King James Gospel
Fansided

Tyronn Lue’s first LeBron-less season

By Andrew Freedman

CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 27: Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers yells to his players during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena on February 27, 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 27: Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers yells to his players during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena on February 27, 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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AKRON, OH – JULY 30: LeBron James addresses a crowd of students, parents, local officials and sponsors at the grand opening of the I Promise school on July 30, 2018 in Akron, Ohio. The new school is a partnership between the LeBron James Family foundation and Akron Public Schools. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Allison Farrand/NBAE via Getty Images)
AKRON, OH – JULY 30: LeBron James addresses a crowd of students, parents, local officials and sponsors at the grand opening of the I Promise school on July 30, 2018 in Akron, Ohio. The new school is a partnership between the LeBron James Family foundation and Akron Public Schools. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Allison Farrand/NBAE via Getty Images) /

How Lue can learn from LeBron James and others

Let’s start with The King. Let’s start with the way he has been able to communicate with just about anyone on the teams he’s been a part of.

He’s dealt with young rookies fresh out of college and ten-year vets. With everything in between, he’s displayed the very trait that he gave Ty Lue: leadership.

After watching James mentor young students of the game, Lue will look to use his status as one of the most successful head coaches over the last two and a half seasons. He will take the time to tutor Collin Sexton how to be a guard in the pinnacle of basketball around the world: the NBA.

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Lue will be able to have his voice heard more than ever as a great amount of the Cavaliers franchise will depend on his actions this season: balancing minutes amongst players, especially with the younger players, planning rest days for specific players, and scheduling practices throughout the grind of the seven-month-long season.

When you have a good player, you want to watch him become great, and that’s exactly what Ty Lue did in the 2016 playoffs with Kyrie Irving. Irving was brilliant in those playoffs.

He hit clutch shots, such as one in Detroit (insert video link) and the shot that would ultimately decide game 7 of the Finals. With the everything on the line, rather than letting LeBron James take the shot to that would decide the game, it was Irving who would take those clutch shots.

That’s trusting your players.

As Lue watched Irving blossom into a superstar over the course of a couple of seasons, he learned what players need to go from good to great. He saw many offensive drills performed by Irving–drills that Collin Sexton should be perfecting in his road to becoming a two-way guard.

Ty Lue will look to have Collin Sexton work hard at making these exercises look effortless, and Sexton’s work ethic reminds Cavaliers fans that he’s going to do just that: be the hardest working guy on the floor every day.

Lue learned how to turn an all-star into a top-10 player in the league, watching Kyrie Irving’s comfort on a court turn into a killer instinct in the NBA that only a few possess.