Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was not happy with the officiating in his team’s 113-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Bickerstaff went on an astonishing rant on the officials in his postgame press conference, which concluded with him slamming the table and storming out.
“I’m disgusted by the way that game was officiated,” Bickerstaff said. “The level of disrespect was above and beyond. They have a guy fall down and trip on his own teammates’ foot. They review us for a hostile act. They throw an elbow to our chest/neck area. I asked for him, 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.
“The disrespect has gone far enough, and I’m not going to allow our guys to be treated the way that they were treated tonight,” Bickerstaff continued. “I tried to have a conversation with [an] official. The official was arguing with Mark. I say his name one time, and he screams at me and tells me that’s enough.
“We understand that we play a style of ball that’s physical,” Bickerstaff stated. “It’s on the edge, right? I coach my a** off with the passionate way. I’m into the games, our players are into the games. We understand that, right? But we deserve a level of respect because we’re competing our tails off and bringing something positive to this league, right?
“We’re growing young players,” Bickerstaff added. “Our young players are competing their tail off. The least that they could do is get the same respect that everybody else in this league gets and get refereed the same way that everybody else in this league gets reffed. And enough is enough of it. And what you saw tonight was disgusting. It was a disgusting display of disrespect towards our guys and what we’re trying to do.”
JB Bickerstaff did not hold back at all….here are his thoughts on the officiating from tonight’s game…watch the whole thing #Pistons pic.twitter.com/kFw75E1oxQ
— Eric Vincent (@IAmEricVincent) March 16, 2025
The Pistons felt a lot of calls went against them, and they were also assessed five technical fouls in the third quarter alone. Cade Cunningham got two of them to get ejected, and here’s how it happened.
Cade Cunningham gets ejected from the game by Brian Forte pic.twitter.com/Tm6XsqE9Sk
— Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) March 16, 2025
Referee Brian Forte made himself quite an unpopular figure in Detroit with his decisions on the night. The referees have a very difficult job, and while you’d love to be sympathetic, they don’t do themselves any favors when they act in this manner.
This is not even the first time this month that the Pistons have felt hard done by. After a 123-115 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on March 5, Bickerstaff and Cunningham went off on the referees for awarding James Harden over 20 free throws.
The Pistons seem to believe they haven’t gotten the respect they deserve and aren’t going to be quiet about it any longer. These latest comments by Bickerstaff are likely to hurt his wallet, but he’s not going to be too bothered about that.
His focus would be on getting the Pistons back to winning ways as they have now lost two in a row to drop to 37-31 this season. They’ll be in action next against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Monday at 8 PM ET.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
