Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt has admitted that his first season in charge in the NBA has provided a greater learning curve than he had expected.

The coach is preparing to lead his side out in game one of the 2015 playoff finals against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, thanks in part to impressive showings throughout the season from the likes of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

"The learning curve was greater than I thought it would be," said Blatt, according to USA Today.

"It's a lot of things on and off the court because the whole off-the-court picture of the NBA is so much more significant than it is in Europe that it's almost undefinable and the on-the-court aspect, too, is very, very different.

"I know I said many times the game is the game. Well, it's not. It's different. It's different in many, many ways."

Before joining the Cavs, Blatt spent time both playing and coaching in Europe before making the leap to the NBA last year.