Could Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown Be Gone Before Season's End?

Could Cav's Coach Mike Brown be gone by Season's End?

A common saying around the NBA is that there is no hotter seat than that of a Head Coach.

Their jobs are so dependent on performance, it can only take weeks for someone to go from seemingly sticking around for years to being fired and forgotten.

Mike Brown, of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has sat on a seat that has been doused with petrol, with a lit match hanging just inches above.

If you follow the NBA, you know the Cavs' situation. After winning a franchise record 66 games last year they were only an incredible shot away from being swept in the Eastern Conference Finals.

They've been busy since then.

They've (basically) acquired Anthony Parker, formerly of the Toronto Raptors.

They've re-signed Anderson Varejao, formerly of the All-NBA Flop team.

They've traded for Shaquille O'Neal, formerly of the Most Dominant Ever variety.

But all this...shall mean precisely zero without an incredibly successful season. And Mike Brown knows it.

If things do not go the Cavaliers way, it shall be him who is kicked out first, he who will receive the brunt of the blame for not taking the team as far as it should go, he who will be out of a job.

Is it really hard to imagine? Cleveland won't have a losing record, but still, if they seem to be faltering or not keeping up with the Orlando's, the L.A's, the Boston's of the league, they will quickly be looking to remedy this.

And they will look at Mike Brown first.

The man has a huge task ahead of him. Obviously, his main goal is to guide the team to win basketball games and, hopefully, to an NBA championship.

But let's go into more detail than that, here are the three main tasks that I feel Brown faces for the upcoming season:

Task One: Incorporating and motivating Shaquille O'Neal.

No, he is not the Shaquille O'Neal of old. But last year with Phoenix, he was still an All-Star and probably the third best Center in the league averaging 17.8 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 1.4 BPG. Those are great numbers, and if Shaq is able to reproduce them, Cleveland will be much better off for it.

But can Brown figure out a way of keeping Shaq happy? We all know he needs a certain amount of touches, even if he does now admit that he is not the number one option on this team. He needs to feel important, lest he begins to become unmotivated and starts reminding people of his last years in Miami.

Shaq is undoubtedly the second most important player on this team, and Brown must cater to that.

Task Two: Proving he is an 'In-Game' Coach.

Coach Brown has been touted as a great motivator and practice coach. But one thing that most critics use against him is his ability to be 'in the game'.

Sometimes his decisions on plays and substitution patterns confuse. Maybe it is not apparent during the regular season, but in the playoffs, with every move being analyzed a hundred times over, it is a little more obvious.

Brown must change this and prove his critics wrong.

Task Three: Prove he can do it on the big stage.

While the first two tasks relate to the regular season, this is more focused on the playoffs. While the regular can have its big moments, it's the postseason where you make your money.

He has to come through in crunch time, and help get his team out of the sticky situations.

These past playoffs, the Cavs didn't face adversity until they ran into the Orlando Magic. As soon as they hit them, the team showed cracks and started to falter, and Brown was a major part of that.

He needs to show he can take the heat and not quaver when it matters.

If not, he will soon own a 'master of panic' title for himself.

He has a lot to work with, and as daunting as these tasks may be, there is also a lot of opportunity in sight.

Mo Williams and Delonte West are guards who shoot and don't shy away on the defensive end. Anderson Varejao can come in and make a huge difference on the boards and hustle plays. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will continue to be big Z.

Shaquille O'Neal will still be dunking on people. Anthony Parker will make a bigger difference than many think.

And they have a man called Lebron James.

This is by no means a mediocre team.

What people don't realize about the Cleveland Cavaliers is that, last year, they had a team of players who on their own, may not be considered elite. If you put them together on NBA live, they probably wouldn't do too well.

But the team chemistry was an integral part. You could see by their pregame antics and stories from the background.

These guys had fun, and it translated into wins. They enjoyed playing together, and it translated into wins.

Alone, they weren't too great.

Together, they were.

The question is will that chemistry exist this upcoming season? Will Anthony Parker fit in? How will players react to Shaquille O'Neal becoming such a big part of the offense?

And what about Varejao?

His game is centered on hustle and energy, and he has just been gifted with a very large contract and is sitting pretty right now. It's not inconceivable to think that now he has his contract, that hustle and energy will decrease slightly?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Varejao is someone who's just after money, but it has been seen before, and could be seen again.

There is, however, something that may be saving Brown.

Imagine this scenario.

It's February, close to the All-Star break. The Cavs aren't exactly failing, but aren't keeping up with expectations either. Say that Shaq has gotten injured, or that maybe Varejao has infact lost some of that hustle, or that Williams/West aren't able to reproduce the success of last year. Yes Lebron is putting up crazy numbers again, but he is beginning to get frustrated.

Management will want to get rid of Brown.

But consider it; they only have half a season left to convince Lebron to stick around. If he leaves their window doesn't close it shatters.

They can't just rid themselves of Brown and promote an assistant to interim status. That won't fly. This team is supposed to be a contender; they need a real head coach for the playoffs.

But either way, if the Cleveland Cavaliers do not have the success that they want, Brown will be in trouble. The blame will be put on him and his opportunity, along with the rest of the Cavaliers, will be gone.

It won't take all that much for that match to come flying down, and set that chair alight.