Ty Lue secured the first seat on the life raft

The Cavaliers fired Tyronn Lue on Sunday after an 0-6 start to the season.

Congratulations to Lue, who now doesn’t have to sit through a season going nowhere only to be mercilessly fired next summer. The benefits of getting the hatchet now are immeasurable: he doesn’t have to interact with J.R. Smith,Tristan Thompson, or (most importantly) Dan Gilbert any more than he wants to, no more red-eye flights to anywhere, no big national profiles when LeBron James comes to town to beat the Cavs’ tails, he still gets the reported $15 million due to him, he can sign with ESPN or TNT to do studio work well before the playoffs, he can interview for jobs well before the crunch of summer hirings. This is a blessing.

On that note, let’s give our condolences to Larry Drew, who has been elevated to interim head coach. Apparently, Drew is playing a little hardball, refusing to take the job for the full season (minus the six games played) without a contract for next season. That pressures Cleveland to either guarantee him a few million in what will effectively be severance pay or go find a new head coach right now. Power to Drew. Make Dan Gilbert beg for it.

Matt Ellentuck notes it’s not surprising that a team fell apart after losing LeBron.

Warriors 120, Nets 114
Jazz 113, Mavericks 104
Suns 110, Thunder 117
Wizards 104, Clippers 136

On National TV:
Lakers at Timberwolves, 8 p.m. ET, NBA TV

Game of the Night:
Raptors at Bucks, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass

Late-ish Game of the Night
Pelicans at Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET, League Pass

Full schedule here.

The best moment of the young season was when Whitney Medworth’s first edition of season 2 of B-Sides hit.

How the Celtics became the league’s best at defending the three-point line.

A close look at the scoring explosion.

Everything you need to know about the Warriors’ petty feud with Fergie’s ex-husband Josh Duhamel.

The Grizzlies have trouble letting go of legends, and it’s happening with Marc Gasol.

This Jimmy Butler thing is going very badly for the Timberwolves.

DeMarcus Cousins hasn’t played a second for the Warriors but he already has his first ejection of the season. Legend.

The Wizards are doing that thing where they really stink at the start of the season and seem like they hate each other. It’s more than the personal sniping, though.

The Hornets have tried to turn Michael Kidd-Gilchrist into the next Tony Allen. But what if he’s the next Draymond Green?

I wrote about how soft a reform the NBA’s G League select contracts really are in the grand scheme, given the battle lines the league and players’ union have drawn over little stuff.

Whatever you do, don’t heckle Damian Lillard.

And finally: HEAT. KNICKS. ‘90S. REWIIIIIIIIIND.

Be excellent to each other.