The irony could not have been richer. Barely a year after being dismissed by the Cavaliers, J.B. Bickerstaff now stands on the opposite sideline. He presides over the young yet determined Pistons, who, for much of Game One of the semifinal round series, looked every bit the contenders his former employers believed he could not oversee. And so when his charges carved a 111-101 triumph the other day, the outcome was effectively a reckoning. More than anything else, they played with the unmistakable posture of protagonists who know themselves.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, continue to search for answers that seem to grow more elusive by the possession. They coughed up 19 turnovers that the Pistons converted into 31 points, in the process surrendering much-needed rhythm. James Harden, brilliant in stretches and careless in others, embodied the contradiction. He scored 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, only to undermine the effort with seven turnovers. Donovan Mitchell added 23, but his postgame lament about not receiving foul calls fell flat. “Maybe I flop,” he mused afterward, frustration seeping through the sarcasm. To be sure, playoff basketball has invariably demanded, and rewarded, adaptation over grievance.
Clearly, the series opener was dictated by the Pistons’ willingness to make every possession uncomfortable. And, for this, Bickerstaff deserves much of the credit. They defend without fail and attack without flourish, often the clearest sign of coaching influence. There is both conviction and structure to what they do. They no longer resemble a promising collection of young talent awaiting their turn. Rather, they have already crossed the threshold and simply do not care to announce their arrival.
Which may well be the most unsettling realization for the Cavaliers. The Pistons controlled the emotional tenor of the game from the opening quarter, building a 16-point lead early on and surviving any subsequent challenge with composure. Even when the competition clawed back to tie the score midway through the fourth, they responded with an 18-8 closing run that was, if nothing else, clinical. Their forebears once ruled the roost by inducing both psychological fatigue and physical punishment. And, based on how they have been competing, they cannot but be cut from the same cloth.
The series is, of course, far from over. Mitchell is too gifted to remain subdued, and the Cavaliers’ offense will get better moving forward. That said, Game One represented more than a mere shift in homecourt advantage. The Pistons have brandished defense, discipline, and belief in equal measure. And somewhere in the background stands Bickerstaff, burned by dismissal but likewise sharpened by it, watching his former wards struggle against the very identity they once deemed insufficient.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
