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Is J.B. Bickerstaff about to get hosed in the Coach of the Year voting?

By Chad Porto

Jun 24, 2022; Independence, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman, left, and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, right, pose with first round draft pick Ochai Agbaji during a press conference introducing the first two draft picks of the Cavaliers at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2022; Independence, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman, left, and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, right, pose with first round draft pick Ochai Agbaji during a press conference introducing the first two draft picks of the Cavaliers at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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A former Cleveland Cavaliers coach snatches an award from J.B. Bickerstaff

National Basketball Coaches Association has announced former Cleveland Cavaliers coach and current Sacramento Kings coach, Mike Brown, as the coach of the year. Brown defeated a host of coaches, including current Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who many, myself included, expected to contend for the award this year.

According to ESPN, the majority of the vote-getters outside of Brown were Milwaukee Bucks’ Mike Budenholzer, Oklahoma City Thunders’ Mark Daigneault, Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, and New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau, with Bickerstaff apparently not making the cut.

It should be noted that the NBCA allows only head coaches to vote for the Coach of the Year, and they can’t vote for themselves, so this may be a sign of how the official NBA Coach of the Year Award goes as well. But it may not.

Brown’s victory apparently ended a back-to-back win from the Phoenix Sun’s Monty Williams.

"“We have an incredible group of head coaches in the NBA, all of whom deserve to be recognized for their leadership as they execute their craft at the highest level every day. This award is incredibly special in my first year with the Kings. It is a reflection of the caliber of men that Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox have assembled and who I have absolutely loved coaching."

Thibodeau and Williams won the last two NBA Coach of the Year Awards.

J.B. Bickerstaff has earned the award

From having to develop Evan Mobley to figuring out a sustainable bench situation and incorporating Donovan Mitchell into the offense next to Darius Garland, Bickerstaff has had a tough set of challenges this season.

He’s overcome all of them. Sure, the Bench isn’t great, but it’s not terrible. It can get the job done going forward, we hope. The Mitchell and Garland pairing is great for the team offensively and the way Mobley and Jarrett Allen play next to one another makes the Cavs’ defense among the greatest in the league and one of the best the franchise has ever seen.

That’s all worthy of winning an award, in my opinion.

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