J.B. Bickerstaff is showing up on the wrong list for the Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers were hoping for a better outcome this season than a five-game exit in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs. For a team that was used to deep playoff runs, and who had battled to get back into the playoffs with this new core, it was a bitter way to go out.

It was something of a deja vu moment for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Years ago he took over as interim coach of the Houston Rockets and led them into the 2016 Playoffs, when the Rockets lost in five games to the 73-win Golden State Warriors.

That combined performance of 2-8 seems bad on the surface, and it looks even worse compared to his peers. Bleacher Report recently ran an article listing the NBA head coach with the worst playoff records of the past 10 years. Bickerstaff not only makes the list, but only one coach has a worse record than Bickerstaff over that span.

Only one head coach has a worse playoff record than J.B. Bickerstaff

Jacque Vaughn has coached the Brooklyn Nets into the playoffs as a low seed twice, and he has gone a combined 0-8 in those series. Willie Green went 2-4 with the New Orleans Pelicans to tie Bickerstaff for the fewest wins among active coaches after Vaughn (among those who have seen playoff action). Nate McMillan, Chris Finch, Rick Carlisle and Steve Clifford fill out B/R’s list.

What makes Bickerstaff stand out even more is that his Cavaliers were the higher seed in this year’s series; every other coach on the list lost their series as the lower seed. It’s a troubling little fact in an admittedly small sample size for Bickerstaff.

Other head coaches certainly had slow starts to their playoff coaching careers before becoming successful. Doc Rivers went 2-6 to start his play career and didn’t win a series until his fourth trip. Monty Williams went 2-6 to start his career, then led the Phoenix Suns to the NBA FInals the third time he coached in the playoffs.

Bickerstaff took a young team to the playoffs, and the lack of experience for both the coach and the players was evident. There is plenty of time for both sides to grow together, and for Bickerstaff to have a long and successful career coaching in the postseason.

There is also a chance that Bickerstaff is a great regular season coach and yet struggles with the tactical adjustments required in the playoff crucible. If so, the Cavs will need to find the right time to move on from Bickerstaff to try and find someone who can help them soar.