John-Blair Bickerstaff: Currently The 6th Longest Tenured Head Coach

red. said:

Not a fan. Overrated as hell.

For what JBB brings to the table. He’s better off as an assistant. The Cavs need a real Coach.

Stole from @Omar The Horse
Seeing that chart is a red flag.

The media needs to start asking some TOUGH QUESTIONS that THE FANS want to know!

Why is Drummond being used so much offensively when he produce so little?

Why does Drummond touch the ball every other possession?

Why does Drummond get rewarded for shit play?

I thought the Cavs were building a culture and accountability? Can’t be with Drummond doing whatever the hell he wants. I don’t see JBB as a long term solution for the Cavaliers. His offense stifle the Cavs. JBB doesn’t run plays, doesn’t get other players open looks, doesn’t put anyone else other than Drummond into position to score.

Kudos for the defense, but it’s not enough.

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I am frustrated with Drummond as well. But Bickerstaff deserves a lot of credit for where this team is at now compared to the last couple of years.

He's not perfect. But Gregg Popovich wasn't available unfortunately.

He's not a 70 year old guy. He deserves time to grow and develop with the team himself. He's got a lot of challenges, a roster that has had a lot of changes, and has a lot of youth.

In terms of the most important things to our team and the future of the franchise, Bickerstaff is doing a damned good job.

There is room for improvement in multiple areas, some of which you have mentioned.

But I just don't understand why some people always have to rush to trash the head coach for every single thing that frustrates them.

And always remember this..Mark Jackson was an important part of the Warriors growth and ascension into a multi-time champion. Eventually, he wasn't the right guy to take them to the promised land and they got a guy like Steve Kerr... and theres nothing wrong with that.

But for right now, Bickerstaff is exactly what we need...and no, he's not "Better off as an assistant". He earned his job and he is doing a good job with the most important part of this team. Amazing the shit I see posted here after a couple bad games.

A couple of things here.

They gave Drummond a lot of run and handed him the keys when injuries decimated the roster. He blew it and continues to. He hasn't learned anything about shot selection or any self awareness of what are good shots and bad shots. How do you turn the faucet off after it gets going. I think barring any trade offers out there for Drummond, JB needs to bench him when he takes bad shots 2x in a row. It is absolutely hilarious the way people are pulling their hair out for Drummond taking shots he can't make, while lamenting our guards aren't chucking 3's because they care about their efficiency.

JB focused the entire time off on fixing the broken defense. He has gotten buy in and the guys are playing really well on that end. He didn't spend much time on offense, and offensive rhythm has been hampered severely by our best offensive players being out for long periods. There is no consistency there. There is no practice time. Notice both offense and defense are worse without Nance. We are lucky we aren't seeing as big a lapse defensively as we might be.

This just happens with a young team. They get out of sorts or good defenses shut them down and they can't get back to playing the way they were easily. This is a crazy packed season and they would have had many more 2 day breaks between games normally. I think they are prioritizing health over practice right now, and that is as it should be.

JB has done a great job so far. His glaring mistakes right now are spending too much on defense which was totally necessary and his inability to get Drummond to play within the team concept.

I did see Drummond set more screens last night. He might have taken that from his missed game. I certainly hope so.

Overall JB has overperformed if anything. This is a super tough stretch and he just needs to hold it together and keep his guys competing. There's no time to improve the offense right now. That is going to be partially on the players.

There's really no reason for the Cavs to be the worst offensive team in the league. Sexton is a damn good offensive player. Garland, although struggles with consistency, has shown flashes of being a damn good offensive player. Windler and Prince can certainly be productive pieces in a good offense. Allen has a great touch around the rim, finishes strong, has a team oriented game, and sets great screens.

As others have mentioned, our terrible offense seems to be the system and not the talent. I hope we'll see some adjustments going forward. Getting Love back, for all his faults, should definitely help us too. He's one guy that won't be afraid to hoist some threes...

They should be like 7-10 spots higher in o rating.

They dont have the offensive talent of the top half of the league but they shouldnt be last.

InBoobieWeTrust said:

I am frustrated with Drummond as well. But Bickerstaff deserves a lot of credit for where this team is at now compared to the last couple of years.

He's not perfect. But Gregg Popovich wasn't available unfortunately.

He's not a 70 year old guy. He deserves time to grow and develop with the team himself. He's got a lot of challenges, a roster that has had a lot of changes, and has a lot of youth.

In terms of the most important things to our team and the future of the franchise, Bickerstaff is doing a damned good job.

There is room for improvement in multiple areas, some of which you have mentioned.

But I just don't understand why some people always have to rush to trash the head coach for every single thing that frustrates them.

And always remember this..Mark Jackson was an important part of the Warriors growth and ascension into a multi-time champion. Eventually, he wasn't the right guy to take them to the promised land and they got a guy like Steve Kerr... and theres nothing wrong with that.

But for right now, Bickerstaff is exactly what we need...and no, he's not "Better off as an assistant". He earned his job and he is doing a good job with the most important part of this team. Amazing the shit I see posted here after a couple bad games.

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I’ve given JBB his credit for the Cavaliers defense improving. That’s it. But the Cavaliers need more than a defensive minded coach when this is an offensive league.

I disagree with just about everything else you wrote. After writing my post, I went to reddit to see what other franchise fans thought. Grizzles fans were complaining about the same things I’m complaining about right now. Where’s the growth? Rotations, offensive system, etc it’s the same.

I don’t see the point in wasting the Cavaliers youth on a coach that can’t put players in position to succeed. I haven’t seen him do that.

Also, to be clear, I’ve been complaining about JBB since day one. I don’t think he’s good. So your language is a little off for me. People have the right to voice their opinions regardless of what you think. That’s the issue with this message board. People get attacked for having a differing opinion. That’s why I usually keep my opinions to the game thread. I don’t like the condescending back and fourths.

red. said:

I’ve given JBB his credit for the Cavaliers defense improving. That’s it. But the Cavaliers need more than a defensive minded coach when this is an offensive league.

I disagree with just about everything else you wrote. After writing my post, I went to reddit to see what other franchise fans thought. Grizzles fans were complaining about the same things I’m complaining about right now. Where’s the growth? Rotations, offensive system, etc it’s the same.

I don’t see the point in wasting the Cavaliers youth on a coach that can’t put players in position to succeed. I haven’t seen him do that.

Also, to be clear, I’ve been complaining about JBB since day one. I don’t think he’s good. So your language is a little off for me. People have the right to voice their opinions regardless of what you think. That’s the issue with this message board. People get attacked for having a differing opinion. That’s why I usually keep my opinions to the game thread. I don’t like the condescending back and fourths.

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I don't think you take is wrong at all, I am just wondering when they will have the time to implement a better system?

Cavatt said:

I don't think you take is wrong at all, I am just wondering when they will have the time to implement a better system?

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Excuse me?

Am I the HC of the Cleveland Cavaliers? This is a question you should be asking JBB.

Didn’t the Cavaliers have a mini bubble + training camp? That wasn’t enough time to implement a basic offensive system? I’m confused. He had enough time to implement his defensive principals, but none for the offensive side of the ball?

red. said:

Excuse me?

Am I the HC of the Cleveland Cavaliers? This is a question you should be asking JBB.

Didn’t the Cavaliers have a mini bubble + training camp? That wasn’t enough time to implement a basic offensive system? I’m confused. He had enough time to implement his defensive principals, but none for the offensive side of the ball?

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The Basic offensive system works. It has worked a lot this year. It gets completely shut down by a good defense. That is the problem. They have very few offensive sets and it's why they have been able to so easily plug and play players during injuries. They stopped running double drag sets because they don't have their sweet shooting big man. Do you think any of the offense they put in was designed for Love? Probably, and they can't use it at all this year.

He has answered this question several times. They run a stripped down offense because they were focusing on defense. Running the offense ugly through Drummond was a necessity when they had no guards.

They need practices, but there is no time for practice.

I'll just turn that question around on you. Why didn't he have enough time to fully implement a new offense and defense in a year with a shortened pre-season and training camp with injuries creating the 2nd most different starting lineups after they had a week of mini bubble? The guy that missed the mini-bubble is the one disrupting the offense so much lol.

They are seventh in the east right now, ended 15th last year. You are asking for quite a lot.

Cavatt said:

The Basic offensive system works. It has worked a lot this year. It gets completely shut down by a good defense. That is the problem. They have very few offensive sets and it's why they have been able to so easily plug and play players during injuries. They stopped running double drag sets because they don't have their sweet shooting big man. Do you think any of the offense they put in was designed for Love? Probably, and they can't use it at all this year.

He has answered this question several times. They run a stripped down offense because they were focusing on defense. Running the offense ugly through Drummond was a necessity when they had no guards.

They need practices, but there is no time for practice.

I'll just turn that question around on you. Why didn't he have enough time to fully implement a new offense and defense in a year with a shortened pre-season and training camp with injuries creating the 2nd most different starting lineups after they had a week of mini bubble? The guy that missed the mini-bubble is the one disrupting the offense so much lol.

They are seventh in the east right now, ended 15th last year. You are asking for quite a lot.

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I don’t think it should take this long to set up an offense, I remember learning heck loads of plays in highschool with 4 trainings a week. These guys been playing basketball their whole lives, at the highest level it shouldn’t take months and months.

I can’t believe 9/10 Drummond post ups a night are still in the playbook after 1,5 months of the nba, preseason and the training camp.

Cavatt said:

The Basic offensive system works. It has worked a lot this year. You are asking for quite a lot.

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Not really.

I’m asking for some movement and flow offensively instead of forcing the ball to Drummond every other possession.

Do you think JBB offense is efficient? Do you think posting up Drummond early in the shot clock is efficient? Do you think Drummond posting up every other possession is efficient? Do you think Drummond going 1 v 1 is efficient?

How does any ^^^ of that make the Cavaliers better? And how is any of that a basic offensive system?

When Drummond is in the post, players barely move because they know he does not pass out of the block under any circumstances. He would rather go 1 V 5 than pass the ball out. How does that help the Cavaliers offensively?

What’s JBB offensive philosophy?

JBB had time. The Cavaliers were off for months, had a mini bubble + training camp to get a basic offensive system installed. And yet all we get is the Drummond special.

red. said:

Excuse me?

Am I the HC of the Cleveland Cavaliers? This is a question you should be asking JBB.

Didn’t the Cavaliers have a mini bubble + training camp? That wasn’t enough time to implement a basic offensive system? I’m confused. He had enough time to implement his defensive principals, but none for the offensive side of the ball?

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Red, I love most of your posts, dude... But you seem a bit emotional or even irrational on this one. @Cavatt has a point here.

I guess this all boils down to: "What were you expecting" vs "What did you see?". The defensive buy-in, development/progression of players like Garland and Sexton (whether you think that progression is a product of individual drive or team culture, i can't say), and overall competitiveness of this team is leaps-and-bounds better than what I expected this year.

You've absolutely got a point with regards to Drummond's usage rate, efficiency, and black-hole-tendencies... Regardless, JBB has done a good, if not great, job, given our market and team make-up. I hope he stays as HC for at least the remainder of his contract.

We will find out more about JBB this month. He’s had young, mostly coachable, young guys playing this year. We came out of the gate playing with lots of energy and got off to a good start. That is to his credit and a definite positive. The injuries meant we were missing important players, but it also meant there were no frustrations over playing time and usage. That’s about to change. When everyone is healthy, especially the vets, some players are not going to be happy - there are only so many minutes and shots to go around. On top of that, the toughening schedule and the better teams getting their acts together means we are likely to start losing at a higher rate. How will JBB deal with a frustrated team that’s losing more than they win? If he guides them through it well and keeps them relevant late into the season, he will have done a good job.

Deezus said:

Red, I love most of your posts, dude... But you seem a bit emotional or even irrational on this one. @Cavatt has a point here.

I guess this all boils down to: "What were you expecting" vs "What did you see?". The defensive buy-in, development/progression of players like Garland and Sexton (whether you think that progression is a product of individual drive or team culture, i can't say), and overall competitiveness of this team is leaps-and-bounds better than what I expected this year.

You've absolutely got a point with regards to Drummond's usage rate, efficiency, and black-hole-tendencies... Regardless, JBB has done a good, if not great, job, given our market and team make-up. I hope he stays as HC for at least the remainder of his contract.

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While,you're correct about JB doing a good job but he needs to changed his philosophy on the offense. This issue with Drummond been going on since we traded for him.

I thought JB would have talked to him during the offseason about his bullshit but apparently not.

Dr No said:

We will find out more about JBB this month. He’s had young, mostly coachable, young guys playing this year. We came out of the gate playing with lots of energy and got off to a good start. That is to his credit and a definite positive. The injuries meant we were missing important players, but it also meant there were no frustrations over playing time and usage. That’s about to change. When everyone is healthy, especially the vets, some players are not going to be happy - there are only so many minutes and shots to go around. On top of that, the toughening schedule and the better teams getting their acts together means we are likely to start losing at a higher rate. How will JBB deal with a frustrated team that’s losing more than they win? If he guides them through it well and keeps them relevant late into the season, he will have done a good job.

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Everyone,including myself were saying the same thing when Sexton and Garland were out and we still get the same bullshit from Drummond when they came back from injury.

ansatsusha80 said:

While,you're correct about JB doing a good job but he needs to changed his philosophy on the offense. This issue with Drummond been going on since we traded for him.

I thought JB would have talked to him during the offseason about his bullshit but apparently not.





Everyone,including myself were saying the same thing when Sexton and Garland were out and we still get the same bullshit from Drummond when they came back from injury.

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I agree with this. Drummond needs reined in. It is probably a very difficult task, and JB has to tread carefully to not mess up the locker room.

Since Pop was brought up ...

Does anyone actually believe that Pop could just talk to Drummond and fix his bullshit??? Drummond plays how he plays, and if it was that easy to coach the flaws out of his game there would be a bunch of teams willing to trade for him.

High usage ...

We have Okoro and Prince out there. One is a kid who has some very good defensive skills but can’t do much on the offensive end, and the other is a mediocre wing who has a decent night one or twice a week and that’s it. Neither of them are viable scoring options as starters.

SexLand can score but teams are adjusting to them. They know the Cavaliers lack options so there is emphasis on slowing them down.

That leaves Drummond. He’ll get his points but consume a lot of shots and turnovers to do it. He neither passes nor sets screens. He gets usage because Okoro doesn’t, Prince doesn’t and SexLand can only do so much.

So we have a traditional low post scorer playing like it’s 1972 along with two weak options and two short guards. Shocking that we have trouble scoring.

We really miss Love and Nance on the offensive end.