With LeBron James back on his hometown NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers routed Maccabi Tel Aviv in a game that pitted the Cavs’ new coach, David Blatt, against his former squad from Israel.
The Oct. 5 exhibition game was scheduled long before Blatt signed on as the Cavs’ coach in June. It was Blatt’s NBA coaching debut.
“I was nervous before the game, but not because it was the first time I coached in the NBA,” Blatt told reporters after the game. “I was playing against my friends.”’
James, who played only the first half, scored 12 points in the 107-80 victory over the 2014 Euroleague and Israel Super Basketball League champions.
James, who returned to Cleveland as a free agent after spending four seasons with the Miami Heat, has been bothered by back problems.
More than a dozen of the credentialed reporters were from Israel, including the major newspapers and television stations, according to the Cleveland Jewish News. Blatt conducted a second news conference in Hebrew for the Israeli media following the game.
The game was also billed as Jewish Community Night. — jta