According to a recent source, J.B. Bickerstaff, who is presently the head coach of the Detroit
Pistons, was not satisfied with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to remove him following the
Cavaliers’ 2024 NBA Playoff loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round.
Bickerstaff coached the Cavaliers for five seasons, from the 2019-20 season through the 2023-24
campaign. During that time, he led Cleveland to a solid 170-59 regular-season record. The Cavaliers
had three winning seasons with Bickerstaff leading the team from the sidelines, as Cleveland won
44 regular-season games in the 2021-22 season, 51 in the 2022-23 season and 48 in the 2023-24
campaign, his swan song as the squad’s head coach.
But the 45-year-old’s regular-season success coaching the Cavaliers didn’t quite translate into the playoffs. After all, Cleveland won just six of its 17 playoff games with Bickerstaff as head coach and earned just one playoff series victory.
That lone playoff series victory came against the Orlando Magic in the opening round of 2024 NBA Playoffs. Cleveland’s series win didn’t come easy, though, as the series spanned seven games, with the home team winning every contest.
Furthermore, it appeared for a while during the decisive Game 7 that the Cavaliers’ season might end in the first round once more. Cleveland was down by as many as eighteen points in the first half of the game, but over the next two quarters, they played much better offensively and prevailed 106-94.
With 39 points, Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers in scoring. He made 11 of 27 field goals, 2 of 8 3-pointers, and 15 of 17 free throws from the foul line. With fifteen points, Caris LeVert scored the second-most points of any player on the team and made five of his nine free throws from the field.
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