Mike Brown Is a Steady Captain at the Helm of the Cleveland Cavaliers Ship

As the Cleveland Cavaliers continue their playoff quest in search of a first NBA title, it’s worth considering the importance of head coach Mike Brown to the team’s success.

The Cavs are unquestionably LeBron James’ team, and have been since his arrival in 2003. His presence alone helped catapult the Cavaliers from 17 wins the year before to 35 in his rookie year.

Just as significant, however, has been the team’s unprecedented run under Brown’s leadership.

They’ve won 66 percent of their games in Brown’s five years at the helm, including two Central Division titles and an NBA finals appearance.

However, few seem willing to credit Brown with much of Cleveland’s success. He’s typically maligned as being clueless on the offensive end, too willing to resort to a “give-the-ball-to-LeBron-and-everybody-get-out-of-the-way” approach that critics say renders the rest of the team as little more than innocent bystanders.

But there is more to Mike Brown’s coaching style than meets the eye. As much as anything, he has proven to be a master of handling the diverse personalities that make up his talented team.

Entering this season, one question mark was how he would blend an older, slower Shaquille O’Neal into the Cavs’ lineup. Skeptics shouted that O’Neal would disrupt team chemistry.

Instead, the opposite happened. Brown decided to platoon O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas at center, limiting their minutes and maximizing their effectiveness. Despite the Cavs’ slow start in November, Brown never wavered, and eventually the pairing of their contrasting styles proved successful.

How has O'Neal reacted? More than once this season he has made it a point to say how happy he is in Cleveland and how impressed he is with the players, coaches, and organization.

Similarly, Brown opted to insert J.J. Hickson into the starting lineup, keeping Anderson Varejao in his customary, comfortable role off the bench. Hickson grew into an effective presence on the court, while Varejao continued to give opposing teams fits with his hustle and never-say-die attitude.

Brown also influenced Varejao to abandon his trademark "flop" on defense for a "straight-up" technique that has proven to be more efficient and just as effective.

Meanwhile, Brown has managed to distribute meaningful minutes to his bevy of talented players, while convincing them to stay ready for whatever opportunities may come their way.

Reserves like Jamario Moon, Daniel Gibson, and Jawad Williams have seen their playing time fluctuate wildly at times, but they have responded with strong contributions when called upon.

They may not be happy with their reduced roles. However, the fact that there have been no public complaints indicate that the Cavs under Brown remain a close-knit, focused group.

Coaching in the NBA isn’t all about X’s and O’s. Knowing how to handle the myriad personalities on a roster is just as important.

ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard hit that nail on the head a year ago when he wrote that the measure of a successful coach “is how well he relates to his stars, how he gains and maintains the respect of his players, how strong a leader he is, how hard he works, what aspects of the game he emphasizes most, and how well he gauges when to be hands-on and hands-off.”

On those counts, he argued, Brown was a success—and he was right.

Even so, Brown’s most ardent critics delight in arguing that he does little more than ride James’ coattails to victory after victory.

But ask yourself: Would Phil Jackson have won even one of his ten rings without Michael Jordan in Chicago, or O’Neal or Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles? It’s theoretically possible, but the fact is, he’s never done it.

Likewise, would Pat Riley have won any of his five rings without Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Los Angeles, or Dwayne Wade and O’Neal in Miami? Knicks fans might have an opinion on that one.

Doc Rivers appeared to be a coach without a clue when his Celtics won 24 games in 2006-07; a year later, with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen on board, they won the NBA title. And so it goes.

Championship teams are paced by superstars. To somehow claim that Brown isn’t entitled to his is unrealistic.

At the same time, to suggest that he hasn’t had something to do with James’ growth as a player would be disingenuous—particularly considering the way LeBron has blossomed at the defensive end of the floor.

Defense is Brown’s specialty, and James’ improvement in that aspect of the game has been the key to the rest of the team following suit.

When Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year last season, Ilgauskas was generous with his praise.

“We’ll never lose a game because we were ill-prepared,” said the Cavs’ center . “He’s the first one in and the last one out...Since he came here, we’ve all grown.”

Brown’s former boss, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, says Brown is one of the sharpest young minds in the game.

“He was a very, very important part of what we do here,” Popovich said of Brown’s time on the Spurs’ staff. “I learned as much from him as he did from me. We had a very collaborative relationship. Now he’s continued on and gotten even better.”

It’s not easy coaching a team that’s favored to contend for a championship every year. If the team plays well, the superstar usually gets the credit. If they falter, it’s the coach's fault.

Welcome to life in the NBA.

It shouldn’t be overlooked, however, that the Cavaliers have benefited from the steady hand of Mike Brown at the helm.

If they win the crown this year, it will be as much because of him as in spite of him.

That’s the sort of backhanded compliment that Brown will be able to live with if he’s sporting a championship ring come fall.