Tyronn Lue is sporting bags under his eyes after a dreaded start to the regular season, hitting a halt after an encouraging 3-1 start to 2017-18.
His Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost four straight games, already matching last season’s worst skid prior to the start of the postseason.
“Look at me,” Lue said before the morning shootaround prior to Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I ain’t slept in days.”
The lack of sleep is a coalition of factors, a never-ending series of decisions that could turn the tide either way, according to how his Cavs manage to end the weekend.
The Associated Press
Lue decided to move Kevin Love to the center position to start the season, then took him back to his natural power forward slot three games into the season. He also gave newcomer Dwyane Wade the nod to start at shooting guard, only to take that away as well before plugging a struggling J.R. Smith back into the mix.
To add insult to injury… or shall we say add injury to injury? Tristan Thompson is now sidelined for the foreseeable future, forcing Lue to make yet another tough decision to keep his team afloat despite the myriad of problems raining down at him in the early get-go.
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But, the man at the helm isn’t losing courage despite the adversity, reaping the best out of this unfortunate situation for the organization.
“I think it makes us better,” Lue said. “I think going through it now early in the season, instead of going through it late when you want to hit your peak and playing great going into the playoffs. Right now, it’s a rough patch, but it’s no excuse. We have to be better and we will.”
The Cavs defense has proved to be one of the worst in the league, and despite making several lineup and minute adjustments, Lue will first have to find the right equation to solve before getting the results desired.