Old-school coaching and nonsense for JB Bickerstaff

One of the biggest potential upgrades the Detroit Pistons made this offseason was to switch out Monty Williams for JB Bickerstaff. 

Williams never seemed all that interested in coaching the Pistons and it showed, as he led them to just 14 wins while sabotaging the development of several young players with his inane rotations. 

Bickerstaff is already proving to be different, with a clear 9-man rotation emerging in preseason. He also openly embraces analytics and understands that shooting 3-point shots is a good thing. 

The defense already looks more locked in than they were at any point last season, so JB Bickerstaff already looks to be paying immediate dividends for the Pistons. 

He’s also running a more disciplined camp according to a recent article in The Athletic (subscription) which outlined some new approaches and policies. 

His conditioning drills have been noticeably difficult according to Malik Beasley and the Pistons are forbidden from wearing hoodies or jewelry during practice, even when they are just shoot-arounds. 

Some fans love this kind of stuff, as they think it will help hose the losing culture out of the locker room, while others think it’s just a bunch of old man nonsense that doesn’t do anything but alienate players. 

They are both right and both wrong. 

Old school coaching tactics only matter if the Pistons win 

I agree with all of the stuff Bickerstaff is doing, as the Pistons did wear down a lot last season and do need to be in better shape. It helps all aspects of your game, especially in clutch time and can help prevent injuries caused by fatigue. 

The hoodie and jewelry stuff, eh, whatever. It sounds a bit like the “pull up your pants” nonsense we heard back in the day, but coach Bickerstaff was correct when he used the old “you practice how you play” cliche. I don’t think hoodies were the Pistons’ problem last season and don’t think forbidding them will save them in this one, but it can’t hurt. 

This is especially true when you have a young team that does need to change its habits. These particular changes could lead to tangible positive results, so it’s hard to argue with them. 

But this is the kind of stuff that wears thin if the team isn’t winning, as a coach can quickly turn from a leader to a guy everyone tunes out. These nitpicky things look genius when you are winning but get coaches fired when you aren't.

I hope the changes JB Bickerstaff has made are making a difference, and let’s face it, something had to change, as you don’t magically transform a losing culture overnight.