This will cost J.B. Bickerstaff his job – Cleveland Cavaliers, Cavs News
Cavaliers coach JB bicker staff has a tall task ahead of him his job has been on the line since Cleveland’s disappointing loss in the 2023 NBA playoffs and while he steered the Cavs away from disaster back in December and helped spark the best 18 game stretch in franchise history JB once again finds
Himself on the hot seat and only a successful trip to the playoffs will cool it down for some people a Conference Finals birth is the bar Cleveland needs to clear and no one will feel satisfied if they can’t get out of the first round this year but how far
The Cavaliers go is one thing the way in which JB coaches them down the stretch is an entirely different matter blame will be placed on the players if they fail to perform but JB will be canned before the final buzzer sounds if he doesn’t put them in a position to get the job
Done one of the most pressing concerns that has been on everyone’s mind is the c Cavaliers rotations finding the right buttons to press is basically everything a coach is supposed to do and throughout JB’s tenure in Cleveland fans have questioned if he has the right feel for
Which levers need to be pulled we can look at last season as an example when Jetty Osman played Just 79 total possessions with the core four all throughout the regular season but come playoff time the need for another shooter on the floor was so obvious Jetty was suddenly playing long
Stretches next to the starters nearly matching his time spent with them from the regular season in just five playoff games this lack of lineup continuity no doubt played a factor in their disjointed looking offense and compare this to Lamar Stevens who JB stubbornly tried to slot next to the starters for
More than 300 possessions last season but did not share the floor with them even once in the playoffs the decision to combine Jetty with the rest of the core should have been made months ago because of how clear it was the Cavaliers would need his Force spacing abilities against
Better teams but JB stuck to his plan and was only forced out of it after it was already too late if this sounds familiar it’s because we might be watching the same process all over again George neing has been Untouchable in JB’s rotation nuking lineups and somehow surviving like a cockroach in
Cleveland’s recent loss to the Hawks their defensive rating climbed Sky High to 132 points per 100 possessions when Nang was on the floor in contrast the Cavs held a much better 93 defensive rating in the 22 minutes Nang was on the bench yes this is a small sample size
But a 40 Point difference is absurd and the lineup data for the full season shows a clear Trend the Cavs are the best defense in the NBA when Nang is on the bench but that falters to 17th when Nang takes the court as much as Nang seems like a great guy
It’s easy to see why the defense suffers with him on the floor he’s one of the least mobile players in the NBA and stands little chance on the perimeter and while he has been a somewhat sturdy defender in the paint when officials allow for a more physical game Yang’s
Lack of verticality and more importantly his inability to clean the glass makes him stick out like a sore thumb you can get away with playing the in the regular season but it won’t take long for an opponent to dice him off the floor in the playoffs this already happened last year
With Nang falling entirely out of Philly’s rotation once the postseason began it feels inevitable the Cavs will have to bench Nang once the game starts a matter and it would be maddening if JB didn’t get ahead of the curve this time because a repeat of last year where he
Waited until the playoffs to shuffle up the deck would likely cost him his job so who should the Cavaliers play in the’s place the answer is pretty simple actually Dean Wade has gone from mem worthy to genuinely impactful bench player putting it together on both ends of the floor as a switchable rangy
Defender who can pull three-pointers at a respectable clip Wade has found his confidence from downtown attempting nearly 4 threes a game on 40% shooting when Wade is feeling himself he is easily as impactful on offense as Nang and Cleveland’s defense is in the 97th percentile when Wade is on the floor
It’s is because not only does he have the physical traits of a good Defender standing at 69 with long arms and high athleticism he gets beat off the dribble here but his length allows him to alter the shot anyway but Wade also understands how to play Help defense almost better than
Anyone on the team watch him Sprint from the other side of the floor to stop Maxi and his tracks and force a fade away rather than a layup Wade doesn’t overh help very often often that makes him a massively impactful Defender he follows shade through this play and only leaves him
Once he has a clear chance to strip the ball Wade is also a great rebounder putting Cleveland again in the 97th percentile for defensive rebounding when he is on the floor compare this to Nang who tanks them to the 65th percentile and there just isn’t much of an argument
For playing the Yang ahead of Wade with that settled the other issue at hand is finding a way to squeeze Sam Merill into the rotation this one is slightly more difficult because there isn’t a Nang level player ahead of Merl in the depth chart Max stru Carris lever
And Isaac auro are more than worthy of playing the minutes they have earned and while playing a ninan rotation in the playoffs is really stretching it I think the value Merl brings to the floor is worth it especially when he is alongside Donovan Mitchell this Duo has played
Almost 500 possession s together and registers A+ 15 net rating placing them in the 98th percentile Mitchell’s ability to drive and kick is the perfect Cherry to Merrill’s off ball movement these two play with so much Synergy together that it feels like a crime that Merill has mostly fallen out of the
Rotation whenever Cleveland is at full strength but once the playoffs start you have to find a way to get them paired up together again I’m no NBA head coach and I’m not going to break down the exact minutes distri fustion but I think cracking this code can be really
Simple in the playoffs you are going to have one of Garland or Mitchell on the floor at all times the same goes with Jared Allen and Evan Mobley so anytime that Mobley or Allen is on the bench Dean Wade should be playing the backup four that’s it Wade plays the entirety
Of the backup four minutes maybe you give Tristan Thompson a stint if an energy boost is needed or maybe you desperately turn to Yang if all else is failing but in all other cases it’s got to be Dean Wade as for the backcourt minutes I would split it up like this if Garland
Is on the bench and Mitchell is at point guard Sam Merill is the one playing next to him at the two every single minute Mitchell is on the court without Garland next to him he should be spending it with Sam and in Garland’s case all of his minutes without Mitchell should be
Alongside Carris Levert or Max stru you keep those parent together no matter what and the minutes will distribute themselves lastly if you’re wondering where a quo fits in this process I would just give all of the minutes that Max ruse doesn’t play directly to aoro this
Should net him a healthy 15 to 20 minutes on most nights and of course the onus falls back on JB to decide how much to rely on any of these lineups because if he doesn’t figure it out he’ll be searching for a new job this summer Oh
J.B. Bickerstaff has the impossible task of figuring out Cleveland’s rotation. Only, it might not be so impossible.
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12 Comments
I'd like to add a note:
– You'd have to mix and match some of the backup minutes at SF/PF between Strus, Wade, Okoro and LeVert to get everyone the time they deserve
– But I like the general idea of pairing Mitchell/Merrill and Garland/LeVert. I think those duos make sense and should be used as much as possible
Never has used deep rotations even though he has talented bench, resulting in injuries to starters. At best nepo coaches Bickerstaff and Luke Walton should be in D league.
I don’t think JB is a great coach, but I think our roster build and players in general aren’t anything special. Average/good all around except Mitchell, WHO’s game doesn’t translate to playoff success. Unless we have a competitive second round, going to 6/7 games, bring in a new regime. And get rid of everyone not named Mitchell, Okoro on the roster.
Jbs belief is if his best players are on the court that should translate to the best lineup and thats not how it works .Its about fit. He is either going to adapt and ise what works or hes going to be gone. The problem is if he doesnt get it sorted wtf is availability thats any better ?
Jb better get it together come post season
This take will get hate, but needs to be said. Move Garland and Mobley to the bench. Mitchell is our best PG, Allen our most productive big. One guard, One big, 3 shooters at all times… Do we want to placate feelings, or do we want to win?
Exactly
When the Cavs won 17 out of 18 or Whatever, the mainstays of that group were Ocuro, Wade and Allen. They were holding teams under 100 points. After the celtics game, the pundit sitting next to Shack said that Wade was the highest rated defender in the entire NBA. With him and Ocuro on the Floor at the same time, backed up by rim protecto Allen, opponents are in trouble. Also, Consider the fact that they both are shooting forty percent from the arc. These two need to be starting and finishing each game. In order to do this garland needs to Come off the bench.And maybe mobley too.
If a new coach were to replace j b, He would see the value in Wade and ocuro immediately and they would be starters. Another thing, With mobley and garland coming off the bench, The cavs would have the best bench in the NB.A.
Great pts I never noticed. Jb is ridiculous. I feel like someone else pushes him what to do. He is so worried about hurting garlands feelings.
Analytics are dumb
Wade should start over Mobley and Garland should come off the bench that way we’re always 4 out 1 in
JB NOT GOING NO WHERE YALL STUPID