JBB reamed them out at halftime.
Last season, Bickerstaff lamented perplexing losses against teams with worse records. In his eyes, there were too many of them, which played a critical role in missing the playoffs. Washington twice. Charlotte twice. Detroit twice. Houston. Orlando. He hoped this year would be different, that his hunted group would learn lessons from that. Prior to tipoff, he even reiterated the importance of approaching every game with the same mindset and making sure the standards don’t change based on the opponent.
The first-half malaise felt too familiar. It drew his ire. The Cavs were headed for another one of those bafflers and Bickerstaff wasn’t about to let it happen -- again. So, he used the halftime break to get his point across. Sternly. With vulgarity.
The Cavs won the second half 49-42.
I'm optimistic the Cavs will have fewer of those games this year where they lose to an inferior opponent. Of course injuries played a big role in that, but the mindset may have been an issue as well.