Lue has handled the job better than most. He doesn’t invite controversy, but he also doesn’t shy away from confrontation. He just does most of that work behind the scenes and out of public view.

One shouldn’t forget he has coached rings around his Eastern Conference opponents during the past few playoffs. Don’t gloss over the fact that everyone thought he was nuts for trying to push tempo against Golden State in the 2016 Finals and that he was absolutely correct in doing so.

Lue can coach. He’s proven that time and again. One can only hope he’s able to recharge with time away and find some balance.

That said, he was dealt an impossible hand this season. First, he had a team that was learning how to play together while it waited for Isaiah Thomas to come back. Then he had a team that had to learn how to play with IT, which did not go well.

Then he had a brand new team after the trade deadline. That didn’t last long before injuries started piling up. In short order, the Cavs lost Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman, and Larry Nance. That’s more than half the rotation of a team that’s been together for little more than a month.

It’s troubling, but perhaps not surprising, that Lue needs a break. The Cavs have issues, primarily on the defensive end that have remain exposed throughout the season. That’s enough to drive any coach to their breaking point.

The defense is historically bad for a team that wants to consider itself a contender. The Cavs came into the week ranked 28th in points allowed per 100 possessions. The only teams with worse defenses are the Kings and Suns.

No one has ever won a championship with a defense this bad, and make no mistake, this is a bad defensive team. Even last year’s Cleveland squad was more mediocre than dreadful. They don’t have many stoppers on the perimeter or rim-protectors inside. This isn’t about flipping the switch if there’s nothing to turn on.

LeBron sure isn’t helping matters defensively right now. On several occasions against Portland last week, James simply didn’t move. The fact he was named Player of the Week shows just how dominant he’s been on the offensive end. It’s an awkward status quo that’s developed this season.

The injuries have played havoc with developing continuity. Take George Hill, the veteran point guard who was acquired from Sacramento to shore up their defense and bring stability to their offense.

Hill is a fantastic player who has spent his career deferring to star teammates. He can’t really defer because the Cavs need their point guard to be a complementary playmaker. That’s where Kyrie Irving thrived and where Isaiah Thomas was supposed to supply offense.

Neither are in Cleveland anymore and so it falls to Hill. He doesn’t need to be Kyrie, obviously, but he also needs to be more assertive when LeBron gets hit with double teams. This is what comes with playing alongside LeBron. It’s not as straightforward as it seems.

It will probably take 8-10 games to figure things out and get everyone in a rhythm. When will those 8-10 games take place? Maybe now, maybe later. That’s up to LeBron, really. He may not lock in until the playoffs start. That’s a dangerous way to go about doing things, but it’s not without precedent.

Last year’s Cavs were atrocious down the stretch. They lost four straight to close the year, which cost them the top seed in a weak conference, and were 12-15 after the all-star break.

The regular season didn’t matter because nothing matters in the East, except for the existence of LeBron James. Those Cavs swept the Pacers and blew the Raptors’ doors off before eviscerating the Celtics in five games.

Things are different this year, but only to a point. The bottom half of the East looks feisty with young teams wanting to make their mark, and the Cavs shouldn’t count on sweeping an overmatched foe early. The Sixers, for example, would provide a fascinating test.

It’s still hard to imagine any potential playoff opponent winning four games against the Cavs in the first round. But a longer series? That’s possible and wouldn’t be the worst thing for them, honestly. Playoff adversity either destroys teams or builds credibility.

More importantly, this year’s Raptors may be the most formidable challenge LeBron will have faced since he returned to Cleveland. The Raps can score, they can play defense, they’re hungry, and they’re deep.

These Raptors are different. That’s what everyone keeps saying and there’s reams of anecdotal and empirical proof available to make their case. They won’t be the same old postseason Raptors again, the one that wears down and takes too many bad shots while waiting too long to make lineup adjustments. That’s what they say, anyway.

It’s not as if the Cavs have faced pushovers. It just seems that way in retrospect. The Hawks won 60 games (and got swept.) The Raptors won 56 games and even took two during the 2016 conference finals (not that LeBron and his crew were really worried.)

This postseason should be different, but we’ve said that a lot the last few years.

They are putting a lot of faith in Love’s return. Before the injuries, Love was having yet another all-star season. He’s learned how to play with James over the years and the Cavs need all the experience they can claim at the moment.

At the very least, his return adds a much needed big body back to the lineup. The Cavs have had to play James and Jeff Green together on the backline with predictably poor results. Love won’t solve their defensive woes, but he does rebound and that’s an area in need of improvement immediately.

Love will need to be a secondary star in the postseason, not a complementary player. You may have noticed that role is up for grabs this season.

The Cavs have no problem scoring points, but Irving’s absence reveals a deeper problem. Besides LeBron, there is no one else who can take the game over. Love can do it, but he hasn’t been healthy enough to do it consistently. Jordan Clarkson might be able to do it, but he’s never had to during the playoffs and as such he’s a complete x-factor.

The vast majority of the Cavs’ problems are on the defensive end, but Kyrie’s absence leaves a psychic hole in the heart of the team. How many playoff games did Kyrie win simply by being Kyrie? It’s not even that he had to do it very often, it’s that he could do it whenever he wanted.

It’s getting harder to claim that LeBron’s presence alone will fix things, but that’s what it comes down to in the end. If you believe in the power of LeBron, then you still believe in the Land. (I’ll show myself out for that last line.) Until someone in the East beats that dude when it counts, everyone else is suspect.

That includes the fate of the Cavaliers both in the short and long term. Let’s say they fade out in the playoffs. Is there anything stopping James from heading out of town at that point? Let’s say they rally together and make the Finals again. Is there any situation compelling enough to make him want to leave?

No one knows what’s going to happen. That’s not what you want to hear in mid-March, but it’s the only thing anyone can say with certainty. Say this for the Cavs: they’re never dull. They just may be on borrowed time. Or not.

It’s really up to LeBron.