The Detroit Pistons earned their first win of the season on Friday with a 115-111 victory over the Houston Rockets on the road.
Now, the Pistons are 1-1 following their season-opening loss to the Chicago Bulls and will take on the Boston Celtics on Sunday in their first home game of the season at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Following the Rockets contest, guard Cade Cunningham said that it was a “crazy game” with “a lot of emotions” but that the Pistons rose to the occasion.
“We lost both of our big fellas,” he said. “Everyone who came in. It was definitely a team effort.”
Cunningham was referring to Jalen Duren, who was ejected at the 5:55 mark of the second quarter after landing himself a flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson in the head. The incident happened after Duren and Thompson had a small altercation.
Then, early in the fourth quarter, both Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland II fouled out, so the Pistons had to win this game with depth.
For second-year Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff though, this game meant something extra special.
Following the victory, the Detroit Pistons took to social media to announce that according to NBA research, Bickerstaff earned his 300th career regular-season win. The post was met with some excited comments from fans congratulating Bickerstaff on the accomplishment.
After the win, Bickerstaff commented on the Pistons’ mindset this season and why they were able to overcome the obstacles and pull off a win on Friday. He also revealed that the team’s motto this season is “control the chaos.”
“Last year, there were times when things got a little muddy and we let our emotions get the best of us,” Bickerstaff said in a postgame press conference. “Tonight, we did a phenomenal job when things got messy. We did not back down or shy away. We kept our composure, and we were able to battle through it.”
Bickerstaff also talked about the importance of depth on the Pistons’ squad this season. Paul Reed, for example, really came into the fold with Duren and Stewart out, recording 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks, according to Basketball Reference.
“We’ve talked about it obviously, but the depth on our team is one of our strengths,” Bickerstaff said. “Guys ability to go impact the game in a way that’s to their strength.”
“It’s definitely a confidence booster,” Reed said after the game of his strong performance. “I feel like at that night like this everyone going to come together even more and go out there and have each other back even more than what we did than how we had each other back before.”
