CLEVELAND — J.B. 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 four-plus seasons coaching the Cavaliers, Detroit’s first-year coach wasn’t sure what type of reaction he’d get in his first game back.
“Who knows?” Bickerstaff said with a smile. “My time here, I got a mixed reception. I might get booed. I might get cheered. Who knows?”
Fired following last season despite rebuilding the 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 hung with the Cavaliers before fading in the fourth quarter in a 113-101 loss. Cade Cunningham scored 33 points but matched 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 the turnovers.”
Bickerstaff hasn’t had much time with his new team, but Kenny Atkinson, who replaced him in Cleveland, was impressed by the first look at the Pistons this season.
“They’re a better team,” Atkinson said.
Bickerstaff, who went 170-159 with the Cavs and twice took them to the playoffs, said it was strange riding a bus to the arena instead of driving from his home on Cleveland’s west side.
He joked that he wasn’t overwhelmed by nostalgia when he walked back into a building he knows so well.
“Absolutely nothing,” he said when asked what crossed his mind in his first moments back. “I didn’t recognize these [remodeled] halls back here trying to figure out where to go, but that’s it. I know there is a deal to be made about it.
“But honestly, all we’re trying to do is get together what we have, get better every day and spend your focus there.”
That was Bickerstaff’s mantra during his stay in Cleveland. And while he had his challenges, he took over a young team and made it better in leading the Cavs’ rebuild in the wake of LeBron James‘ departure in 2018.
Bickerstaff got 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 emotionless near half court with his hands in his pockets.
It’s understandable if Bickerstaff wasn’t feeling warm and fuzzy.
After all, he was the one who pulled the Cavs out of a messy situation when coach John Beilein stepped away midway through the 2019-20 season. He also took Cleveland to the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Last year, the Cavs were saddled with injuries all season but advanced past Orlando in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the conference semis, playing the final two games without All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
That wasn’t enough to save his job as the Cavs made a coaching switch a week after the season.
The run was fulfilling, even if it ended sooner than he wanted.
“We did a hell of a job here from where we started when our staff took over to where we finished,” he said. “In any kind of rebuild situation, if you could ask for that to happen, every GM in this league, every owner in this league, every player in this league would sign up for it.
“We got better every year. Every year we went further, so we did the job we were asked to do and I’m proud of that.”