Tag Archives: J.B. Bickerstaff

Cavs hire Luke Walton as assistant coach

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A familiar face from California will be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers as an assistant coach. No, not who you are thinking of, it is Luke Walton. Walton will serve as an assistant under J.B. Bickerstaff.

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Luke Walton has served as an assistant previously, famously standing in for Steve Kerr in Golden States 73-9 2016 season. Walton was at the helm for more games (43) than Kerr (39) during their record breaking season. The success as interim coach lead to Walton being hired by the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles did not reach their lofty expectations and considering they just landed LeBron James in free agency this was unacceptable. The two sides parted ways after the 2019 season with Walton finishing with just 98 wins and 148 losses. Walton was not out of work for long as he was hired to be the next coach of the Sacramento Kings. It would be a shorter stint in Sacramento as Walton was fired 17 games into his third season.

Interesting tidbit here, Bickerstaff nearly joined Walton in Sacramento instead opting to join the coaching staff of John Beilein in Cleveland. The decision to come to Cleveland instead is quite the sliding doors moment for Bickerstaff. Beilein’s sudden midseason departure gave Bickerstaff a chance he may not have seen otherwise. Joining the Cavs instead of Walton’s Kings seems to have worked out for all involved as they are now both employed in Cleveland.

J.B. Bickerstaff named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month

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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January. Phoenix’ Monty Williams received the honor for the Western Conference.

J.B. Bickerstaff guided the Cavs to an 11-4 record to start off the new year. This includes impressive wins over Brooklyn and Milwaukee, two teams considered to NBA Finals contenders. While it is only a regular season win, coming away a victory over premier teams such as the Bucks and Nets is impressive.

Cavs sign J.B. Bickerstaff to extension

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a contract extension with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

After a season and some change that saw the Cleveland Cavaliers struggle, things appear to have changed this season under J.B. Bickerstaff. Prior to the 2021-22 season Cleveland was 27-56 under Bickerstaff, but they are 19-13 and playing significantly better than previous season. So much better that the team has decided to sign Bickerstaff to a contract extension.

The Cavaliers appear to have a talented young foundation with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen which they are hoping J.B. Bickerstaff can continue to guide them towards relevance.

Cavaliers travel to Miami to take on Heat

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to make it their second straight win under J.B. Bickerstaff and third straight overall in Miami Saturday night.

Fresh off a win in Washington, the Cleveland Cavaliers could pull off two surprising wins a row Saturday. The Cavs are in Miami to take on Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. This will be a bit of a tougher test for Cleveland as the Wizards are nowhere near the level of team that the Heat are.

Miami is 35-20 on the season and average 111.9 points per game this season while giving up 108.7. Just a little bit different than Washington’s negative point differential (-4.2).

Interestingly enough Miami lost to the Hawks in their last game. The exact same Hawks the Cavs beat last week to end their winless streak at home this decade. Although it is worth noting that the Cavaliers do not have anyone like Trae Young capable of scoring 50 points in a game. That’s exactly what Atlanta needed to beat Miami Thursday.

If Cleveland can somehow come away with a win, great. The real expectation should be to keep things close and not get blown out by a far superior team. It’s really about progress and development right now and avoiding a lopsided loss would go a long way in both departments.

Cavaliers return to action vs Wizards

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Friday is the first game of the post-John Beilein era.  Well, kind of. Beilein has been reassigned to a different role in the organization, but J.B. Bickerstaff is now the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their first test? In Washington to take on the Wizards. 

This game will be quite telling in regards to the situation in Cleveland. If the Cavs come out and look like a competent team for the first time this season and it will not be a good look for their former head coach. There were several times this season that the Cavaliers look completely outmatched and it may not be entirely related to talent. 

There is the possibility that the Cavaliers under Bickerstaff look like a much improved team. The opposite is also true. Cleveland has some talented players, but the roster construction is not great. There may be too much to overcome by just swapping out the head coach. 

Facing the Wizards could provide the Cavs a good chance of getting off on the right foot under Bickerstaff. Like the Cavaliers, the Wizards are not a great team. Washington has a -4.2 point differential per game this season, the sixth-worst in the league (Cleveland’s -8.9 is the worst). There is a distinct difference between the two teams that is worth mentioning here. The Wizards have the sixth-highest scoring average this season (115.6) while the Cavaliers have the fourth-worst (106.1). Washington could very well win by a lopsided margin in the first game back from the All-Star Break. 

J.B. Bickerstaff to replace John Beilein

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have parted ways with John Beilein and associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will be his replacement.

At least this time it seems like the replacement in Cleveland wants the job. J.B. Bickerstaff will be replacing the now departed John Beilein as the head coach of the Cavaliers.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski a succession plan existed for the Cavaliers.

J.B. Bickerstaff will be the full time coach and not just an interim. A title that Bickerstaff has held before. The fact that this plan existed shows that there may have been uncertainty about the success of John Beilein in the NBA. While it is great to be prepared, having this plan set in place before things even go started is a bit curious.

Cleveland is getting a coach with plenty of experience. With stops in Houston and Memphis as their head coach, Bickerstaff has a career 85-131 record. While that is not great, the fact he has been in situations similar to this previously should help. Any help while attempting to navigate an ocean of uncertainty will be beneficial for Cleveland.

Will Cleveland be searching for another head coach after the year is over? Probably. There should be a large pool of quality coaches available for the Cavaliers to interview and it would be foolish to disregard outside options. While they should give their now full time coach a chance, it is not a guarantee that he returns next year in that capacity, even with the pre-existing succession plan now in effect.

Cavaliers hire Bickerstaff as associate head coach

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired J.B Bickerstaff as their associate head coach under newly hired head coach John Beilein.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers hired John Beilein as their head coach there was a belief that the team would bring in an experienced assistant. Cleveland did just that by hiring J.B. Bickerstaff as their associate head coach.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had the report Sunday.

J.B. Bickerstaff was garnering interest around the league but the Cavaliers were able to get a deal done. Apparently the Boston Celtics also had interest in Bickerstaff, but Cleveland is where Bickerstaff will call home this season.

Bickerstaff has three years of head coaching experience under his belt. One year with the Houston Rockets and two with the Memphis Grizzlies. Bickerstaff has a career coaching record of 85-131.

As Wojnarowksi mentioned, Bickerstaff will help Beilein in his transition from the college game to the pro game. This is going to be crucial for the Cavaliers this upcoming season. While Beilein is an accomplished college coach, there is a distinct difference when it comes to coaching in the NBA. Bickerstaff should be able to help guide him as he has been on the NBA sidelines since 2004.

There will be times this upcoming season when nothing will seem to go right. John Beilein will need all the help he can get to help navigate through those tough times. The addition of J.B. Bickerstaff in a prominent role should make that navigation process just a bit easier. As everyone saw last season all it takes is a couple of untimely injuries in a short period of time and the season can go off the rails quite quickly. It will be the job of the coaching staff to do as much as possible to prevent that from happening for a second consecutive season.