Pistons guard Ben Gordon said he saw a little more fire in head coach John Kuester during Tuesday’s practice. The extra fire could be a result of who Kuester and the Pistons will face today, Larry Brown and the Charlotte Bobcats.

Kuester considers Brown a mentor and was an assistant coach for Brown for six seasons in Philadelphia and one season in Detroit, where the two helped the Pistons win the 2004 NBA championship.

“You can tell he’s a little more fired up today,” Gordon said after practice Tuesday. “He wanted us to be a little more attentive on just some details on the defensive end and things on offense. He didn’t say anything, but you can kind of tell he had that edge. He had an edge with himself today.

“He wants to compete against (Brown), he wants to do well against his former mentor. That was definitely evident today. He brought it in practice. I know he is expecting the same from us tomorrow.”

Likely in his mind Kuester would love to beat his former mentor in their first head-to-head matchup, but Kuester said he wants this win just as much as any other when he asked if he wanted to beat Charlotte a little more.

“I don’t think we are playing one-on-one so that’s the good news,” Kuester said with a laugh. “Coach Brown has meant so much to my life. He’s been very special to not only me, but my family. I’m very appreciative of what he’s done for me. He’s a competitor. He’s somebody that I learned so much from. I’m looking forward to seeing him.

“Seeing coach, Dave Hanners and Phil Ford, people from (North) Carolina is special, but as soon as the ball gets thrown up, everybody’s focused on what needs to be done.”