Coach JB Bickerstaff helped lead the Detroit Pistons out of the cellar, but new faces and increased scrutiny and expectations will make his job much tougher in year two.
Coach Bickerstaff had little pressure taking over a team fresh off its worst season in the history of the franchise. If the Pistons showed modest improvement last season, but only won 25 games, no one would have blamed him, as he inherited the worst team in the league.
That won’t be the case next season after the Pistons won 44 games and nearly beat the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, and while Detroit has plenty of continuity again, JB Bickerstaff will not only be tasked with winning with new faces but with answering all of the Pistons’ biggest questions.
A new team with Jaden Ivey
Coach Bickerstaff didn’t have Jaden Ivey for most of the regular season and Ivey missed the entire playoffs last year, so integrating him back into the lineup after learning to play without him won’t be an easy task.
Ivey isn’t some role player who can slide into a well-defined bench assignment, he’ll be a major part of the offense, so it will be like starting over in some ways for coach Bickerstaff, who has a new weapon but also has to recalibrate with new faces.
Key veterans like Malik Beasley (pending), THJ and Dennis Schroder are gone, replaced with Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert, who are possibly better all-around players, but much different in play style.
It won’t be completely starting over for coach Bickerstaff, but the roster will be different in important ways, and he’ll have to adjust.
Expectations bring pressure
There wasn’t much pressure on coach Bickerstaff last season (I’m sure he puts plenty on himself) from fans and media, as he was going to be given credit if they improved, but the previous regime was going to take the blame if the Pistons were bad again.
Even though Detroit went through a painful drought, this is a fanbase that knows sustainable winning and will expect it now that the Pistons have broken through.
Being a feel-good story will not be enough, and if the Pistons falter in the playoffs again (or fail to make it), coach Bickerstaff, particularly his offensive creativity, will be put under a microscope that he wasn’t under last season when he was buffered by a wall of goodwill.
He’ll be asked to progress in the standings while still developing players and answering questions about Jaden Ivey’s long-term fit and how the Pistons should handle his and Jalen Duren’s extensions.
Year two will be tougher for JB Bickerstaff, as the brief honeymoon period is now over for the Pistons.