After an incredible performance throughout the 2022-23 NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were expected to be a force to be reckoned with during the playoffs, regardless of their opponent.
Ultimately, the Cavaliers were labeled the favorite to come out on top against the New York Knicks in the first round of the postseason, with Cleveland being the higher seed and having arguably the best roster in the talent department.
Unfortunately, the Knicks proved a formidable opponent and made easy work for the up-and-coming Cavaliers by winning the series in five games.
Now the attention has turned to J.B. Bickerstaff and if he’s the right man for the job to lead this young team to success in Cleveland, but team president Koby Altman appears to have faith in Bickerstaff moving forward via Spencer Davies.
#Cavs president Koby Altman backs J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach: “You can’t fluke your way into 51 wins. You can’t fluke your way into the No. 1 Defensive Rating in the NBA.”
Altman has heard nothing about J.B.’s job being in jeopardy on the outside “and certainly not from me.” pic.twitter.com/62IhEYZhpp
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) April 28, 2023
With the Cavaliers falling incredibly short of expectations in the playoffs and many questions swirling about decisions Bickerstaff made against the Knicks, it is no surprise that his job status has come into question heading into the offseason.
Two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenhozer of the Milwaukee Bucks is getting a lot of heat for his team falling embarrassingly short in the first round to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat.
It’s no easy task to be a head coach in the NBA or any professional sport in this country for that matter, so criticism for failed expectations is bound to happen, but it may not be a job killer for Bickerstaff if Altiman and company still have faith in him.
NEXT: Donovan Mitchell Comments On His First Year In Cleveland