Blatt Battles Nerves in Facing Former Team

It was a special evening for many, including Cavaliers’ head coach David Blatt.

When the league released the schedule and had the Cavaliers playing Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel in their preseason opener, Blatt’s former team, he said he knew it would be an emotional night for him.

“I was legitimately nervous before the game,” Blatt admitted. “…I was nervous before the game, but not because it was the first time that I coached in an NBA environment, but because of the fact that I was playing against my friends.”

“Absolutely,” (LeBron) James answered when asked if he understood what Blatt felt. “You could tell he was very nervous, excited, kind of uptight and rightfully so.

via Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer