Former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson came to the defense of Tyronn Lue after a Twitter user said that the coach’s only championship ring came while he was “holding the clipboard” for LeBron James.
I have no issue with your disagreements on my takes. That being said you are a clown who should never speak about sports if you refer to TLue in that manner. There is no coming back from this lack of IQ. No respectable basketball mind would say this.. Delete your app https://t.co/Odh8L8sZS7
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) January 15, 2023
While the four-time MVP is arguably the primary reason the Cavs won the NBA title in 2016, Lue also played a key role as he was able to unlock what worked best for the Cleveland roster at the time. He also deserves credit for keeping the locker room together en route to the championship.
Against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, James had a series to remember. He recorded 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game in seven contests. Lue’s decision to put the ball in the superstar’s hands so often resulted in success not only for James, but also for Kyrie Irving. The star point guard contributed 27.1 points per match in the series.
In contrast, none of the Warriors’ players scored more than 22.6 points per game in the series despite the team being a historically dominant squad that season. It appeared that Lue’s defensive schemes worked wonders, particularly in Game 7, when Golden State totaled just 89 points.
Unfortunately, Lue has been unable to replicate his previous coaching success during his current stint with the Clippers. He has been steering Los Angeles since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
While he has a 111-87 regular season record as L.A.’s head coach for a .561 winning percentage, the 45-year-old has been heavily criticized recently because of his team’s lack of postseason success and slow start to the current campaign.
Lue has been dealt a tough hand, as the squad’s stars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, have missed a significant number of games in recent years due to injuries. Leonard sat out the entire 2021-22 season.
It remains to be seen if Lue can guide the Clippers to the playoffs this season. The team has a 22-22 record so far and currently holds a spot in the play-in tournament. Many NBA fans still have high expectations for the squad.
