Saturday Slam: The Cleveland Cavaliers are a mess after letting John Beilein go

(Credit: Tony Dejak/Associated Press) 

The big news story of the week in the NBA is the Cleveland Cavaliers parting ways with their head coach John Beilein, who didn't even get a chance to finish year one of his contract. The official report is that Beilein resigned and is being given a new role in the organization. J.B. Bickerstaff has been promoted from assistant coach to head coach. Just so we're clear on that. 

The Beilein era didn't go as the Cavaliers hoped. They went an abysmal 14-40 during his brief stint as head coach and all along the way there were reports of tension and frustration from both the players and Beilein. The nut of it is Beilein took an old-school college approach to the NBA and it backfired in his face. A lot of what players were complaining about is what you would expect a good basketball coach to do: Practice hard, watch a lot of film, etc. 

Unfortunately, that old-school approach works better in college where players aren't getting paid and are not yet in the NBA. Sadly, in the NBA you have a lot of players who act entitled and think they're better than they actually are. Charles Barkley sounded off on this below. 

Now don't get me wrong, NBA players are incredibly gifted athletes and basketball players. That's why they're there. However, that doesn't mean they don't still have to work hard and perfect their craft. It would be one thing if the Cavaliers had a bona fide superstar on their team. Someone who could mentor the younger players like Collin Sexton to make it clear that being in the NBA doesn't mean you stop watching film and practicing hard.

The players that have been complaining about Beilein (e.g. Andre Drummond who just got to Cleveland) haven't accomplished much in their careers in terms of team success. They're great individual talents, but they haven't figured out how to play as a team. That's where a good coach like Beilein is supposed to help.

Ultimately, what's happened in Cleveland rests on the shoulders of their front office. Namely general manager Koby Altman. You can't hire a coach and then not even have him complete his first year. That's embarrassing. You need to send a message to your players that they can't just blame their coach for all their problems. Their job is to play basketball and they need to treat it as such.

In the event that Beilein truly wasn't a good fit and not cut out for the NBA, that also is a bad look for management. If he was as much of a disaster as the players want us to think he was, then that means he was a bad hire and shouldn't have been offered a job in the first place. Given his track record at Michigan, I have a hard time believing he's as bad as they say he is. Even though the NBA game is different, it's still the same sport.

Going forward, the Cavaliers need to do some soul searching as an organization after the way this all went down. Their front office needs to seriously evaluate if they have the right players to right the ship and whether or not Bickerstaff is the man for the job. There are lots of questions that need to be asked by the Cavaliers and they're not easy questions to have to ask yourself. The Cavaliers are a mess right now and it's unclear how they'll get themselves out of it.

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Wednesday Windmill: The Boston Celtics sent a message to the Los Angeles Lakers

On Martin Luther King Day, the Boston Celtics destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers 139-107. It was Kemba Walker's first win against LeBron James (he was 0-28 against James before Monday night) and the most lopsided victory in the regular season series between the two teams since the 1960s. That's kind of mind blowing considering there was a time when the Lakers were really good and the Celtics were trash. Anyone remember the Rick Pitino Celtics years?

Anyways, Pitino is in Greece coaching Panathinaikos, so I don't need to write more about him. What I want to write about is the statement win the Celtics had on MLK Day. Was it a statement win? If you ask me, it most certainly was. Jaylen Brown's dunk on LeBron James (click here to check that out) was absolutely FILTHY. And I'm not just saying that because he went to Cal. That alone made it a statement win along with the fact that it was a 32 point win.

#Celtics SF Jaylen Brown threw it down on LeBron James on #MLKDay... https://t.co/ta1OhgbLHy #NBA

— NBA Lord (@nba_lord) January 22, 2020

Of course, this is just one game and the Celtics need to make sure this game isn't just a one-hit wonder for them. They need to make sure they can build off this win and become more of a force in the Eastern Conference. At the moment, they are 28-14, which is 4th in the East and 9.5 games back of the top seeded Milwaukee Bucks. They definitely have their work cut out for them. Still, you gotta start somewhere. If you're trying to establish yourself as a legit contender, blowing out the top team in the West isn't a bad place to start.

Looking at the big picture for a moment, what remains to be seen is if the Celtics will stand pat at the trade deadline or if they'll make a move. Their front court is a bit iffy, so perhaps they'll move one of their guards to shore up their front court. I know the Pistons are open to moving Andre Drummond. Maybe the Celtics will explore that option.

Ultimately, this win will either be the start of something great for the Celtics or it will just be one win that doesn't have much bearing on the rest of the season. Personally, I'm gonna roll the dice a bit and say that this win propels the Celtics to bigger and better things. I'm not saying they win the East, but after what we saw, I don't see why they can't be in the conference finals.

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Wednesday Windmill: Are the Detroit Pistons now for real after landing Blake Griffin?

                                          (Ryan Garza. Detroit Free Press) 

On Tuesday, I provided analysis of the Blake Griffin trade from the perspective of the Los Angeles Clippers. Today I want to do the same thing from the perspective of the Detroit Pistons. For details on the trade itself, I went through that on Tuesday as well. Click here for that in case you missed it.

At the moment, the Pistons are 23-26 and 1.5 games back of the 8th seeded 76ers in the Eastern Conference standings. By adding Blake Griffin, who is averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 7.9 rebounds, the Pistons have now put themselves in the drivers seat to take the 8th seed and possibly move up as high as 4th or 5th. However, this move is much more about the future as opposed to making a late playoff push. The Pistons made this move to compete for championships in the future.

I've always been a big fan of Blake Griffin and believed in his abilities. His combination of skill and charisma make him the perfect face for any NBA franchise. Especially a team with a lot of history like the Pistons. By having a franchise player, the Pistons finally have an identity and something to get them excited about for the future. Griffin won't hit unrestricted free agency until the summer of 2022, so they have some time to put the right pieces around him. What helps is that they already have a really good big man to pair with Griffin in Andre Drummond, who has been named as John Wall's replacement in the All-Star Game. Drummond is averaging 14.8 points and 15.3 rebounds per game, making him one of the most dominant inside presences in the NBA. Together, Griffin and Drummond should form one of the most dynamic frontcourts in the NBA.

What remains to be seen is what the ceiling is of this Pistons team. Can they compete for a championship in the coming years? Are they a real threat to challenge the Celtics? Provided they make more good moves, I don't see why not. As you know, I thought the Clippers could have built a really competitive team around Griffin in the coming seasons, so I have no reason to doubt that the Pistons can do the same. Especially since they are in a weaker conference.

While the Pistons still have more work to do to get where they want to get to, landing Blake Griffin is a huge first step for them. What's scary is that Griffin isn't done getting better. He keeps adding more tools to his kit every year, so he's definitely not over the hump. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure if he's hit his ceiling yet. The Pistons struck gold with this trade and should become a major force in the Eastern Conference over the coming seasons. Goodbye Lob City, hello Motor City.

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