The Reign of Potato is over

Five years. Five great regular seasons. Five embarrassing playoff exits. If someone asked me to sum up Mike Brown's tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers in three sentences, those would be them. From day one Mike Brown always preached one thing--defense. I have no problem with that...but defense can only take you so far. You need to be able to execute offensive plays more than once out of every 20 possessions. You have to be able to make in game adjustments and play guys that match up well opposed to guys who need to play 'x' amount of minutes. Ultimately, Mike Brown's deficiencies in those areas is why he's no longer the coach. It's also the main reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers still don't have an NBA Championship to call their own.

I've hated Mike Brown for the better part of four seasons now...his offense/in game adjustments has just been so horrible, it's been impossible to actually like the guy. But this firing was one that I hoped I'd never see. If the Cavs had won a title within the past 5 years, Mike Brown would be coaching this team until he was ready to quit. (Don't get it twisted though...I'm glad he's finally gone.)

For the first time in over 5 years, I actually get the feeling that LeBron might not come back. The firing of Mike Brown feels like it's the beginning of the end for the Cavaliers. I really hope I'm wrong, but there's this weird feeling all of a sudden surrounding the Cavs. After the whooping Boston handed us in the 2nd round this year, you got the sense that this Cavs team really was just a regular season team. Part of that falls on Mike Brown's shoulders because, as stated earlier, he has no clue how to adjust to teams. Maybe the team really is just a smart coach away from a title. Who knows. But going into this off-season, you get the feeling that this team is gonna look drastically different come November. There isn't an actual center on the roster now that Z and Shaq are free agents, there isn't a coach, and there isn't a superstar if LeBron leaves.

Don't forget, LeBron was the one who wanted Mike Brown. He also wanted Larry Hughes, Mo Williams, Ben Wallace and Shaq. Every person he's asked for, Cleveland has given him. And every person he's asked for hasn't been good for the Cavaliers as an organization. But it's LeBron--the front office will give him whatever he pleases to make sure he stays. Where else is he going to get as much pull in the front office than he would in Cleveland?

Oh, and Mike? Thank LeBron for not only the opportunity to coach an NBA team, but for you being fired.

The Potato Head has officially left the building.