J.B. Bickerstaff calls out officials over free throws after Pistons' Game 4 loss to Cavaliers: 'It's unacceptable'

J.B. Bickerstaff didn’t hesitate to call out the officiating on Monday night.

Bickerstaff and the Detroit Pistons stumbled in the second half on Monday and fell to Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-103. The loss in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series tied it up 2-2.

But it wasn’t just the loss, or the record-tying performance that Mitchell had in the second half, that Bickerstaff was upset with. It was the foul calls, or in his mind, the lack thereof.

“It’s unacceptable, it is,” Bickerstaff said, via the Detroit News’ Coty Davis. “We didn’t do enough honestly to help ourselves, and I’ll start there. But ever since we came to Cleveland, the whistle has changed. There’s no way that one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our team.”

The Pistons went 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the loss at Rocket Arena on Monday. By comparison, the Cavaliers made 30 of the 34 free throws they attempted. Mitchell went 13-of-15 from the line himself.

Now in Mitchell’s defense, he absolutely erupted in the second half. Mitchell had 39 of his 43 points in the game in the final two quarters, which matched an NBA playoff record. He went 13-of-26 from the field and made four 3-pointers, too.

But Mitchell did in fact make more free throws in the win than the Pistons attempted.

“What was done out there tonight, it’s frustrating,” Bickerstaff said. “But we can’t allow that to be the reason why … But again, when you look at the foul count, you look at the disparity, that’s hard to overcome. And you wonder the reason why.”

Zooming out, the Cavaliers shot just 16 free throw attempts in their Game 1 loss. The Pistons went 27-of-35 from the line that night. Game 2, which the Pistons also won, was much more even, with the Cavaliers shooting just seven more attempts than the Pistons. The Cavaliers shot six more than the Pistons in their Game 3 win, too.

Again, it’s hard to blame the officiating for the loss completely, especially when Mitchell goes off the way he did. Bickerstaff said that up front, too.