J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs vs Nets Post Game | 1.11.2024

J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs vs Nets Post Game | 1.11.2024

There’s three things you have Donovan showing out like he did um you had the Tristan issue and then Max didn’t didn’t come back um can you take us through a little bit of on on each to yeah I mean I think Donovan came out um you know

Ready for the moment you know we talked about beforehand how special this game was to be a part of you know what it means for the NBA to select you um to come over here and represent um you know the league and the game of basketball on a worldwide stage and I

Thought Donovan was phenomenal um at giving you know the audience uh and us um you know what they came to see and what we needed to go and win the game um you know he was aggressive early and set the tone for everybody he lifted his

Teammates up um so I thought he was phenomenal to start with um you know Max um you know has been bothered by some knee stuff um so we’ve been trying to monitor it and do what’s right by him um but just tonight we thought it was best

To just you know save him from himself a little bit you know obviously he wants to play every minute um so we just thought it was the right thing to do to protect him uh get him some treatment and see how he feels for Chicago on

Monday uh and then the Tristan thing is competition um you know it was guys who you know they were trying to raise the level of the game uh so they were junking it up a little bit they were trying to find their competition so you know you start trash talking those types

Of things uh but it’s basketball uh it’s a part of the game you know but the competition is the fun part of the game uh you know you obviously hope it doesn’t get carried away um but you love to see guys competing uh and you see how

Much it means to these guys and I think that’s the takeaway from both sides uh both teams went out there wanted to win wanted to compete their tails off uh and sometimes those things happen um but I thought the referees did a good job of getting it under control quickly and moving

On question is second row to the right how important was Jared Allen’s presence down low as a sort of counter to when Brooklyn started switching because it seemed like he just gave Brooklyn Smalls a ton of problems on the glass ceiling whatever it was yeah I mean I think

That’s where you have to find your advantages um and you know if teams want to play small if they want to switch you know and put a small guy on Jarrett um there’s so many different ways that he can beat you you know obviously he’s Elite in the pocket you know there was

Opportunities I think we could have found him a few times you know he got fouled on some of the seals uh but even if you don’t and the shot goes up he’s got the advantage on the offensive boards uh already so I mean again we we’re very fortunate uh to have a guy

Like Jarrett with the skill set that he has and all the things that he can do um and he how he can make teams pay for whatever decision they want to make next question third row on the far left here hi coach um this was obviously

A regular season game and for you it would have been a home home game I’m curious about the in-game experience uh you know the the the rumor for the fans from the fans and all that stuff obviously you know you were coaching and that’s the first part yeah no I mean it

It was fun uh the environment was great um you know all the amenities here are unbelievable um but again I think everybody who was participant in this game and who helped put this game on um you know you didn’t feel like a regular season game um you know it had you know

A little bit more significance to it um you know I thought the fans were awesome uh very knowledgeable of the game you know understanding you know what was going on not just yelling and screaming uh for no reason like understanding and you know it was interesting to see them

Pick a side uh and for wherever their allegiances were you know they were rooting for their team um you know but again it was about the competition the environment was great um I think you know this is something that you’re going to see much more of um and it was

Awesome to be embraced you know by the city and all the people that came on the left fourth row hi coach Sami sadik from French media we talked all all week about the the challenge of playing U after Sunday on a different continent with jet lag and all stuff do

You think it was maybe the the reason why the game was a bit slow during the three the three first quarter and again on Donovan at the end he like it became a bit of a shootout like that’s that’s when you you needed him to to step up

Yeah I mean I think you know you you never know with how each individual individual is going to react to you know the time change and all those things I know you know it’s been a little difficult trying to find your sleep Rhythm and feeling like you’ve gotten

Enough rest um but I think it comes down to you know both teams uh showing that mental toughness and the ability to get through it uh because again they understand the significance of it and they’re competitive and want to win so um you know we’ll see what happens it’s

Always going to be interesting and now when we go home how long it takes to adjust and those types of things but uh it’s it’s well worth it because of the experience that we had here off the court uh and the opportunity again to play in front of these fans and then you

Know Donovan does did what Donovan does um you know for a year and a half now that he’s been with us um in the biggest moments when we’ve needed him most he’s found opportunities to shine and you know we were struggling to score down the stretch um but he took it upon

Himself and made big ones to help us keep the lead where it was okay right hand side fourth row hey coach uh just a quick question um you play the balls on Tuesday you’re off until then uh any update on darus Garland um maybe will he be able to

Practice before then and possibly join the team uh no he he’s going to be out for a few more games okay we got time for final question gentleman yeah s row there on the left yeah bam KY court report Tunisia uh coach today Donovan MIT has played 41 minutes and other hand Craig

Porter Jr didn’t play it’s your choice Donovan was phenomenal but it’s a choice for you yeah I mean again this won’t happen um you know we believe in Craig and what he’s able to do uh just the way the rotations went in the first half and

The way we were playing uh I didn’t think it was the right thing to do to just throw him in there in the fourth quarter um you know with so much on the line so that was you know coach’s decision um just to not put him in a

Position where he hadn’t played for three quarters and try to throw him out there but that’s not going to be typical um you know Craig will get those minutes at the backup point guard as long as Darius is out um but you know tonight the rotations just didn’t work out that way

Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke to the media following a 111-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Accor Arena on January 11, 2024.