J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs vs Bucks Post Game | 12.29.2023

J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs vs Bucks Post Game | 12.29.2023

Down the stretch have the ability to create offense and also slow down on defense what did you see from them tonight uh I mean obviously they’re a good team they are who they are for a reason um I mean I thought our guys did you know what was necessary obviously we

Struggled from behind a three-point line which had a huge impact but you know I think our guys contined to play the right way and created shots for one another um and you know those guys they’ll make those shots um so I I think this one you know again take your hat

Off to a good team but uh we had our opportunities you had Donovan 34 points in his first game back how did you feel like he progressed throughout the game I thought he was good you know I mean he’s you know he’s Donovan Mitchell for a

Reason um you know I think you know he needs to get back into the flow a little bit some of those shots that he had that he normally makes from behind the arc uh you know those could be attested to just legs and being off for a while but I

Mean I thought you know he was Dynamic not only the 34 points but he had nine assists he was creating for his teammates um so I thought he did a really good job in his first game back ran ran speaking Jal is there anything that specifically stood out in the third

Quarter no I mean I think they were uh extremely physical to start with on both ends of the floor um they did a really good job of denying us all over the ball over the floor and being physical with us and then offensively you could see

They had their mind made up that they were just going to attack our paint um put a ton of pressure on us and I think it took us just a minute to get our feetback what have you thought Craig Porter Jr and his ability to be such a

Big part of the offense late in games yeah I mean he’s um you know he’s Fearless um you know he just has the ability to get to his spot he knows what his game is he’s not a typical rookie that comes into the league trying to

Figure out who they are I think you know the years that he had and the journey he had gave him a fresh understanding a clear understanding of who he is uh and how he can be impactful um he’s poised you know he never gets sped up the

Moment’s not too big for him I thought he he was great again tonight do you think you feel game a minute to kind of recalibrate to Donan back in the lineup uh no I think we got off to a great start offensively um you know we scored 37 points in that first quarter

Um you know so I don’t think uh that was it you know at all I thought we continued to share the basketball I mean at the end of the day we just missed shots uh and you go back and we’ll take a look at it obviously but they were

Assisted shots to guys that were open and that’s the way we want to play we want to try to create for one another and thought we did a fabulous job of that tonight Jared the first 30-point game of his career obviously another big game talk about him yeah surprised me

That 30 was his career high to be honest with you um but you know I me to go 15 17 from the floor uh 12 boards and have to guard you know um you know an MVP of the league like I mean that’s a a tough challenge for anybody and Jarrett just

Continues to do it he just continues to accept responsibilities uh accept challenges um and I can’t say enough how much we value him how much we need him to be out on the floor uh and how much we appreciate his talents Jackson F right on UK a six of 43 from three isn’t

The results that you would have wanted but are you happy with the process of taking those threes yeah I mean we were again like you can’t tell these guys who put the time in and who are capable uh to not take open shots the law of

Averages you know it’s going to pan out these guys you know shoot their percentages for a reason uh and tonight just wasn’t our night from behind the three-point line but you know again they were assisted and they were open so that means we’re sharing the game we’re doing

All the right things to create for one another uh and we were in the basketball game you know having said that you know shot the way we shot uh it was a tight ball game down the stretch anything else from room Ethan last one uh JB just

Looking at what Craig was able to do down the stretch we know that he’s been Fearless have you seen him grow and was there an thoughts of putting him into the game earlier with that knowing yeah I mean it’s it’s you know it’s tough the more bodies you had back to balance

Those minutes um you know we’ve obviously seen what both he and Sam are capable of doing um you know we’ve got seven guys basically playing in three spots uh and you’re just trying to find a balance of giving guys enough run so they can catch a rhythm um but then get

Them out there because you know their skill set so you know it was a little choppy because it was the first game U for those guys to be back um but you know we’ll continue to Tinker with the lineups and figure it out and give those guys opportunity

Thank you have a good night

Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke to the media following a 119-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on December 29, 2023.