Ty Lue Reveals Unique Strategy in 2016 Finals

Ty Lue detailed unique strategy in Cleveland Cavaliers Finals win over Golden State Warriors
USA TODAY

Completing the only 3-1 comeback in NBA Finals history, Ty Lue and the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers will forever be iconic. While LeBron James was rightfully the biggest story of that postseason, Ty Lue deserves a lot of credit for his coaching job. In a recent podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, Lue detailed his unique strategy down 3-1.

"What was crazy, was like I believed we could win when we were down 3-1," Ty Lue said. "When we lost games, I would never show film... Because the first two games, we got beat by like 30 and 28. I didn't want them to see that, that's demoralizing. So we'd come in, we'd shoot half-court shots, we'd do stuff that was fun, and we finally won that one game... Then we lost Game 4, I didn't show film. We shot half-court shots. Then Games 5, 6, and 7 then we would show the film. Every time we won, I would show bad films and clips."

Leaning into this psychological philosophy, Ty Lue was able to prepare the minds of his team for the most historic comeback in NBA history. Now leading a depleted LA Clippers team to big comebacks on a regular basis, this mentality has followed him to his next team. Often labeled as a product of LeBron James, Ty Lue has solidified himself as one of the game's elite tacticians.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.