There were ejections in Minneapolis, sure, and perhaps some suspensions to come. But what the Detroit Pistons have discovered, or rather what they've displayed for the better part of this season, is an identity.
One can add the Melee in Minneapolis to some of the other famous brouhahas in the franchise's history, and of course the jokes will fly about the Pistons being known for such things. The internet was on fire when it saw Isaiah Stewart grab his jersey and point to the “Detroit” emblazoned across the front, while barking at the Minnesota Timberwolves fans.
This was in the aftermath of the altercation that started with the Timberwolves' Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo and Pistons rookie Ron Holland II. Holland, whose play has improved in recent weeks with more opportunities, has never been one to scare and didn’t back down from Reid or DiVincenzo. Plays before the actual kerfuffle, Stewart, yes, had been into it with DiVincenzo, and then Rudy Gobert found himself on the other end of Stewart letting him know what could happen if he was interested.
So by the time the smoke cleared and players were removed from the first row of the Target Center stands, five players and two coaches, including Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, were ejected.
“What you see is guys looking out for one another, guys trying to have each other’s back … and those are non-negotiable in our locker room,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “When you play the way we play, you earn a reputation, you’re going to be tested.”
All-NBA candidate Cade Cunningham and forward Tobias Harris were already out with injury, so the ejections put an even bigger strain on the Pistons, who ultimately lost the game, 123-104.
But that didn’t matter in the moment, and it doesn’t matter when you’re establishing something very real, brick by brick. It didn’t even matter to Bickerstaff in his fiery moment.
“There were some things said by their assistant coach [Pablo Prigioni], and I’m in the same boat as my guys, we’re going to defend each other,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m not gonna let people say belligerent things about my guys. And it’s that simple.”
That doesn’t fly everywhere, but it does in Detroit — and it had better.
With that comes something for them to embrace, for the present and the future. For now, any team seeing the Pistons on their schedule knows they’re in for a long night — and that’s expected to continue in the playoffs when they begin in three weeks.
For what they lack in experience, they seem to make up with other intangibles. And this franchise seems to be buoyed by instances that firmly plant Detroit on one side and everyone else on the other.
Call it Detroit vs. Everybody.
In a January game in 1988, Pistons bruiser Rick Mahorn — who was more skilled than folks remember but was known as a tough guy for good reason — took down a 23-year-old league darling wearing No. 23 in Chicago. When a skinny Michael Jordan got to his feet, then-Bull Charles Oakley went after Mahorn, and Bulls coach ...
