King James Gospel
Fansided

Toxicity in Cavs locker room overblown

By Quenton S. Albertie

INDEPENDENCE, OH - JANUARY 25: Kevin Love
INDEPENDENCE, OH - JANUARY 25: Kevin Love /
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CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 15: Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers is seen during the game against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena on January 15, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 15: Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers is seen during the game against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena on January 15, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Is head coach Tyronn Lue’s job safe?

After the Cavs lost 148-124 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in what was perhaps their most embarrassing loss of their season, the person standing in the line of fire: Tyronn Lue.

(Story by cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have both a 13-game win streak and a 1-7 record against teams with a record better than them this season.

Lue has struggled to find, and stick with, lineups that work but there are a number of rotation-level players who have been in and out of the lineup.

The Cavs’ defense has been ranked near the bottom of the league all season and part of the reason would seem to come down to a lack of practice but they have some of the league’s worst individual defenders as well.

Players seemed to be despondent, distrustful and failed to play with the necessary motivation, with Lue’s ability to connect players in question although they publicly went to bat for him.

Lue has had coaching issues this year, without a doubt, but I would say his job is safe barring a crash-and-burn scenario from the Cavs. He’s had a tough job navigating through the season with injured and injury-prone point guards while having to balance the egos of a number of new players who were starters last season.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say Lue is untouchable and that’s not really even a criticism, as there are only certain coaches (Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Brad Stevens) who seem set to coach their team for the rest of their head coaching career.

Lue’s connection with LeBron James is particularly beneficial. However, there are other coaches who have or could connect to James, so that’s not exclusive to him. Nor is an ability and inclination to hold James accountable, which seems to have slipped recently given James’ lackadaisical effort in the back half of pre-All-Star play.