Cavaliers fire head coach J.B. Bickerstaff
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[May 24, 2024]
The Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Thursday
after three straight winning seasons.
The Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first
time in six years this season before falling to the Boston Celtics in
five games in an injury-marred series.
Bickerstaff, 45, compiled a record of 170-159 since replacing John
Beilein in February 2020. |
May 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach
J.B. Bickerstaff checks the scoreboard during a timeout in the second
quarter of game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against
the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA
TODAY Sports |
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After going 22-50 in his first full season, the
pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, the Cavaliers improved to
44-38 in 2021-22 and 51-31 in 2022-23 before finishing 48-34
this season.
"J.B. is a well-respected NBA coach and an incredible human
being," president of basketball operations Koby Altman said.
"Over the past four years, he helped establish a culture that
progressively drove players to become the best versions of
themselves. Decisions like these are never easy, particularly
when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under
his leadership."
The Cavaliers earned the East's No. 4 seed this season and
defeated the Orlando Magic in the opening round before falling
to the top-seeded Celtics. All-Star Donovan Mitchell missed the
last two games against the Celtics and center Jarrett Allen
missed the entire series with injuries.
The victory against the Magic was the first playoff series win
for the Cavaliers since LeBron James led them to four straight
NBA Finals appearances from 2015-18.
Bickerstaff previously coached the Houston Rockets (37-34 in
2015-16) and Memphis Grizzlies (48-97 from 2017-19) before
taking over in Cleveland.
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