LeBron James finally returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers line-up last night in Phoenix, but it didn’t make anything better. The team still lost to the Suns, 107-100.
James had been out for two weeks and appeared to be back in form. He scored 33 points and the Cavs actually managed to get ahead of the Suns in the fourth quarter. However, the Suns, led by Markieff Morris’ career-high 35 points, went on an 11-3 run towards the end of the game that sealed the deal.
After the game, Cavs coach David Blatt praised James’ performance, even if he couldn’t stop the team’s losing streak, which is now at sex games. The team only won one game during James’ absence. The team is now 19-20 on the season.
“I thought he was terrific," Blatt told the Associated Press. "It is not new for anybody. I just thought he laid it out there. That wasn't an easy thing because he hasn't played a competitive game in eight games."
Blatt might put on a brave face for the media, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that executives, scouts and even other players are noticing a disconnect between Blatt and the players on the court. They have noticed that assistant coach Tyronn Lue is calling timeouts without Blatt’s knowledge and players are talking with their opponents openly about issues with their coaches.
There was one incident during the Suns game last night, in which James was seen pushing Blatt out of the way to talk with officials on the court. While it looked like James was trying to be the coach in that situation, he didn’t see it that way.
“Just protecting my coach,” James said, notes The New York Times. “I was talking to one of the other refs and Coach Blatt was getting a little fired up about it, too, and he was on his way to a technical.”
The Cavs were the favorites to win the Finals the moment James returned and Kevin Love joined. But it looks like just getting to the Finals will be a struggle.
image courtesy of Zelig Shaul/ACE/INFphoto.com