New Clippers coach Tyronn Lue used to coach LeBron James – can he now beat him and the Los Angeles Lakers?
For the first time in 10 years, the Los Angeles Lakers are NBA Champions! Winning a championship in of itself is incredibly difficult – doing it while confined inside a 40 square mile bubble, whilst grieving Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s passing, is absolutely amazing.
Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel did a phenomenal job leading the Lakers. He zigged while 29 other teams zagged and redefined basketball back to its most simple truth: bigger is better. But his best coaching move is to defy his conventional wisdom and go small in Game 6, matching the undersized Miami Heat pound-for-pound.
Tyronn Lue was still the Lakers first choice. Lue even had a Lakers-themed birthday cake when it was a fait accompli that he was to be the next Lakers coach. Then contract negotiations broke down. Vogel became the coach. Lue ended up on the Clippers as Doc Rivers’ right-hand man.
Then the world came to a standstill. The NBA created an unprecedented work environment to finish out the NBA season. The concept of a bubble was born. When all the smoke cleared, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers stood tall. The Lakers may have won the championship, but the Clippers won yesterday’s headline in the LA Times.
The headline: Clippers reach agreement with Tyronn Lue to be next coach
Lue got the job because Steve Ballmer, the team’s owner, made another headline-grabbing move: firing longtime head coach Doc Rivers, who was let go after the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets (which cost Los Angeles their much-anticipated Lakers-Clippers battle).
It is fitting Ballmer decided to promote from within. Ballmer himself was promoted within Microsoft to become its CEO. His move to hire Lue is Microsoft’s modus operandi.
Forget the fancy Latin words: the Los Angeles Lakers still have LeBron James. Lue may have coached LeBron, but so did Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra for four seasons. Spoelstra could do nothing to stop LeBron in the finals.
Lue can’t either. There is not much Lue can tell Kawhi Leonard and Paul George that they already don’t know about LeBron. Kawhi and PG have combined to face him in 35 playoff games. The Clippers are designed for individual defensive brilliance.
People also forget Lue’s track record as a head coach begins and ends with LeBron James. Lue only lasted six games without him until he was (mercifully) fired from the LeBron-less Cavaliers. His championship in 2016 gives him a huge feather in his cap, but leading the Cavs to the finals in 2017 and 2018 was equally as impressive.
Lue is not a bad choice. Many former players have lauded him for his communication skills. He made the necessary adjustments in the playoffs. He has just not made those adjustments without LeBron James on his team. He will still excel. Word is the Clippers players want Lue as their coach.
X’s and O’s are still a problem. The Lakers X’s are way bigger than the Clippers O’s inside. Size matters. The Lakers sport a much bigger frontline. Which is why I was shocked to find out the Clippers out-rebounded the Lakers in their first three meetings.
Inside the bubble, the Lakers won the rebounding battle – and the game – thanks to LeBron James (who led all players with 11 rebounds). Lue’s teams in Cleveland always ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of total rebounds per game during the playoffs. It all goes back to this simple truth: no coach can craft a strategy to shut down LeBron James.
Related: Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James’ genius defense vs. Clippers explained
That will matter much more in a best of 7 series against the Lakers than it did against the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers are a monster on the offensive glass. Giving up an extra offensive rebound or two may decide a game, which may decide a series.
Their defense is what it is. They still have no one to guard Anthony Davis. Neither does anyone else. Patrick Beverly, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George are all elite individual defenders. When they can defend on an island, the four other help defenders can stay home to minimize three-point shooting. It also allows other defenders to switch onto screens.
None of those strengths matter as much. The Lakers were the fifth-worst three-point shooting team inside the bubble. Their offense had the fifth least frequent number of pick-and-rolls during the regular season (third least in the playoffs), so the Clippers switchable defense is not as important.
Lue cannot change the defense much. Will he change the offense?
Doc Rivers was preaching ball movement and player movement. All coaches do (except for former Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni last season because he had James Harden). Lue is not preaching the same message.
Lue centered his Cleveland offenses around LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, especially in the playoffs. They were always at the top three in isolations per game in each of his three playoff runs in Cleveland.
(By contrast, the Clippers were fourth in isolations.)
That plays into the Lakers’ hands. Ask the Houston Rockets how their iso-ball fared against the Lakers. What Lue has to do is to conjure up a way to generate more movement on offense.
But what Lue really has to do is to change the team culture. His first step is to end load management. Doc Rivers put Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on a shaky pedestal by allowing them to miss games under the guise of preserving their health. It is unclear if Doc allowed anyone else to have the same luxury.
Even if Lue is in favor of load management, it needs to be for everyone, not just the stars. At least for the Lakers, everybody got to skip shootaround – not just LeBron James and Anthony Davis. LeBron and AD never load managed. They just played fewer minutes per game.
Paul George’s infamous postgame speech rang was a culmination of the team’s division. It rang hollow because of his atrocious performance in Game 7. But it also rang hollow because he was held to a different standard from the rest of the team.
The Lakers were united. The Clippers were divided. If they liked each other, maybe they would have wanted to be inside the bubble.
Lue has to unite the team first. If he does so, the Clippers have the firepower to keep up with the Lakers. The defense will be dependent on individual brilliance – Kawhi Leonard must become the Klaw again. But it is up to Lue to craft an elite half-court offense.
Was Tyronn Lue a good hire? Does he help or hurt the Clippers against the Lakers? Please leave a comment. Lake Show Life wants to see your take on Tyronn Lue’s hiring.