Cleveland Cavaliers News: LeBron James Shoves Coach David Blatt to Avoid a Technical Foul
Upon his return to the game on Tuesday, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James made an unexpected move to prevent coach David Blatt from getting a technical foul for the team.
James, who just came from a long rest for his knee pain and strained back, was seen shoving Blatt away from the referees to avoid being caught up in more trouble after the former was slapped with an offensive foul during the second quarter.
According to Yahoo Sports, Blatt was angry because of the foul called on James, who immediately went near his coach, giving him the chance to cool off.
ESPN noted in a separate report that the shove looked more like a serious push from James but he quickly explained his action.
"I got called for an offensive foul, and they said I hooked one of the Morris twins on a post-up when he grabbed me. It was a referee that was away from the play [who called it]. I was talking to Eric Lewis, one of the other refs, and Coach Blatt was getting a little fired up about it, too, and he was on his way to a technical. So I just got him up out of the way before he got a T. So, just protecting my coach," the Cav star was quoted by ESPN as saying.
This statement was also supported by Blatt, who said that it was him who was arguing with the official and not James.
"Look, it's a physical game, and no disrespect to the officials, but I just thought my guy was taking a lot of hard hits and I didn't like it and I was expressing my opinion, and LeBron stepped in to I guess protect me in that situation, which is more than fine. But what I really wanted to do was protect him," Blatt added in the ESPN report.
It was noted that the play continued with Blatt not receiving a technical as James continued to rally for the team though his efforts were clearly not enough to seal victory for the team as the Cavs faced the 10th defeat for their past 12 games.
ESPN added that despite some flaws in James' performance, he looked "much more explosive" than the previous games.
"I couldn't make those moves two weeks ago. I know it. And for me be to be able to come back and feel [like] myself again was pretty cool," he said.
Blatt also praised James' performance during the game.
"That wasn't an easy thing because he hasn't played a competitive game in eight games. I just thought he was terrific," Blatt said.