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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt and LeBron James confer during a second half timeout in the 2015 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. (Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer)

In his new book "The Comeback: LeBron, the Cavs & Cleveland" (paperback $15.95, 251 pages, 30 color photos; ebook $9.99), Terry Pluto details one of the greatest stories in Cleveland sports history: LeBron James's return to Cleveland and the Cavaliers' unprecedented come-from-behind NBA championship. This excerpt, the third in a series, details the bold choice by Cavs GM David Griffin to fire coach David Blatt midseason during a championship run and replace him with rookie coach Tyronn Lue.

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Some of the Cavs brass praised coach David Blatt for working with assistant Tyronn Lue and LeBron James to create the tough defensive persona that helped the Cavs reach the 2015 Finals. They also believe Blatt was reluctant to challenge LeBron in film sessions and when the star failed to run back in defense.

They wondered, "Where was the coach who'd throw players off the bench during games when they weren't paying attention?"

I talked to some people in Europe who thought Blatt would set a record for technical fouls if he screamed at officials in the NBA as he did overseas. But he rarely challenged officials. In one game, he was yelling at the refs, and LeBron stepped between the coach and the official -- taking up the argument. Usually, it's the other way -- it's the coach who goes between the official and the player.

LeBron believed the officials were more likely to listen to him than the coach, and other members of the team saw that. They also saw Blatt back down.

Some of the Cavs brass asked Blatt to be more demonstrative with officials. Get some technical fouls, fight harder for your team. Blatt was never called for a technical foul in his 1 1/2 seasons in the NBA.

In a November 22, 2015 game, LeBron was frustrated by the lack of foul calls from officials. He simply sat down on the bench. The Cavs drew a technical for that. It also sent the message that LeBron believed Blatt should have fought harder with officials.

After the game, Blatt joked that LeBron was acting like a hockey player. They just take themselves out of the game by going to the bench, with other players going into the game on a line change.

But this is not hockey.

And other players on the Cavs wondered how they would have been treated if they pulled a stunt like that. They knew it was not just fatigue that led LeBron to the bench -- he was mad at the officials.

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LeBron is a blessing to coach -- and a challenge.

"The hard part is all the things around LeBron," said Mike Brown, who coached LeBron from 2005-2010. "LeBron is not hard to coach. All the outside influences, the media attention, that can become a circus and make it hard because the smallest things get blown up. It's more outside the locker room than anything else."

The coach and other players are often asked by the media, "LeBron said this ... what did he mean?"

It becomes LeBron ... LeBron ... LeBron.

All-LeBron, all the time.

The blessing is any coach with LeBron James knows he'll win a lot of games.

The curse is exactly what Brown said ... you are supposed to win nearly every game ... and every title.

The challenge is how to hold LeBron accountable. His talent can be overwhelming to a coach, especially a coach new to the NBA, such as Blatt.

Before the 2015-16 season, the Cavs asked Blatt to be more demanding of LeBron. Call him out in film sessions when it's obvious he missed assignments or failed on defense. Don't be afraid to take him out of a game if he's struggling.

General manager David Griffin watched this. He also saw how Tyronn Lue was willing to challenge LeBron in film sessions while Blatt was silent.

The Cavs had a 30-11 record in the first half of the 2015-16 season. But Blatt was still struggling with coaching LeBron. Other players were growing resentful of what they saw as special treatment of the star.

What the Cavs feared was LeBron's leadership being eroded. They want him to hold the other players accountable, to be the coach on the floor. But if the players believed the coach would not call out LeBron for his mistakes, some of them wondered why they had to take criticism from LeBron.

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It wasn't LeBron James who fired David Blatt.

Nor was it Dan Gilbert.

It was David Griffin.

I believe Blatt would have been fired earlier in the season. As Griffin later admitted when he first approached Gilbert, the Cavs owner "was surprised, because it's hard to fathom (firing a coach) because of our record."

But as Griffin talked to Gilbert over several weeks, one question would linger if the Cavs failed to win a title in 2016: "Would we have won if we had changed coaches?"

He was confident Tyronn Lue was better suited for the job.

Griffin also knew something else: "I'm not leaving an unprecedented team payroll to chance."

The Cavs entered the 2015-16 season with a $110 million payroll, second-highest in NBA history. They also were set to pay about $60 million in luxury tax. Gilbert certainly had fulfilled his promise to LeBron to spend to win.

"I go to bed every night thinking about what it takes to bring a championship to Northeast Ohio," said Griffin. "You can win games in the regular season and get worse. We were regressing."

That led to the obvious storyline that "LeBron got Blatt fired."

Griffin didn't talk to LeBron before making the decision to fire Blatt.

"I didn't have to talk to him or any other players," said Griffin. "I'm not taking a poll. It's my job to lead a franchise. I didn't need to ask questions (of the players)."

Here's the obvious: If LeBron totally supported Blatt, he would have been more supportive of the coach. The same with other players. You could see it.

"There was a lack of connectiveness on our team," said Griffin. "There was a lack of fit with our personnel and how we use that personnel."

Griffin spent a lot of time talking about the team "needing a collective strength of spirit, a collective will ... having our hearts, minds and souls being all in."

He was sincere about that, but it also made him an easy target because it sounded like fuzzy psycho-babble. But he was trying to get a bunch of very talented millionaires to play together. They needed a reason to get beyond their own personal agendas if the Cavs were even going to return to The Finals, much less win a title.

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Excerpted from the book "The Comeback: LeBron, the Cavs & Cleveland" (c) 2016 by Terry Pluto. Reprinted with permission of Gray & Company, Publishers. Available starting October 25 at Northeast Ohio bookstores, Discount Drug Mart, and Amazon.com. More information at TerryPluto.com.

About the book

LeBron James came home on a mission in 2014: Lead the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals and give Cleveland fans their first title in 52 years. Would he be able to restore his reputation, revive the franchise, and reward long-suffering fans?



It turned out to be an epic homecoming.



In a new book, Plain Dealer sports columnist Terry Pluto tells how LeBron and the Cavs took fans on a roller coaster ride from despair to hope and, finally, glory in the 2016 NBA Championship.



"The Comeback: LeBron, the Cavs & Cleveland" (paperback $15.95, 251 pages, 30 color photos; ebook $9.99) was two years in the making. It offers an in-depth look at how LeBron won back hometown fans; how the Cavs' front office crafted a championship-caliber team around James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love (and dared to change coaches midseason during a championship run); and how the team sparked a dramatic come-from-behind championship that electrified the city.



The book will be available starting October 25 at Northeast Ohio bookstores and Discount Drug Mart locations, and online from Amazon.com. Print and e-book editions are available. More information at TerryPluto.com.

Book signings and appearances

Terry Pluto will autograph copies of "The Comeback" at these upcoming events:

Nov. 5, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Buckeye Book Fair

Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave, Wooster

Nov. 9, 7-8 p.m.

Barnes & Noble

198 Crocker Park Blvd, Westlake

Nov. 12, 1-2 p.m.

Learned Owl Books

204 Main Street, Hudson

Nov. 14, 7-8 p.m.

Barnes & Noble

7900 Mentor Ave, Mentor

More events are listed at TerryPluto.com