JB Bickerstaff calls Pistons’ defense ‘terrible’ after Cade Cunningham’s 52-point night

Cade Cunningham scored 52 points, handed out 11 assists and committed zero turnovers. The Pistons still needed two overtimes to beat the Wizards.

J.B. Bickerstaff had plenty to say about both.

“It was bad. It was terrible. We were not up to our standard defensively,” Bickerstaff said after the 144-140 win, via Fadeaway World. “Everything was bad.”

The Pistons improved to 8-3, but Bickerstaff wasn’t about to let the outcome erase what it took to get there. Asked about his team’s resilience, he acknowledged it before returning to the mistakes.

“I told the guys I was proud of their resolve; I respect their resolve,” he said. “But we made too many mistakes to put ourselves in that position. We hold ourselves to a higher standard.”

“In certain moments, we have to be able to generate a stop; we’ve got to be able to trust each other. Tonight I thought we made too many mistakes in those moments.”

That included Trae Young’s tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.

“We didn’t pay attention to the details,” Bickerstaff said.

Cunningham gave the Pistons enough to survive anyway, shooting 16-of-25 from the field. Bickerstaff was particularly impressed with how he handled the ball despite all the attention from Washington’s defense.

“The ball is in his hands so much versus so many different covers and actions against him, but I thought he just made the right play over and over again,” Bickerstaff said.

“He never ceases to amaze. He just understands what it takes to get it done and has all the abilities to make those things happen.”

Now Bickerstaff would like a few more stops to go with it.

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