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Teflon Tyronn: When Two All Stars Are Not Enough

By Leonard New

Jan 27, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue looks at the scoreboard during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 124-116. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 27, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue looks at the scoreboard during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 124-116. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 23, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue during the first half against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue during the first half against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

At some point Tyronn Lue, who has only been an NBA head coach for 13 months, will need to step out of LeBron’s shadow to prove he is a great coach and not just a great coach of LeBron led teams.

“Winning is the best deodorant” is a timeless quote from the legendary NFL coach and television analyst John Madden that aptly defines the aura that surrounds the Cleveland Cavaliers championship winning head coach Tyronn Lue.

Amidst all the floral scents of success, there is an earthy musk that belies and it is the fact that Cavalier’s record is 1-5, which is a 17% winning percentage, when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are playing without LeBron James since Lue became head coach.

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Showing Cleveland Some Love

There is no denying that Tyronn Lue deserves significant credit for the Cavaliers 2016 World Championship and is a good NBA basketball coach. Furthermore, Lue deserves credit for two other things.

First, he unlocked Love from David Blatt’s dungeon by promoting him from Floor Spacer to Basketball Player again by letting Love know per Lee Jenkins of SI.Com after a March 2016 loss to Brooklyn that “You’re a bad mother——-, too,” Lue barked. “If you’re open in the post, demand the basketball”—Love was not embarrassed. He was emboldened.”

This has unleashed upon the NBA the Kevin Love that Cleveland expected to see after the 2014 trade and landed him on the 2017 All Star team that served to reaffirm his place as a top 25 player in the league.