When the Cleveland Cavaliers take on Maccabi Tel Aviv in their first preseason game on Sunday October 5th, it will be Lebron James’ first game back with his hometown team. This will be the lead story in the A Block.
As it should. But there’s another compelling B story going on in this one.
David Blatt’s first game as coach of the NBA’s Cleveland franchise comes against his former team.
“I couldn’t think of a better scripted story than starting this new chapter in my life with a friendly game against my Maccabi Tel Aviv family,” said Blatt.
This preseason tilt was scheduled in April, long before Blatt got the unlikely offer, and well before Lebron decided to return to Cleveland.
Just after winning the Eueroleague championship, David Blatt made an emotional announcement that he was leaving Maccabi to become the head coach of the Cavs, making him the first Euroleague coach ever to make the move to the NBA.
The week after that revelation, it was announced that Lebron James would be returning to play for Cleveland. Blatt, with no NBA experience, was now coaching the greatest hoops player on the planet and a new Cavaliers team that many consider the favorite in the East.
For Blatt, his first game as NBA coach will be versus the team that he knows inside and out. It’s also one that is close to his heart.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2