Cleveland Cavaliers Firing Of J.B. Bickerstaff Sheds Light On NBA Scapegoat Trend

The Cleveland Cavaliers firing of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff sheds light on the fact that head coaching turnover in the league is not surprising anymore.

Mar 27, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday morning, the Cleveland Cavaliers shook the NBA news waves by firing head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. In his four-plus seasons as Cavaliers head coach, Bickerstaff's group went 170-159.

His first full season as head coach is the one that skews the numbers due to a 22-50 record. Since that time, the Cavaliers posted winning records and advanced further in the postseason each of the next three seasons.

In 2021-22, Cleveland went 44-38 and made the NBA Play-In Tournament, where they were ousted by the Atlanta Hawks.

Then in 2022-23, the Cavaliers went 51-31 prior to being outmuscled by the New York Knicks in the 1st Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Finally, this past season, the Cavaliers regular season record took a step back at 48-34 but they did make it one round further in the playoffs. Despite a near-collapse against the Orlando Magic due to struggles on the road in round one, Cleveland advanced past the seven-game series to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the top seed Boston Celtics. Due to the strength of the Celtics and the unavailability of Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell due to injuries, the Cavs bowed out in just five games.

May 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J. B. Bickerstaff talks with guard Donovan Mitchell (45) from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics during game two of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

There had been some rumblings that Bickerstaff was on the hot-seat. The general consensus around Cleveland seemed to be that he would most certainly be fired if the Cavs didn't make it past Orlando. After getting past Orlando and injuries derailing any chance Cleveland had against Boston, I wondered if Bickerstaff would manage to make it back for next season.

Bickerstaff might not be the perfect head coach, yet his team was winning and making it to the playoffs consistently. In a league like the NFL, as long as your team manages to come away with a winning record every year and make the playoffs, regardless of whether you win a game in the postseason, you likely get to keep your job. Mike Tomlin with the Pittsburgh Steelers is an excellent example. In the same timeframe of Bickerstaff being the Cavaliers coach, Tomlin's team has gone 12-4, 9-7-1, 9-8 and 10-7. They made the playoffs three out of those four years, yet have not one a single playoff game, losing in the Wild Card Round each time. Tomlin is talked about as one of the better coaches in the NFL and his job appears pretty secure.

Bickerstaff is certainly not alone in this type of situation as an NBA head coach. Back on May 9th, the Phoenix Suns kicked head coach Frank Vogel to the curb after a first-round sweep against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Vogel led the Suns to a 49-33 record in his first season as their head coach.

Apr 12, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel reacts to a call during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports / Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Lakers' head coach Darvin Ham was fired after leading the team to a 47-35 mark and the Milwaukee Bucks parted ways with Adrian Griffin back in January while the team held a 30-13 record. That was one of the best records in the NBA at the time. Even Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings is rumored to be on the hot-seat after his team went 48-34.

The NBA is such a star driven league and more often than not, it seems like coaches don't get nearly the same credit as coaches do in other sports. Even college basketball coaches appear to get more recognition in the current era. Tom Izzo of Michigan State is widely-regarded as one of the best coaches and deservingly gets a ton of credit. However, his team has not won a Big Ten Championship since 2019. If this were the NBA, he would likely be feeling significant pressure from above, if he even still had a job.

There should be a serious question posed in regards to this league and head coaching gigs. When an individual takes an NBA head coach job, are they truly the head coach or just the organization's scapegoat? Even when a team is winning, if they don't secure a championship trophy, then a piece is going to fall. That piece is almost always the coach.

There is not much of a difference between NBA head coach and scapegoat in the current NBA landscape.