The Cavs Have Fired JB Bickerstaff After Winning Cleveland's First Playoff Series Since The LeBron Era
We all knew it was coming, so this fake outrage on Twitter right now can chill the fuck out right now. Everyone knows the situation: JB did do a pretty good job in the regular season the past two years, winning 99 games. He also won the first playoff series since LeBron left. And he did it with a horribly injured roster this postseason, losing in a series in which they had a 5% chance to win healthy, 0% chance to win as it was. So why fire him......? Everyone has their panties in a bunch this morning, citing takes like this.
Relax, if you think JB was fired because of the Celtics series, you're a moron. Because first of all, he should've been fired last year. This move is one year too late. Losing to the Knicks, with our more talented roster last year AND home court advantage, in the first round, was unacceptable. And to the people saying he took us deeper this year and we saw improvement, my question to you is how much improvement is it that we beat the Magic in 7 games at home....?
No, if JB wanted to keep his job, he should've fought to get the 2 seed (which we actively tanked in the 4th quarter of the last game to not get) and beaten Philly, beaten the Pacers, and be playing in the ECF right now. And honestly, even with our beat up roster, that was possible. But instead, we chose to win 1 series, which we struggled mightily in, and then be a nice scrimmage series for the Celtics. Anyone that thinks this postseason was a feather in the cap for why the Cavs should keep JB simply doesn't know ball.
Plus, the big thing: the hit piece that dropped 2 seconds after the season ended.
I've blogged my thoughts on this already, but through all of the problems cited in the article, if Donovan Mitchell isn't a fan of JB, then I cannot say keep him. Because priority number one right now needs to be to do whatever it takes to convince Donovan Mitchell to extend with the Cavs. I really don't think we're far off from being a championship contender at all. In fact, I think if we can do these three things, we can win a title NEXT YEAR.
- Convince Donovan Mitchell to extend
- Trade Darius Garland for an elite Wing
- Hire the right Coach
And none of those should even be that hard…..? I personally wouldn't mind Kenny Atkinson or Frank Vogel, although some people are saying maybe we ship Garland to the Lakers and bring home the NBA's next Player / Coach.
Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.