Rumors

As the Detroit Pistons enter a new chapter with a retooled front office and fresh talent, Mahorn sees signs of real cohesion. “It seems that they have a togetherness about them,” said Mahorn. “It seems like the veteran leadership is very contagious with Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. and then the rookies are responding with Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland.” “You gotta credit — it starts from the top. Trajon [Langdon] did a great job coming in his first GM year to hire a guy like J.B. Bickerstaff… His record has shown. Nobody gives him that type of credit from Houston and when he took over Cleveland. He has a pedigree with his dad, Bernie Bickerstaff. I’ve known him since he was a kid. And so to see his relationship with the players is more about making sure they’re on the right page.”

ScoopB.com

It will be the first playoff experience for everyone else in J.B. Bickerstaff’s normal rotation – Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland II, Isaiah Stewart and Simone Fontecchio. The Pistons privately talked about getting to the playoffs long before anyone thought it possible and they’ve adopted a one-day-at-a-time focus with the long-term goal of having it pay off in a playoff berth. But Bickerstaff knows enough about playoff basketball to know that no matter how long and hard his young players have thought about the experience, they won’t truly appreciate the essence until wading into the waters. “It’s a completely different basketball game,” he said. “And until you’re in it, it’s hard to understand it. We’ve been through this before. At some point in time, we were all kids and didn’t listen to our parents, either, and didn’t figure it out until we experienced it on our own. That’s what the playoffs are. We can tell guys what to expect, but until we experience it you don’t understand just how different it is from an intensity standpoint, from the execution of schemes, the importance of possession-by-possession basketball.”

NBA.com

Keith Langlois: FINAL: Pistons 115, Knicks 106 A good appetizer for a likely playoff matchup. Cade Cunningham 36 points. Ron Holland II (13 points) and Isaiah Stewart big roles off the bench.

bsky.app

Bobby Marks: Here are the suspension amounts: Detroit: Isaiah Stewart: $206,897, Ron Holland: $46,812, Marcus Sasser: $15,403. Minnesota: Naz Reid: $80,382, Donte DiVincenzo: $65,776

Twitter

Shams Charania: NBA discipline for Pistons-Timberwolves scuffle, sources tell ESPN: - Isaiah Stewart: 2 game suspension - Donte DiVincenzo: 1 game suspension - Ron Holland: 1 game suspension - Naz Reid: 1 game suspension - Marcus Sasser: 1 game suspension

Twitter

Omari Sankofa II: Full list of ejections: JB Bickerstaff, Ron Holland, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser for the Pistons. Naz Reid, Dante Divincenzo and assistant Pablo Prigioni were ejected for the Wolves. Wow.

bsky.app

Coty M. Davis: Ron Holland and Donte DiVincenzo got into a fight here in Minnesota.

Twitter

Keith Langlois: FINAL: Pistons 136, Pelicans 130 The Ron Holland game. He finishes with 26 (ties high), 5 boards, 6 assists (season high by 3), 2 steals. Marcus Sasser 20 more off bench. Good win on a day the Pistons were without Cunningham, Hardaway, Ivey and a day when the Pelicans hit 20 of 40 from 3.

bsky.app

After the win, Green addressed the heated exchange between him and Holland. He commended the officials for allowing the exchange to continue without a technical foul for either player. Green, who’s never afraid to share his opinion on a topic, had plenty to say after the game, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “That moment we had on the court was amazing and also beautiful,” Green said. “I don’t think anyone got a tech, did they?”

Clutch Points

“That’s what people want to see. It’s that stuff,” Green added. “They got a double tech probably after the fact. But I thought the officials did a good job of handling it. They let it play out. They let guys talk. Then, they broke it up. Guys started talking again. They let it play out some more. Beautiful. This game should matter.” The brief exchange between Green and Holland led to their teammates getting into each other’s faces shortly after trying to break things up, per Pistons reporter Brandon Dent’s X, formerly Twitter. “We play in this league now; it’s almost like you get turned into a robot,” Green said. “And you don’t see any of that stuff. And then, everybody says the ratings is down. Yeah, of course. No s***.

Clutch Points

Anthony Slater: Draymond Green said it was “beautiful” that officials allowed him, Ron Holland and the Pistons to get into it tonight. Said referees too often don’t let scraps go and have turned players into robots. “And then everyone say the ratings are down. Yeah, of course. No shit.” pic.x.com/uIv9dqC2GF

Twitter

Omari Sankofa II: Cade Cunningham on Ron Holland's ejection after confronting Jordan Clarkson with fists up: "That’s who Ron is. Ron is a super loyal dude, super tough-minded dude. I could’ve had my eyes closed and guessed who was going to be in the middle of it. That’s just who he is."

bsky.app

Sarah Todd: Paul Reed bumped into Jordan Clarkson and then the ram into each other again. (Double techs awarded). Then Ron Holland and Clarkson square up on each other and get ejected. JC throws his headband to some fans and double peaces on his way into the tunnel.

bsky.app

Omari Sankofa II: FINAL: Celtics 123, Pistons 99. Pistons went 7-37 from 3, a season-low in makes. The Celtics were 20-48. Holland scored a career-high 26 points on 11-14 shooting. He scored 20 in the fourth during garbage time, which is notable regardless of the stakes. Cade finished with 18-8-8

x.com