David Blatt

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cavaliers weren’t connected on or off the floor under coach David Blatt.

On Friday, he paid the price for that lack of unity.

Blatt was fired by general manager David Griffin, who didn’t think the title-chasing Cavaliers were handling expectations well or acting like a championship team under the second-year coach. Despite Blatt taking them to the NBA Finals last season and a current 30-11 record, Griffin sensed his team was going in the wrong direction.

“Sometimes you can win games in the regular season and get worse,” Griffin said at a hastily-arranged new conference at the team’s practice facility. “We were regressing over a period of time. There’s a lack of connectedness and spirit that I just couldn’t accept.”

Griffin said he did not consult superstar LeBron James or any players before making the move to dismiss Blatt, who was surprised to learn he had been dismissed after going 83-40 in two seasons. Griffin also met with owner Dan Gilbert, who supported the move.

“Over the course of my business career I have learned that sometimes the hardest thing to do is also the right thing to do,” Gilbert said. “Our ownership group supports David Griffin’s decision.”

Lue, who was hired as the team’s associate head coach shortly after Blatt came to Cleveland, will make his debut Saturday night when the Cavs host the Chicago Bulls.

As social networks hummed with speculation and opinion about James’ role the team’s inner workings, Griffin said he made the decision with the basketball staff — not the star.