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DETROIT — On the eve of their final practice before the season opener at Little Caesars Arena, there were no “first day of school” jitters for the Detroit Pistons. Instead, the mood was filled with anticipation and excitement.
“Anytime you have an opportunity to be a part of something new, you look forward to it,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m even more excited because of this group of guys—their character, what they’ve accomplished, and what they’ve endured. We’re eager to get started, especially facing really good teams right away.
“It challenges what you do and puts what we’ve been teaching under pressure. Now it’s about how we respond to that pressure. In the preseason, you don’t have the weight of wins and losses like you do in the regular season, so learning how everyone reacts in those situations will be the fun part for us.”
Wednesday marks the beginning of a new chapter in Bickerstaff’s career. After his unexpected departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, the 45-year-old coach was hired by the Pistons to fill their head coaching vacancy, following the dismissal of Monty Williams after one season.
Now in Detroit, Bickerstaff is tasked with leading another rebuild, taking over a team that finished with a league-worst 14-68 record last season.
As he prepares for opening night, the fanfare of hearing his name called by the PA announcer doesn’t hold much sway at this point in his career. Instead, his focus is on staying present and addressing what his players need.
That said, Bickerstaff is well aware of the Pistons’ PA announcer John Mason’s iconic introductions. He couldn’t help but smirk when asked if he was looking forward to hearing Mason’s spin on his name.
“The introductions here have always been legendary,” Bickerstaff said. “Even as a visiting coach, you’d listen for it, you know what I mean? Just to hear how he was going to do it. And ‘Detroit Basketball’ was obviously something special. So, I’m looking forward to being a part of that because this organization has a storied history, and I’m grateful to be here.”
The Pistons will tip off their season opener against the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena.
Here are a few additional highlights from Bickerstaff’s final media session before the home opener:
Bickerstaff on his comfort level with the team heading into new season compared to the beginning of camp: “That’s tough. Obviously, I’ve got a lot of belief in our guys, but it’s difficult to tell where a team is just through the preseason. Typically, it’s one of those things where you have to make the rounds in the league and play everybody once to kind of see where you fit. So, this is something we’ve got to be extremely patient with; we’re not rushing it.”
Bickerstaff on what has stood out to him the most about Cade Cunningham: “Just watching him play every single day—the small things he’s able to do, how he organizes, how he sees the floor, how he thinks the game. You see him from the outside, but when you’re around him every day, you see how well he sees the game and how easy it comes to him.”
Bickerstaff on getting players to buy into his defensive philosophy: “It comes down to their character and wanting to do what’s right, so it was easy. We didn’t have to press anybody. We just let them know that this is what we were going to do and that it would help us win basketball games, grow, and become a successful team. As soon as they understood the why of it, and we did our best to show them, it was an easy buy-in.”
Bickerstaff on the backcourt fit of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey: “I think they fit well together. That was one of the things we wanted to see early on. They do a good job of playing tit for tat, so one guy doesn’t always have to dominate the ball. It relieves pressure off both of them. It allows them to be secondary ball handlers, so everybody’s not always staring at them to make the play. We can move them around and let them get the ball, but they are dynamic, and I think they complement one another well.”
Bickerstaff on Jalen Duren’s growth during training camp and preseason: “Just his ability to protect the paint and understanding how to use the defensive ‘two-nine.’ For us, our defense is prioritized around how well our big guys protect the paint. So, whatever he has to do to be in the paint, challenge shots, block shots, or deter shots, he’s embraced it and gotten really good at it.”
Bickerstaff on balancing his desire to see improvement and results versus the growing process: “You want your guys to be competitive, and you don’t make it to this level without being a competitor. So, you’re not going to take that from them. But as a coach and being in a leadership position, you have to embrace what’s in front of you. We’re not saying don’t go out and try to win basketball games—our objective is to win as many as we can.
“But we want our guys and everyone to understand that we’re going to fall in love with the process of getting there. This team will get there, but we want to go through the steps. Because what happens in this league, if you skip steps, you pay on the back end. So we’re just not going to skip those steps.”
Bickerstaff on balancing an eager fanbase with a desire to see the Pistons win: “Honestly, I try not to pay attention to it. We know that if we put the team together on the floor and play stylistically how we want to play, the fans will embrace this team. They understand basketball. We want these guys to compete at a high level. We want them to play selfless. We want to play in a way that people can appreciate and respect every single day. We want to dive on the floor, take charges—we want to do the gritty things, the tough-minded things.
“And we know if we play that way, people will embrace us. Then we’ve got to learn how to win basketball games. And I think that’s where people have to be patient and understand that the fourth quarter, and what it takes, is different than the first three and a half quarters. We’ve got to learn and go through those things together. But no matter what happens, the way our guys will play, people will be proud of them.”
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