Detroit, MI

Detroit Pistons revel in moment after clinching playoffs: ‘It’s a big deal’

Published

11 months ago

April 5, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Pistons revel in moment after clinching playoffs: ‘It’s a big deal’

The Pistons’ success can be attributed to their strong defense and team chemistry.
This season marks a significant turnaround for the Pistons, who had a franchise-worst 14 wins last season.
Key players like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren have contributed to the team’s success.

TORONTO — All season, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Detroit Pistons have taken a game-by-game approach. They have stacked milestone win after milestone win amid one of the best rebuilding seasons in NBA history, and haven’t taken much time to acknowledge it.

The celebrations, for the most part, have been muted.

“Our guys are focused on night in and night out,” Bickerstaff said on March 28, after his team snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Cleveland Cavaliers to clinch the franchise’s first winning record since 2015-16. It has been a common refrain for him, whenever he’s been asked about the team’s success: “I did not know that was a thing. I don’t know if our guys did or not. Our guys just focus on the task at hand and that’s where we’ve been able to find consistency.”

Friday was different, though. The Pistons (43-34) pulled off their most significant regular-season win in nearly two decades, clinching a top-six playoff seed for the first time since 2008 with a 117-105 road win over the Toronto Raptors.

The magnitude of this moment almost defies description. Last season, the Pistons had a franchise-worst 14 wins, suffered an NBA-record 28-game losing streak and seemingly suffered from an incurable sense of low morale and an unclear vision of when, and how, the team would get back-on-track.

There was no denying it after Friday’s victory, though — it’s an amazing, surreal, accomplishment, and one they took a moment to relish with only five games remaining in the season.

“It’s a big deal for the group,” Bickerstaff said. “I’ll be honest with you. We typically don’t take time to reflect on where we are, but this is an opportunity for this group to reflect on where it is, where it’s come from and what they’ve been able to accomplish together. To turn it around the way that they have, to put themselves in this position to play in the postseason, it’s a big deal.

“Whatever it is that we’ve asked them to do, they just go out there and try to get it done. Finding the consistency, the belief in one another. It’s a big deal for this group for sure.”

This is, perhaps, the Pistons team that has embraced the franchise’s blue-collar attitude in recent memory. Their strong chemistry has been evident since early in the season. They’ve become devoted to physical play. Since Jan. 1, they’ve been a top-three defensive team. All the core tenants of every great Pistons team has been present in this group.

They have a long road ahead to live up to the Bad Boys and Goin’ To Work eras, though.

And they know it, as Jalen Duren said after Friday’s win.

“It’s just grit,” he said. “We say grit all the time, we say togetherness, we’ve got a lot of key words that built our culture from day one that we say every time we break the huddle. I feel like we just locked in on those and got us to this point. We’re not done yet. We’re going to take a moment to enjoy what we accomplished, but it’s so many milestones and the real goal is obviously to bring a championship back to the city. It’s a milestone. First step.”

Malik Beasley called this group’s potential early in the season. After they fell to 0-3 with a loss to the Boston Celtics on Oct. 26, the well-traveled guard, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason, said the team was “right there” as far as figuring out how to consistently win games.

The season began to turn around in December. After falling to 11-17 in mid-December, the Pistons won three consecutive road games out west (over the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings). They went on to win eight of nine, and 10 of 12, to pull two games above .500 (21-19) with a road win over the New York Knicks.

Beasley and the team’s other veterans — Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Paul Reed — have given this team a higher floor. Cade Cunningham’s leap to superstardom, along with Bickerstaff’s Coach of the Year-caliber work and improvements from the rest of the young core, have enabled this group to surpass all expectations.

“I’ve been on lots of teams on both ends of the spectrum,” Beasley said on Oct. 26. “Championship teams, growing and building teams. My main role is to show the guys every day that if we got the win tonight, it matters but we’ve got a lot of work to do. Rome wasn’t built in one day. I just look to continue to keep building.

“It might seem like we’re 0-3, but I feel like we’re right there. I’m not just saying that because I’m here. I’ve been through struggles in the NBA, and we’re right there. The chemistry is really good, the camaraderie is really good, we still have a lot of energy.”

The Pistons are playoff-bound. The goal posts will now shift toward winning a championship — the ultimate goal of any franchise. It no longer seems like a pipe dream.

“Coach has done a great job with us,” Beasley said Friday. “For some reason, whatever happened in Cleveland, we’re thankful for that because it gave him an opportunity to help us out. Everything happens for a reason. I could’ve signed back in Milwaukee, Tim did it in Dallas. Everything happens for a reason.

“It’s given me vibes of like an OKC, Cleveland team. The NBA is turning back to full teams. We’ve got one superstar on our team. That’s the type of basketball that we love and have each other’s back, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify).

Stay tuned all year long at freep.com/sports/pistons.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit ‘Sloppy Chops’ restaurateur\u00a0killed: What to know

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

$Detroit ‘Sloppy Chops’ restaurateur\u00a0killed: What to know$

Mourning continued and no suspects were in custody a week after the fatal shooting of Detroit restaurateur and nightlife figure Mikey “Mike B” Brown at the end of February.

Brown was the beloved figure behind the “Sloppy” brand of restaurants, and remembrances have been rolling in online since his death.

Here’s what to know:

Shooting outside cocktail bar

“Mike B” Brown, 51, and two others were shot about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 28 in the area of 15789 Schaefer, police previously said.

The two others were found in front of the location, and Brown was found across the street, police said.

Police have asked those with information on the shooting to come forward.

There were no suspects in custody and no further updates in the case as of Monday, March 9, according to a statement from the Detroit Police Department.

Updates on the conditions of the two other individuals shot were also not provided.

Who was Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?

Brown was a husband, a father of five and a restaurateur.

He opened Sloppy Chops Restaurant, a steakhouse, in 2020 on West McNichols off the Lodge Freeway and later opened a seafood restaurant called Sloppy Crab, which was renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. Brown previously had two clubs, as well.

His downtown dining spot served as an answer to questions on offerings for Black diners in the city’s renaissance. His other “Sloppy” location showcased successful reach beyond downtown and into the city’s neighborhoods. Brown was also a cultural figure in not only the world of dining, but in the nightlife, the Free Press reported.

When are funeral services for Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown?

A family hour was set for 9 a.m. March 13 and a funeral was set for 10 a.m. March 13, both at Triumph Church –North Campus at 15600 J.L. Hudson Drive in Southfield.

What’s been the fallout since Mike ‘Mike B’ Brown’s death?

Outside of the community hurt, there’s also been calls for a crackdown on establishments that stay open into early morning hours in residential areas, ClickOnDetroit reports.

How to report tips on Mikey ‘Mike B’ Brown’s shooting

Those with information tied to the triple shooting can contact the Detroit Police Department’s homicide unit at 313-596-2260 or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up or DetroitRewards.tv.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills

The Detroit Lions will need to find a new backup quarterback. Kyle Allen, the 30-year-old ninth-year veteran, will reportedly sign with the Buffalo Bills for two years and $4.1 millions, according to ESPN, reuniting him with his former coordinator Joe Brady.

Allen, who came to the Motor City a year ago after inking a one-year deal, appeared in just three games and attempted two passes this past season as starter Jared Goff logged 98.5% of the team’s offensive snaps at quarterback.

Allen’s greatest contribution came in the preseason, when he forced the organization to give up on its experiment with Hendon Hooker.

In the competition for the No. 2 job, Allen outperformed Hooker and made the former 2023 third-round pick expendable by bringing his stunted development into sharp relief. While Hooker struggled to move the offense when he was in command, Allen thrived in his four auditions, spearheading one productive drive after another for the Lions. He completed 79.5% of his attempts, throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. All the while, he exhibited a good understanding of the Lions’ timing-based passing game, giving management the confidence he could – if needed – relieve Goff in a pinch.

“I feel very comfortable with him,” Campbell said last August.

But as it turned out, the Lions were never forced to call upon Allen. Goff, who hasn’t missed a start since Week 17 of the 2021 season, remained reliably present.

The Lions hope Goff’s iron-man streak will continue.

But if it for some reason ends, Allen is no longer there to replace him.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit water main break snarls travel on East Jefferson Monday morning

Published

2 days ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Detroit water main break snarls travel on East Jefferson Monday morning

article

Vehicles travel through water collected near water main break in Detroit.

DETROIT (FOX 2) – A water main break in Detroit is causing headaches for drivers and sending water into the streets of one of the city’s east side neighborhoods.

The break involves a 42-inch pipeline at East Jefferson and Burns Drive.

The breakage happened on Sunday, leaving only one lane open for each direction of travel.

Local perspective:

A day after the breakage, water was still gathering on the road of Jefferson Avenue.

Video captured of the scene Monday morning showed vehicles driving through ponds of water. Construction equipment were on site along with traffic cones.

The backstory:

This isn’t the only major disruption to water services in the region.

This weekend, a catastrophic breakage at 14 Mile near Drake impacted several Oakland County communities and thousands of residents.

Novi and Walled Lake were among those hardest hit by the breakage, which included dramatic scenes of waves of water washing down the road, submerging vehicles.

The Source: FOX 2’s Charlie Langton and previous reporting were cited for this story.

InfrastructureDetroitInstastories

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