The Gaze of His Mentor

The opening few possessions became a microcosm of the first quarter for both teams.

Perhaps because of Woj's earlier report, James did not show much desire to attack after tip-off, while the other Cavaliers players seemed somewhat out of rhythm.

The Pelicans were the exact opposite. With their new First Assistant Coach, the team was steady and in excellent form.

By the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans had already taken a 34-19 lead over the Cavaliers, up by as many as 15 points.

It was a complete beatdown.

At the start of the second quarter, Blatt proactively made changes, sending Irving in early to lead the unit.

The Cavaliers' bench featured JR Smith, Thaddeus Young, and Tristan Thompson. It could be called exceptionally loaded.

Irving led the team exceptionally well during that stretch, driving and shooting as he personally sparked a 10-2 Personal Scoring Run, cutting the deficit down to single digits in one go.

He had endured immense pressure playing alongside James, and he seemed to be using this method to show that he could play even better without James.

The arena cameraman mischievously turned the camera lens toward James.

Winning was not scary; whoever was missing was the awkward one. Cutting into the lead was not scary; whoever was off the court was the awkward one!

Sure enough, when James looked up and saw himself on the LED big screen, he furrowed his brow and looked very displeased.

Cavaliers assistant coach Tyronn Lue read the room and quickly walked over to whisper to Blatt for a while.

Blatt turned around, called James up, and subbed him back into the game.

After James returned, his desire to attack clearly intensified. He repeatedly Drove forcefully at Aminu to score, and the Cavaliers further cut into the deficit.

Stevens