in the first round. Imagine that the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA title, beating a 67-win Golden State Warriors team in, say, six games.
How many stories would we be reading about how volatile the relationship between LeBron James and David Blatt has become? Would we be reading any such stories? I doubt it. Instead, we’d see pieces praising the “functional professionalism” of their relationship. We’d see the media applauding Blatt’s willingness to leave his ego at the door (he’s had extended success coaching overseas) in letting LeBron call so many of the shots, and we’d see articles fawning over LeBron’s legendary basketball mind for doing so.
But the Cavs lost the Finals, so what we’re getting is essentially a series of smear pieces on LeBron for how he treated Blatt during their first year together. It’s gone so far that the rumor mill is churning out the idea that Blatt might get fired–a silly idea exposed as such in this great piece by Casey Drottar.
My point is as follows: the reasons the Cavaliers lost in the Finals had nothing to do with Blatt and LeBron’s (admittedly imperfect) relationship, and everything to do with injuries and a lack of depth on the roster. The way LeBron and Blatt controlled the pace of the Finals, especially early in the series, was phenomenal. They easily outplayed their talent level. What more can you ask of the two?
It’s also worth mentioning that many of the world’s greatest partnerships are built on shaky relationships. In the world of basketball, look at Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. In the world of music, look at the Beatles. People can even detest each other without it taking away from the quality of the product they push out. In the Cavs’ case, that product was a 33-4 record with their starting five healthy–a starting five literally made up on the fly over the course of the 2014/15 season. Imagine the team with a training camp behind them.
In summary: LeBron was slightly disrespectful towards Blatt this season; so what? They were an absolutely unstoppable team when healthy, and pretty darned good with severe injuries. I think LeBron will take a deep look back at this team over the offseason–away from the craziness of the Finals, away from the media and away from his own on-court perspective–and he’ll be reassured that David Blatt is not the problem. I think he’ll come back next season with a heightened appreciation for Blatt, and a willingness to defer him more responsibility (assuming he doesn’t get fired). It may never be a match made in heaven, but it simply does not need to be.
Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham
