The Detroit Pistons are bad boys once again, and that means getting into brawls on the court. One always hopes the brawls don’t go too far, but they did during the team’s game on Sunday, March 30, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with multiple Pistons and Timberwolves staffers getting ejected. Of course, it takes two to tango, and both teams were heavily involved in the incident.
Breaking Down the Big Brawl Between the Pistons and Timberwolves
During the second quarter of Sunday’s game in Minneapolis, with 9:29 on the clock, the incident began with Pistons rookie Ron Holland II fouling Minnesota’s Naz Reid. The foul was called, but Reid still wasn’t happy about it. Part of what’s so shocking about this incident is that the foul was properly called, so one has to wonder why Reid was so heated.
Following the foul, Reid started pointing at and motioning towards Holland, who talked back to the player. Then, Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo stepped in front of Reid and appeared to physically go at him. Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart also got into it and, at one point, gestured towards the “Detroit” printed on his jersey.
A collection of players from both teams rushed in, but it didn’t stop the fighting, and the brawl went on for a few minutes. Even officials couldn’t seem to split it up. With both teams at the baseline, the players were even shoved into the crowd. It also looked like some players threw punches while officials attempted to split them up.
Finally, officials were able to separate these guys, but not after more fighting. Eventually, a massive amount of players and staffers were ejected from the game, including Minnesota’s Reid, DiVincenzo and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni, as well as Pistons’ Holland, Stewart guard Marcus Sasser and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. You know it’s serious when five players and two coaches are ejected.
As Pistons Palace stated on Instagram, “Courtside view of the scuffle. Pistons were already depleted coming into tonight, and now without Stew, Ron, Sass, and JB the rest of the way. No clue why they ejected Sass for trying to de-escalate. Suspensions incoming.”
Detroit Pistons Playing Without Cade Cunningham
Losing these players hurts extra hard for the Pistons, who are playing without star player Cade Cunningham, who has been dealing with a calf injury.
In good news, the Detroit Pistons switched Cunningham’s status from out to doubtful on Sunday. While that still means he’s not playing, it shows that his injury is progressing towards improvement.
News of Cunningham’s injury broke on Friday, March 28. He was expected to appear in last Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans but was a late scratch right before the matchup started. Then, after not appearing in the following game against the San Antonio Spurs, the Pistons sent a release out with an official injury update.
“Recent imaging on Cade Cunningham’s left calf confirmed a left calf contusion that he sustained during the game last week at Dallas (3/21),” the team sent out in a statement over social media. “He will miss tonight’s game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers and will continue his treatment regimen with the Pistons’ athletic training staff. Cunningham will be listed as day-to-day moving forward.”
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