Tyronn Lue Is a Bad M—–F—–

The Cleveland Cavaliers completed a second-round sweep of the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday evening, when a Paul Millsap heave went begging as time expired in Game 4 of the series. There were a host of reasons the Cavaliers won the series, including a three-point barrage the likes of which no one had ever seen (77 made threes at over a 50 percent clip), 21.3 points per game from dribble wizard Kyrie Irving, and another near triple-double per game effort from LeBron James. But ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported another theory for the Cavs’ recent success.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told Kevin Love he was a bad m—–f—–.

The story goes like this: Since the Cavaliers successfully tricked LeBron James to return to Cleveland and traded for Kevin Love in the summer of 2014, the Cavaliers were expected to romp through the rest of the league. Despite wild success for most franchises in most seasons in NBA history, the James-Love-Irving triumvirate had been effective but underwhelming through a season and a half. The Cavaliers are squandering Love’s talent. The Cavs’ Big Three don’t get along and don’t know how to play with another. Kevin Love is introverted and soft and weird and no one likes him and the Cavs would happily trade him for table scraps and a medium milkshake. the narratives went.

That is, until Coach Lue reminded Kevin Love he was a bad m—–f—–.

After a depressing and indefensible March loss to the Nets in Brooklyn, as McMenamin tells it, Coach Lue obliterated the wishy-washy, pussyfooting, uncertainty nonsense that had plagued the Cavaliers.¹

“[I] just said, ‘Kevin, Kyrie and Bron, each night you guys got to know what to expect out of each other,'” Lue recalled. “‘Until you all do that, we aren’t going to be able to win.’

“And I said, ‘Kevin, you got to be more aggressive. Tell LeBron, I’m a bad m—–f—– too, so throw me the ball.’ Be aggressive. Run the floor. If you’re open, we got to throw you the ball. You got to demand the basketball and I said, ‘Score the ball and be aggressive.'”

After that, so this narrative goes, Love became more assertive, demanded the ball, acted decisively and with confidence, and began all-around kicking ass. Love began to fit “in” with his Big Three Cavalier teammates (as opposed to, say, “out”). Overnight, Love was transformed from a timid, bushy-tailed doe into a cross between General George Patton, Snake Plissken, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, knocking down threes, devouring rebounds, and hoarding double-doubles as the Cavs cruised to an 8-0 start in the playoffs.

Certainly an isolated bit of motivational profanity can’t be responsible for the Cavs sizzling start to the playoffs. Coach Tyronn Lue used a fiery bit of coach-speak to goad Kevin Love into being aggressive. There’s nothing unusual about that.

But then one remembers that Coach Lue had another thing to say about bad M-Fers after the Cavs’ sweep over the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, this time about Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy.

McMenamin reporting again:

“It means a lot from a premier coach like Stan who is well respected around the league, and to have a chance to get a compliment from a guy like that and then to beat him 4-0, it means a lot,” Lue told ESPN.com. “Because I know he’s very smart, he’s very intelligent, and I knew this was going to be a tough series. Which it was. It was a tough series for us. It was just a great grind-out game for us. It was a great grind-out series for us, and we needed that, to wake us up early.

“And I mean, to beat Stan and beat him 4-0, that means a lot to me. Because I know he’s a bad m—–f—–.”

Suddenly, a pattern emerges. Coach Lue is empowered by defeating a coach and opponent he’s identified as a bad M-Fer. Coach Lue has unleashed Kevin’s inner Love by reminding him that he’s a bad M-Fer. Now I’m intrigued — I have so many questions about Tyronn Lue’s affinity for the obscene epithet.

What exactly does Coach Lue know about being a bad m—–f—–? What makes one a bad m—–f—–? Are the basketball smarts and intelligence that make Stan Van Gundy a bad m—–f—– identical to what makes Kevin Love a bad m—–f—–? Or is it Kevin Love’s blend of three-point shooting and rebounding skills that make him a uniquely versatile offensive weapon, and thus a bad m—–f—–? Is there only one type of bad m—–f—–? Or can all people in all walks of life be a bad m—–f—–? Is being a bad m—–f—– predominantly attitude … bad m—–f—–tude?

Is Coach Lue specially qualified to identify bad m—–f—–s? Did Coach Lue receive a Ph.D. from bad M——F—– University? Can one simultaneously be Zen Master (as Lue’s former coach Phil Jackson is known) and Bad M—–F—–? Is Coach Lue himself a bad m—–f—–, and can only other bad m—–f—–s perceive when they are in the presence of a bad m—–f—–? Can us punk fool nobodies (read: non-M-Fers) diagnose a bad m—–f—–?

Can only a bad m—–f—– coax the most out of LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving?

Is one simply born a bad m—–f—–, or can one become a bad m—–f—–? If a bad m—–f—– drains a three in a gym and no one is around to see it, is he or she still a bad m—–f—–? Do bad m—–f—–s know that not all that glitters is gold? Are candidates for a bad m—–f—–ship evaluated by their greatest achievement, or the body of their M-F’ing resume as a whole? Can one cease to be a bad m—–f—–, or are bad m—–f—–s one til the day they die? Does a bad m—–f—– shut his or her mouth (when told)? If one wrestles a grizzly bear with his bare hands and does not win but only emerges with a no decision, is said person still a bad m—–f—–? Do bad m—–f—–s eat salads, like cuddling, or cry during The Lion King when² Mufasa dies (himself the baddest m—–f—– in the kingdom)?

https://youtu.be/nFvRvSxsW-I?t=3m17s

Has Tyronn Lue ever been trapped in a diner booth with Samuel L. Jackson? Does Tyronn Lue have a wallet that says “Bad M—– F—–” on it? Can mean bastards and ruthless SOBs win championships, or only bad m—–f—–s? Do bad m—–f—–s believe in miracles and, if so, will it take one to bring a championship to Cleveland?Is Coach Lue a shepherd, and can he lead the Cavs through the Valley of Darkness? (Warning: foul language in the clip below, which, given the nature of this post and that it’s from Pulp Fiction, should be of no surprise.)

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is Tyronn Lue able to only identify a bad m—–f—–, or does his mere blessing make one so? Like an incantation of bad m—–f—–tude? Was Kevin Love always a bad m——f—–, or did Coach Lue turn him into one? Or did Coach Lue just revive Love’s inner bad m—–f—–? If so, perhaps Tyronn Lue can make the Cavaliers a team of bad m—–f—–s capable of matching the Heat, Raptors, Warriors, Thunder, Blazers, Spurs, and Warriors — infusing in them the attitude, style, and cool needed to win the NBA Finals, the baddest thing a player can do in his career.

When the Cavaliers fired coach David Blatt at the midway point of the season, I questioned the wisdom of such a drastic, hasty move. But, regardless of how the next one or two rounds of the playoffs unfold, I applaud them for making the switch to Tyronn Lue. Is David Blatt a championship-winning coach? Yes. Is David Blatt a two-win NBA Finals head coach? Yes. Is David Blatt a fighter pilot? Somewhat. Is David Blatt a bad m—–f—–? Maybe. But the last few months have shown, if anything, that few are as much a bad m—–f—– as Tyronn Lue.

1. Some alterations in quote have been removed. [↩]
2. Spoiler alert. [↩]