JB Bickerstaff fires back at critics calling Pistons goons

The Detroit Pistons remain at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 40-13 record, anchored by the stellar play of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, with the supporting cast providing consistent contributions.

The Pistons exude toughness on both ends of the court, with some claiming that they are reminiscent of the team’s “Bad Boy” era from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Others, however, are not happy with the Pistons, saying they are too rough and too physical.

Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff, however, begged to differ, as he noted in an appearance on Road Trippin’.

“People have been talking about, and limiting what our guys’ basketball capabilities are, and calling them just like rough house and goons and those types of things,” said Bickerstaff.

“Our guys get grabbed, held, and wrestled. You go back and watch us every single night and watch the things that happen, and it’s physical, right? We dish out as much as we take, but we don’t cross the line, okay? That’s what I want everybody to be aware of. Our guys go out and impact winning basketball games through their physicality and through the toughness of it all.”

Recently, the NBA suspended Duren for four games and Isaiah Stewart for seven games for fighting with the Charlotte Hornets. It was not the first time that Duren and Stewart were involved in an altercation.

Bickerstaff, who joined the team in 2024, acknowledged that while they are trying to emulate the “Bad Boy” era of the Pistons, they are not trying to deliberately hurt anybody. He stressed that they are simply playing hard for the fans because that is what’s expected of them.

“They love that style of play, that grittiness, that toughness, you know, the ability to not back down from anybody, to play a selfless brand of basketball, and do things that are extremely difficult every night,” added Bickerstaff.

Detroit will return to action on Thursday versus the New York Knicks.