Time to give JB Bickerstaff his props

[Uncle Mxy]

Otherwise let me know when he gets to year 4 without being in the hot seat.

If the Pistons win *a* playoff game in season 4, even as a treadmill team, JB stays.
The Pistons had a MUCH longer drought of post-season success than the Cavs did.
Hopefully, JB clears a higher bar, but GM Langdon has some big personnel choices.

[bstein14]

The reason people think he can't coach in the playoffs is because at times, he has overachieved in the regular season. Getting the most out of your team in the regular season isn't a bad thing, but sometimes you'll be a higher seed that loses to a more talented lower seed that finally turns things up for a playoff run.

Cavs teams honestly just weren't ready yet you had a younger Mobley, Garland got hunted/targeted as a smaller guard by opposing offenses, Okoro and Allen didn't bring a ton offensively, etc. Sometimes for opposing coaches, its easier to lock in when one player (like Mitchell) is such an important piece of the offense.

JB isn't the best with XOs, but he is better than Dwane Casey in that regard. Bickerstaff is elite when it comes to getting the msot of out of his guys, and he's mid at the XOs part but not horrible.

One thing that drove me nuts about Monty was his insistence that non shooting players take 3s... Bickerstaff is fine with them passing up a three to drive it into the lane. We've been dominating points in the paint.... and its because JB is allowing the personal to determine the play style rather than just saying we're shooting 50 threes a night since that's what good NBA teams do now.

[Chuck Everett]

JBB has to win in the playoffs to silence his detractors. Same as it ever was. Needs to prove it in April and May.

[cupcakesnake]

The man can seriously coach, and I think was unfairly blamed for the Cavs recent playoff implosions (Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer)

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

[flow]

Yep. He just won 2 straight games with no starters and only 3 regular rotation players in the lineup.

.

[Chuck Everett]

The man can seriously coach, and I think was unfairly blamed for the Cavs recent playoff implosions (Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer)

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

They lost in 6 games to the Knicks last year (while also being robbed in Game 4). Bickerstaff didn't show poorly in that series, IMO. His team wasn't supposed to beat the Knicks and they were a hair away from forcing a Game 7. And that was with Beasley playing horribly while still talking all kinds of nonsense, no Beef Stew and Jaden Ivey.

As for the Cavs, they lost due to injuries as well. Jarrett Allen had the rib injury that kept him out the entire series versus Boston. And then Mitchell got hurt in that series as well in 2024. The jury is still out on whether Kenny Atkinson will do any better come postseason time, if his best players keep getting injured.

[Ssj16]

The man can seriously coach, and I think was unfairly blamed for the Cavs recent playoff implosions (Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer)

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

I also thought, this claim that Mitchell is not a playoff performer was preposterous. He's had some amazing playoff games in Utah.

[bisme37]

The man can seriously coach, and I think was unfairly blamed for the Cavs recent playoff implosions (Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer)

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

Donovan Mitchell's issue in the playoffs has been he's often worn out and banged up after a round or two. I think I read where the Cavs are prioritizing postseason health this year over steamrolling the RS.

[jbk1234]

JBB is a solid coach and some of the critiques are valid as well. Two things can be true. The reality is that getting young rebuilding teams to play hard, particularly on the defensive end, isn't easy. Respectabile is an important step for young teams on the way to good. You could do far worse as a rebuilding team than hiring him.

That said, his very strong preference for defense, and defensive personnel, comes at a cost. He yells at the officials too often, and he's often wrong as far as what he's yelling about. Maybe he's gotten better about overplaying his starters during the regular season. Coaches are capable of learning as well.

His big test will be a seven-game series and how adaptable he is. That's where coaching can win or lose you a game, and possibly a series. How well does he anticipate and adapt? Atkinson won the Cavs game 3 in the Pacers series, but was otherwise outcoached by Carlisle.

The best coaches can change the script when what they want to do isn't working. The elite coaches can do so, in-real time as it's happening.

[cupcakesnake]

The man can seriously coach, and I think was unfairly blamed for the Cavs recent playoff implosions (Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer)

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

Donovan Mitchell's issue in the playoffs has been he's often worn out and banged up after a round or two. I think I read where the Cavs are prioritizing postseason health this year over steamrolling the RS.

Donovan took a pretty chill step back last year, ceding most of the initiating to Mobley and Garland. He ended up their healthiest star in the playoffs.

But look at all his non-first-round series this decade:

2001 vs. Clippers: 34.8ppg on 60%ts
2024 vs. Celtics: 31.7ppg on 66%ts
2025 vs. Pacers: 34.2ppg on 55%ts

He hasn't been on a team that's gone very deep, but I see no evidence of Mitchell fading or struggling outside the first round. He's been an absolute flamethrower.

[bisme37]

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

Donovan Mitchell's issue in the playoffs has been he's often worn out and banged up after a round or two. I think I read where the Cavs are prioritizing postseason health this year over steamrolling the RS.

Donovan took a pretty chill step back last year, ceding most of the initiating to Mobley and Garland. He ended up their healthiest star in the playoffs.

But look at all his non-first-round series this decade:

2001 vs. Clippers: 34.8ppg on 60%ts
2024 vs. Celtics: 31.7ppg on 66%ts
2025 vs. Pacers: 34.2ppg on 55%ts

He hasn't been on a team that's gone very deep, but I see no evidence of Mitchell fading or struggling outside the first round. He's been an absolute flamethrower.

I guess I'm thinking of series where he stopped playing due to injury midway through and missed games completely, which wouldn't impact his stats. But perhaps I'm remembering this happening vs my Celtics and not remembering that it hasn't happened in other series I wasn't paying as much attention to lol.

[cupcakesnake]

Donovan Mitchell's issue in the playoffs has been he's often worn out and banged up after a round or two. I think I read where the Cavs are prioritizing postseason health this year over steamrolling the RS.

Donovan took a pretty chill step back last year, ceding most of the initiating to Mobley and Garland. He ended up their healthiest star in the playoffs.

But look at all his non-first-round series this decade:

2001 vs. Clippers: 34.8ppg on 60%ts
2024 vs. Celtics: 31.7ppg on 66%ts
2025 vs. Pacers: 34.2ppg on 55%ts

He hasn't been on a team that's gone very deep, but I see no evidence of Mitchell fading or struggling outside the first round. He's been an absolute flamethrower.

I guess I'm thinking of series where he stopped playing due to injury midway through and missed games completely, which wouldn't impact his stats. But perhaps I'm remembering this happening vs my Celtics and not remembering that it hasn't happened in other series I wasn't paying as much attention to lol.

I have no problem with anyone pointing out times Donovan didn't work out in the playoffs. There's no way he deserves a bad reputation in the playoffs though. He's a bonafide playoff scorer that will bring potent 3-point shooting and paint attacks to any offense. His team has got to go further for anyone to really notice or care, but no one should call him not good in the playoffs, as OP did.

[tmorgan]

Cleveland’s playoff struggles are because of injury issues and perimeter defense issues. Two small guards will do that. We’ll see if Lonzo proves useful, seems like a nice pickup in terms of fit.

Mitchell is a proven playoff scorer and proven playoff sieve.

[cupcakesnake]

Cleveland’s playoff struggles are because of injury issues and perimeter defense issues. Two small guards will do that. We’ll see if Lonzo proves useful, seems like a nice pickup in terms of fit.

Mitchell is a proven playoff scorer and proven playoff sieve.

Cleveland has not struggled with defense much in the playoffs. Indiana was the only team to light them up, and Cleveland was constantly injured in that one. They held the championship Celtics (a 123 Ortg in the regular season) to a 108 Ortg. In their loss to New York, their defense remained elite.

[JujitsuFlip]

Donovan Mitchell's issue in the playoffs has been he's often worn out and banged up after a round or two. I think I read where the Cavs are prioritizing postseason health this year over steamrolling the RS.

Donovan took a pretty chill step back last year, ceding most of the initiating to Mobley and Garland. He ended up their healthiest star in the playoffs.

But look at all his non-first-round series this decade:

2001 vs. Clippers: 34.8ppg on 60%ts
2024 vs. Celtics: 31.7ppg on 66%ts
2025 vs. Pacers: 34.2ppg on 55%ts

He hasn't been on a team that's gone very deep, but I see no evidence of Mitchell fading or struggling outside the first round. He's been an absolute flamethrower.

I guess I'm thinking of series where he stopped playing due to injury midway through and missed games completely, which wouldn't impact his stats. But perhaps I'm remembering this happening vs my Celtics and not remembering that it hasn't happened in other series I wasn't paying as much attention to lol.

This is a fair criticism of Mitchell and the entire Cavs core.

Last season in the 2nd round, Mitchell missed the 2nd half of game 4 and had to get cortisone shots during game 5.

2 seasons ago in the 2nd round, Mitchell missed game 4 and game 5. He also visibly limped through the entire 1st round.

3 seasons ago in the 1st round, he played through an injury, that was revealed after the fact.

[Sane]

The man can seriously coach, and I think was unfairly blamed for the Cavs recent playoff implosions (Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer)

Bickerstaff's questionable playoff coaching was present last year for Detroit as well. The bizarre choice to keep putting Duren on Towns in crunch time (when Tobias Harris had guarded him more effectively in every game) was a massive reason the Pistons lost game 6 and 7. I thought Detroit had some easy advantages in that series, and Bickerstaff had a weird habit of going away from them.

It's also very unclear to me how "Spida Mitchell is not a good post season performer". He's had a couple bad series over the years (who hasn't?), but in general he's been a flamethrower in the playoffs. 28ppg without any real drop in efficiency.

Bickerstaff has earned a reputation as the kind of coach who can take a team from bad to good, but he's still got to earn a playoff reputation. The Cavs series were awful. He had zero counters for his guards getting trapped. Kenny Atkinson fixed that one day 1. Cleveland fell apart in the playoffs again, but this time due to injury more than coaching.

I'm not saying Bickerstaff is forever doomed in the playoffs, just that he still has much to prove there.

They lost in 6 games to the Knicks last year (while also being robbed in Game 4). Bickerstaff didn't show poorly in that series, IMO. His team wasn't supposed to beat the Knicks and they were a hair away from forcing a Game 7. And that was with Beasley playing horribly while still talking all kinds of nonsense, no Beef Stew and Jaden Ivey.

As for the Cavs, they lost due to injuries as well. Jarrett Allen had the rib injury that kept him out the entire series versus Boston. And then Mitchell got hurt in that series as well in 2024. The jury is still out on whether Kenny Atkinson will do any better come postseason time, if his best players keep getting injured.

It's been multiple stops and there's a huge sample. We can sit and nitpick around that, but at some point you have to start questioning the narrative that he's always so unlucky. That's actually the victim mentality he needs to get out of in his exit interviews it's clear.

His offense creativity is just really poor.