LeBron James is playing “hard to get” in the Cavaliers’ woeful start–and LeBron’s frustrated suitor is rookie Cavaliers coach David Blatt. LeBron’s play has been so lackadaisical he’s had to make up crazy excuses like he’s just trying to teach his teammates how to play without him. Why, for goodness’ sake, should they need to learn to play without you? That’s what Blatt must be wondering. Why, you weirdo, must they?
Another reason LeBron may be playing like this is because he wants a new coach. Maybe one of his pals. There’s precedent: remember how Michael Jordan threw Doug Collins under the bus after a couple great seasons and untested Phil Jackson came in and started winning? With the Cavs at 1-3, David Blatt has one game left to match the record of swiftest firing of an NBA coach in a single season. In 2012, the Lakers fired Mike Brown after just five games. But it wasn’t Brown’s first season…which would mean a Blatt firing would put him in a place all his own in the record books.