JB Bickerstaff returns to Cleveland and gets mixed reactions from fans as Detroit coach loses

CLEVELAND (AP) — JB Bickerstaff was prepared for whatever Cleveland fans had in store for him.

He knows them as well as anyone.

Often criticized for his rotations, in-game strategies and blamed for playoff losses during more than four seasons coaching the Cavaliers, Detroit’s first-year coach wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he would get in his first game of return.

“Who knows?” Bickerstaff said with a smile. “My stay here had a mixed reception. They could boo me. It might cheer me up. Who knows?”

Fired after last season despite rebuilding Cavs and leading them to the Eastern Conference semifinals, Bickerstaff returned to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday night as the Pistons played their first road game of the season.

Bickerstaff inherited a team that won just 14 games last season. The Pistons held on to the Cavaliers before fading in the fourth quarter in a 113-101 defeat. Cade Cunningham scored 33 points, but tied a career-high with nine turnovers as Detroit fell to 0-2.

“We’re seeing what he’s capable of and how he can carry a team,” Bickerstaff said of Cunningham. “But we did talk to him about turnovers.”

Bickerstaff hasn’t had much time with his new team, but Kenny Atkinson, who replaced him in Cleveland, was impressed with his first look at the Pistons this season.

“They’re a better team,” Atkinson said.

Bickerstaff, who went 170-159 with the Cavs and took them to the playoffs twice, said it was strange riding the bus to the arena instead of driving from his home on Cleveland’s west side.

He joked that he wasn’t overcome with nostalgia when he returned to a building he knows so well.

“Absolutely nothing,” he said when asked what was going through his mind in his first moments back. “I didn’t recognize these (remodeled) hallways back here trying to figure out where to go, but that’s it. I know that an agreement must be reached on this.

“But honestly, all we’re trying to do is put together what we’ve got, get better every day and focus on it.”

That was Bickerstaff’s mantra during his time in Cleveland. And while he had his challenges, he took over a young team and improved it by leading the Cavs’ rebuild after the departure of LeBron James in 2018.

Bickerstaff had the mixed reaction he anticipated during pregame introductions.

The team saluted him again with a tribute during a timeout in the first quarter, and Bickerstaff stood impassively near midcourt with his hands in his pockets.

Understandably, Bickerstaff didn’t feel warm and fuzzy.

After all, he was the one who got the Cavs out of a tough situation when coach John Beilein retired midway through the 2019-20 season. He also led Cleveland to the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Last year, the Cavs suffered from injuries throughout the season, but beat Orlando in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals, playing the final two games without All-Star Donovan Mitchell.

That wasn’t enough to save his job as the Cavs made a coaching change a week into the season.

The race was satisfying, even if it ended sooner than he wanted.

“We did a great job here from where we started when our staff took over to where we finished,” he said. “In any type of rebuilding situation, if you could ask for that to happen, every general manager in this league, every owner in this league, every player in this league would sign up.

“Every year we improve. Every year we go further, so we did the job that was asked of us and I’m proud of it.”