Bickerstaff Highlighted Ref John Goble’s Poor Game And Why It Cost The Pistons A Win

Last night, the Detroit Pistons were not able to successfully complete their comeback, losing to the Dallas Mavericks in two points after overtime, but the outcome of the game was influenced by a series of questionable calls.

After the game, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was delicate yet direct in his criticism of the officiating in Dallas last night– delicate in the fact that he did not mention the ref by name (though all calls referenced are attributed to John Goble) and direct in the sense that no words were minced. Bickerstaff was agitated beyond belief at the series of calls that went against Detroit all game long, and it’s a topic that the Pistons head coach needed to confront head-on.

“Let’s address that,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “So, a referee makes a comment to me about night by night, this is how our interactions are. So, that says to me, a referee is coming into the game not being objective.”

That interaction between Bickerstaff and Goble transpired before the contest tipped off, and it set the tone for a matchup dictated by the officials. In the second quarter, Pistons forward Ausar Thompson was given a technical then immediately booted from the contest and ejected while trying to plead his case.

“You look at the play, that same referee, at halftime I get my technical foul,” Bickerstaff said. “I don’t say anything to him. I go to grab Cade to get Cade off the floor. He gives me a technical foul. That’s my job to get my player away from the referee, get us back to halftime so we can have the conversations that we need to have. So the same referee who comes into the game who is not objective then he goes out and makes those calls. The same referee, if you take a look at the play where he ejects AT, he steps towards AT. That’s where the minimal contact happens, where he steps towards him and initiates it.”

Bickerstaff Explodes, Calls Referee ‘Not Objective’ After Pistons Loss Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was livid after a series of questionable calls against Detroit on Thursday night

So, after Thompson was ejected and the Pistons’ head coach was given a technical of his own, Detroit continued to pick up foul after foul in the second half. When the game wrapped up, the Mavericks were sent to the free throw line for 16 more attempts than Detroit, so the whistle did not exactly blow in both directions. 

"This was two teams competing their tails off, playing high-level basketball, but anybody who comes into the game and says night by night, he clearly has an unobjective point of view," Bickerstaff said. 

Towards the end of regulation, the Pistons held a one-point lead with the ball and less than 30 seconds left on the clock. Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins hoisted up a shot late in the clock, which was blocked and recovered by Anthony Davis, but Jalen Duren quickly stole the ball back to give Detroit possession once again. The refs reviewed the play and reversed the call, ruling the exchange a shot clock violation. Outcome: Dallas basketball.

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The Pistons eventually made it to overtime, and Detroit found itself behind the eight ball once again. Cade Cunningham took a shot down by two points with eight seconds left and missed, but Duren was waiting below the hoop to grab the rebound. As soon as Duren touches the ball, Anthony Davis plasters his arms around Duren to try ripping the ball away as the Pistons’ center goes up for a put-back. The visual evidence pretty clearly shows a foul on the play, but the whistle did not reflect what appeared apparent during real-time. 

That chaotic final sequence sealed the Pistons’ fate on the road in overtime, in a game that did not have a lot of business staying in given the ample adversity stacked against Detroit all game long. 

After the game, Goble answered a pair of questions about his calls from the night, but he was not very generous or talkative in his responses. 

Bickerstaff called it like he saw it. The question is if the official actually called what he saw or what he wanted to see last night. 

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