JB Bickerstaff is clearly not scared of any fine.
The Detroit Pistons lost a hard-fought game on Saturday against the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Detroit fell at home 113-107 despite leading at one point by double digits. In a game where Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot nearly as many free throws (10) as the entire Pistons team (13), the Detroit head coach Bickerstaff was fuming after the game.
During his postgame press conference, an irate Bickerstaff brought the theatrics. He slammed the referees for showing “a level of disrespect that was above and beyond” and said that he was “disgusted by the way that the game was officiated.” Bickerstaff added that “the disrespect has gone far enough” and closed out his rant by slamming the table and crumpling up the stat sheet in front of him before tossing it aside.
Here is the full video of Bickerstaff’s rant.
For further context, Pistons star Cade Cunningham was ejected in the third quarter after being assessed two technical fouls by referee Brian Forte. Cunningham’s conversation with Forte, though animated, seemed mostly tame … but still got him two quick Ts and his walking papers.
The Pistons have been one of the best stories in the NBA this year, competing hard every night and sitting at 37-31 on the year after winning just 31 total games over the previous two seasons combined. But the first-year Detroit head coach Bickerstaff has been frustrated with the whistle that his team has gotten all year and was even ejected from a game several weeks ago in a scene which saw him drop multiple F-bombs on the refs.
