JB Bickerstaff has quickly established himself as a top regular-season coach since arriving in Detroit two years ago, but now faces the weight of playoff expectations heading into next season. If Bickerstaff isn’t ready to handle the playoff pressure next year, the Pistons could have a disappointing postseason run and he could find himself out of Detroit before anyone expected. At this point, Bickerstaff must be aware that playoff success is the only metric that really matters for the Pistons.
Bickerstaff needs to overcome his playoff demons
For all his regular season success – both in Detroit and Cleveland before that – Bickerstaff has continuously left fanbases scratching their heads in the playoffs. For the Pistons last season, it ended up being questions about the starting lineup as Jalen Duren continued to struggle through both series that the Pistons played. Benching him may have been justified at various points in the postseason, but it wasn’t a button that Bickerstaff was willing to press.
Of course the Pistons still have some holes in their roster which could hold them back in the playoffs. Most notably, they have yet to add another bonafide secondary scorer next to Cade Cunningham, which could overtax Cade in the playoffs. But it will still be up to Bickerstaff to make the most of his roster.
And after coming within one game of the Conference Finals last season, Detroit’s leadership will likely be expecting another step forward for their young team. Bickerstaff has never made the conference finals in his head coaching career, despite leading some talented Cavaliers teams. If that trend continues next season, he could feel his seat starting to heat up.
The regular season will still play an important role
However, that’s not to say that the regular season doesn’t matter at all for the Pistons or Bickerstaff. Last season, they seemed to prioritize regular season wins at all costs – and it did lead to 60 total victories and the first seed in the East. However, Bickerstaff can make next season even more fruitful by taking a different approach.
Now that the Pistons have experienced some more playoff duels against evenly matched teams, they know which weaknesses to improve ahead of the postseason. Bickerstaff should be using the regulars season as an opportunity to develop his team’s weaknesses and prepare for the playoffs, rather than pushing for as many regular season wins as possible.
While JB Bickerstaff has done an excellent job leading the Pistons’ turnaround, Detroit will now ask him to succeed in a different role. Playoff success is a different animal, but Bickerstaff still has a chance to prove his doubters wrong by building the Pistons for a deep playoff run. But if he fails to make a satisfactory playoff run, a shocking exit could be underway.
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