David Blatt’s first season as an NBA head coach will be labeled, ultimately, as a success.
His team reached the Finals and played valiantly (up until maybe the end of Game 6…), but those who were paying attention through out the season realize the Cavs head coach had a less than stellar debut, to say the least.
Today, David Blatt sounded as though he were ready to admit it himself.
“When I came to the NBA I was under the impression that this was going to be a breeze,” Blatt said. “I’ve been coaching for 23 years at the highest level in Europe. I coached in the national-team environment, coached professional teams, coached Euroleague teams and I thought I thought I knew basketball and I thought I knew how to coach. Which, in my mind, I did.
“But I realized that when I came over here it was a very, very different game with a whole new set of problems and a whole slew of things to deal with inside and outside of the game.”
That’s some pretty backwards stuff he just said, though.
Why would coaching in the NBA EVER be a breeze?
He’s seen us dominate nearly every other team in the world during the Olympics, does he think that those players got that way by themselves?
Mind you, when he first signed on to become the Cavs head coach, it was prior to LeBron “coming home”; meaning he had no idea he could coast through the season as virtually an Assistant, yet he still had this belief that this job would be simple.
I mean give credit it where it’s due, I guess: at least he realizes now how foolish he was to believe that.
He may have come back to America with an inflated ego, but Blatt received that dose of reality he needed to come crashing back to earth with the rest of us.
The chemistry and trust between Blatt and James will have to improve in this coming season, however; otherwise he’ll be into the “breeze” with the rest of the coaches looking for easy work.
H/T CBS