J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons
Getty
J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons
It has not been a banner week in the NBA, and while the fault for some of the more notorious issues that have cropped up in recent days–the selective tanking by the Utah Jazz and the ugly brawl involving the Detroit Pistons in their game against Charlotte on Monday–does not necessarily lie with the head coaches, they’re the ones sitting front and center when it comes to criticism.
These are tough days for Will Hardy in Utah and JB Bickerstaff in Detroit.
Yes, it is the Jazz’s front office–the father-son tandem of Danny Ainge and Austin Ainge–that is ordering Utah to lose games by resting the team’s best players in the fourth quarter.
And yes, it is the players, namely roughhouse artists Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, who were at the crux of the Pistons-Hornets fight and will bear the brunt of NBA punishment. But around the league, both coaches are being called into question, too.
Pistons a ‘Dirty’ Team Under JB Bickerstaff
Start with Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff, whose Pistons have been one of the positive stories of the NBA this season, after getting off to a 15-2 start to the season and now sitting at 39-13, at the top of the conference. But not everyone would call them the sweethearts of the NBA.
Certainly, after Duren head-butted Moussa Diabate, then gave him a face-push and ignited the fracas, that was clear. And Stewart rocketing off the bench in clear violation of NBA rules –setting himself up for a 25-game suspension — hammered the point home.
“They’re a dirty team,” one NBA assistant coach said. “They’re always going to throw that elbow, try to trip you, set the dirty screen. What happened (Monday) is not a surprise. That’s how they play.”
At some point, the behavior of Stewart lands on Bickerstaff, who defended his volatile young big man by saying, “When you go back and watch the film, they ran multiple guys at JD. JD and Stew consider themselves to be brothers, and if you run two guys at one guy, you’ve already crossed the line. Human instinct tells him to protect his little brother.”
That’s not going to fly, though. It’s up to coaches to drill a bit more discipline into their players, especially if they’re expected to survive a postseason run. “JB has done a good job with that team but there has to be more control, you can’t have that,” the coach said.
Head Coach Will Hardy of the Utah Jazz
GettyHead Coach Will Hardy of the Utah Jazz
Jazz’s Will Hardy Hurting His Own Reputation
Meanwhile, no one is happy with the Utah Jazz these days, who appear to be daring the NBA to drop the hammer on their blatant and ugly tanking ploy. For two consecutive games, the Jazz have sat their best players in the fourth quarter after building a small lead in the third. The intention was, clearly, to lose.
Utah owes its first-round pick to Oklahoma City this season, but it is protected for Nos. 1-8. The Jazz want that pick to land as high as possible, and that requires losses. But with Jaren Jackson Jr. now joining star big man Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz are better than a lot of teams they face.
So the plan seems to be to play three quarters seriously, then give away the game in the fourth. This obviously comes from some sleazy orders from the front office, and there’s hope around the league that the NBA will come down with punishment on the Jazz.
Hardy, though, is the one who has to carry the orders out–and convince his players he’s still in charge. Hardy is a talented coach, but he’s not earning respect among his players.
“That’s the thing that kills me,” one veteran Eastern Conference assistant said. “How do you look your players in the eyes when you are out there sabotaging their games for them? How do you go through game plans with your players when they now know you’re not trying to help them win?
“The thing I’d worry about for Will is, will these guys respect him next year? He’s allowing himself to take the flak for that front office.”