3 takeaways from loss to Mavericks as Pistons hit rock bottom
The Detroit Pistons were hammered by the Dallas Mavericks last night, their 5th loss in a row and things can’t get much worse.
After having a brief run of mediocrity in January, the Pistons are back to being the worst team in the NBA, edging the Orlando Magic for the honor by a few percentage points.
Detroit failed to score 90 points last night, which is a sentence you’d expect to be writing in 2004, not in 2022.
The Pistons have lost 9-of-10 and have been struggling mightily since Jerami Grant returned and Cade Cunningham promptly went out with injury.
Related Story. Cade Cunningham is a big fan of one 2022 NBA Draft prospect. light
Detroit was eviscerated last night and has now hit rock bottom with the worst record in the NBA. I know some fans are probably delighted since this is a developmental year anyway and the worst record does come with one lottery advantage (a guaranteed top-5 pick).
But count me as one who wants to see some wins so this team can carry momentum into the offseason and hopefully make a leap as a franchise that we’ve seen from other young teams this season.
Here are three takeaways from the blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Detroit Pistons really really need Cade Cunningham
This might be the most obvious take of all, but the Pistons really need Cade Cunningham back.
Cunningham had just won Rookie of the Month in the Eastern Conference, taken the top spot on the Rookie Ladder and was playing his best ball of the season when he got hurt, and the Pistons’ chances of winning games went with him.
Detroit is scoring just 94 points per game without Cade Cunningham, which would be outstanding if they were playing in the pre-shot clock era. They haven’t been much better on defense, allowing over 112 points per game since Cade has been out.
We knew it would take Jerami Grant some time to get back into the flow of the offense, but in his absence the Pistons had grown to rely on Cunningham to initiate everything, push in transition and keep the ball moving, which led to them playing at a faster pace.
The Pistons scored just six fast break points last night and the half court offense was about as fluid as a bowl of stodgy oatmeal.
Things have slowed to a halt without Cade, and Detroit has gone from being merely bad to the worst team in the NBA, so let’s hope he comes back soon.