A stocking full of holiday stories on Detroit Pistons

Throughout the years,  we have produced quite a few stories on the Pistons and their games on, or close to, Christmas Day. Here, we present the best bits from a few of them.

As the Pistons take another unwanted Christmas break, while 10 NBA teams do get to play on December 25, it is a time to remember that Detroit playing on Christmas used to be a regular thing.

It made sense. After all, the Detroit Lions had a tradition of playing on Thanksgiving, so the local NBA team should play on the big holiday during its season – Christmas. The Pistons have played on Christmas 33 times in its history, although not since 2005, when they faced the Spurs at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Piston Powered has done a few stories about the Pistons and Christmas, but instead of rehashing it all again, here are some highlights from them (with links to the full story) to enjoy during your holiday time.

Here is a snippet of what Aaron Ferguson wrote breaking down the statistics of the Pistons and Christmas game:

"The younger generation of fans may not know but the Pistons have a rich history. The Pistons have played 32 games on Christmas day – trailing only the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers (45) – but haven’t played since 2005, an 82-70 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Not that the Pistons have warranted much of a reason to play in the NBA’s marquee set. Despite a rich history of playing on Christmas, the Pistons have the fifth-worst win percentage, going 10-22 (.313). At least the last time the Pistons played on Christmas, the Goin’ to Work Pistons were 2-1. They lost in 2002 to the Orlando Magic, 104-99. In 2004, they would beat Indiana 98-93 with Richard Hamilton scoring 25 points and Chauncey Billups scoring 20 more. Surprisingly, after winning the NBA Championship in 1989, the Pistons didn’t play on Christmas the following season. However, after winning back-to-back championships in 1990, Detroit would lose to Chicago 98-86. Joe Dumars scored a team-high 24 points and Isiah Thomas had a double-double with 23 points and 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Michael Jordan‘s 37-point night."

For his full story, go here:

It is a bit surprising that, even when they have been very good, the NBA has found a way to by-pass the Pistons. It’s as if they don’t like their tough, ground-it-out, physical style of play, or think it makes boring television on a day where many casual viewers are tuning in, so they try to avoid showing Detroit.

Most likely both, or they simply do not like them.