Where do the Cleveland Cavaliers go from here after losing to the Knicks?
A tough discussion with J.B. Bickerstaff
Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has earned a great deal of respect. Last season, the Cavaliers were expected to be bottom feeders with no hope. Through Bickerstaff’s leadership, Darius Garland was given an opportunity to showcase his promise as the Cavaliers’ next great point guard alongside Evan Mobley’s terrific rookie season. Without Bickerstaff, Cleveland achieves nowhere near what they have. That being said, the team’s first playoff appearance together showed puzzling rotation choices and stagnant offensive schemes.
In the majority of professional sports, the head coach is the first to face punishment for a team failing to meet their expectations. For this reason, losing 4-1 with home court advantage will be a serious pain point in Bickerstaff’s tenure with the Cavaliers.
Not every piece of blame can be thrust upon Bickerstaff. He led the Cavaliers to one of the NBA’s best defenses all year, and it is clear the team trusts him. Against the Knicks, though, Bickerstaff struggled to outsmart veteran coach Tom Thibodeau. There were far too many offensive plays focused on Mitchell or Garland driving to the hoop and passing out to stationary shooters for a team that ranked 12th in the league in three-point percentage during the regular season.
Thibodeau knows how to win in the NBA Playoffs. He has been there time and time again as a head coach. That difference in postseason experience was painstakingly clear all too often throughout this series. Cleveland lacked direction and intensity. Much of this can be put on the roster’s lack of playoff experience, but that is the job of the head coach to solve. An inexperienced head coach will struggle to make up for an inexperienced roster.
While it is unlikely Cleveland fires Bickerstaff and begins searching for a new head coach, it may be tempting with candidates such as Nick Nurse of the 2019 Toronto Raptors championship team or former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson looking for their next destination. Koby Altman may believe that Bickerstaff has served as the coach to accompany the rebuild but not the coach to bring the next championship to Cleveland.
Realistically, it is likely the Cavaliers opt to fill out their rotation and give Bickerstaff a chance to prove himself with a more complete roster. If he fails to succeed with a true contender-worthy team, then the hot seat likely catches fire.
In the end, the Cavs do not need to go far to earn another playoff spot next season. They made it, and the rebuild is complete. Growing pains will hurt, but Cleveland has much to appreciate from this season. Not much will change, because not much needs to change. Some Cavs teammates have probably left Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse from the home team locker room for the last time, but these are necessary choices for every organization to make. The Wine and Gold are not amidst a need for a tear down and full rebuild. It is an offseason of retooling and perfecting.
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That is a good thing. That is the next step toward hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy again. Next year, the Cleveland Cavaliers will Let ‘Em Know, rest assured.