CBS Sports gets it right with coaches ranking of Ty Lue

NBA coaches are a bit of a conundrum. They are hardly ever perceived properly by their fanbases, with many taking the brunt of a team's failings even if it wasn't completely their fault (see: Los Angeles Lakers, 2024) and others getting credit due to having a stacked roster year after year.

It can be very hard to properly gauge exactly how effective an NBA coach is if you are only looking at the surface level. However, upon further inspection and long-term analysis of coaching tactics, we can begin to piece together who are the real game-changing coaches in this league and which ones are more replaceable.

Recently, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports made a definitive ranking of every single head coach in the association. From 30th all the way up to 1st, he ranked each coach within a tier and assigned each a number, giving a thorough explanation for each one.

It is safe to say that Sam nailed it when making this list, as he made sure to include Tyronn Lue in his top five. Taking up the final spot of the "elites" tier, Quinn made it clear that he believes Lue is among the best in the business.

CBS Sports ranked Lue as a top-five NBA coach

The only coaches ranked ahead of Ty on CBS' list are Erik Spoelstra, Nick Nurse, Rick Carlisle and Steve Kerr. The Clippers' head coach is still rightly put in the same sentence as some of the greatest coaches of this generation.

Quinn gives solid reasoning for why he ranked Lue where he did, which will surely resonate with Clippers fans. Sam writes, "Ty Lue can be a frustrating coach. Few coaches are better at making adjustments than he is, but those same adjustments so often leave you asking why he didn't just start a series out that way."

This hits the nail on the head, and reminds us of the Russell Westbrook-James Harden scenario that occurred before the Clippers went on their big winning streak last season. Lue is witty enough to formulate differing schemes and implement them, but sometimes he takes a bit to get to the winning strategy.

Also of note in Quinn's analysis is his mention of Lue's strong skill in drawing up plays for after timeouts, and how respected he is by his players. Ty may be flawed, but he ultimately gets the job done and remains the perfect leader for this Clippers team.