They say dealing with hardship builds character, but is that really true? Is there some kind of benefit to the Detroit Pistons long losing streak? Or does it just crush the competitive spirit of a young team?
They say fighting adversity is a a good life lesson. The Pistons’ Saddiq Bey, certainly believes so. He he says his recent shooting slump (which, hopefully, he has now broken out of) will make him a better player.
Saddiq Bey on shots not falling: "It's good for me. I try to work on my game as hard as I can every day. When the adversity hits, I work harder. Later in my career, I'm going to look down the line and see how I got out of this."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) December 14, 2021
It is certainly good to have a positive attitude when your team is constantly losing. High draft picks usually do not get put on championship-contending teams, so the first year or two is going to usually be rough.
In Isiah Thomas’ rookie year, the Pistons at one point lost 10 of 11 games, including nine in a row. They did go to right the ship, and finished with a decent 39-43 record, but, coming from a championship program in Indiana, the constant losing to Thomas had to be a bit of a shock.
Of course, Isiah, and the Pistons, recovered quite well from that bad stretch, winning NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, albeit with a lot of reinforcements.
Bey, it seems has also bounced back from his slow start:
2nd double-double of the season for Headband Saddiq 🔥 @BELFORGroup | @SaddiqBey pic.twitter.com/PeoHVnlWGW
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 17, 2021
If things start to easy, like a young player immediately finds success and the team goes far in the playoffs, the NBA game might seem a bit too easy and, when adversity finally does come, they might … act like a whiny little baby (aka Ben Simmons)
Since most of the Detroit players come from either high-powered club teams or successful college or high school programs, losing all the time is not part of their DNA, it is not something they had to deal with much.
As an example, Cade Cunningham won a national championship in high school with Montverde Academy and then made the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his one season at Oklahoma State.
Yet, at only 20-years-old, the No. 1 pick understands this is all part of the growth process, as he told James Edwards of The Athletic:
"“I’m not going to let a couple of losses change my mindset on how much I hate losing.” Cunningham said earlier in the week. He said the team, while learning to win, needs to make sure to keep hating the taste of losses.”"
It seems like Cunningham and Bey, two of the keystones for the future of the Pistons, are taking positive attitudes towards the difficult circumstances they find themselves in.
As shown in the past, with Thomas, losing is not contagious. Eventually, with the addition of more talent, and added experience, things do turn around. How far might depend on how all the young players deal with the current adversity.