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

[Cement]

Even just an average coach would have this team at 55-60 wins next season. Get Frank Vogel.

 

[HammerGold]

This guy is going to have a rough playoffs. Wouldn't be surprised if the first series goes 7 despite the huge talent gap between the Cavs and Knicks

 

[Peacedog]

There's not a huge talent gap between the Cavs and Knicks. But way to move the goalposts on evaluating Bickerstaff. If the Cavs win this series, the season is a success, period, and JBB is coming back. If they lose and particularly if they lose bad, the front office has some thinking to do.

 

[BigZ94]

There's not a huge talent gap between the Cavs and Knicks. But way to move the goalposts on evaluating Bickerstaff. If the Cavs win this series, the season is a success, period, and JBB is coming back. If they lose and particularly if they lose bad, the front office has some thinking to do.

There’s a massive talent gap especially if Randle doesn’t play

 

[HammerGold]

There's not a huge talent gap between the Cavs and Knicks. But way to move the goalposts on evaluating Bickerstaff. If the Cavs win this series, the season is a success, period, and JBB is coming back. If they lose and particularly if they lose bad, the front office has some thinking to do.

There is a massive talent gap between the two teams. Series should be Cavs in 5 with equal coaching on both sides. If JBB loses the series there shouldn't even be a second thought about firing him.

 

[MirORich]

Knicks have talent. They’re sitting at 47 wins w two game to go.

If players like Quickley or Grimes were on this team, most of you would be raving that they’re stars in the making.

Hart we know is a good two way player that would have been a great fit here

Brunson and Randle are studs obviously and Brunson in particular has that certain competitive edge.

The top 3 pick kid from Duke is a bit of a wild card because he can look like ass at times but can also get shit done at times.

We should win, but acting like the full team talent gap is huge THIS year (as obv Mobley’s ceiling goes way higher in the years to come) is a bit of a mischarectarization

I’d love to watch those that think JBB is like an all time bad coach or comprehensively horrible in the totality of coaching aspects (I’m talking the real irrational hate, not fair measures critiques) have to have followed every game of just about any other team this year and see how you judged their coaches in relation to the 30-40 losses those teams had. I’m sure I’m thise games there coaches did NOTHING questionable at all that could be perceived as being part of the reason for their losses.

 

[kookoo]

Why are people already trying to make excuses for JBB if we lose to NY in a series? I'll give him his props if we win. And if we lose I think the team needs to look elsewhere asap for a new coach. I mean, I think they should do that anyway, but for winning a playoff series without LeBron, you earn a season in Cleveland.

Shit, dude got paid for almost making but then not making the playoffs.

 

[MirORich]

Why are people already trying to make excuses for JBB if we lose to NY in a series? I'll give him his props if we win. And if we lose I think the team needs to look elsewhere asap for a new coach. I mean, I think they should do that anyway, but for winning a playoff series without LeBron, you earn a season in Cleveland.

Shit, dude got paid for almost making but then not making the playoffs.

Talking about the other team in a realistic way is “making excuses”?

Newsflash, their is another team. They have good players. They finished one spot below us in the standings. We should beat them due to overall higher top end talent and HCA. Discussing this and highlighting that they’re not some joke team is not making excuses for anyone.

 

[DaNewCavs]

Talking about the other team in a realistic way is “making excuses”?

Newsflash, their is another team. They have good players. They finished one spot below us in the standings. We should beat them due to overall higher top end talent and HCA. Discussing this and highlighting that they’re not some joke team is not making excuses for anyone.

I mean, there could be other reasons why we lose this series then the coach, right? What if DG has a shit series? What if we get outrebounded because we never found a suitable backup center. Okoro may be injured and Brunson goes off. Could be a lot of other reasons. Hopefully we overcome any of these obstacles and still win.

 

[kookoo]

Talking about the other team in a realistic way is “making excuses”?

Newsflash, their is another team. They have good players. They finished one spot below us in the standings. We should beat them due to overall higher top end talent and HCA. Discussing this and highlighting that they’re not some joke team is not making excuses for anyone.

It definitely is an excuse. Because in one thread people are saying we have an immense level of talent over the Knicks. If we compare tier levels, we have Mitchell who is well above Brunson (who is playing his socks off) and then Garland who is above Randle. Then Mobley as well as Allen, who are above RJ Barrett and Hart. Grimes over Okoro. Not going position by position, but instead best players. If we're talking about playoffs where the starters play crazy minutes, the role platers should not really play a major factor. The two reasons the Knicks have improved is Brunson and coaching...

Yes, there can be other factors but things like not focusing on rebounding as much, leaving players on the 3 point line wide open. Those are coaching decisions. Which is why, unless we have major injuries, a series loss to the Knicks is on JBB in my opinion. The playoffs is where coaching game to game really comes into play. It's why guys like Steve Kerr are put in an elite bracket, making changes on the fly to adjust to the opposing teams. While our coach hasn't been able to draw up a successful ATO play in 2 seasons. If they adjust to something we do after the first game and JBB still pulls out the same strategy, conversations will need to be had.

We can all agree that the Knicks are playing well above their talent at the moment. They're the team outside of Brooklyn every other fanbase would kill to play against in the playoffs.

Yes, we would love a guy like Quickley or Grimes on this team. But would they be the players they are on this squad based on coaching and playing time? I don't think so. Lots of this is on the GM, but we've brought in guys who the coach doesn't even want to use in blowouts.

Coaches can have bad decisions here and there, but when you see patterns leading to losses, especially in playoff intensity games, you question it. Which is what I saw from JBB starting January 2022...

 

[Prime 1978]

I’m in the minority here but I don’t see this but talent disparity in favor of the Cavs. Yes Mitchell is the best player in the series and Mobley has the highest upside. However when healthy Randle is the second best player in the series. He putting up 25/10 and right now Brunson is a better player than Garland. Meaning going into the playoffs he’s playing better ball and has playoff success not just experience after his run with the Mavs last year. Mobley is the the ultimate wildcard here. He’s shown glimpses of being able to be the best player on the court even when Mitchell is playing. However he’s also at the mercy of the guards to consistently get him the ball.

Top end, yes the Cavs have the advantage. However the Knicks are much deeper and more experienced team. Both players and coaching staff.

I have the Cavs in 7.

 

[MirORich]

It definitely is an excuse. Because in one thread people are saying we have an immense level of talent over the Knicks. If we compare tier levels, we have Mitchell who is well above Brunson (who is playing his socks off) and then Garland who is above Randle. Then Mobley as well as Allen, who are above RJ Barrett and Hart. Grimes over Okoro. Not going position by position, but instead best players. If we're talking about playoffs where the starters play crazy minutes, the role platers should not really play a major factor. The two reasons the Knicks have improved is Brunson and coaching...

I appreciate the line by line itemization of the rosters but I already said we have the more talented team and that we should win and should expect to win(as fans). I think you’re underselling a few of the Knicks but again, we have the edge in the top end talent and skill level. I think they are a bit more deep in the athletic functional depth with some actual skill, but that should not overcome our main collective advantage from our top5-6

Yes, there can be other factors but things like not focusing on rebounding as much, leaving players on the 3 point line wide open. Those are coaching decisions. Which is why, unless we have major injuries, a series loss to the Knicks is on JBB in my opinion. The playoffs is where coaching game to game really comes into play. It's why guys like Steve Kerr are put in an elite bracket, making changes on the fly to adjust to the opposing teams. While our coach hasn't been able to draw up a successful ATO play in 2 seasons. If they adjust to something we do after the first game and JBB still pulls out the same strategy, conversations will need to be had.

We have no playoff experiences to judge yet but I of course agree that seven game series tell a lot about where your team is at, where your experience is at, where your composure is at and where your coaching is at.

We can all agree that the Knicks are playing well above their talent at the moment. They're the team outside of Brooklyn every other fanbase would kill to play against in the playoffs.

I feel like the Knicks are playing to their talent and some of their young guys are finally playing into their talent. But as I’ve said the entire time, we absolutely should beat them in a 7 game series and it would be disappointing not too. I’m not going to autopsy that unless and until it happens though.

Yes, we would love a guy like Quickley or Grimes on this team. But would they be the players they are on this squad based on coaching and playing time? I don't think so. Lots of this is on the GM, but we've brought in guys who the coach doesn't even want to use in blowouts.

There is no one sitting, unplayed and ignored anywhere near the combined level of talent, skill, athleticism, and draft pedigree of Quickley and Grimes

Coaches can have bad decisions here and there, but when you see patterns leading to losses, especially in playoff intensity games, you question it. Which is what I saw from JBB starting January 2022...

This is my point. As Cavs fans, we only see the “here and there” of other teams and their coaching decisions. Do you not think if you followed as a true fan of many of these teams with less the 40 losses but more than 30 losses, that you would feel like their were actual patterns and trends that led to their losses against good teams or in close games, or in playoff intensity games? Those 30-40 losses did not just all happen as a result of being overmatched by a clearly superior roster every time. Most of these teams with 30-40 losses are still in the top half of the league, in the 7-17 range in terms of best records

 

[Cavatt]

Thibs had a very young and inexperienced Bulls team go toe toe in a quadruple overtime game against the big 3 Celtics in the playoffs. It was one of the craziest games I ever saw.

He has a very large playoff record compared to JB. He's not a bad coach even if we clown him for some of his flaws. He gets guys to play very touch and very hard.

The Cavs need to learn to address that wilting against physicality in this series. IF they can do that, I will not cap what they can do. If they can't do that, they will go 7 games with NY or even possibly lose in 6.

Personally, I think the Cavs are the better team and the guys on our team have a better IQ. They still make young mistakes, and it has cost them games for sure, but they make a lot of the right plays most of the time as a unit. They have shown a great propensity to make adjustments in the 2nd half of games. I am not sure JB always pushed the right buttons during action, but he tends to have better matchup lineups after halves. Just the fact the Cavs tend to have such good net ratings in 2nd halves gives me a lot of confidence.

Even though they lost that 2nd game in Miami, I thought the adjustments they made from the previous game were good. They didn't make shots and fell asleep on D after being up to lose that one.

Donovan draws 7-8 fouls a game in the playoffs the past couple of years. He is more aggressive attacking the rim. I really hope that holds. I personally think the Cavs are more prepared for not getting calls in the playoffs as compared to other teams. The number of times they have come back from deficits, which sometimes feel insurmountable in a slow pace playoff games also is a good indicator in my opinion.

Health of the bigs is really paramount. I will also be interested in seeing how much the break up Donovan and Darius against the Knicks. It may not be possible to put Okoro on Brunsen and guard the 3 pt line adequately with Darius and Donovan guarding bigger guys. Whether the 2 small guards can be exploited is going to be a big question in the playoffs. Caris with Donovan and Rubio with Darius could be something we see against a physical team like this.

Gonna be a sludge match in any case. Stylistically similar teams. It's who can execute it the best

 

[amil99]

Not to mention we could’ve upgraded at the trade deadline but Koby stood pat because JBB couldn’t be bothered with trying to incorporate good players in his rotation. Don’t forgot to mention that for the pro JBB/ top heavy team opinioned people

 

[MirORich]

Not to mention we could’ve upgraded at the trade deadline but Koby stood pat because JBB couldn’t be bothered with trying to incorporate good players in his rotation. Don’t forgot to mention that for the pro JBB/ top heavy team opinioned people

Oh so JBB is also responsible for the trades our GM doesn’t make? lol

And not the lack of an available 1st rd pick, jot having a hoard of 2nds, Kevin Love having a combo of a massive contract and a horrible season, Dans (supoosed) desire to not start the repeater tax clock this year, or just Koby’s own decision himself

And what good players has he not incorporated? Are we looking at the same roster? You see good players that top6 seed teams would be relying on in their top8-9 rotations?

At least stick to the shit that is actually true and demonstrable like the lack of effective ATO and in bound plays instead of just making up vague shit