Tyronn Lue appears to have control of LeBron James

by | Apr 4, 2016

It took a while, but maybe the Cleveland Cavaliers had the right idea by promoting Tyronn Lue to head coach.

The Cavaliers canned David Blatt in large part because, first place or not, LeBron James and Co. weren’t playing together right and nobody seemed to have control of the players.

Lue might.

Folks will recall a recent string of silly events from LeBron. He made cryptic tweets that could have been directed at his own teammates, laughed it up with members of the Miami Heat while his Cavaliers got whipped in a blowout and even told the media about how he would handle his finances if it meant playing with Carmelo Anthony and other superstars not named Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

It’s been radio silence from James since Lue pulled him aside and spoke about his behavior, though. ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst elaborated more on how LeBron received a message loud and clear:

Only James and Lue know exactly how this message was relayed, but it has become clear that it was received.

Regardless of Lue’s game plans, strategy, in-game moves or whatever, his most important job is to connect with and have the respect of James. This is a central reason he’s in the job and David Blatt is no longer. If Lue can consistently reach James, he will have a better opportunity to work on the rest of it.

Maybe the Cavaliers had the right idea at head coach after all.

The Cavaliers have now won three games in a row, over the weekend cruising to victories against game teams out of the Eastern Conference by besting the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets. James posted 29 and 31 points in those contests, respectively and over his last seven games averages 28.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists.

Thanks to the recent run, the second-place Toronto Raptors aren’t the threat they once were, now sitting 3.5 games back in the Eastern Conference.

For his part, LeBron doesn’t seem too worried about the team’s playoff future, as ESPN Cleveland captured:

A change in leadership can either make or break a team. The oft-criticized Blatt firing seems to be working out as intended, though, and after a rocky start the Cavaliers have now hit on a key run just games before the playoffs begin.

So long as Lue can keep everyone in check, James will continue to do what he does on the court and keep the Cavaliers a viable threat to win it all.