Cade Cunningham was not happy after the Detroit Pistons lost 123-115 to the L.A. Clippers last night. Speaking during the post-game press conference, the All-Star noted that the Clippers only got the better of his team due to the poor officiating and referees making all the major calls in their favor. Clearly, Cade was not happy with the way the referees called the game.
Reporter: “A back-and-forth game. It was still a two-possession game about midway through the fourth quarter. What was it that they were able to do to pull away down the stretch?”
Cade Cunningham: “Get calls.”
Cade might be a man of few words, but his two-word response gave fans and analysts a perfect picture of exactly how hard done he and the Detroit Pistons feel after this loss. However, a quick look at the total team fouls committed by both teams, you can see that there isn’t that much of a disparity between the two sides.
The Pistons were called 20 times for fouling the opponent. But the Clippers were only called for fouls four times less with 16 total team fouls. One would understand Cade’s frustrations if the gap between the foul counts for both sides were wider. Of course, as a player, it is hard to put aside your bias, especially when you see calls going in the opposition’s favor during key moments in the game.
The big headline of the night, before Cunningham insinuated that the refs handed the Clippers the win, was James Harden‘s incredible performance. The Beard turned back the clock to deliver a vintage outing of 50 points (14-24 FG), four rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block to help his team get the big win.
Pistons Head Coach Calls Out Referees For Giving James Harden 20 Free-Throws
Cade Cunningham wasn’t the only member of the Pistons annoyed with the foul calls James Harden earned. Head coach JB Bickerstaff also questioned how the referees allowed The Beard to get to the free-throw line so many times, and how players can be expected to guard him.
“If you’re not allowed to put your body on him legally and he’s allowed to shoot 20 free throws, you’re not gonna be able to guard him. He’s an elite offensive weapon who can score in a bunch of ways. But when he’s allowed to get to the free-throw line, it just makes your job extremely difficult.”
Harden was a genius when it came to drawing fouls out of the Pistons defenders tonight, getting to the line 20 times and covering 16 of his free-throw attempts. Harden scored 14 of his 50 points in the fourth quarter while going 5/7 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons, unfortunately, had their momentum ruined by a motivated James Harden who put on a classic performance. To come out and blame the referees for a few calls in the fourth quarter when the game had been close for so long is not right. If the Pistons could have, they would have shut down the Clippers long before the fourth quarter and not let the game come down to some free throws.
These types of comments show the immaturity as a team that the Pistons have. For so long, the franchise has floundered and struggled, that they don’t realize that most NBA games go this way. On some nights, certain players get the whistle going and do whatever they can to keep getting to the line.
As a team, it should be your goal to stop them, rather than complain about how they keep getting there. Is it fair? Probably not. But being able to adapt to what is thrown at you is the mark of a truly great team.
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