The credit for the Detroit Pistons success this season will mostly be given to the players on the roster, with the MVP-caliber season of Cade Cunningham and the Most Improved Player campaign for Jalen Duren being two of the biggest talking points in the Motor City up to this point.
Beyond that though, the dominant year for the Pistons has solidified head coach J.B. Bickerstaff firmly in the mix for the NBA Coach of the Year award, with some people believing the defensive-minded coach should be the favorite for the honor.
One of which being NBA mind Bryce Simon, who made his case for Bickerstaff to win the award in a recent episode of The Athletic NBA Daily podcast.
"This is why I think J.B. [Bickerstaff] should be the Coach of the Year," Simons started. "I think the way he shifted the culture of that organization, I just don't know that it always gets appreciated enough. I know it's not a two-year award, I understand that. But to take what he took, that organization was at rock bottom."
To Simon's point, Bickerstaff's impact goes beyond this season and whether he's named the NBA Coach of the Year or not, what he's done for this organization deserves to be put in the spotlight.
J.B. Bickerstaff helped the Pistons escape medicority
Prior to Bickerstaff’s arrival in Detroit, the Pistons were coming off a disastrous front-office situation and a head coaching misstep, having given Monty Williams a major deal that resulted in an abysmal lone season in the Motor City.
Putting together a product that the fanbase was increasingly growing frustrated with, the hiring of Bickerstaff brought in a well-respected voice that not only implemented discipline to a young roster but also brought a winning mentality to a city that was once represented by the Bad Boy Pistons, a team that played with grit and an edge to out-hustle their opponent on a nightly basis.
Now, two years into the Bickerstaff experience, Detroit not only has a playoff run under their belt, but a regular season campaign that has them as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference as April approaches.
The head coach has been the tone setter for this new-look Pistons team and the example he set from the top has put together a trickle effect that puts the team in the perfect position to defy the odds when the postseason comes around.