Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff wasn’t terribly impressed by Joel Embiid’s massive dunk on Jarrett Allen over the weekend. The Cavs head coach offered a short and blunt comment on the play.
"At the end of the day, it's a dunk and who gives a shit?"#Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Joel Embiid's poster on Jarrett Allen.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) February 14, 2022
The dunk came during the Cavaliers’ Saturday loss to Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers, putting an end to a four-game winning streak for the Cavs.
Embiid is in the MVP mix this season. He certainly made a statement against the Cavaliers on Saturday. He posted a triple-double of 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
In reality, the fact that two of his points came in spectacular fashion didn’t change the outcome of the contest. Of course, the Cavaliers being on the wrong side of the final score helps explain why Bickerstaff offered such a salty response.
Embiid has had plenty of other impressive dunks in his career. In addition, Allen has no doubt been on the receiving end of some strong dunks during the course of his NBA career. That’s part of life as an elite defensive big in the NBA.
Allen is just 23 years old. This season, he has shown why the Cavaliers made such a huge financial investment in him back in August. Allen is averaging 16.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season.
Those numbers help explain Bickerstaff’s biting indifference to Allen getting dunked on during a game. Allen has been a key part of the Cavaliers’ resurgence this season, and Bickerstaff knows that supporting one of his top players is paramount to achieving continued success.
