LeBron James’s Cavs Were Given an Ultimatum in a Silent Locker Room After Getting Thrashed by Warriors in 2016

When it is the playoffs, every game and every matchup is crucial. Especially when you are down 3-1, everything is on the line as the pressure is over the roof. However, for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, things did not go haywire despite falling 1-3 to the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. We are all aware of how calm LeBron James was in the post-game interview after losing Game 4. But he was not the only one in the unit. Ex-Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy, who was a part of the 2016 championship team, shared another name, who was pivotal in keeping the Cavs alive.

How was the mood in the Cavs locker room after Game 4 of the 2016 Finals? Handy shared a few unearthed details in his conversation with veterans Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their podcast. “I start with T-Lue (Tyronn Lue)…He was just calm. T-Lue and Bron man, they were so calm after I think it was Game 4. We were in Cleveland and the Warriors beat us… We got into the locker room… There was no panic. The locker room was pretty quiet,“ Handy revealed on All The Smoke podcast.

But Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue did not refrain from making a hard-hitting statement. Handy continued, “The message that T-Lue gave to the team immediately was, ‘Listen, we got one game to focus on. If you guys don’t think we can go to Golden State and win this next game, then do not get on the plane.’ Those were his exact words. And Bron was on the same sentiment.”

One game at a time was the goal for Ty Lue and James, who went on to make history that year by becoming the first team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals. Moreover, to ensure the situation was calm, Lue encouraged his players to have fun, despite the loss. 

Tyronn Lue reveals the fun stuff that the Cavs did after losing

After losing Games 1 and 2 by 15 points and 33 points, respectively, any head coach in the NBA would show the film to his players to point out their flaws. However, Lue refrained from doing it. He never showed the film for the games that they lost. Instead, they all went on to practice some half-court shots for fun. Quite odd, isn’t it? 

In an interview for the Knuckleheads podcast two years ago, Lue shared, “When we lost games, I would never show film. Why would I not show film? The first two games we got beat by like 30 and 28. I don’t want them to see that. That’s demoralizing.” So does Ty Lue not show the films at all? Here is your answer. 

The LA Clippers coach added, “When I come in, we shoot half-court shots, we do stuff that’s fun. And we finally won that one game. And I would go back and show like from Game 1 and 2, what we needed to do better.” As a coach, Lue made sure that his players had a positive mindset throughout the series, and that was the game-changer for the Cavs that season as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving stunned the world.

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