JB Bickerstaff Fired

[JujitsuFlip]

https://cavaliersnation.com/2025/02/12/report-players-felt-like-j-b-bickerstaff-didnt-treat-cavs-as-team-that-had-arrived-during-head-coaching-tenure/amp/

I mean, i think this goes without saying. It is precisely why he is no longer here, his mindset was capping this groups potetinal ceiling.

[ijspeelman]

https://cavaliersnation.com/2025/02/12/report-players-felt-like-j-b-bickerstaff-didnt-treat-cavs-as-team-that-had-arrived-during-head-coaching-tenure/amp/

I mean, i think this goes without saying. It is precisely why he is no longer here, his mindset was capping this groups potetinal ceiling.

I thought this came out right when he was fired. That JB treated them like an up and coming development team when the players felt they were on the doorstep of contention.

He definitely ran his line-ups like he was gunning for the highest win total he could muster tho, but idk what goes on in practice.

[toooskies]

https://cavaliersnation.com/2025/02/12/report-players-felt-like-j-b-bickerstaff-didnt-treat-cavs-as-team-that-had-arrived-during-head-coaching-tenure/amp/

I mean, i think this goes without saying. It is precisely why he is no longer here, his mindset was capping this groups potetinal ceiling.

Yeah, I listened to the podcast with Fedor. Good content. I have no doubt the players felt that way, or at least feel that way now that they've got a big lead in the standings.

But, let's take a closer look: had the Cavaliers "arrived"? They just got embarrassed by the Knicks in the previous year's postseason. People had called for JBB's job in the offseason, but the seat got super-hot as soon as game 10 when the Cavs slid to 4-6. Then the team got off to a super-slow 13-12 start where all of the core 4 missed time. When do you start coaching them like they "arrived"?

Should JBB ever have coached the team as if the regular season was just practice for the playoffs? Maybe after going 18-2 prior the All-Star Break to bring the team's record to 36-17. Up until then we were just trying to get Mobley and Garland off of minutes restrictions.

But then Donovan brought tendinitis home from the All-Star game, the team couldn't find footing at all, and only finished a game ahead of the play-in. Finished 11-17 after the All-Star Break.

We came out with a win in round 1 instead of an embarrassment and the team came out of the Boston series with the impression that injuries and not the Celtics beat us last year. (And maybe JBB's time was up, too.)

Garland's year from hell ended and he could focus on getting his body right again. Mobley ramped up against Boston and has continued on that trajectory. Allen's dialed in. Mitchell's maturity was always impressive but went to a new level this year.

Last year was a dogfight. This year has been a cakewalk. Some of that's a discredit to JBB, some of it's a credit to Atkinson, some of it is just about life and health and competition.

[JonFromVA]

https://cavaliersnation.com/2025/02/12/report-players-felt-like-j-b-bickerstaff-didnt-treat-cavs-as-team-that-had-arrived-during-head-coaching-tenure/amp/

I mean, i think this goes without saying. It is precisely why he is no longer here, his mindset was capping this groups potetinal ceiling.

I think this is a nice way of saying JB hadn't arrived and didn't know what he had to do to help the team turn the corner.

Remember all the times I used to say that coaches could coach in a way that played to their player's strengths rather than exposing their weaknesses?

It's so much fun to see it in action.

[mcfly1204]

https://cavaliersnation.com/2025/02/12/report-players-felt-like-j-b-bickerstaff-didnt-treat-cavs-as-team-that-had-arrived-during-head-coaching-tenure/amp/

I mean, i think this goes without saying. It is precisely why he is no longer here, his mindset was capping this groups potetinal ceiling.

I think this is a nice way of saying JB hadn't arrived and didn't know what he had to do to help the team turn the corner.

Remember all the times I used to say that coaches could coach in a way that played to their player's strengths rather than exposing their weaknesses?

It's so much fun to see it in action.

+100 if I could

[jbk1234]

The Pistons are over. 500 for the first time since 09.

[JujitsuFlip]

The Pistons are over. 500 for the first time since 09.

He's a floor raiser for sure.

Low ceiling, high floor guy. He's perfectly in the mold of Mark Jackson and Brett Brown.

[JujitsuFlip]

Looks like DET finished 2016 at 44-38. They also finished 2019 at 41-41, so they may have been over .500 at some point in that season.

[jbk1234]

Looks like DET finished 2016 at 44-38. They also finished 2019 at 41-41, so they may have been over .500 at some point in that season.

Should've clarified that it's the first time they've at the all star break over. 500 since 09.

[JujitsuFlip]

Looks like DET finished 2016 at 44-38. They also finished 2019 at 41-41, so they may have been over .500 at some point in that season.

Should've clarified that it's the first time they've at the all star break over. 500 since 09.

Ah gotcha. Which is funny bc it looks like they ended up below .500 after 82.

[JonFromVA]

Detroit has loaded up on veterans and JBB is leaning on them a lot. Apparently Detroit is happy to lose their top-13 protected pick this season which seems like a dubious plan when they could be continuing to collect and develop young talent.

Cade just isn't good enough for a let's add some random vets and win now strategy.

[toooskies]

Detroit has loaded up on veterans and JBB is leaning on them a lot. Apparently Detroit is happy to lose their top-13 protected pick this season which seems like a dubious plan when they could be continuing to collect and develop young talent.

Cade just isn't good enough for a let's add some random vets and win now strategy.

The JBB haters should be assuming that the Pistons will fade after the all-star break, lose the play-in game(s), and keep the pick.

But it would've been better for JBB to go be a title coach's understudy like Kenny did with Lue and Kerr rather than jump into his next job, unless he's comfortable always being the guy-before-the-guy.

(Then again, there will always be young, bad teams trying to transition to average.)

[JujitsuFlip]

Detroit has loaded up on veterans and JBB is leaning on them a lot. Apparently Detroit is happy to lose their top-13 protected pick this season which seems like a dubious plan when they could be continuing to collect and develop young talent.

Cade just isn't good enough for a let's add some random vets and win now strategy.

The JBB haters should be assuming that the Pistons will fade after the all-star break, lose the play-in game(s), and keep the pick.

But it would've been better for JBB to go be a title coach's understudy like Kenny did with Lue and Kerr rather than jump into his next job, unless he's comfortable always being the guy-before-the-guy.

(Then again, there will always be young, bad teams trying to transition to average.)

I think him getting bounced in a 3/6 matchup against the Knicks would be pretty fitting lol

But that is only if the standings hold, a lot can happen in the final 27 games.

[JonFromVA]

Detroit has loaded up on veterans and JBB is leaning on them a lot. Apparently Detroit is happy to lose their top-13 protected pick this season which seems like a dubious plan when they could be continuing to collect and develop young talent.

Cade just isn't good enough for a let's add some random vets and win now strategy.

The JBB haters should be assuming that the Pistons will fade after the all-star break, lose the play-in game(s), and keep the pick.

But it would've been better for JBB to go be a title coach's understudy like Kenny did with Lue and Kerr rather than jump into his next job, unless he's comfortable always being the guy-before-the-guy.

(Then again, there will always be young, bad teams trying to transition to average.)

Good point. Detroit is sitting pretty in the 6th spot right now, but Orlando and Atlanta could both step past them, still the 8th spot could be up for grabs.

But... why the hell is Ausar Thompson playing 5 less mpg than he did as a rookie? Jalen Duran is getting less minutes too.

[JujitsuFlip]

Detroit has loaded up on veterans and JBB is leaning on them a lot. Apparently Detroit is happy to lose their top-13 protected pick this season which seems like a dubious plan when they could be continuing to collect and develop young talent.

Cade just isn't good enough for a let's add some random vets and win now strategy.

The JBB haters should be assuming that the Pistons will fade after the all-star break, lose the play-in game(s), and keep the pick.

But it would've been better for JBB to go be a title coach's understudy like Kenny did with Lue and Kerr rather than jump into his next job, unless he's comfortable always being the guy-before-the-guy.

(Then again, there will always be young, bad teams trying to transition to average.)

Good point. Detroit is sitting pretty in the 6th spot right now, but Orlando and Atlanta could both step past them, still the 8th spot could be up for grabs.

But... why the hell is Ausar Thompson playing 5 less mpg than he did as a rookie? Jalen Duran is getting less minutes too.

jb went North and discovered a 10 man rotation, pretty wild stuff. He plays 9 or 10 guys every night in his rotation. Against the Cavs he even extended it out to 11.

[JonFromVA]

The JBB haters should be assuming that the Pistons will fade after the all-star break, lose the play-in game(s), and keep the pick.

But it would've been better for JBB to go be a title coach's understudy like Kenny did with Lue and Kerr rather than jump into his next job, unless he's comfortable always being the guy-before-the-guy.

(Then again, there will always be young, bad teams trying to transition to average.)

Good point. Detroit is sitting pretty in the 6th spot right now, but Orlando and Atlanta could both step past them, still the 8th spot could be up for grabs.

But... why the hell is Ausar Thompson playing 5 less mpg than he did as a rookie? Jalen Duran is getting less minutes too.

jb went North and discovered a 10 man rotation, pretty wild stuff. He plays 9 or 10 guys every night in his rotation. Against the Cavs he even extended it out to 11.

That's cool, but Ausar Thompson shouldn't be playing barely more mpg than Sam Merrill.

[toooskies]

Good point. Detroit is sitting pretty in the 6th spot right now, but Orlando and Atlanta could both step past them, still the 8th spot could be up for grabs.

But... why the hell is Ausar Thompson playing 5 less mpg than he did as a rookie? Jalen Duran is getting less minutes too.

jb went North and discovered a 10 man rotation, pretty wild stuff. He plays 9 or 10 guys every night in his rotation. Against the Cavs he even extended it out to 11.

That's cool, but Ausar Thompson shouldn't be playing barely more mpg than Sam Merrill.

Well, he came back from a pretty serious blood clot issue. His minutes are still ramping up month by month. He was at 15mpg in November and over 25mpg so far in February.

The other issue is that they don't have a lot of frontcourt spacing outside of Tobias Harris and Simone Fontecchio. And they just drafted Ron Holland, whom you can't play much with Thompson unless the rest of the court is full of spacers.

[JujitsuFlip]

https://www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/news/cleveland-cavaliers-ty-jerome-fires-blunt-shot-jb-bickerstaff

TJ not holding back on throwing jb under the bus, just like jb did to the players, after every failed post season lol

[JonFromVA]

https://www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/news/cleveland-cavaliers-ty-jerome-fires-blunt-shot-jb-bickerstaff

TJ not holding back on throwing jb under the bus, just like jb did to the players, after every failed post season lol

The injuries were a big part of the story too, but given Bickerstaff contributed to him it's not completely unfair to ignore them.

One of the easiest ways to judge what an organization believes failed is to look at the changes they make, so, yes the coach and his staff, but the head trainer is still the same, the minute distribution has changed and the bench is being utilized more, the pace has been increased, and the offense and defense have systems in place going well beyond things like you go stand in the corner and play harder.

Literally every player is being allowed to be the best version of themselves including Jerome who can't fail to miss it and in exchange they are accepting less minutes and less touches.

Another change I've noticed this season is Kenny spends a lot of time just sitting on the bench. Of course we're a great team, but he doesn't feel the need to micro manage every play. I think he mentioned he doesn't usually bother to call plays as I assume what he's getting at is our offense is more what they a "random offense" where the players start an action and are expected to read/react on-the-fly.

[JujitsuFlip]

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?StarterBench=Bench&sort=MIN&dir=-1&Season=2024-25

I was just presented this useful tool on the GB, shows how useless jb was lol

2020: Cavs rank 27th in bench minutes

2020-21: Cavs rank 28th in bench minutes

2021-22: Cavs rank 26th in bench minutes

2022-23: Cavs rank 28th in bench minutes

2023-24 Cavs rank 20th in bench minutes

2024-25: Cavs rank 3rd in bench minutes

Isn't it so nice to finally have a competent head coach? I love it!