Fansided

LeBron James is the villain now, but it won’t last for long

By Jonathan Bass

June 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James speaks to media following the 104-91 loss against the Golden State Warriors in game five of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
June 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James speaks to media following the 104-91 loss against the Golden State Warriors in game five of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shakes hands with head coach David Blatt during the fourth quarter of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. Cleveland won 97-89. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shakes hands with head coach David Blatt during the fourth quarter of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. Cleveland won 97-89. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Following the Heat’s 2010-11 season there was speculation that Erik Spoelstra was a goner. He couldn’t get a trio of superstars in their primes over the hump against an aging legend. Some reports claimed James and Wade were leading a mutiny against the coach. Beyond that, a cannibalistic Pat Riley was ready to give his young coach the Stan Van Gundy treatment by swooping in and capturing all the glory.

Then Riley held on to Spo, the Heat won the next two titles, and the script flipped from Spoeltra’s deficiencies to his place on the all-time coaching totem. The winning salve.

The current narrative in Cleveland is a fallout between James and David Blatt. LeBron was reportedly defiant of the coach, openly balked at plays and was, apparently, quite the malcontent. James openly admitted overruling one of Blatt’s plays during the Bulls series. Reporter Brian Windhorst even claimed that James wants to keep Blatt around, if for no other reason than to have somebody to “kick around.”

Lackey coach who doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, only to get steamrolled by star player. Yep, that’s a familiar trope.

Much like team cohesion, such is the necessity of coaching unity. It’s the reason Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo mandate Team USA players to take part in not only the Olympics, but also FIBA and other international tournaments. Teammates need to gel; coaches need to get a feel for how to properly lead the team.

LeBron is an alpha; Blatt is paid to lead the team. They learned about each other on the fly and spent an entire season circling like territorial pack wolves.

Season two will be better. They’ll know when to defer and how to push the proper buttons. Happy players and a long win streak will put this discussion to bed.

The star player will be in-tune with his coach. He’ll stop looking like a pouty schoolchild. And cameras and blogs will pick up the positive vibes.

Next: 2: Prettier play

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