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

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Will JBB Return Next Season as Cavs Coach?

  • Yes

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • No

    Votes: 16 44.4%
  • Only if a Miracle Happens

    Votes: 5 13.9%
  • Injuries Derailed the Season, not JBB

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • He Should be Fired Right Meow

    Votes: 11 30.6%
  • Only if Jim Chones Replaces Him

    Votes: 3 8.3%

  • Total voters
    36
This thread is 10x busier after losses so long post incoming...
 
JBB and the P word.

Let's take PHX and GS out of the equation. While I don't believe their magnificent records means their coaches have both coached perfect seasons on a game by game basis, they are the two outliers in terms of winning percentage this year.

Now from there there 12 are really good teams in the NBA who all have between 18-23 losses. The Cavs are at 20 losses.

So with those other 11 good teams and coaches, how did those losses occur. How do their fanbases react to those losses relative to the coach? Surely, in most of those losses and even in some of their wins, those fanbases also believe they have legitimate gripes about rotations, scheme, usage of timeouts and challenges, ATO plays, late game substitutions, etc.

I'm curious of those 11 teams, how many Cavs fans would rather have those teams coaches the our coach. And I'm curious how they think those coaches contributions during their 18-23 losses were somehow superior to our coaches contributions during our teams 20 losses.

My main point is that ALL NBA coaches make decisions on a nightly basis(but especially during losses) that the fans of those teams, who watch all 48 minutes of all 82 games of their teams, question or think were wrong or think led to the loss.

I've been accused of thinking JBB does no wrong. And it's the opposite. Of course he does some wrong. But he also does a whole lot right and not just the "culture/buy in/effort" stuff that some people begrudgingly grant him.

If he is such a tactically bad coach, such an outlier relative to his peers, than why are we in this cluster of teams with 18-23 losses and not in a lower tier. And if he's so tactically bad relative to his peers, as some suggest, than how are all these other teams losing their 18-23 games?

My take is two fold and has been consistent all season:

1. The players and coaches have both far exceeded the expectations that ANYONE on this board presented or suggested as the likely outcome for this year during the offseason and preseason.

2. The players and coaches both deserve the patience growing together over the course of several seasons and several playoffs before anyone makes any iron clad, immovable statements about how great or how limited the roster talent or coaching talent is.

I made a post yesterday detailing the first couple of playoff appearances for some of the most highly decorated modern era coaches still in the NBA today, and almost all of them lost their first playoff series and in many cases first two playoff series before registering a win. But yet it seems like there are some posters who are just waiting for the very first Cavs playoff series loss as some sort of irrefutable proof that this current coach won't be the guy.

I am not preaching that he IS the guy or ISN'T they guy. I am preaching the patience to actually let things unfold and not assume that what you see now in the regular season(which btw has been fantastic and exceeded all our expectations) when teams play busy schedules and hardly do any true game planning for the opponent is indicative of what the playoffs will be like. And that again, it is 100% normal for really good young teams with really good coaches to lose their first playoff appearance or two.

So, as far as P words go, I think I am arguing for proper perspective even more than patience.
 
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Wins are never becasue of JBB but loses are always his fault alone. Dont you know this?
Yes...but...I am hoping my post generates some substantive nuanced discussion about what is normal in the NBA as far as coaching goes rather than extremes of people making fun of each other.
 
Yes...but...I am hoping my post generates some substantive nuanced discussion about what is normal in the NBA as far as coaching goes rather than extremes of people making fun of each other.
So more about the X’s and O’s than the Jimmy’s and Joe’s ?
 
I was trying to figure out why JBB didn't start Goodwin. The only logic I could come up with was this... He didn't want Goodwin to get all up inside his own head about getting a start because I'm guessing he hasn't made many, if any, NBA starts. So JBB figured he'd start Cedi and sub Goodwin for the bulk of the minutes.

Cedi getting 12 assists kind of screwed that theory up.
 
I was trying to figure out why JBB didn't start Goodwin. The only logic I could come up with was this... He didn't want Goodwin to get all up inside his own head about getting a start because I'm guessing he hasn't made many, if any, NBA starts. So JBB figured he'd start Cedi and sub Goodwin for the bulk of the minutes.

Cedi getting 12 assists kind of screwed that theory up.
It was a feel out kinda game…

JBB sees these guys everyday in practice and know what they can do…Cedi can play make if asked to and in an emergency role, probably just as well as Goodwin…

I don’t know what the thought process was but more than likely he was aiming for scoring, defensive size and versatility knowing that he can play make a little…

Cedi shot horribly but still dropped 12 assists in that role…Goodwin only had an assist but got the much needed scoring….

Regardless, JBB pulled the right strings and the Cavs got a nice bounce back W without their best player….
 
I was trying to figure out why JBB didn't start Goodwin. The only logic I could come up with was this... He didn't want Goodwin to get all up inside his own head about getting a start because I'm guessing he hasn't made many, if any, NBA starts. So JBB figured he'd start Cedi and sub Goodwin for the bulk of the minutes.

Cedi getting 12 assists kind of screwed that theory up.
Ah. So he was playing that 4D chess...
 

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