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J.B. Bickerstaff and the Pistons are down 3-1 to the Magic.

Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff explained what went wrong for his team in their Game 4 loss against the Orlando Magic.

The Magic took a 3-1 series lead on Monday night with a 94-88 win over the Pistons. The No. 8-seeded Magic now have a chance to close out the series against the No. 1-seed Pistons, something which very few thought was possible before this series started.

Following the Game 4 loss to the Magic, Bickerstaff was asked why his team struggled so much in defeat, and he was very clear about why he thought so: ultimately, it came down to making too many mistakes.

“I mean, again, it’s the simple things. It’s take care of the ball and rebound the basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “Yeah, I mean, it’s tough. Obviously, I thought we did so many positive things, but you look up 20 turnovers and give up 16 offensive rebounds. That’s going to be hard to overcome.

“39 of their 94 points came from our turnovers and their second chance points,” he said. “And we knew coming in that’s what this was going to be.”

J.B. Bickerstaff and Detroit Pistons on the Ropes

With their loss in Game 4, the Pistons are now on the ropes heading into Game 5 on Wednesday in Detroit. The good news for the Pistons is that the team will have home-court advantage for this game, so they will have their fans cheering for them every possession. The oddsmakers have the Pistons listed as -9.5 point betting favorites to win Game 5, so there is reason for optimism that this talented Pistons team can get back into the groove at home and make this a series.

That being said, the Pistons have been playing uninspiring basketball so far during the postseason, and do not look like the team that won 60 games during the regular season. If they are going to come back and win this series against Orlando, then they need all of their players to step up their games. That includes superstar guard Cade Cunningham, who set a dubious league record with 24 turnovers in a three-game span in the NBA playoffs. That also includes center Jalen Duren, who has not played up to his All-Star form so far during the playoffs.

Bickerstaff Could be Named NBA Coach of the Year

The NBA will soon announce its Coach of the Year award for the 2025-2026 season, and Bickerstaff is one of the three finalists for the award, along with Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics and Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs. Given how well the Pistons performed during the regular season, there is momentum towards Bickerstaff winning this award.

That being said, if the Pistons get bounced in the first round, you know that some fans and media will be calling for the Pistons to make a change behind the bench next year. Clearly, Bickerstaff is a fantastic coach, and his track record with the Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers shows just that. But his lack of playoff success is something that is hard to ignore, too.