BOSTON — After Cleveland noticed its season finish in a 113-98 loss to the Boston Celtics in Sport 5 of the Jap Convention semifinals Wednesday evening, Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff mentioned he needs to proceed being the group’s head coach.
“Yeah,” Bickerstaff mentioned when requested that in his postgame information convention. “We have now continued to construct this factor the precise approach. Each single 12 months we have improved, continued to get higher, play-in, playoffs, win a spherical … gamers have gotten higher. Guys have had nice years.
“That is undoubtedly a spot I wish to be.”
When Bickerstaff was later requested if it was a spot he expects to be, he laughed and mentioned, “I imply, nobody’s informed me I am not.
“So, I am going to hold exhibiting up ’til they inform me to not.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, citing sources, reported Wednesday that the Cavaliers plan to take time to guage Bickerstaff’s future, however the group stays keen on him. Bickerstaff has been the pinnacle coach in Cleveland for four-plus seasons, having led the franchise to back-to-back playoff berths, together with successful a first-round collection towards the Orlando Magic in these playoffs — a feat the franchise hadn’t performed since 2018, and hadn’t performed with out LeBron James on the roster since 1993.
However Bickerstaff’s future is much from the one query surrounding the Cavaliers as they head into the offseason. The larger query is what the long run will maintain for Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell, who sat out Sport 5 with a left calf pressure, the identical harm that saved him out of Sport 4.
Mitchell, who was acquired by the Cavaliers 18 months in the past for a bundle of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and a number of other future first-round picks, has had back-to-back All-Star seasons in Cleveland, and was spectacular in these playoffs earlier than getting injured. He grew to become the second Cavalier ever — together with James — to attain not less than 25 factors in six consecutive playoff video games.
Now, he has to determine whether or not he needs to decide to Cleveland shifting ahead, as he has one 12 months left on his contract earlier than a participant possibility for the 2025-26 season.
Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Mitchell may signal a four-year, $208 million extension with the Cavaliers.
As a result of Mitchell did not play, he did not communicate to the media Wednesday evening.
When requested in regards to the scenario the Cavaliers have constructed round Mitchell, Bickerstaff mentioned there’s lots that ought to be engaging for somebody like Mitchell as he decides what he needs to do.
“We have got a superb group,” Bickerstaff mentioned. “We have got good particular person gamers, we’ve high-character gamers which can be involved about successful. And anytime you’ve that, you are gonna give your self a chance.
“I’d like to see what we seem like once we’re complete for a complete season, what strain we will placed on the league from that standpoint. However we have a superb basketball group, guys who wish to win and guys who wish to get higher.”
Well being was not solely a problem within the playoffs for Cleveland, with Mitchell lacking the ultimate two video games of the Cavaliers’ run and beginning middle Jarrett Allen lacking the ultimate eight with a bruised rib. Through the common season, Cleveland’s core 4 gamers — Mitchell, Allen, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley — performed solely 28 video games collectively, and outscored opponents by solely 2.2 factors per 100 possessions within the 392 minutes they shared the court docket.
The match at instances between each Mitchell and Garland within the backcourt and, notably, Mobley and Allen — two non-shooting huge males — within the frontcourt was clunky. Mobley, nevertheless, had a powerful collection with Allen sidelined, together with a 33-point efficiency in Sport 5 on 15-for-24 capturing. Garland adopted with a 30-point outing in Sport 4 by going 4-for-17, and ending with 11 factors and 9 assists in Sport 5 as James and their shared agent, Wealthy Paul, sat courtside.
The season had held loads of promise, however the Cavaliers could not appear to get on the identical web page, with Bickerstaff and a number of other gamers, together with Max Strus, admitting the group battled by means of loads of adversity.
Now Cleveland heads into the offseason with out readability on what it is future will seem like, and with some very vital inquiries to reply about its general route — together with the futures of its head coach and star participant.
“We take a leap yearly, so hopefully subsequent 12 months we take one other leap,” Garland mentioned. “Hopefully we’ll be within the Jap Convention finals totally wholesome and simply take one other leap. Positively got here a good distance from once I was drafted. I went from 19 wins to being within the semifinals of the convention, so I am going to take it, simply to maintain getting higher and higher yearly.”
