J.B. Bickerstaff on Cade Cunningham for MVP, Isaiah Stewart BEST Rim Protector & Bobby Portis Scrum!

J.B. Bickerstaff on Cade Cunningham for MVP, Isaiah Stewart BEST Rim Protector & Bobby Portis Scrum!

Detroit versus everybody. I love this. So, that was one of the weakest intro videos. We could have got some old school highlights or something. Yeah, I want to see this. Come bring that ball some respect on my guys name. You hate that clip? We’ll change it. What do you need? Yeah. I feel like every time I come on here, you play the same clip and Chandler says the same thing. or worse. Whistle on a clipboard. Go back and get some University of Minnesota footage. You can see me out there. Yeah. Okay. Well, we will do that next time you come on. And by the way, congratulations. Uh, Eastern Conference coach of the month. Two months in a row. God, everyone’s going to hate it. Well deserved, too, coach. Tell me about the vibe. You guys, it’s Look, they were this you guys were the story last year and you’ve just sort of carried that into this and it’s of all sports. I love this story so much. What’s it like being a Detroit Piston right now? Uh, I mean, it’s awesome to be honest with you. Um, you know, the vibes are unbelievable, uh, in our locker room, you know, in the city, in our building. Uh, you know, people are so excited, you know, that we’re back, uh, to playing the level of basketball that this city deserves. And, you know, it’s a ton of credit to our guys. Um, the way they go out and compete every single night, you know, the way they scrap, the way they fight, um, you know, how they compete. Uh, and then give Tjan a ton of credit for putting this group together. excuse me. And uh you know, it’s we’re in a good spot, but you know, we’re not done. You know, we’re process driven and we’re still working to improve some areas uh and we got a ways to go in that. How much did the playoff run last season? What did that do for a group of young guys as far as confidence is concerned? Well, it it made him understand what it takes uh and how important, you know, every possession is um you know, and how in those types of winner go home situations, you know, uh playing in Madison Square Garden, um you know, was a great uh opportunity and experience for our group to feel what it’s like to literally be, you know, Detroit versus everybody. And uh you know that’s how you win in this league is you understand your experiences and then you allow those experiences catapult you and grow uh into the next season. And I think our guys learned a ton um you know about situational basketball uh and how important you know it is to prioritize all those things. Coach, this this week in particular is different because the NBA Cup and obviously we never played in something like that but you basically have the whole week off. Like do do you give guys more off days? Are you doing more contact practice? Like how do you manage to to deal with this week when you’re not when you didn’t qualify for the cup? Uh I mean so we were off yesterday. Uh we gave our guys off today. We’ll do some individual work tomorrow and then Wednesday, Thursday, uh we’ll have full contact practices. So basically, you’re trying to get guys, you know, who are a little banged up, uh some days to rest. Uh then you work on the individual skills and how those skills fit within your system and then we’ll practice uh and clean up some of the things. You know, we’re coming off a stretch where we had six games in nine nights. Uh so we weren’t able to practice a ton. So being able to have two days where we can fully get after it and clean up the details uh I think will help us and then again get guys healthy who are banged up a little bit. JB, earlier in the year I mentioned that, you know, I would love to be a part of a pissing style team. Uh, I love the way you guys play. What was it that helped establish kind of this grit and grind style of basketball for this team? Uh, I mean, it’s it’s the makeup of the guys that we have here. One, uh, but two, also when you come into a new team, you know, you want to study the history of the team, right? and understand, you know, what the fan base, you know, has embraced and what the fan base loved about their team. And when you come to Detroit, it’s obvious, right? Going back to the b to the bad boys, uh, you know, to the next group, uh, the, you know, best five with, you know, Rasheed Wallace and that group and Ben Wallace and, you know, all those guys. Um, you know, you you you study that and you understand what the fans are looking for. Uh, and to the best of your ability, you try to recreate that. Uh, and I think that’s what we’ve done here. And, you know, again, but you can’t do it if the personalities of your team doesn’t fit it. Uh, and our personalities fit it. You know what I mean? Like we got guys, you know, who do like to get nasty, who do like to mix it up, uh, who do like to make people uncomfortable and see how they respond. And it’s a real thing. You know, our guys aren’t out here bluffing. Um, you know, it is what it is. So, being able to do that, uh, and then have the skill set that the guys have, you know, it plays right into it. Yeah. and and obviously the head of the snake for you guys is is Cade and he’s turned him into a legitimate superstar with everything that he’s doing. Tell me some things behind the scenes, his leadership style that’s been able to push you guys forward behind the scenes. Yeah, the one thing that I say about Cade uh and I find it to be really really unique uh in his position is he’s the type of dude who can get full without taking food off your plate. Um you know, and that’s how he treats his teammates. like he wants to make sure that all of his teammates are taken care of, that they’re all served. Um, and he, you know, and it’s dayto-day with him every single day. He’s the same. He’s looking to take care of his teammates and be a part of the group. Nothing he does separates him from the group. And you know, for a guy to be able to ascend a superstardom like he has and and not change a bit uh and not take any way anything away from anyone around him but ultimately help the people around him uh you know that’s who he is and it says more about his character uh than it does his basketball skill. Yeah, absolutely. JB Kade has put himself in the MVP conversation this season with his play. Uh, can you spend a moment to make a case as to why he should be the league MVP this season? Yeah, I mean I mean he’s to me, you know, especially when it’s winning time, he’s been the best player in the league in crunch time. Uh, his understanding of how to manipulate the game and make plays down the stretch, um, you know, has led to, you know, why we are 19 and five at this time. We don’t have a bunch of games where we’ve blown people out. You know, a lot of our games have been highly contested going down the stretch. Uh, and he’s been able to make plays for us on both ends of the floor. You know, he’s not a one-dimensional guy who can just score it. You know, he’s a guy who can defend. You see him getting blocked shots. You see him getting steals. You know, he gets rebounds. Um, and, you know, he’s made his teammates better as well. Uh, and is a big reason for the position that we’re in right now. And I think, you know, I think we ought to reward character. Uh, I think we ought to reward guys who are great teammates. you know, what the league is trying to develop in these superstars, you know, shouldn’t just be about the game of basketball itself. You know, it should be about the type of people and how they carry themselves and how they push the league forward. Uh, and Kate has done all those things as a coach when, and I’m going to get to Jaylen Duran, what he does on the court as well, but sort of transitioning over to him. um the the summer trips. I I know there’s like the big write up in the athletic hat about Cade having guys out in Colorado and then he and Jaylen go to Rome together. Like as their coach, do you know that they’re doing that ahead of time? And how great is it to know that I don’t have to make them do anything like this is this is happening? Yeah, that I mean that’s the best part about it for me. You know, these are things that you know we try to manufacture as coaches in the summer. Uh typically we try to do something every month where we get the entire team together. Uh but when you have a guy, you know, or guys who are doing that on your own, you know, it takes a ton of pressure off of you and you don’t have to push those things. Like we try to set up team dinners on the road and all those types of things as coaches, you know, to kind of bring guys together. But you know, with this group, we don’t have to do it because, you know, the leadership there, whether it’s Kade, Tobias, JD, like you know, they’re bringing each other together and they’re doing it on their own. So it doesn’t feel manufactured. You know, it’s more genuine. It’s more real because guys are doing it because they want to and not because we asked them to. Yeah. JB Bees just mentioned Jaylen Durant and obviously apparently he just turned 22 years old. I need to see some sort of documentation cuz I’ve never seen a cat physically look like that that age. Is he the most physically gifted kid you’ve ever seen at that age? And what is his ceiling? Because he seemed to take that next step. Yeah, it’s so funny, man, because I there’s that clip. I don’t know if you guys saw it running around the internet of him when he was 14 years old. Yo, ridiculous. It’s unbelievable. And we were just laughing. You know what I mean? Like you walk into the gym and your little Timmy and you see that’s your matchup that night. Like you got some real decisions to make ridiculous. But it was unreal. And and and you know what and I go back and was watching film of him, you know, when he first got in the league and he’s even bigger and stronger now, which is crazy to think about. um you know and still only 22 years old but you know there’s a lot of skill uh in his game and I think before you know a lot of people assume that he was a pick a roller guy you know he was a decent rim protector and all those things but you know now he’s an elite rim protector uh he can put the ball on the floor and beat his man he’s a highlevel passer uh and he loves to play physical you know he plays with a physical offensive game where he’s just going to beat you up and see how much of it you want to withstand stand. Uh but you know, I I think you know, he’s playing at an all-star level right now. Uh and I think you can see him, you know, as an all-star as we continue to move forward and he’s only going to get better. That’s the best part about it. There’s still, you know, more in his game. Like he can make mid-range shots. Uh we’re pushing him and working on the three, but you know, we’re not going to rush that, but he can make his midies. Uh he can attack you oneonone. And now he’s making his free throws at a high clip, too. So, uh he’s a well-rounded player. um you know who’s going to be one of our guys that’s going to carry us for a long time. Yeah, I think not only is he an all-star, I think he we’re looking at possibly the starting center on the Olympic team. I think he’s that good. He very coach he’s very much into doing the Olympic team uh announcement. Jaylen Johnson are my sneaky picks to put on the team this year. All right. So he’s a So you view him as a foundation piece then for you guys even at 22. No doubt about it. And and again like I said most guys reach their prime in the league at like 25 or 26. So just imagine, you know, what’s coming in his future. Yeah. And his future obviously is restricted free agent this coming summer. Uh trade season’s right around the corner, coach. Number well, we lost Shams. I got to do something. Uh trade season, obviously you guys are 19 and five, number one in the East. Do you feel good where you are now, but or if a superstar player comes available, is that something you let Tan handle and kind of take it day by day? Because seems to be working what you’re what you got. Yeah, I mean we made a decision this summer. um that we weren’t going to push, you know, the panic button because we had a little bit of success last year. Uh we felt like our guys earned the right to come back as a group uh and see what they could build on. You know, the core of this group is back uh continuing to get better, continuing to grow. You know, they earned that opportunity. And I give Tan a ton of credit for that. you know, for having the resolve to not just listen to outside noise, not just listen to perception uh and panic and do something because, you know, everybody says you should, right? Like he gave our group an opportunity to come back uh and see what they could accomplish uh and and grow it real, right? Like you don’t need to skip steps and go out and trade for, you know, some sort of superstar right away because you never know how that’s going to end up for you, right? So Tjan will always make, you know, the smart decision and the right decision for the team. I don’t doubt that by any means. Uh but, you know, right now we’re in a really good spot with a really good group of guys. Um and we like where we are. Yeah. Coach, cuz you you talked about establishing identity and understanding the history of where you are in the culture of your basketball team. And one guy on your team that ain’t bluffing at all, Isaiah Stewart. You and you gives me the heebie. Yeah. He he ain’t he ain’t bluffing at all. But you’ve been very vocal about him being the the the best big defensively um as you see it. What makes him so valuable for your group? Uh I mean one, he sets the tone every single night. Uh you know, you talk about a guy who’s the torchbearer for your identity. Uh and Stu is the torchbearer for our identity. You know, every time he steps on the floor, uh you know, you better be prepared. Uh and it’s going to get rough. It’s going to get tumble, but you know, that’s who we are. you know, that’s who the Detroit Pistons are. Uh, but defensively, you know, he can guard one through five. You know, we put him on smalls, we switch him on smalls. Uh, he’s elite ISO defender. Uh, and then he’s the best rim protecting big in the league. You know, his timing is, uh, impeccable. Uh, his ability and courage to challenge shots. Most, you know, most guys get dunked on once and they stop trying to block dunks. Uh, but guys time and time again keep trying to dunk on Steu and he keeps blocking it. you know, he doesn’t let guys get easy opportunities in there. Um, you know, he communicates well. He’s a elite pick and roll defender. Um, you know, I just think it’s time for the league and, you know, everybody to recognize that this dude, you know what I mean, is the best defensive big uh in the league and there’s just nothing that he can’t do on that end of the floor. Absolutely. Coach, walk me through this this clip I’m about to show you right here of Isaiah and Bobby Portis last week. What is he What is he saying to you right here? Cuz if I’m a my if I’m a if I’m a lip reader, he’s saying I’mma punch him in his I think that’s what I saw. Am I wrong? Seems Yeah, you’re wrong. He was talking about cooking and you need to like mash the meat when you’re getting ready to make those smash burgers. Okay, that’s what he was saying. He was going to go home, make some smash burgers, and he just needed to, you know, pound that meat animated so that it got flat. You know what I You I’m cook a little bit myself. I understand to stay healthy. That is a fight I’d like to see. Yeah, against Bobby. Sign me. Understood. Understood. No, that was an exciting moment for everyone. Bobby Poris and Isaiah Stewart. Yeah, we we love that. Coach, thank you so much, dude, for having us. Good luck. I am pulling for you. By the way, do we have time to I need to ask you about the Did you see the thing happened with the Knicks Magic game? There were two things. Desmond Bane throwing the ball at him. Have you ever seen that? And if you ever seen a baby on the bench during a game, what the hell was that? That was crazy, bro. Listen, I think it’s Well, I think bringing your family to work is awesome. Uh, the handoff from Josh Hart to Josh Robinson and the look on Mitchell Robinson’s face was priceless. Uh, but yeah, I mean, bring your kids to work, man. It was a six-point game and a toddler on the That’s what surprised me. It was a six-point game. This is outrageous. I’m bring outrageous. It’s a harsh Send some of those hoodies, coach. Yeah, we love the hoodies. Please send uh as always. Keep crushing. Uh good luck. Happy holidays. Thank you, bro. Thank you very much.

On December 8, 2025 episode of ‘Run It Back’ on FanDuel TV, co-hosts Michelle Beadle, Boogie Cousins, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams are joined by the head coach of the Detroit Pistons to talk about leading the Eastern Conference as the 1 seed.

FULL EPISODE HERE: https://youtube.com/live/YYZYdVLgGwQ

CHAPTERS
0:00 PISTONS HEAD COACH JB BICKERSTAFF
2:28 NBA CUP BREAK
3:30 PISTONS GRIT N GRIND MINDSET
5:00 CADE CUNNINGHAM CASE FOR MVP
8:27 JALEN DUREN’S CEILING
10:38 PISTONS MAKE A TRADE?
12:04 ISAIAH STEWART BEST RIM PROTECTING BIG

Be Sure to Subscribe here for MORE Run It Back on FanDuel TV!
https://www.youtube.com/@RunItBackFDTV?sub_confirmation=1
Run It Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RunItBackFDTV
Run It Back on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/RunItBackFDTV
Run It Back on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runitbackfdtv/
Run It Back on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@runitbackfdtv

Download the Run It Back Podcast
Listen on Spotify ✳️ https://spoti.fi/3gOujuV
Listen on Apple 🍎 https://apple.co/3gJszDm

#NBA #Pistons #Bucks

FanDuel on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/FanDuel
FanDuel on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/fanduel
FanDuel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fanduel/
FanDuel on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fanduel
FanDuel on YouTube: https://bitly.com/sub2FanDuel