On December 26, 2023, the Detroit Pistons made history in the worst way possible. In a 118-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the 2023-24 Pistons have dropped to 2-28, and have lost their 27th straight game. Lucky number 27 is now the most consecutive losses by a team in a single season in NBA history. Technically, it isn't the worst losing streak yet, as the 76ers hold 28 straight losses between two seasons, between the end of 2014-15 and the beginning of 2015-16.
The sad part? The Pistons could have easily sealed this game as a win. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons to pull within three points entering the fourth quarter. ESPN describes, "Fans chanted "Let's go Pistons" during the final frame, trying to rally the home team as Cunningham nailed a trey at 8:10 to put Detroit up 97-92." However, the Nets pulled away with a 26-15 run, leaving Detroit with a calm 15-15 record, something to improve and something that could be worse.
Yet, Detroit sits rock bottom at 2-28, after staring out the season with a semi-promising 2-1 record. There were various bright spots for the young roster, with rookie Ausar Thompson showing his ability on the defensive end, and Cunningham coming into his own as a rising star in the league, coming off last year's season-ending shin injury. However, there is something off about this team, to be sure. USA Today writes, "They are No. 29 offensively, No. 26 defensively and are No. 30 in net rating. With a team as bad as the Pistons, there are no games on the schedule that say, "The Pistons should win that game.""
Various outlets and sports fans find themselves puzzled through it all. Danny Chau from The Ringer put it best, "This team isn’t a radical sociological pressure test the way the Process Sixers were. It isn’t the Christian Eyenga–era Cavaliers, who emerged as the last remaining life-forms from the crater that a LeBron-sized asteroid imprinted on the franchise in 2010. In design, the Pistons are not an exceptional cautionary tale. That’s what makes this historic losing streak so chilling."
The Pistons came into the season hoping for a sophomore improvement from last year's fifth pick Jaden Ivey, a strong comeback from Cade Cunningham, and a breakout rookie in Ausar Thompson. Detroit even took advantage of one of the most recently successful head coaches, in Monty Williams, being available on the market, having just been fired by the new-look Phoenix Suns. It's as simple as the Pistons can't find themselves getting the ball into the basket, being one of the worst offensive teams in the league in an era of unusually high offensive output throughout the league.
Unless you're Cade Cunningham, the only saving grace of Detroit sports in the context of basketball. Chau reports, "Cade Cunningham turned in arguably the strongest game of his young career (41 points on 71.7 percent shooting, nine rebounds, and five assists), showing all the promise of a true three-level offensive player: deep range, assuredness in the midrange, touch, and the ability to finish through contact in the restricted area." Over the 27-game losing streak, Cunningham has averaged 23.1 PPG, 6.9 APG, and 44.6% field goal percentage on 35.0 minutes per game. After one of their losses, Cunningham has attempted to keep the optimism for this Detroit team, stating that, "We're not 2-26 bad. No way are we that bad."
The Pistons at least can say they're relevant in the NBA again, despite it being for a terrible reason. Ever since their sixth straight Eastern Conference Finals run in 2007-08, the Pistons have only made the playoffs thrice. Their best season during that span being a 44-38 record in 2015-16, led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Andre Drummond, Marcus Morris, and Tobias Harris. Their only All-Stars since 2008 have been Allen Iverson, Andre Drummond, and Blake Griffin during his two-and-a-half year stint in Detroit. What a fabulous track record.
Detroit has an entire world of options to take to fix things. They are targeting wings Miles Bridges and Tobias Harris by the trade deadline. A smart move could be to go for veterans and get older presence in the locker room to help lead this failing team. The Pistons could get younger, and attempt to trade away excess big men and guys like Bojan Bodganovic and Alec Burks for picks to maximize themselves in this year's draft, which is notably weaker compared to previous years. From the eye test as well as the numbers, everyone but Cade Cunningham, center Jalen Duren, guard Jaden Ivey, and rookie Ausar Thompson are on the trade block. The question of how to re-oil the Pistons in Detroit has been asked since 2008, and there seems to be no clear bright future ahead. At the end of the day, the answer could just be to wait and see and allow the incredibly young Detroit roster develop as a team.
The streets of Detroit have been left in famine, however, due to a promotion with Wingstop where five free boneless wings could be added to any online order following a Pistons win. No free boneless wings have been won since October 28, 2023.
At least the Lions won the NFC North for the first time since 1993. The soul of Detroit basketball was sacrificed to whatever sports god may lie up there, in order for the Lions to have a taste of a Super Bowl.
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