As a former player, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has a unique perspective on everyday life in the NBA. For the most part, coach Lue has a quiet and reserved persona. He’d much rather his players be in the lime-light than himself.
After dispatching the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night, coach Lue quickly ducked away from the on-court trophy presentation, electing to stay in the background instead. As most Cavs fans know, Coach Lue just isn’t a big fan of interviews and media attention. His calm demeanor is a coaching trait that LeBron James holds in high regard.
Via Joe Vardon of cleveland.com:
“I just think it’s just his level of calmness, no matter what’s going on,” James said Sunday afternoon when asked about Lue’s coaching style. “He always talks about (how) at the end of the day, he’s already won in life, so whatever else happens after this is extra credit. And I feel the same way. That’s why I’m able to relate to him so much.
“Lose here, or you win a game here, it’s like, ‘Alright, cool. I’ve already done so much more than anybody ever gave me credit of doing or thought I can do, so there’s no reason to get too high or too low.’ It’s the even-keel mentality about our coach and it definitely helps us as players when we’re going out into a war.”
The postseason can certainly be a chaotic time for coaches and players alike. James went on to explain how coach Lue’s even-keeled mentality has a relaxing effect on the rest of the team.
“Throughout the postseason there’s so many different emotions,” James said. “Going high, going low and for players and things of that nature and if you’re a coach able to just stay even-keeled throughout the whole thing it relaxes the rest of the group.”
There can be no doubt, Lue is one of the hardest working coaches in the NBA. In fact, the second-yeard head coach has been known to stay awake late into the wee hours of the morning studying film. As soon as his flight from Boston to Cleveland touched down Friday morning, coach Lue began preparing for his team’s upcoming matchup with the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
“When you’re prepared and you do the best you can do and you put it out there on the floor, you’ve just got to live with the results,” Lue said. “I know I’m doing my work, I’m doing my homework, I’m doing every possible thing to put this team in every situation to win. When you’re doing that, things you go over every day, end-of-game plays and things like that, either they work or they don’t. But you’re prepared, you know what you want, you know what you’re looking for and then you’ve got to live with the results.
“I love our team, I love being here in Cleveland, great support, great fans. (Attention) comes with the territory. I’m getting better, starting to loosen up a little bit.”