On Thursday night, the Detroit Pistons were short-handed against the Sacramento Kings as head coach Dwane Casey decided to give the team’s leading scorer, Blake Griffin the night off.
By the time the first quarter was over, the Kings lead 34-21 and the eventual outcome was not much better for the Pistons as they fell on the road 112-102 to drop to 17-23 on the season.
During the game, Pistons’ former first-round pick Luke Kennard was benched by Casey after missing a couple of assignments.
As you can see in the video below, Kennard was not happy at all and let the Pistons’ coaches know how he felt before having to be restrained.
Here’s the full video of the incident between Luke Kennard and the coaching staff on the #Pistons’ bench. Had to be restrained by multiple players. pic.twitter.com/4RC0AcgbFI
— Palace Pistons (@PalaceOfPistons) January 11, 2019
Following the game, Casey was asked about the incident.
“He was upset, I was upset the entire night,” Casey said. “He probably got a little frustrated. He missed a couple assignments. We had a few guys upset. Those are teachable moments, teachable situations we had. We’re not here to gift them baskets.
“There were certain situations where we were critical. When you make multiple mistakes, multiple bad reads, you’re going to get taken out of the game, get talked to, get coached.
“I like the fact that he did get upset because it shows he cares.
Kennard also spoke after the game and he made it clear that the Pistons have to start winning.
Kennard said: “I hate to lose. That’s what’s going on right now. We got to find a way to continue to stay together. We got to find ways to win. It’s as simple as that.”
