J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs Practice | 2.21.2024
You guys got five games seven days coming up 16 games in March how do you go about as aach managing a heavy on some of these minutes for these guys R uh I me I think it’s important to just continue to focus on our depb um you
Know being able to go 10 11 man deep uh gives us an opportunity to not kill anybody um you know obviously you’re going to play and do what you got to do to win the games but uh understanding how you manage first half versus second halfes uh where you know you don’t have
To just put a ton of pressure on one guy to play a ton of minutes because of the depth that we have so that’s been our message to our guys is embrace the depth uh embrace the opportunities for your teammates to be successful and at the
End of the day that’s all that matters so then we expect to see you know as these hums progress I guess different different lineups different staggering just to go what saying yeah I mean obviously it all depends on health um but again and I would expect you know
Our our guys to play in that 10-man rotation uh you know second half would be dictated by how we’ve played uh what we’re our opponents and how we match up those types of things but you know again I expect everybody who’s been playing to stay in that rotation and that should
Just tick down everybody’s minutes so that you know on a back to back on a you know five and seven guys should be able to be a little more fresh uh and be able to play the way we want to play did uh tell get next
Uh he got an extra day yes yeah and then um when you come back from the break Evan and Darius are there restrictions going to be lifted their minute restrictions will be lifted yes okay but we’ll obviously be cognizant of how they’re feeling and all those things
Okay final 29 games what’s the focus for you as a coach uh the details uh I think that’s the thing that you know we just got to continue to harp on uh is paying attention to all the small things that make us successful uh are we continuing
To develop the habits that we think are going to be successful you know not in the short term but in the long term um and you know again that’s the the emphasis for our guys and then obviously managing the health of our guys and making sure we’re as healthy as we can
Be but still be as productive as we can be as well Donan will be back tomorrow say that again he’ll be here tomorrow yeah um can you fix the All-Star Game for us uh that’s not my job if you could uhhuh recommendations you would make to see that a little more competitive I
Think at the end of the day it comes down to the incentive and I think there was a time where you know whatever the value was meant a lot more compared to what the value is now and you know I think if you want it you have to up the
Incentives um you know because that’s what makes the guys at the end of the day at that point in time I think it makes it more competitive but you know I understand you know guys trying to get through it so that the season happens and they you
Know they’re prepared for that um so you know it’s a tough situation obviously you know I grew up on the more competitive games and love those you know and even over the break was watching some of the highlights of those old school games um but again I think
You know again it’s above my pay grade um and we’ll worry about the Cavs let you worry about that thoughts on Pete getting the two-way I mean it couldn’t be more happy for Pete um you know again guy that’s been with us and training Camp uh through summer league and all
Those things um you know I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a third generation or a third member of a family to have uh you know wear cabs uniform grow up here like I don’t think any of us can imagine how special that moment is for him but
Again he’s a guy who worked his tail off for it um and you know I think has NBA skills um just has to get the right opportunity appreciate that you appreciate that even more being from a basketball family yourself yeah I think I you know have a heightened
Understanding of you know when you have that type of role model in your house and somebody that you’ve looked up to uh every single day and then kind of having the opportunity to fill their shoes um it is special I think it’s Unique um you know in a different experience for
Everybody before we left for Allstar Darius talked about not really feeling like himself at any point really in the first 15 three games there might have been like a small stretch right before he fractured off like what do you need from him in the final 29 games games um
Beding into the postseason just be himself uh and play basketball like he’s capable of and like you know he knows where his strengths are um he’s Elite when he plays uh you know when he’s comfortable and plays within himself and plays his game you know and again it’s
Been hard for him because of the In-N-Out and there was so much choppiness um and the changes that we were making but uh again his message is the same as everybody else’s message be the most aggressive confident version of yourself and you know again I I think we’ve all
Seen what happens when he’s that um and whatever he needs to be more comfortable that’s on me to help him um but again we just want him to you know be confident play selfless and compete his tail off has he talked to you about different things throughout the course of a game
That would make him more comfortable and if so what are those yeah I mean those are things that I would rather not share um but he and I like I said always were in constant communication of what I need to do to help and uh how he can be the
Best version of himself Chris mentioned 29 games you guys have left six back to backs in this direction why why is this team go to be ready for this this stret it’s the depth I mean you know I hate to just keep beating the same point but
Like we have a deep team um you know we can get through back to backs because we shouldn’t have to play guys you know a ton of minutes and kill them and then suffer the next night or suffer the third game and four nights because of it
Like we have enough guys here where we can spread it out um and still be competitive and still win games
Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke with the media following practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts on February 21, 2024.
