Did Cavaliers shade former coach JB Bickerstaff after big win over Thunder?

Dec 6, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J. B. Bickerstaff reacts in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers might not have a lot of love for their old coach.

The Cavs got a big-time victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in a possible Finals preview. Cleveland won 129-122 to snap Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak and extend their own winning streak to 11 games.

Speaking with reporters afterwards, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson made some rather interesting comments.

“The players said in the locker room that we wouldn’t win this game last year,” said Atkinson, per Cavs writer Evan Dammarell. “That says a lot about their growth and maturity.”

As Atkinson alluded to, that could have a testament by the players to their natural year-over-year growth and progression as a team. But it is hard not to read that as a subtle swipe at former Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff. It is especially so when you consider the fact that all 10 players who played in the game for the Cavs on Wednesday (Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Ty Jerome, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Max Strus, and Georges Niang) were all already on the roster last season.

The 45-year-old Bickerstaff coached the Cavs for four seasons and change but had a mediocre overall record of 170-159 (.517) and only managed one playoff series victory throughout his entire tenure. Bickerstaff also lacked offensive creativity in Cleveland and was widely rumored to have a rift with the Cavs star Mitchell.

Meanwhile, Atkinson, who took over last year after Bickerstaff was fired, deserves a lot of credit for unlocking the team’s potential. Under Atkinson, the Cavs have the best record in the NBA at 32-4 and have jumped from No. 17 in offensive efficiency last year all the way up to No. 1 this year (while also maintaining their No. 6 rank in defensive efficiency from last year).

On the bright side for Bickerstaff though, he has since taken over as head coach of the Detroit Pistons and has already led the team to more wins this season through 37 games (19) than they had in all of last season (14). At this point, it looks like both sides may have won the break-up here.