Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff may have taken a subtle shot at Cavs big man Jarrett Allen while praising Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic for playing through pain during the 2024 NBA Finals.
Former Cavs coach J. B. Bickerstaff admired how Luka fought thru pain to play in NBA Finals, more specifically that he took “shots in his ribs” to play.
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“This is a guy that was takin’ shots in his ribs so that he could go out and play, right?” Bickerstaff said of Doncic. “He was playin’ through pain. He wasn’t complainin’. He was still playin’ 40-plus minutes, trying to go out and get it done.”
Allen sat out the final eight games of the Cavaliers’ season during the 2024 NBA Playoffs with a rib injury. The 26-year-old drew some criticism for not doing more to try to return to action for such important games, with Marcus Morris saying he would have made sure to be on the court had he been in Allen’s position.
However, with one report indicating that Allen was in “excruciating” pain, he was said to be doing everything possible to suit up. After playing in the first four games of the Cavs’ seven-game series victory against the Orlando Magic in the opening round, Allen did not appear at all in a five-game series loss to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in the second round.
Bickerstaff was fired by the Cavs last month after that elimination, which perhaps has caused some lingering hard feelings from the former head coach toward the big man. In Cleveland’s search for Bickerstaff’s replacement, NBA assistant coaches James Borrego and Kenny Atkinson reportedly are in a “neck and neck” race to land the job.
Allen’s injury absence and reported reluctance to take a pain-killing injection may be adding to speculation that the Cavs could look to deal him away this offseason. A scenario reportedly exists where he could become one of the “most coveted trade targets” in the league, predicated in part on the Cavs being able to agree to new contracts with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
However, there have been indications that the Cavs want to keep their core together.
As for Doncic, he received criticism during the NBA Finals for his play at times, especially on defense. During the Finals, he offered a curious response when asked about his injury status, yet Bickerstaff said he still respected what he was able to do.
“So, give him the opportunity to learn from it,” Bickerstaff said of Doncic. “Now, if something happens multiple times, then I think you have the opportunity to critique. But if a guy in his first chance in the Finals, trying to carry a team — and be honest, his team was outmatched by the Boston Celtics — and still made it the challenge and still performed at a high level. Now, room for improvement, sure. But give the guy credit for the job that he did.”
It seems Bickerstaff may not hold the same feelings toward Allen. Now that the Cavs have parted ways with one of them, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the other this coming offseason.
