J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs vs Wizards Post Game | 1.5.2024

J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs vs Wizards Post Game | 1.5.2024

Guess it would be uh human nature to be over confident against Contin you just be 39 did you like the way the guys basically responded and kind of pulled away in the third quarter when yeah I what I was most impressed with is our start you know I thought we didn’t allow

You know last game to kind of hang over uh we came out you know extremely purposeful um and you know kind of got busy especially you know defensively and converted to offense excuse me slowed a little bit in the second quarter but then you know came out in third you know our defense

Was good uh both quarters but you know offensively kind of stalled in the second quarter but thought we found it again in the third if I told you two weeks ago that you’d go seven and three without Darius and Evan what were you told me uh I mean I would Bank on these

Guys to be honest with you um there’s a lot of trust uh in that locker room and the guys that are there um and you can go you know down the list individually like we know you know what Donovan is capable of you know Max all those guys

Carris everybody step kep up uh and I’m hard pressed to find a guy a big guy who’s playing better than Jared Allen um you know I think we all need to take a serious look at his All-Star accolades um because I don’t know many big guys if

Any that are playing better than him right now Chris hey JB we’ve talked so much about your offense during this 10 game stretch but what does it show to have a defensive night like tonight I mean we still you know try to be a defensive first team um you know know

The offense you know gets a lot of attention but that doesn’t mean we stop working and focusing on the defensive end of the floor um you know we continue every single day to impress upon our guys that that’s what’s going to separate us um you know we talked

Pregame about how many teams are scoring 140 points right but you know the teams that are going to eventually separate themselves are teams that can get stops um and figure out a way to convert on the offensive end so we try to be balanced but you know we’ll still spend

A ton of time on the defensive end what did you like most about the defensive effort uh I mean I thought we made everything extremely difficult um you know there weren’t very few easy opportunities or clean looks um you know I thought we did a really good job you

Know making them take the tough twos uh putting the ball on the floor you know defending for the most part without fouling and then contesting and making him take shots over the top of us Spencer Davies Captain cider you’ve talked about his professionalism and what he does for you off the court but

Tristan defensively just going back to what Chris was talking about I think he switched all Five Guys on one possession um what does that take just from a physical standpoint and also just knowledge of the game I mean you know the physical piece he has great feet and

Great strength um you know the mental aspect he has you know extreme will um where he can take you know and sustain challenges uh unlike many people uh and then you know he is a student of the game you know every person that steps on that floor Tristan has an understanding

Of their strength and weaknesses and knows how to put them in position of weakness um so again it’s it’s intelligence it’s professionalism uh it’s grown Manish um you know it’s it’s all those things that have made him a champion and made uh you know him be a

Huge part of winning in Su successful teams Caris had a season high and assist tonight um when you look at the types of of passes he’s making when he’s getting downhill how how advant is that to you guys as an offense when he can draw that

Kind of attention I mean it allows us to play different lineups um you know we get to play him with you know Max Sam George and Tristan and it allows him to play in a ton of space but you know the game just doesn’t become about him like

He does a great job of finding his teammates um so you know you get to play with different lineups you get to do different things defensively uh because of the size you can put on the floor you know more switching keep people in front of you um and then really be diverse

Offensively uh because he can create you know and beat his man and he’s so unselfish last two having with Chris uh JB uh the other night and tonight as well you guys really pulled away in the third quarter and you guys won by 38 the

Other game won by 29 tonight um is there just ever a moment where you tell your guys like listen we we kind of have this game in the bag like when you just have that moment you maybe call off the starters you start to play putting guys

Like Damen or whoever else just kind of like wrap up the game just like maybe take your foot off the gas a little bit or do you just tell your guys pedal the metal all the way no we we have a standard that we have to hold ourselves

To all the time um and no matter who’s on the floor we expect our guys to play Cleveland Cavaliers basketball um and you know we don’t have the mindset of on off um that that breeds inconsistency so we’re just trying to go out play Cavs

Hoops as much as we can uh and see what happens and off the cour it’s been 3 weeks now since it was announced Darius and EV will be out how are they progressing uh they’re doing well I mean you know obviously um you know they’re able to do different things just because

Of their injuries and circumstances um but I think you see them here you know they’re good spirits they’re around the group um but you know they’re progressing obviously you know Evan uh is able to do more and more every day and then you know we’re just uh being cautious with Darius you know

Because of the wiring and you know how much he can actually handle um in you know calorie intake and all those things so we’re just trying to be cautious with him and make sure that those guys take the steps um that they need to get them

Back when they’re ready to go last one Chris JY we’ve talked a lot about Tristan throughout the course of this year but are you surprised in any way what he’s been able to give you on the court no to be honest with you um you just know Tristan right like spend time

With him um just be around him watch him and you know he just impacts winning and I I go back to you know our you know brief time that we had together as when I was coaching him and took over um you know we you know won a few games down

That stretch and he was one of the guys in the fourth quarter that we counted on uh just because he was a winner and you know he he you know might not make a shot but he’d get every rebound or he’d block a shot or you know he’d switch and

Get a stop like he just knows how to impact winning uh and guys like that you know no matter what circumstance you put them in they’re going to have an impact um you know I know he’s obviously getting a little bit older since then uh but intelligence kicks in and now he

Just beats guys to spot because he outthinks them so um you know credit to him but again this isn’t shocking to me at all

Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke to the media following a 114-90 victory over the Washington Wizards on January 5, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.