It didn’t take long for the Detroit Pistons to miss Isaiah Stewart in their first preseason game, but they were also reminded of some things they won’t miss.
Five minutes into the game, Dillon Brooks and John Collins got into a small dust-up, which immediately endeared Collins to Pistons fans.
It was a minor fracas that ended in double technicals, but there were no punches thrown, no crash outs and no ejections.
In that one play, we saw one of the things the Pistons will miss about Stewart, but also some of the reasons he is now playing in Memphis.
The Pistons will miss their enforcer
This isn’t the 1990’s, so the idea of having an enforcer is a bit absurd, as there aren’t any real goons like there were back in the day, when every team employed at least one guy whose only job it was to commit hard fouls.
But Stewart was about as close as you’ll find in the modern age, as he was the guy who always took up for his teammates and wouldn’t back down from anyone.
This was certainly part of the Pistons identity last season, but Stewart wasn’t just a goon, he was one of the best rim protectors in the NBA, so he wasn’t just about fighting as many on social media would have you believe.
By the way, Stewart rolled his ankle in the first two minutes of his preseason debut, so I hope he’s ok.
As I was watching Collins lightly choke Brooks last night, I couldn’t help but miss Beef Stew a little, but in other ways, I was glad he wasn’t there, as things might have escalated.
The Pistons won’t miss all of the dumb technical fouls
As much as I loved Stew on the Pistons, he did make stupid plays at times that cost the team, as he picked up a lot of unnecessary technical fouls.
Stewart almost always got caught retaliating, and after he gained the reputation of someone who wasn’t afraid to scrap, he had a giant target on his back for the referees, who were happy to T him up every time he looked at someone funny.
There were times when Stew should have just walked away, and to his credit, he was constantly being challenged and did take the high road at times.
But he also got into stupid fights at times when the Pistons were winning, when he should have just said “scoreboard” and walked away.
Watching Dillon Brooks instigate a fight last night reminded me why it’s not always great to have a player like that on your team.
Overall, I will definitely miss Stew, as he was more than just an enforcer, but I won’t miss the free points he gave away, his yearly suspensions or the times when he should have walked away and didn’t.
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