How bad are the Pistons really? Pretty bad, in fact.
The 2-22 Pistons are bottom of the East Conference. It's not a very big surprise.
If you tuned into the Pistons’ broadcast of Friday’s 32-point loss to the Sixers, you were greeted with an evident tone of pessimism, disappointment, and a distant yearning for the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery to finally arrive. The Pistons, currently slogging through a 22-game losing streak, are currently the laughingstock of the NBA, and even the broadcasters are tired of calling blowouts for their beloved hometown team.
“Embiid brings it back outside to Maxey. Now back inside to Joël, now Maxey’s on the sideline, and he sticks it,” Pistons play-by-play commentator George Blaha says, trying his best to suppress the verbal venom towards the Pistons bench. “That’s a three, and it’s five-zip for Philadelphia.” Blaha’s called plays for Detroit news stations since 1976; he’s watched firsthand the ups and downs of Detroit, from the Pistons’ 2003-04 title-winning season to their 66-loss year in 1979-80. Despite his four-and-odd decades watching the Pistons, this year’s edition of the team may be the worst yet.
After every Philadelphia make and every Detroit miss, the announcers’ voices seem to deflate a little bit. They miss the days when Andre Drummond would toss up a double-double every night and the Pistons were simply average instead of painstakingly unbearable to watch.
As the clock finally, no, mercifully winds down to 0.0 in quarter 4 as the Sixers wrap up a 124-92 loss, two things are completely clear. Their defense? Putrid. Their offense? Somehow, even worse.
Watching Detroit face the #4-seed Philadelphia was like seeing a man get stabbed in slow motion. Off Joel Embiid’s 35-point, 13-rebound performance, Philadelphia relentlessly penetrated the Pistons’ porous defense. Detroit was helpless to stop it; they’re in free-fall right now, and the only thing that could save them is Ron Holland or Matas Buzelis, the top two projected draft picks of 2024.
With every Embiid fade-away, with every Tyrese Maxey drive into the paint, and with every Detroit disaster-class, the question heats, boils, and simmers until it reaches an unavoidable climax — what is wrong with Detroit?
Not only are the Pistons the worst 3-point shooting team over the last 10 games, per NBA.com, they’re shooting even worse on wide-open 3s. NBA.com counts “wide open” 3s as a defender being 6 feet away or more from the shooter. Detroit is knocking down an impressively bad 29.7 percent on those attempts while averaging 20 per game. The Pistons are getting great looks for bad shooters. They’re not making them. Surprise.
Pistons beat writer for TheAthletic, James L. Edwards III
Detroit has not been a true NBA title contender for a very long time, not since the times of Rip Hamilton and Chancey Billups. The last time they made the playoffs was in the 2018-19 season with the core three of Blake Griffin, Drummond, and Reggie Jackson.
This exciting, talented squad, renowned for its frustrating defense but hindered by poor shooting and ball movement, lasted only one season. Blake Griffin underwent surgery on his left knee early into the season, playing just 18 games before missing the rest of the season. Jackson missed several games with a persistent back injury. The Pistons’ role players were too inconsistent to truly replace the two’s skillsets. Detroit traded off Drummond for John Henson and Brandon Knight, two mediocre players who averaged less than 10 points per game at the time.
With the next two seasons, it seemed like the Pistons were going full tank mode.
Despite drafting now-key players like Killian Hayes, Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, and Jaden Ivey, they lost a lot of veteran presence and failed to win over 24 games in a season. They got Bojan Bogdanovic by trading away Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, and over $1 million in cash. But, aside from the Croatian sharpshooter, every Detroit player averaging over 20 minutes per game was acquired in the draft during before 2021.
Cunningham is the primary ballhandler, scorer, and Detroit’s hope for the future. He’s a solid shooter and playmaker, an excellent defender, and he uses his high basketball intelligence to disguise his average athleticism. Despite his 32% accuracy from range, he averages around 22 points per game with just over seven assists. Hayes is the regular shooting guard, a lottery pick who started with a lot of potential but has since been criticized for a lack of efficiency and consistency.
The Pistons’ frontcourt — Stewart, Jalen Duren, Marvin Bagley III, James Wiseman, and more — can all be characterized as big, physical, and powerful, but largely lacking the technical skills and shooting many big men have nowadays. Bogdanovic, who flits between positions, is the team’s knockdown shooter, but is aging and doesn’t add much else to the team.
Combine that with the fact that Detroit is suffering from nagging injuries all around — Bagley III and Duren are out with different niggles and sprains — and the team will very likely ship out Bogdanovic for a contending team, and you have one of the youngest, most inexperienced teams in the leagues in need of desperate help to save them from a historic losing streak.
There were easy fixes to the Pistons roster that Troy [Weaver, Pistons GM] could’ve made this summer. He did nothing. There were seemingly easy adjustments Monty [Williams, Pistons head coach] could’ve made over a month ago. He did nothing until the snowballing losing was already too large. They need a major shakeup at this point. The easy moves won’t get this team out of the ever growing rut.
Pistons podcaster and Twitter analyst, Jordan Lederman
The Pistons’ woes stem from their shooting — they are 29th in the league in three-point shooting (33.4%), and dead last in three-pointers made (9.9 per game). They rank 23rd in total field goals made (40.6 per game), and 22nd in FG% (46.2%). One of their most exciting youngsters — defensive cog Ausar Thompson — shoots an abysmal 7-49 from three. Their accuracy (or lack thereof) was reflected in that Friday loss — Detroit shot 4-21 from range.
Everyone knows that Detroit can’t shoot, helping defenses lock down Detroit’s offense. With Bogdanovic the only floor-spacer on the team, defenses can give Detroit’s players more room and commit to the helpline more. It explains why Detroit averages around 108 points per game — good for 28th in the league.
They’re also inconsistent with the ball. The Pistons nearly average a whopping 16.9 turnovers a game, second-last in the league, conceding an average of 20.8 points per game off turnovers themselves. Cunningham leads the league himself in turnovers, with 4.1 turnovers per game; and it’s not surprising considering Cunningham has had to command one of the worst offenses of the league without any semblance of spacing. They foul a lot as well (22.8 fouls per game, worst in the league), which is consistent with their general impatience and inexperience.
So, they can’t shoot, turn the ball over at staggeringly bad levels, and foul as if they were their predecessors from 30-40 years ago. Why do Detroit fans still have hope?
I’m not sure whether this take makes me an optimist amid all the chaos, or is actually the most pessimistic take of all — I’m afraid the Pistons are simply your typical, run-of-the-mill bad NBA basketball team. The kind that finishes bottom-five in the standings (again), but not the kind that is so epically bad that it forces the kinds of wholesale changes people seem to be thirsty for.
If this team had somehow stumbled into two narrow wins within these 17 losses, it feels like the narrative would be quite different. The folks who were always skeptical of Troy Weaver’s tenure as GM would remain so (and they might be right). Those who feel like these pieces can’t really fit long-term would not change their stance. Fans might be out of patience, but they wouldn’t be out for blood.
Sean Corp, DetroitBadBoys columnist
Although this Detroit team isn’t as talented as their rivals — the 10-16 Bulls, 13-12 Cavs, and 13-10 Pacers are all objectively better than the Pistons — they are still very talented and looking very exciting going into the future. Cunningham has shone glimmers of excellent playmaking and shot creation on a difficult team, and although he can’t knock down threes dependably, that area of his game can improve.
Jalen Duren, despite his recent persistent ankle injuries, has been dominant inside the paint this season. The 6’10 big is averaging a double-double in his 12.9 points per game and 10.9 rebounds. Ausar Thompson is arguably one of the league’s best defensive guards and crafty under the rim. He’s getting significant playing time despite his poor three-point shooting.
The Pistons’ G League Squad, the Motor City Cruise, has several promising prospects. Jared Rhoden, Zavier Simpson, Stanley Umude, and more are all players who have made a name for themselves and could see playing time soon.
Detroit's 2023-24 season will go down as one of the worst starts to a season, and likely one of the worst season ever, period. But this season can lead to better days ahead. With great management and patience, the Pistons' young core can quickly turn into the team of the future. Cunningham may live up to his pre-draft potential as a genuine superstar instead of a good player on a bad team. And maybe, just maybe, the Pistons announcers can truly be excited again.
But until then, the Pistons will have to relive more 30-point blowouts. The Pistons will still throw up bricks as an alternative to threes. They will still lose the ball on historic levels. And the only thing fans can say after each game?
“Oh, well.”