Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio's "The Starting Lineup" with Brian Scalabrine and Frank Isola on Tuesday and discussed Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic playing through multiple injuries in the NBA Finals.
Bickerstaff — who was fired on May 23 following the Cavaliers' second-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics — said people should give Doncic "credit for the job that he did" under the painful circumstances.
Doncic suffered a chest contusion in Game 1 of the NBA Finals but ended up suiting up for every contest.
"This is a guy that was taking shots in his ribs so that he could go out and play. He was playing through pain, he wasn't complaining (and) he was still playing 40-plus minutes, trying to go out and get it done," Bickerstaff said. "Give him the opportunity to learn from it. 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 a challenge and still performed at a high level. Now, is there room for improvement? Sure, but give the guy his credit for the job that he did."
Perhaps it's no coincidence that Cleveland center Jarrett Allen missed the entire playoff series against the Celtics with a rib injury.
Furthermore, according to a report by The Athletic, some members of the Cavaliers were frustrated that Allen refused an injection to try and numb the pain in his rib and play.
Speculation was rampant on social media following Bickerstaff's comments.
