The only way to describe this season for Detroit Pistons fans: Torturous. That’s it.
Think about it. They signed Monty Williams — a coach who was in the NBA Finals just two seasons ago — to the richest deal in NBA history to come make the team relevant again.
And, at first, it looked good! The Pistons started the season 2-1. It seemed like things were actually going to go Detroit’s way for once.
Two months later, the Pistons have lost 25 straight games — one L away from tying the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history with 26 straight Ls if Detroit can’t manage to win its next game. Fans are out here wearing paper bags on their faces now. It’s bad. It’s all bad.
Pistons fans started chanting "sell the team" after 25th straight loss tonight. pic.twitter.com/rDwjDN7pJf
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 22, 2023
Pistons fans, I would tell you not to worry, but you were going to do that anyway so I won’t bother.
Instead, let’s try to pinpoint the team’s next win. Is it going to come before the Pistons have the longest losing streak in NBA history? Probably not. But, hey, man. The goal is to end this at some point no matter when it is. So let’s figure it out.
Here are five games the Pistons might have a slight chance of winning to end this awful streak:
Dec. 26 vs. Brooklyn Nets
Let me start by saying I feel decent about this pick. Not good — just decent. But that’s better than bad, right?
This game feels like one that is lined up just right for a Pistons win. Think about it. It’s the day after Christmas. Detroit will be at home against a Nets team it’ll have just seen in Brooklyn on the 23rd.
This basically turns into a mini-series. Things can get weird when teams see each other over and over again. The Nets should play hard because no one wants to be the team that loses to these Pistons, but traveling the day after Christmas will surely be exhausting. The Pistons can steal this.
Dec. 30 vs. Toronto Raptors
If that doesn’t work, the Pistons will have to turn to the next home game against the Toronto Raptors.
In between this, Detroit will play Boston and the Pistons certainly aren’t winning that one. But the Raptors are absolutely abysmal on the road this season. Their 3-8 road record is only better than the Hornets, Wizards and Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is a middling team generally, but the Raptors are very bad on the road.
Jan. 3 @ Utah Jazz
Alright, man. Here we go again. The Pistons already burned me once losing to the Jazz at home. Now, here I am, believing in Detroit’s ability to beat the Jazz on the road.
Listen, this one is probably unlikely. But it has to make the list because the Jazz are just that bad. The team’s –7.1 net rating over the last 10 games is the 4th worst in the league.
Of course, Detroit is dead last in that department. But, hey, man. The Pistons have to beat somebody sometime.
Jan. 10 vs. Spurs
Man. If this was 15 years ago Spurs vs. Pistons would’ve been seen as a potential NBA Finals matchup.
That’s the thing about the old days, though — they’re the old days.
These two teams have had the longest losing streaks in the NBA so far this season. It’s safe to say they’re the two worst teams in the league. Considering that, it feels like the Pistons have a solid chance to squeeze out a win here.
Jan. 12 vs. Rockets
Alright, man. If we make it here this far without a Pistons win, I don’t know if there’s much we can actually do for this team.
Seeing the Rockets at home would be a great chance to win. The same thing that applied to the Raptors above can be applied to Houston here. This team is more or less average, but it’s also abysmal on the road. The Rockets are 2-10 outside of Houston so far this season.
Hopefully, Detroit will have found a win before this. But if not? This is a solid spot to grab one.
