Tyronn Lue's early coaching career has almost mirrored that of Pat Riley

Tyronn Lue's early coaching career has almost mirrored that of Pat Riley

Tyronn Lue's early coaching career has almost mirrored that of Pat Riley,No, at this point it’s not breaking news that Tyronn Lue is following the same path to begin his NBA playoff coaching career that Pat Riley once took. But the similarities still are fascinating. Lue’s career as Cavaliers coach was born of in-season turmoil, a star player’s power play and near-universal skepticism over who deserved to be holding what position. Pretty much word-for-word how Riley ascended to the head coaching job with Magic Johnson’s Lakers early in the 1981-82 season — except with more awkwardness and open rebellion, if you can believe that. MORE: Cavs dominating like "Showtime" Lakers | Lasting finals images Yet the results are almost identical —

both Riley’s Lakers and Lue’s Cavs had perfect starts to their postseason records. Lue even went one game further with Thursday’s Game 2 Eastern Conference finals rout of the Raptors: He’s now 10-0, a game better than Riley’s 9-0, and can stretch it further Saturday night in Toronto. More important than being perfect in the playoffs, though? The Cavs under Lue look like a team playing the way it should, with a style that fits the players and highlights the strengths of its central figure, that LeBron James guy. Again, just like those Lakers did in 1982,



the first true incarnation of Showtime orchestrated by Magic. LeBron himself drew a comparison as the Cavs prepared for Game 3 — and no player still alive in the postseason knows the Riley connection better. We pause here for you to say, understandably: That’s ridiculous. Comparing Tyronn Lue to Pat Riley? The guy we knew best for getting stepped over by Allen Iverson in the 2001 Finals? Back when the big Lakers shake-up happened, Riley, of course, was not the Riley who emerged that season, and the one we know today. He was Paul Westhead’s assistant and, not long before that, Chick Hearn’s radio partner. He also was the guy owner Jerry Buss only sort of wanted to be coach: His original idea was for Riley and Jerry West, then in his early days as GM, to be co-coaches.