Detroit Pistons Coach Drawing Inspiration From Previous Title Teams

This offseason, the Detroit Pistons decided to make a change at head coach. Monty Williams was dismissed after finishing with the league’s worst record, and Trajan Langdon brought on J.B. Bickerstaff as his replacement.

Earlier this week, Bickerstaff joined Richard Jefferson on his Road Trippin podcast to discuss an array of topics. As expected, most of the conversation was steered towards his new opportunity in Detroit.

When talking about his expectations for the Pistons in year one, Bickerstaff harped on building an identity for people to resonate with. He also touched on how he’s already started drawing inspiration from some of the franchise’s most successful teams.

“When you guys turn on the TV, I want you to be able to see oh that’s Detroit Pistons basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s a style that we want to play…The old Bad Boys teams that so many people loved and admired. The Rip, Chauncey, Rasheed, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Pistons team. Really going back and studying those teams. Those teams were elite defensively, they were blue collar.”

In just his first few weeks on the job, Bickerstaff seems to have already done a steep amount of homework on the franchise. Seeing that the teams he mentioned won three championships between them, he has found a good source of inspiration.

With the current core, Bickerstaff is smart to try and build a defensive identity. For starters, the roster has a pair of super athletic wings who pride themselves on that end in Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland. Detroit also had two physical frontcourt presences as well with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. If this group as whole brand themselves on defense, the Pistons could certainly take a big step forward under Bickerstaff’s guidance.