Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who has been away from his team since March 19 for health reasons, is set to rejoin the squad for Friday night’s game against New Orleans, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
According to Wojnarowski, however, Lue will only be at tonight’s game as an observer, and won’t immediately jump back into his head coaching role. As Woj details, Cleveland’s plan is to ease Lue back into coaching during the club’s current four-game home stand. After hosting the Pelicans tonight, the Cavs will face the Mavs (Sunday), Raptors (Tuesday), and Wizards (Thursday) during the home stand.
In a statement released last Monday when Lue first stepped away from the Cavs, he cited health issues that included “chest pains and other troubling symptoms, compounded by a loss of sleep.” Reports at the time suggested that Cleveland’s head coach would remain away for at least a week, and then play it by ear from there. The plan was always for Lue to return before the playoffs got underway.
The Cavs have been effective under interim head coach Larry Drew during Lue’s absence, so there was little reason to rush him back. Cleveland has a 5-1 record under Drew over the last 11 days, with the only loss occurring on Tuesday in Miami.
Hope you’re feeling better, coach! Just relax..your team has this!