Rule number one in Cleveland: Keep LeBron James happy.
Rule number two in Cleveland: Keep LeBron Happy. There are no other rules.
So when coach Mike “hey LeBron, what do you want to do here?” Brown got in the MVP’s face Tuesday night, it was a surprise. To say the least. But Brian Windhorst saw it (he sees everything):
With the Cavaliers in trouble down four points to the lowly Detroit Pistons late in the third quarter, Brown stepped into a timeout huddle and verbally, mentally and without holding back challenged his Most Valuable Player.
The results were a James explosion and yet another victory, this one by a 113-101 score.
James scored on three of the next four possessions after that timeout. We talked about this in Baseline to Baseline -- the Cavaliers coasted through most of this one. LeBron woke up to keep it close, the rest of the team woke up with five minutes remaining. Not pretty, but that’s the kind of win good teams get some nights.
But you’ve got to like that Brown took charge. In a meaningless March game against a team out of the playoffs, but it’s a start. Baby steps.
Still, Brown violated the only team rule (see above) and as of the last check of the wire, has not been fired. In fact, LeBron probably needed that (although if he would admit that is another thing entirely).
Now let’s see if Brown willing to do that again in the Eastern Conference Finals against Orlando.