Cavaliers' Budding Star Fires Blunt Shot at Former Coach

One of the Cleveland Cavaliers' rising stars has taken a rather clear shot at former coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Matthew Schmidt | Feb 24, 2025

Feb 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Delon Wright (0) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are now 47-10 this season, which is in stark contrast compared to last year when they won 48 games in total.

The funny thing is, not a whole lot has changed for the Cavaliers this year. They didn't make any major moves over the summer, and it wasn't until the trade deadline that they decided to reshape their roster a bit by swinging a deal for De'Andre Hunter.

So, what exactly is different? Well, Cleveland did fire J.B. Bickerstaff after last season's second-round playoff exit, replacing him with Kenny Atkinson.

Recently, breakout guard Ty Jerome explained what is making the Cavaliers tick this year, and he made it clear that the coaching change has been the primary reason for the upswing.

“A few things,” Jerome said about what's different this season. “We got a new coaching staff, and that’s helped tremendously. And yeah, that’s the biggest thing.”

The Cavs Players hated JB Bickerstaff LMAOOO pic.twitter.com/3ZwdnlPcuh
— ‘ (@GroomedByCavs) February 22, 2025

Yeah. That's definitely a blunt shot at Bickerstaff, who evidently was not all that well-liked by the players last season. And remember: Jerome only played two games for Cleveland last year.

The 27-year-old has significantly elevated his game during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 11.7 points, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals over 19.2 minutes per game on 52.1/43.7/87.9 shooting splits.

Jerome is far from the only Cavs player who has improved this season, either, as stars like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have increased their level of productivity tremendously.

We'll see if Atkinson and the new staff can continue to lead the Cavaliers right through the playoffs.

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