The challenges Ty Lue faces in Cleveland Cavaliers' soap opera: Bill Livingston - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Maybe it was alphabet soup, and it spelled out a-i-r-b-a-l-l?

J.R. Smith, the former "Swish," now is more often a "Clank." Smith has struggled this year but still had started 56 of 59 games before he was suspended for Thursday's loss to Philadelphia at The Q.

The reason? For throwing a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones.

No mention of whether he hit his target or not. But "Swish" is 4 for his last 22 and has made one of his last 13 3-pointers.

Smith has a track record for leaking oil this year -- single-digit scoring, poor 3-point shooting by his standards, negligible impact many nights.

He used to take any shot and he could also make any shot.

Who shot? J.R!

But these days, he'd miss.

Starters?

The Cavs are 4-3 since the trade deadline roster quake. This is not an uptick (half the wins were against lowly Memphis and Brooklyn), and certainly not what they hope to become.

Not to put it all on coach Tyronn Lue, but sometimes you wonder whom he is putting in - or more accurately, keeping in - and why.

When Mike Hargrove managed the Indians in the 1990s, he often said, "Regulars are regulars for a reason."

And the Cavs' starters, who scored all of 14 points other than James' 33 against the Spurs recently, are starters because ... Um, I'm working on it. Don't rush me.

Sometimes being a starter with the Cavs seems to be like winning a golden ticket from Willy Wonka.

My personal "Why, Ty?" moment with Lue in the loss to the short-handed Spurs, was when San Antonio laid a fast 8-0 run on Cleveland after halftime.

Lue called time, then sent out the same lineup that had lost the halftime lead, with more players struggling -- George Hill, J.R. Smith and Cedi Osman -- than succeeding.

Those three would have been "E" in "H-O-R-S-E" before you could say of the wayward flight of each of their shots, "Nay, nay, nay!"

I hear the objections.

Osman, a rookie, is young, athletic, and an active defender. His offense is developing, but he brings other attributes.

Hill had a very strong game in the Cavs' victory over Brooklyn with 26 points. He had two points in 25 vapid offensive minutes against the Spurs before that in a dispiriting loss. Hill has a track record and was not going to be that bad often.

Smith? Well, he should've sat. He has had an off-year.

Substitutes?

It seems, however, that Lue simply has a starting unit and a second unit and ne'er the twain shall meet.

The second unit has been outplaying the first at times, granted.

Rodney Hood was a bust as an emergency starter in Smith's place, but he does average 11.1 points off the bench. Jordan Clarkson is even better at 13.6. Larry Nance Jr. is already a huge fan favorite as a legacy and is a serious contributor too.

You can't neglect quick offensive fixes like them.

Some big ifs

A turnaround can happen if:

Lue starts to resemble the energized coach who replaced David Blatt in the middle of the championship 2016 season.

And who then increased the tempo of play.

Who wanted more 3-pointers, which seemed like a boxer leaning into a hook, given Golden State's mastery of such a style, except it worked.

Who commanded enough respect to rebuke James at halftime of the unforgettable seventh game of the NBA Finals, telling him, "'Bron, I need more from you."

Where is that Lue?

He's been paged.

http://ift.tt/2oLVyHH

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