Head coach JB Bickerstaff knows that the expectations for his Cleveland Cavaliers skyrocketed the instant they pulled the trigger on the Donovan Mitchell trade. A young, upstart group that surprised the league last season with a 44-38 finish, the Cavs are now viewed as one of the more serious contenders in the entire association.
However, Bickerstaff knows the road ahead isn’t easy, and as such, he wants to establish a level of consistent effort and energy for the Cavs to reach their goals for this season. Alas, the Cavs did not meet that level during the first half of their 103-92 win on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, and Bickerstaff was pissed.
In fact, Bickerstaff was so frustrated with his team’s display that, despite leading by four at the half, he used some colorful language to light a fire underneath his players.
“I can’t repeat it. My mom will wash my mouth out with soap,” Bickerstaff said when asked to reveal what he said, per Cleveland.com.
In fact, the rant was filled with so many expletives that Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were surprised with just how impassioned JB Bickerstaff’s rant was.
“[Coach Bickerstaff cursed] a lot. I couldn’t tell you how many,” Mobley said. “He kinda lit us up.
“All I’ll say is you see how animated J.B. is during the game, just multiply that by three,” Allen echoed Mobley’s sentiments.
Nonetheless, the young Cavs know that JB Bickerstaff’s pleas only come from a position of wanting his guys to succeed at the highest level. Dean Wade and Allen acknowledged that importance of being on the receiving end of Bickerstaff’s fiery motivational tactics.
“We weren’t playing up to our standards and he let us know. He was pretty fired up. We needed it. Was a pretty good way to get us hyped for the second half,” Wade said.
“We deserved it. […] It got us going,” Allen added.
Bickerstaff elaborated further on the little things he wants his Cavs to nail moving forward as they try to establish themselves atop the Eastern Conference.
“Defensively, I didn’t like the way we were competing. Things were too easy. I thought we were trying to do too much offensively instead of taking the play that was in front of us. I just didn’t like our attention to detail. So, all of it,” Bickerstaff said.
Cavs fans will see whether the motivation sparked by JB Bickerstaff carries over to their next game against the Boston Celtics on Friday night.