There is no other way to say it: This has been a disappointing season for the Detroit Pistons.
No one expected the Pistons to win the title this season, but they have the worst record in the league and have lost their best player to injury, so even the most optimistic fans are starting to get discouraged.
It’s not just that they are losing, but there hasn’t been much progress outside of some strides from Killian Hayes and the two rookies, as the Pistons are not just losing, but doing it in ways that no longer resemble anything close to what we like to call Detroit basketball.
It’s been an ugly season that really hit a low point in the last game as Detroit blew a double digit lead with just minutes to go and then failed to even show up in the overtime against the Clippers, losing a game that LA had all but conceded.
Entering the season, Dwane Casey stated that one of the team goals was to be in the top-10 in defense, but instead, they are staring at being the worst defense in team history, which could eventually be his downfall.
Detroit Pistons: The worst defense in franchise history
The Pistons are a franchise whose past success has largely been based on strong team play and defense, two things the have been noticeably absent from this year’s squad that often plays selfish basketball and defends no one.
In fact, this team is on pace to be the worst defense in franchise history by far. Currently they have a 118.6 defensive rating, nearly five points worse than the previous franchise-worst, which was last season.
The Pistons don’t currently have a single player who averages at least one blocked shot per game, and only have two (Killian Hayes and Jaden Ivey) who average at least one steal.
Detroit allows opponents to shoot 48.8 percent from the field overall and a pathetic 57 percent on two-point shots, both of which are 28th in the NBA.
They give up a ton of points in the paint and are one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the NBA, so they aren’t closing out possessions.
We’ve heard all of the excuses about youth and injuries this season, but the truth is this team is a long way from being a league-average NBA defense even if they were at full strength. With few good individual defenders on the roster, Detroit is going to have to make some changes before next season, as you can’t compete in the NBA if you allow 119 points per game.
Eventually someone is going to have to take responsibility for this defensive mess, as this is not Detroit basketball and something needs to change.
