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2015 NBA Playoffs: Previewing The Eastern Conference Finals

By Shane Young

Mar 6, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) passes the ball between Atlanta Hawks forwards Paul Millsap (4) and DeMarre Carroll (5) during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) passes the ball between Atlanta Hawks forwards Paul Millsap (4) and DeMarre Carroll (5) during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt talks with guard Kyrie Irving (2) in the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

 Coaching Differences

By my account, the coaching advantage goes to Mike Budenholzer in every facet, over David Blatt.

Listen, Blatt was praised and basically put on a Mount Rushmore overseas for his coaching style and ability to gel with players. That didn’t mean it was going to be easy for him to transfer his knowledge and techniques to a different country, and completely different style of basketball.

For as long as he could remember, Blatt had it ingrained in his head that coaches have absolute power and that it was in the team’s best interest if he called all the shots, all the time. It was pretty much like shell-shock when he realized that the NBA is a players’ league, not a coaches’ league. This universe the NBA has turned into is outright dependent on the caliber of players you pick up in the offseason, and how much freedom you allow them to have on the court.

It’s safe to say Blatt doesn’t have the final word on his team, in huddles, or when it comes to making adjustments on the fly. That’s been LeBron, and it will be LeBron for this East Finals.  It was also a great way for Erik Spoelstra to thrive as a head coach in the later stages of LeBron’s Miami tenure, because Spoelstra could definitely trust LeBron or Dwyane Wade to call out defensive switches in the middle of a game, or to draw up their own little plays for must-score situations. Spoelstra’s job turned into being a strong motivator for the team, and frequently spitting off little cliches about their performance to the media.

These two coaches, Blatt and Budenholzer, couldn’t be more contrasting characters.  Budenholzer isn’t going to lose track of how many timeouts his team has late in games, or have to worry about his star players overriding play calls — mainly because, well, he doesn’t have any superstars.

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Apr 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with players during the fourth quarter of game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports /

Budenholzer has really coached the best of both worlds, ranging from two of the biggest superstar names in history (Tim Duncan and David Robinson) to now two years with a well-rounded, ego-less roster that developed chemistry so easily.

It’s impossible for Blatt to feel as if he has any power in what Cleveland can do to increase their success, when he has two starters that demand a high usage percentage. Irving and James were both over 26% this year in usage rating (as expected), and he’ll have to accept that Cleveland’s success will be predicated on his stars.

Budenholzer, however, will gain a ton of prestige if he wins this series. People will point at all the creative cuts, screen action, triangle elements, and his defensive schemes on LeBron.  If he loses, he’ll probably still get praised for taking a team so close to their first championship without any “King.”

Next: Most Important Player