Cavaliers Must Reach This Minimum Playoff Milestone, Or Coach To Be Fired

It's been a rollercoaster season for the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. A number of injuries early and a slow start turned around into a run all the way up to 2nd spot in the East by the beginning of March. They've gone into a bit of a slump, however, and have dropped to fifth spot at 46-33, but still just 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

But without a long playoff run, that simply won't be good enough for head coach JB Bickerstaff to keep his job.

According to Hoops Wire, one NBA executive says if the Cavs don't make it to at least the Conference Finals this season, Bickerstaff will be toast.

J.B. could get fired if the Cavs don’t make it to the conference finals. He was almost fired earlier in the season before the team got its act together. There are people inside that organization who can’t fathom how a team with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland is so poor at scoring the ball.
J.B. is 100% on the hot seat and he knows it.

Bickerstaff has a 168-158 regular-season record in four+ seasons at the helm in Cleveland. After finishing with a strong 51-win season last year, the Cavs went into the playoffs with home court and the No. 4 seed, but they were knocked off in the first round by the New York Knicks. That playoff dud has apparently left a sour taste in team executives' mouths, and they expect more this spring.