3 things Cavs’ J.B. Bickerstaff could learn from Heat’s Erik Spoelstra
By John Suchan
No. 3 thing Bickerstaff could learn from Spoelstra: Attention to detail
Good teams that win a lot consistently do a better job of paying attention to detail. Kevin Love, formerly of the Cavs and now a member of the Heat, was quoted in Chiang’s story on Spoelstra by saying this when it comes to attention to detail and his new coach.
"“Just his attention to detail…It can be across the board. It can be matchups, it can be tendencies, it can be advanced analytics, it can be coaching styles on different teams and the way that they play, understanding where teams are at in their season. That stuff all matters and all those details matter in getting a victory.”"
And after you read that, knowing that Kevin Love was here in Cleveland and played under the direction of Bickerstaff, it shouldn’t sit well with anyone who is a Cavs fan. I can’t recall Love saying things like that about his former coach.
If Bickerstaff does not improve in these particular coaching areas, I’m afraid that the Cavaliers will be stuck in neutral. While they did make it into the playoffs this season, the abrupt end in the playoffs and last season’s tumble late should come as a concern to anyone that has been following this team over the last couple of seasons.
To win in the NBA you have to have a coach that brings an ability to recognize his player’s strengths and weaknesses, have a Plan B, and pays attention to detail. Often times we’ve heard Bickerstaff before, and after games, critique his players for a variety of reasons, and will often blame results on them, whether it was directly or not.
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One does not hear him critique himself very often or take much accountability, in my opinion. There’s some instances, but not as much from a concrete standpoint close to what would be warranted.