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David Blatt ‘Got On’ Cleveland Cavaliers Before OT Win

By Ed Carroll

Jun 27, 2014; Independence, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt speaks to the media at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 27, 2014; Independence, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt speaks to the media at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt addressed his team following the Cavs’ NBA opening-night loss to the New York Knicks and “got on” his players, who responded with an overtime win against the Chicago Bulls.

The Cleveland Cavs are a work in progress, and that fact was abundantly clear during a 95-90 opening-night loss to the New York Knicks at home in Cleveland. Coach David Blatt decided to forgo a team shootaround before Friday night’s win in Chicago against the Bulls, and instead called a team meeting where he gave constructive criticism to the Cavs team, criticism which one source described as “fiery and to the point.”

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“He just got on us,” Cavs star LeBron James said of the meeting. “He got on us from the time we started our meeting to the time we left. And it’s great. For a team like us, we need that. I love constructive criticism. I never took it personal. It’s just an opportunity for us to get better, and it definitely put a fire into us.”

James was reportedly not spared from Blatt’s ire in the meeting, which focused on ball movement, player movement on offense, and sustained effort for the entire roster throughout the game. The Cavs seemed to take the meeting well, a good sign considering Blatt is a rookie coach in the NBA (although he has years of international experience).

“There are some things that have nothing to do with X’s and O’s,” Blatt said of the meeting after Friday’s win. “That’s a good part of what we were talking about, and there were other things that were very, very basketball related and we addressed those as well.”

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