Is Lue clueless?

Cleveland is down 0-2 in the NBA Finals against Golden State and if the Cavaliers hope to salvage the championship, they’ve got to win Game 3 at home this morning (Manila time). A third straight setback will open the possibility of a sweep, something LeBron James experienced on the losing end in the 2007 Finals and surely, something the King won’t want to be repeated.

It’s not a lost cause for Cleveland. The Cavs can find consolation in that in the 2006 Finals, Miami stormed back from 0-2 to beat Dallas, 4-2, but that was when the home-and-away format was 2-3-2, meaning the team with the better regular season record hosted Games 1 and 2 and if necessary, Games 6 and 7 and the other team hosted Games 3 and 4 and if necessary, Game 5. James wasn’t in the Miami lineup that season.

In James’ six Finals appearances before this season, he’s been on a team that trailed 0-2 only once. That was when San Antonio swept Cleveland in 2007. In his next five Finals, James’ teams labored from 1-1, winning two championships in the process. James’s titles came with Miami in 2012 and 2013. In both series, the Heat lost Game 1. The NBA reverted to the 2-2-1-1-1 Finals format in 2014 when Miami, starring the King, tied the series in Game 2 with a 98-96 road win over San Antonio only to drop the next three encounters, including two in a row at home.

Not a single player from the 2007 Cleveland squad that was embarrassed by the sweep is left on the Cavs lineup, except for James. Curiously, a player on the team is now with Golden State – Anderson Varejao. Among James’ teammates that forgettable season were athlete-turned-rapper Daniel (Boobie) Gibson, Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Eric Snow.

In 2006, Miami went down 0-2 to Dallas after losing 90-80 and 99-85 on the road. The series then went to Miami and the Heat took three in a row at home, 98-96, 98-74 and 101-100 in overtime. Miami wrapped it up, 95-92, on the road in Game 6. Miami was bannered by Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Jason Wiliams, Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning, Udonis Haslem, James Posey and Gary Payton. Cleveland hopes to duplicate the feat this year.

This past regular season, Cleveland was 24-17 on the road but in the playoffs so far, the Cavs are unbeaten at the Quicken Loans Arena, 7-0. If the Cavs defend their homecourt to win Games 3 and 4, they’ll be back in business to tie the series, 2-2. Game 5 will be at the Oracle Arena and Game 6, back in Cleveland. If it goes to a Game 7, the Warriors will host the decider.

The problem with Cleveland is Cavs coach Tyronn Lue is clueless on what to do when the going gets rough. His Plan A is to give the ball to LeBron. His Plan B is the same. Lue should’ve learned from the Cleveland lesson in 2007.

Lue, 39, took over the Cavs job from David Blatt midway the regular season and posted a 27-14 mark. Blatt brought the Cavs to the Finals last season but Cleveland fell to Golden State in six. But Kyrie Irving played only in Game 1 and Kevin Love didn’t play the entire Finals so for Blatt to extend the Last Dance to six games was a major accomplishment under the circumstances. The scuttlebutt is Blatt didn’t get along with LeBron. In a conflict situation involving the King, guess who wins out?

Blatt shouldn’t have been deposed. He’s a lot more seasoned as a coach than Lue not in the NBA but in Europe where he began his bench career in 1993. Blatt delivered a gold for Russia at the 2007 FIBA EuroBasket and a bronze, also for Russia, at the 2012 London Olympics. The 57-year-old Princeton graduate was a coaching legend in Israel, Italy and Russia. What he knows about basketball as a coach is a treasure trove. No matter how talented LeBron is as a player, he’s no match for Blatt in terms of coaching ability.

So why was Blatt fired? When he walked away, the Cavs record was 30-11. Lue succeeded Blatt on the bench and registered a 27-14 mark. The numbers indicate who was the better performer.

In the ongoing Finals, Cleveland has been badly mauled. In Game 1, the Cavs’ assist-to-turnover ratio was 17:17, par for the course, but the Warriors’ rate was 29:9. Cleveland shot 33.3 percent from the field, 7-of-21 triples compared to Golden State’s 49.4 percent and 9-of-27 from beyond the arc. Golden State also had more points in the paint, 54-42 and bench points, 45-10. In Game 2, nothing changed. The Cavs showed no adjustments in trying to reverse the tide. The Warriors’ assist-to-turnover ratio was 26:21 and Cleveland’s was 15:18. The Cavs shot 35.4 percent from the field and the Warriors, 54.3. Golden State had more bench points, 40-30, points in the paint, 50-40 and three-point conversions, 15-of-33 to 5-of-23. In both games, Golden State had more players scoring in double figures, 7-4 in the series opener and 4-3 in the rematch.    

Worse, in Game 2, LeBron was held to only 19 points, snapping a personal playoff streak of 25 outings with at least 20. Lue said the Cavs must play tougher in Game 3 but that’s like whistling in the wind. How to do it is the big question mark. Cleveland must dictate the tempo and slow down the pace to force Golden State to play the halfcourt against the Cavs’ big defense. The Cavs can’t allow the Warriors to play up-and-down. Cleveland has to assert its physicality and turn Game 3 into a power struggle, not a finesse clinic. The Cavs shouldn’t play small ball like the Dubs, they should play big because that’s their advantage. Why dance to the Warriors’ music?

For the Cavs, Game 3 is a virtual do-or-die. The mindset should be to avoid a sweep.