Not a lot of NBA players and coaches were a fan of the point differential rule that became a major talking point of the NBA In-Season Tournament. That is not the case for Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff. After the Cavs took down the Atlanta Hawks thanks to a 40-point explosion from Donovan Mitchell for their final In-Season Tournament game, Bickerstaff offered a rather refreshing take on the controversial rule.
“We’ve got guys back there with their iPads out, keeping tallies on the score, trying to tell us what we needed and where we needed to go,” Bickerstaff explained, via Cleveland.com. “That’s the sole reason why we left our guys out there at the end of the game, was to try to get as many points as we can and build the lead as large as we could. I am a very traditional NBA guy, but this is fun and it’s awesome for the league.”
New York Knicks forward Josh Hart and Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown have admitted they find the ruling “weird” because it ruins the integrity of the game. NBA players are accustomed to just dribbling the ball out in the dying seconds of a game that is all but over. Moreover, coaches also take out their star players and starters during blowouts.
But given the point differential ruling, teams, just like the Cavs did against the Hawks, have kept their starters in and continued to pad on to their lead.
Unfortunately, Cleveland’s efforts didn’t amount to anything as it failed to advance to the Knockout stage of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
The Knicks wound up securing the last wildcard spot in the East with a point differential of 42.