The Pistons have already won more games this season than they did in their last two seasons combined. They have witnessed a miraculous comeback, something that seemed almost impossible. Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson, who have become the offensive and defensive pillars for the team, get a lot of credit for this turnaround. But the man who truly deserves all the praise for pulling of this miracle is JB Bickerstaff, their head coach.
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He has completely altered the franchise’s ideology and approach since Monty Williams’ departure. Bickerstaff believes in playing hard. The game he has shown Detroit fans is almost an ode to their history. This is the city which saw some of the baddest, meanest players in the game and the current head coach clearly wants to bring that back.
It’s his fiery passion that is capable of leading such a pack of fierce competitors. He isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade. Which is exactly what he did today when his team faced the brunt of what was undeniably bad officiating.
Everything that went down at the end of the 3rd quarter was frankly baffling. Jaylin Williams was given two free throws and whether it was fair or not remains contentious. However, Cade Cunningham certainly did not deserve to be ejected in the immediate aftermath.
Bickerstaff, during his post-game press conference, addressed the instance and deemed it disrespectful. He continued, “They have a guy fall down and trip on his own teammate’s foot. They review us for a hostile act.”
JB Bickerstaff did not hold back at all….here are his thoughts on the officiating from tonight’s game…watch the whole thing #Pistons pic.twitter.com/kFw75E1oxQ
— Eric Vincent (@IAmEricVincent) March 16, 2025
He pointed out the positive impact the Pistons have had on the league this year and how it deserves respect. “Our young players are competing their tails off. The least that they could do is get the same respect that everybody else in this league gets and get refereed the same way.”
The former Cavaliers coach then slammed his fist on the table multiple times in frustration. He also crumpled up what seemed to be the box score sheet and threw it right on the table before storming off.
Fans believe this will definitely get him fined. However, they also believe Bickerstaff shouldn’t be worried by the fan and continue to support his team in the same manner.
One fan wrote, “He will get fined but the hell with the fine! Refs were awful in that game.” In all fairness, this is a justified reaction from a fan. The doubt that your team lost not because the opponents were stronger, but because the officiating was biased is a tough pill to swallow.
Another fan urged Bickerstaff to maintain his passion for the team. On a lighter note, the same fan also showed eagerness to pay off the fine instead of the coach.
Pistons vs OKC Referee justifies his call
Brian Forte, who refereed the game, spoke to a reporter after the match ended and revealed what went down. He claimed Cunningham threw a profanity-laced tirade at him.
Forte claimed, “Cunningham was given his first technical foul for disrespectfully addressing an official with profanity. After the free throw for the first technical was shot, Cade continued to use profanity towards the official and received his second technical foul and was ejected.”
He also clarified the reason Dennis Schroder received a tech. Forte revealed, “Schröder was given a technical foul for continuous complaining after Detroit was given a team warning in the second period.”
A heated exchange on the court is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean it is okay to use such hard language with an official. That being said, the referees also need to have a more open conversation with the players instead of handing out techs like candy on Halloween.
