Ty Lue did not deserve this, that’s for sure. He was just a nice role player who woke up one day to find David Blatt exiled to the moon and him in charge of the most insane drama of the last decade.

He lucked into a title and, in hindsight, should have just taken his ring and gotten out of Cleveland faster than the steel and coal industry.

He stepped away said fuck this because of an undisclosed illness a lack of ability to take the bullshit.

It probably had something to do with gif, from earlier this week, when Portland easily handled the Cavs:

Who looks like the player there? Who looks like the coach? My goodness. We would rather goad a rhino than deal with that. At least the rhino wouldn’t sub-tweet you after murdering you.

It seems like Lue, who claims he’ll return later this week, finally decided a sweep courtesy of Golden State in three months isn’t worth J.R. Smith’s soup throwing, Kevin Love’s beadle-positioning, LeBron James’s ire, Kyrie Irving’s not being there, Tristan Thompson’s Kardashian baby, and whatever other nightmares happen in that hell hole.

Lue, please, do not return. You deserve better—plenty of college jobs to choose from.

Who’s going to be the coach of the year?

The race for Coach of the Year is very much alive. Here are the some guys:

Quin Snyder

The Utah Jazz are 40-30 and right in the thick of a razor thin Western Conference playoff race. They’ve also won an absurd 21 or their last 23 games. They’ve looked washed so, so many times this year, but Rudy Gobert remains a treasure and Donovan Mitchell looks like the next Dwyane Wade.

A lot of this is reminiscent of Brad Stevens in 2015-16, when the Celtics won 48 games with a big three of Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley. Of course, they flamed out against a very average Atlanta Hawks team, but this is a regular season award.

Terry Stotts

Classic soccer dad Terry Stotts has come close, finishing a runner up to Steve Kerr’s 73-win Warriors two seasons ago. Last year the Blazers ended the season at a disappointing 41-41, getting swept in the first round by Golden State. With a nearly identical roster, the 2018 Blazers are on a 13-game win streak, sit 18 games above .500 and have become a dark horse in their conference to make a relatively deep run.

Dwane Casey

Toronto ran back a sinking ship and found a way to turn it into a legitimate threat to make the finals. They’ve done it with an ever-improving DeMar DeRozan, an incredible bench with people you likely haven’t heard of (Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet), and one Mr. Dwane Casey.

There should be a rule in the NBA: If the Raptors win 60 games (an 8-4 finish will do that), then whoever is the coach should win coach of the year.

Brad Stevens

It probably won’t happen, but to have this team looking like a quasi threat to make a finals run after what happened on opening night is wild. He’ll get a few of these by the time he’s done.

Nate McMillan

You didn’t even know this guy coached the Pacers, did you?

After trading away franchise player Paul George and losing Jeff Teague to free agency, the Pacers had little to zero expectations this season. As of today they’re 41-30, could win between 48 and 50, and are in a tight battle for 3rd in their conference. With a breakout year from Victor Oladipo and consistency from Bojan Bogdanovic and Domantas Sabonis, McMillan has done a whole lot with not too much else.

Sidenote: If either Stotts or Casey wins, Rick Carlisle will feel like a proud father. Both Stotts and Casey were assistant coaches to Carlisle during the magical championship season for the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.

We’re sure you’ve been following the evergreen Ray Allen-Rajon Rondo beef. Here’s more of the good stuff.
John Stockton’s son, David, is on the Utah Jazz. That’s cool.
The Pelicans offered a free beard shave to fans before their game against the Rockets.
Russell Westbrook has put up five straight games with a triple double and [rookie] Ben Simmons has put up three in the last four. Westbrook also torched the Raptors in Canada the other day.
Jordan Clarkson, take it away: "Y'all know how we got dogs and stuff right? So, I think there was bigger people in the world before us..and like the dinosaurs was they pets."
Your weekly Giannis jaw-dropper:

Chris Paul’s handles are otherworldly:

The range of Donovan Mitchell:

The athleticism of Donovan Mitchell:

The Dwyane Wade inside Donovan Mitchell:

Tackling one of the NBA’s biggest vices: cell phone addiction. [Tap Here]
The great Jackie MacMullan profiles the thoughtful and clot-full (that’s awful) Chris Bosh.

You start feeling forgotten. You don't get as many phone calls. You don't stay at the forefront of people's minds. It's natural, it's life, you have to understand what's happening, but I definitely see why the divorce rate is so high, and why players go broke.

To read more, Tap Here.

The San Antonio Spurs face an unfamiliar opponent down the stretch: discontent. [Tap Here]

Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman discuss all that’s wrong with college basketball. [Tap Here]

A LOOK AHEAD Here are the must-see games of the week.

Tuesday 3/20

The Oklahoma City Thunder (43-29) visit the Boston Celtics (47-23). 8 PM EST - TNTThe Houston Rockets (56-14) visit the Portland Trailblazers (44-26).10:30 PM EST - TNT

Wednesday 3/21

The Toronto Raptors (52-18) visit the Cleveland Cavaliers (40-29).7:00 PM EST - ESPNThe Indiana Pacers (40-30) visit the New Orlean Pelicans (40-30).9:30 PM EST

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