Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn’t hold back his frustration when the referee missed a goaltending call, something that happens when a defender illegally interferes with a shot that’s ready to go into the basket. Despite the heated situation, Bickerstaff’s team rolled past the Golden State Warriors 115-101 and became the first Eastern Conference team to secure a playoff spot.
Pistons Coach J.B. Bickerstaff Slams Missed Goaltending Call in Win Over Warriors
The Pistons entered the floor on March 20 with a strong 50-19 record as the top team in the Eastern Conference, while the Warriors stepped into the game with a 33-36 record. With legendary Stephen Curry’s injury layoff since Jan. 30 and Jimmy Butler III’s concerning injury, the Dubs were already struggling to find footing when Kristaps Porzingis left the game with lower back soreness.
In Cade Cunningham’s absence due to a collapsed lung, Daniss Jenkins stepped up to lead the Pistons with 22 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds, while Jalen Duren topped the scoreboard with 23 points. Although Detroit faltered with its usual 3-point shooting, 23.1%, it forced 13 turnovers to take the lead at halftime.
More turnovers from the Warriors added points to the opponent’s tally and catapulted them to a historic win. Despite the convincing victory, frustrations boiled over mid-game when Bickerstaff, widely recognized for calling out referees, a defining trait of his coaching persona, slammed the officials for missing a goaltending call. He said:
“Hey official get your crew together… Fu*king terrible.”
READ MORE: Cade Cunningham Risks Missing NBA’s 65-Game Eligibility Criteria After Devastating Injury
Bickerstaff has a long history of clashing with officials, blasting them and arguing on the court when he feels calls are going against his team. In March last year, after a 113-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bickerstaff addressed what he felt was disrespect toward his team, not just the foul that Cade Cunningham suffered.
The latter was ejected late in the third quarter for using profanity toward the officials and received 2 technical fouls. In a postgame conference, the 47-year-old said he was not okay with the disrespect and also pointed out the level of physicality the Oklahoma City team showed.
“[‘I’m] disgusted by the way that game was officiated. The level of disrespect was above and beyond. [The Thunder] have a guy fall down, trip on his own teammate’s foot, they review us for a hostile act. [The Thunder] throw an elbow to our chest, neck area, I ask [the officials] to at least take a look at it, just show us the respect to take a look at it, no one would take a look at it.”
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Bickerstaff called out the crew chief for not being objective after a 116-114 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks. During his tenure as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022, the current Detroit Pistons coach went so far with his public criticism of officials that he was fined $15,000.
The Pistons will go up against the Los Angeles Lakers, who are on an 8-game win streak and seated among the top three in the Western Conference.
