Pistons tie an NBA record for futility
The Detroit Pistons tied an NBA record last night by losing their 26th game in a row to the Brooklyn Nets.
They can own said record after Tuesday's game against...the Brooklyn Nets. I think if they keep trying hard, and play as a team they can achieve history. Infamy. I meant infamy. And this coming draft is considered very weak at the top, in case you were struggling to find a silver lining.
December 24th, 2023 at 9:27 AM ^
I don’t watch NBA, but how are they this bad? Seriously.
December 24th, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
How much you wanna bet that the Pistons win 2 games all year and still wind up with the 5th pick due to the NBA's idiotic draft lottery?
December 24th, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
This is honestly the blueprint of how not to construct an NBA roster in 2023. They have multiple very ball dominant guards; none of whom can shoot efficiently from the outside. So there is point 1: no spacing.
They also have 3-4 dinosaur era big men. No discernible post ability and absolutely no threat to step out. There have been times this year where the lineup has been: Cade, Hayes, Thompson, Stewart, and Wiseman/Duren. That is the anthesis of how an NBA team should look in modern basketball.
December 24th, 2023 at 10:44 AM ^
At this point they should sign Dumars, Zeke, and Lambeer to 10-day contracts just to break the streak.
But seriously, the issues are compounding. Cade was the consensus best player available when they won the lottery, but he's not franchise-player good. Ivey is a turnover machine. Hayes and Thompson are their best defenders, but neither of them can shoot. Stewart is a backup 5 who thrives in limited minutes but is playing way too many for this team. Duren is often hurt. Wiseman and Bagley are borderline useless. Burks, Harris, and Bogdanovic are not well rounded players. Morris hasn't even played yet this year. It would almost be impossible to assemble a more mismatched roster. And then there's the coach, who only took the job because he was given what was then the largest contract in NBA history. He doesn't coach defense, not does Steven Silas, his top assistant who was run out of Houston for that very reason. Monty was oft-criticized in Phoenix for overplaying his starters. He's compensated in Detroit by now inserting five bench players at a time for long stretches. Given the information above, you can guess how well that's going.
Long story short, they are ridiculously young and about to get even younger in a weak draft class. Any cap space they can create is wasted because no marquee free agent wants to sign in Detroit. I suspect Weaver will be fired next week, but a new GM is going to be left with no real options. Cade and Stew are their only movable assets (Duren and Thompson hold value, but they should be kept), but you're now talking about selling at their lowest possible value.
In short, the Pistons are fucked. Really fucked.
December 24th, 2023 at 10:52 AM ^
So my question is, were the first round picks they made to build the team reasonable at the time they were made and just turned out poorly in hindsight, or were they highly questionable at the time?
December 24th, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
Cade was fine in a vacuum, but he's a complementary piece. Drafting Hayes over Halliburton was Weavers worst move, but he redeemed himself a bit with the Duren and Thompson picks. Ivey is a prototypical sixth man. He can get you offense in a hurry but isn't well suited for a starting role. Overall, I'd give Weaver a B- for his drafts. His trades and free agent signings have been an absolute F.
December 24th, 2023 at 11:38 AM ^
I could not even have told you whether the Pistons were bad or good (though I probably would have figured bad was a safe guess).
The nba is the farthest thing from my radar, but damn, that's atrocious.