Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff: Playoffs great but not the ultimate goal

CLEVELAND — J.B. Bickerstaff's message to the Cavaliers on Sunday was simple: "Focus on competing as hard as you can." With a 108-91 win over the Houston Rockets, the Cavaliers clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and the first time without LeBron James since 1998, but there was no added pressure or even any extra motivation to win — in fact, it was quite the opposite. "We understand, and hopefully our message has been clear, what we're trying to accomplish and what we're trying to do every single night," Bickerstaff said prior to tip-off Sunday. "There shouldn't need to be any extra motivation to go out and do our job." Especially considering the motivation has been building for a year. After last season's disappointing play-in tournament loss to the Atlanta Hawks — a game that saw Trae Young score 32 of his 38 points in the second half — the Cavs haven't needed to add any more fuel on their fire. Instead, it's been all about taking care of business and not looking too far ahead. "We've got to get there, and that's our focus," Bickerstaff said of the postseason. "Our focus right now is going out and taking care of business and whatever happens when it happens, we'll focus on that and make sure we're prepared for whatever's next." At the very least, what's next for the Cavs is no worse than a sixth seed in the upcoming playoffs. Cleveland is in the No. 4 spot — likely where it will end up when the regular season concludes — and is two and a half games behind Philadelphia at No. 3, four and a half games behind Boston at No. 2 and six and half games behind the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The priorities remain the same, too, no matter if the Cavs had clinched against the Rockets or in one of their six remaining regular-season games, and with the postseason schedule working out in Cleveland's favor, Bickerstaff emphasized the importance of sticking with the brand of basketball that put the team in this position. "Whatever happens, (the playoffs are) still a long way away," Bickerstaff said. "If you look at it, now to the end of the (regular) season is two weeks, and then the play-in (tournament) adds an additional week, so there's three weeks where you have the opportunity to get better. "We're fortunate the way our schedules kind of play out, where we get a lot of rest and a lot of practice days so we can hone in on all the details of our system, preparation, individual personnel, how we want to go at things systematically in the playoffs when we do make it, so there's a lot of time for us to continue to improve." The NBA also increased the number of two-game "series" this season, a model in which two teams play each other in the same arena two games in a row. Essentially unheard of before the coronavirus pandemic, the league added 23 of the series last season and 55 this season. For a team that's tried to take every new opportunity as a learning experience, the series model has given the Cavs a chance to scheme in a way that doesn't typically happen until the playoffs — something Bickerstaff has tried to use to his advantage. "Typically, before this type of scheduling came out from the league, you didn't get those opportunities," he said. "You'd see (teams) maybe two, three, four, whatever games later, but to be able to work on making adjustments, understanding strength and weaknesses of your opponent with the data, prepare and then go back out and try to execute it, I thought it was a great experience for us." The regular season ends April 9 when the Cavs host the Charlotte Hornets, and as the team continues to ready itself for an uncharted, LeBron-less postseason, there's no taking for granted the remaining games left on the schedule. "Being in a position where this opportunity is in front of you and then going out and having to compete and play and earn it, those are things we haven't had in the past, so they're great lessons for us and tests for us," Bickerstaff said. "Every one of these moments is a new experience for our group and it's an experience that you must have to get to where you want to go." Contact Marissa McNees at ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow her on Twitter @MarissaNM.