J.B. Bickerstaff’s job is on the line now that Kevin Love is no longer with the Cleveland Cavaliers

J.B. Bickerstaff has a lot to prove to the Cleveland Cavaliers

I like J.B. Bickerstaff. I like his philosophy, his defensive system, and his knowledge of the game of basketball. I liked the hiring and I’ve liked the results of his coaching with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That said, being a good head coach isn’t just X’s and O’s, its knowing how to get the most out of your team, and avoiding making big mistakes. Some believe that benching and then releasing Kevin Love was a mistake.

Well, we’re going to find out real fast. Not only are we going to find out, but with the bench being in a pretty pathetic state over the last few weeks, if the Cavs can’t improve the bench play, or worse, get eliminated in the playoffs due to it, Bickerstaff could be fired.

If Love goes to Miami, starts dropping 13 points and seven rebounds per game for them, and the Heat outlast the Cavs, or the Cavs get drubbed and eliminated early in the playoffs, there will be some, rightfully, calling for Bickerstaff’s job.

Love was an offensive asset, and the fourth highest-rated player on the team offensively this year according to his box plus-minus. If the Cavs struggle in the playoffs to score, while Love returns to form, then Bickerstaff’s roster management skills will have been exposed for being suspect.

J.B. Bickerstaff has had rotation issues all season for the Cleveland Cavaliers

When you look at the Cavs’ rotation all year, the misuse of Love and Cedi Osman, and the overuse of Caris LeVert (and the subsequent decision to not trade him) all jump out as negatives against Bickerstaff.

LeVert is 9th on the team with a -1.9 OBPM. Now, you can say, “but Chad, his defense” and I’d finish with “is ass”. LeVer is 12th on the team in defensive box plus-minus. Only Robin Lopez, Danny Green, and Darius Garland have a lower one.

So not only is LeVert not producing offensively, he’s the worst full-time defensive player the Cavs have. Sure, he’s still a net positive on defense, but so many others are better than him. Including Love (+0.6).

LeVert is a problem and needed to get moved but for some reason the team severely overvalued him. And while overvaluing LeVert, they may have undervalued Love.

If the Cavs can’t muster some offense off the bench in the playoffs and get bounced, Bickerstaff will be at fault. He’s the one who made the call to play LeVert more and Osman and Love less. If you don’t know who on your team you can rely on, then you really shouldn’t be a head coach.

If Bickerstaff manages to fix the issues on the bench, and the team goes deep into the playoffs, then he’ll have made the right call. But I have no reason to believe that’s going to happen when we have 61 games saying the exact opposite.