Cavs Fire Mike Brown; Carrot Top, Mrs. Butterworth Top Wish List

First of all: Nobody’s surprised, right?

On paper, there’s a host of really good reasons to keep Mike Brown as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Conference Semi-Finals or better in each of his five seasons with the Cavs. Consecutive 60-win seasons. A Coach of the Year award. An NBA Finals appearance.

And yet the common feeling is that anybody—anybody, including fictional and non-corporeal entities—could do a better job.

The problem in Mike Brown’s case is that his first year with the Cavaliers was also LeBron James’s third year in the league. The winning had started when LeBron arrived, not when Brown did: the Cavs went from 17 to 35 wins his rookie year, then to 42 the next, then to 50 the next year when Brown took over. Advantage, LeBron.

And who exactly was the hero of that dramatic 2007 run to the Finals? Was it Mike Brown, or was it LeBron James—who scored the team’s final 25 points (and 48 total) in the series-changing double-overtime win over the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Finals?

And while we all know it takes a tremendous amount of skill and experience to coach an NBA team, it’s always felt like, say, Dick Cheney could have done what Mike Brown did. Or Paris Hilton. Or maybe a rutabaga.

The stark reality is that LeBron’s mere presence gave the team enough talent to make it to the Finals. When the 2010 version of the team, now loaded with helper talent, failed again to convert in the playoffs, much of the blame shifted from LBJ to Brown. And rightly so.

I’m in the camp that believes Brown has held this team back. You might remember that I called for his head two games into this season—which doesn’t look nearly so premature anymore.

All season the Cavs were that guy who won’t break up with his girlfriend until he’s absolutely certain the relationship isn’t going to work. He should’ve done it a long time ago, and everybody else knows it, but he’s too sucked in by the way she calls him “baby” to realize that being with her means a lifetime of conversations that only reach their intellectual peak when centered around “The Bachelorette.”

(In retrospect, Mike Brown is the girlfriend in that analogy, and it’s disturbing. I’m sorry. I really am.)

Brown is responsible for creating a strong defensive culture in Cleveland, which became their hallmark, but he’s perhaps more famous for his offensive ineptitude. The Cavs’ offense under Brown, especially late in games, always called for LeBron isolation after LeBron isolation and featured only limited off-ball movement by his teammates. The result was that none of the rest of the Cavs were ever in a position to create for themselves, and every opportunity had to come from space created by LeBron—which, as we saw in the playoffs, falls hard when LeBron is having an off-night (or two).

It’s always been aggravating to see LeBron be the only player handling the ball in close late-game situations. Yes, you want him taking the shot. But he’s got four NBA-caliber talents joining him that can help set up that shot.

It all bubbled up in the hilarious (wait, was it hilarious? Maybe it was sad?) conclusion of the Cavs’ 101-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 31st. With 22 seconds to go and a tied game, Mo Williams drove the ball left to the baseline, then dished to a cutting LeBron for the layup and the lead.

It was the right play at the right time, and the Cavaliers got the go-ahead bucket. It was an unfamiliar sight for Cavs fans, as the play call has usually been an isolation for LeBron at the top of the key. What made this play different? Why was there an actual offensive play called, that produced a high-efficiency shot?

Because LeBron called the play. Not Mike Brown.

It’s easy to imagine that the Cavaliers would have at least a couple rings right now if they’d been led by an elite coach. Can you imagine this team running the triangle offense? They’ve got enough offensive talent that an efficient scheme could routinely open up Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison for easy baskets, even with LeBron on the bench.

The Cavs don’t even run a consistent pick and roll, despite having more than enough tools to make it a focal point. It always seems like I only see the P&R coming from Delonte West and Andy Varejao (successfully, might I add), and only when the second squad is on the floor.

For Cavs fans, Mike Brown’s dismissal isn’t a surprise, it’s a relief. It’s a hand of fellowship stretched out to every fan who’s ever stood in front of their TV, shouting for Brown to make a simple in-game adjustment: J.J. HICKSON IS THE ONLY GUY PLAYING WELL! PUT HIM BACK IN! (Hint: he didn’t.)

And not to worry: Mike Brown will get a good new job, based on his Cleveland credentials. He exits with the highest winning percentage of any coach in Cavalier history, .663, edging Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens (.551) and Mike Fratello (.539). The Finals appearance in ’07 is also the only such appearance in franchise history. There are a handful of teams shopping for coaches this offseason, and Brown will likely be snapped up quickly.

The interesting and endlessly-hashed-out footnote is whether this step will help the Cavs keep LeBron. You have to wonder if LeBron felt the limitation of Mike Brown’s sets. Certainly hiring a big name like Phil Jackson, John Calipari, or Mike Krzyzewski would add at least a little incentive for The King to stay. Or even just a cardboard cutout of one of those guys.

Regardless, the Cavs’ brass agrees on one thing. Not having Mike Brown is better than having Mike Brown.