With the Cleveland Cavaliers on the hunt for a new head coach, there’s been much attention on the potential candidates. There hasn’t been nearly as much attention on former head coach, JB Bickerstaff, though.
Although the Cavaliers are moving on, Bickerstaff was still able to help mold this team into one of the top competitors in the conference. He had his weak points, but his time with the Cavaliers was largely positive. With that in mind, here’s a look at JB Bickerstaff’s time in Cleveland.
Bickerstaff before the Cavaliers
Bickerstaff coached his first season as a head coach in the 2015-16 season for the Houston Rockets, after entering the league in 2004 as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats. In his first (and only) season leading the Rockets, Bickerstaff won 37 games and lost 34.
After spending two seasons as an associate coach for the Memphis Grizzlies, Bickerstaff worked his way into the leading position. Coaching the Grizzlies for two seasons, Bickerstaff went 48-97 while in Memphis.
After this short stretch, he found himself as an associate head coach for the Cavaliers starting in 2016. Bickerstaff spent six seasons in Cleveland, five of which he had the position of head coach.
Although Bickerstaff was seen as a force potentially holding this team back (evidenced by his almost immediate dismissal), his time with the Cavaliers was an overall positive one as he both massively helped to develop the current talent and led this team to a new air of success.
Bickerstaff’s time in Cleveland
In his five seasons with the Cavaliers, Bickerstaff was the head coach for 329 games. Of those games he won 170 and lost 159, giving him a winning percentage of 51.7 percent.
He wasn’t quite as successful in the postseason, however, coaching a total of 17 playoffs games with Cleveland. Winning six and losing 11, his record does’t paint exactly paint him as an effective postseason leader.
However, the fact that he not only got Cleveland to the postseason, but secured their first series win in almost three decades, shouldn’t be lost on Cavalier fans.
He also helped to establish this team’s defensive-oriented identity. After all, the Cavaliers finished this season with the sixth best defense in the league, and last season with the best in the NBA.
He may not be the one to carry them into the 2024-25 season, but Bickerstaff had an extraordinary impact on this team in his time coaching them.
Criticisms of Bickerstaff
While Bickerstaff was largely successful in his tenure with Cleveland, there are still reasons he was let go. His lineup choices, for example, were highly criticized throughout the season.
When a situation called for a quality point of attack defender, Bickerstaff might check in Georges Niang or Caris LeVert. Although these players are immensely talented, this isn’t their strong suit at all.
The most egregious example, and probably most widely acknowledged as a questionable move, came in the final game of the 2023-24 regular season. Pulling his starters with more than enough time to mount a comeback, the Cavaliers ended up losing to the Charlotte Hornets. They had already clinched the playoffs, but this loss was the difference in their seeding, and placed them on the same side of the bracket as their eventual eliminators in the Boston Celtics. This decision also caused the Cleveland crowd to boo their own team.
There were also reported issues with players’ minutes, schematics and a lackadaisical practice environment. Whatever the reason for his dismissal, though, shouldn’t diminish what he accomplished as head coach of the Cavaliers. He may be gone, but Bickerstaff’s time in Cleveland will certainly be remembered.
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