At 46-33, the Cavaliers are 5th in the Eastern Conference with three games left in the regular season. Cleveland has been a top-five team in the East all season long. However, injuries have been a constant battle for the team. That’s led to their record slipping at times. Putting head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on the hot seat.
Last season, Cleveland went 51-31 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Cavaliers have failed to be relevant in the postseason since LeBron James left. Bickerstaff is trying to change that and a lot of riding on his team’s performance in the 2024 playoffs. If the Cavs fizzle out again, Bickerstaff could be fired this offseason. Will the Cavaliers be able to come together as a team and play their best basketball in the postseason?
Will the Cavaliers fire J.B. Bickerstaff if the team doesn’t make it far enough in the playoffs?
Report: J.B. Bickerstaff was almost fired earlier this season, could be coaching for his job in playoffs https://t.co/Ch9V9fI4r5
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 9, 2024
In 2004-05, J.B. Bickerstaff began his coaching career as an assistant for the Charlotte Bobcats. He was an assistant with two other teams and took over as interim head coach for the Rockets in 2015-16. Bickerstaff finally got his big break in 2018-19 and was hired as the head coach of the Grizzlies. However, Bickerstaff lasted just one season as head coach in Memphis. The long-time coach has a history of being a coach on the bench and becoming the interim.
Bickerstaff did that with Houston and Memphis, and that’s how he got his start in Cleveland. Head coach John Beilen resigned in 2019-20 and Bickerstaff took over as interim that season. In late February, the team hired Bickerstaff full-time and he’s been with Cleveland ever since. His best record in the regular season with the Cavs is 2022-23 at 51-31. In four seasons as the full-time head coach, the Cavaliers have made the playoffs one time. They’ll likely make it again this season but how far will they be able to go?
The best thing you could do for the fans is FIRE JB BICKERSTAFF
— #FireJB (@GoatedMobley) April 9, 2024
One league executive told Hoops Wire that Bickerstaff could be fired if the team doesn’t make the Eastern Conference Finals. That seems like a tall task for the Cavs who haven’t made it out of the first round with Bickerstaff as head coach. The team was bounced in five games by the Knicks last season after being one of the top teams in the East. Cleveland needs to perform well this postseason if J.B. Bickerstaff wants to keep his job. How far will the Cavs go in the 2024 playoffs?
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