Detroit Pistons look to end 13-game losing streak
The Detroit Pistons recently extended their losing streak to 13 consecutive losses. But they are one of the favorites to end their slump on Monday night when they host the struggling Washington Wizards.
The Wizards have lost nine straight and are on the verge of a double-digit losing streak.
The Pistons and Wizards are both 2-14, tied for the worst record in the NBA this season. There are no ties in the NBA, so one of these bad teams is going to get a win on Monday night.
Even though the Pistons are on a 13-game losing streak, they are -3 favorites against the visiting Wizards.
New Pistons coach isn't freaking out yet... but
The Pistons hired Monty Williams as their new head coach, making him the highest paid coach in the league. The front office hired Williams to turn the franchise around. Williams inherited the NBA's worst team, which won just 17 games last season.
Williams is focused on making his team better in key areas.
Turnover has been bothering us for some time and we need to address it. "We talked about it as a team," Williams said. There's a period of time in every game where you turn the ball over or get an offensive rebound, and it lasts about three or four minutes. Now we have to give it our all in key moments of the game. "
Over the past four seasons, the Pistons have averaged just 20 wins per game. They've been the worst team in the Eastern Conference twice in the last three seasons.
In the past 15 years, the Pistons have only made the playoffs three times and lost in the first round three times.
The Pistons have not won a playoff game since the 2007-08 season, when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth consecutive season. During their glory days in the early 2000s, the Pistons made two NBA Finals appearances and won a championship in 2003-04 under head coach Larry Brown.
Cade Cunningham: “We suck”
The Pistons currently rank 22nd in scoring defense, allowing 117.2 points per game. Their offense averages 109.8 points per game and ranks 25th overall.
The Pistons have allowed their opponents to score more than 120 points eight times during their losing streak. They have only reached the 120-point mark once during this period.
Point guard Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, leads the Pistons in scoring this season. In his third season, he's averaging a career-high 22 points and 7.1 assists per game while shooting a career-high 33 percent from three. Despite the solid numbers, Cunningham isn't happy with the losing streak.
We have to be realistic about the situation," Cunningham told The Athletic. "It's hard to say, 'We're good,' you know what I'm saying? Because we are bad. We have to deal with it. We need to deal with the things we are not good at. Don’t just address it with our words, address it on the pitch, within the team. "
The young Pistons have yet to find a consistent second scorer. Center Jalen Duran (12.7 points per game) is second on the team, followed by guards Alex Burks (12.5 points per game) and Jaden Ivey (12.5 points per game).
Rookie forward Osar Thompson, the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is averaging 11.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Wizards drop 9 points in a row
The Wizards are rebuilding after trading All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns in the offseason. In losing Beal, they lost the team's leading scorer and rower.
The Suns sent future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul to the Wizards in the Beal trade. But Paul stayed on the list for less than two weeks before being traded again.The Wizards traded Paul to the Golden State Warriors for shooting guard Jordan Poole.
Poole was slow to adapt to his new team. He averaged 17.7 points and 3.6 assists per game with the Wizards, but shot only 28.6% from three-point range. Poole averaged 20.4 points and 4.5 assists per game with the Warriors last season.
Poole sprained his ankle in Friday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He missed Saturday's loss to the Indiana Pacers and is expected to miss Monday night's game. Swingman Corey Kispert (10.7 points per game) started Saturday, and rookie guard Bilal Koulibaly (8.3 points per game) also saw increased playing time in Poole's absence.
Without Poole in the lineup, the Wizards are on the verge of losing ten games in a row.
Continue to fade the bottom feeder
Through the first 16 games of the season, five teams have a winning percentage below .250, including the Portland Trail Blazers (.250), Memphis Grizzlies (.188), San Antonio Spurs (.176) and Pistons (0.125). ) and the Wizards (.125).
Four losing teams rank near the bottom of DraftKings' NBA Futures rankings. The Pistons, Wizards, Spurs and Trail Blazers have a +100,000 chance of winning the 2023-24 NBA championship.
The Trail Blazers (4-12) are in a rebuilding phase this season and have won just a quarter of their games. They traded All-Star guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and point guard Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics.
The Grizzlies (3-13) have won just three games this season while All-Star point guard Ja Morant is suspended for 25 games. They also lost center Steven Adams to knee surgery and point guard Marcus Smart, who is out for a month with a foot injury.
The Spurs (3-14) have been a must-see on television since selecting French teenager Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. But they only won three games.
The Grizzlies are 5-11, the second-worst team this season. The Spurs are next at 6-11 ATS. The Pistons, Wizards and Trail Blazers also have 7-9 ATS records. The Pistons are 4-9 in the 13-game series. The Wizards are 3-6 ATS in nine games.
Read also:
- South Dakota hotel must apologize to Native Americans over 'racist' ban
- Film credit application says Al Pacino wants to bring Vegas back
- Bally’s Chicago pop-up casino welcomes 83,000 guests and wins $7.6 million in first month
- Long Island casino opponents like New York's delay in issuing licenses
Source: www.casino.org
