Detroit Pistons: Who is to blame for embarrassing loss?

Detroit Pistons: Who is to blame for this brutal season?

The players

The one group that rarely gets blamed for any of this is the players, which seems absurd to me considering they are the ones who actually play the game.

Far too often this team has put up lackadaisical effort, played lazy defense, selfish offense and at some point they need to look in the mirror.

Again, we knew the success of this season wouldn’t be measured in wins and losses, but in development, improvement and effort. We’ve seen some individual improvement in certain guys, and the rookies have been a bright spot, but we’ve also seen this team consistently get blown off the floor with little resistance and at some point, the players need to be accountable too.

The Pistons only won 23 games last season, but at least they were close in many of them. In fact, they were secretly the best bet in the NBA, as they covered the spread more than 20 games in a row, played with some fire and were at least keeping games close.

That hasn’t been the case this season, and while I do think coach Casey and Troy Weaver need to shoulder some blame, so do the players. Youth isn’t an excuse for poor effort, so they need to show some pride and play with some heart.

Rebuilds are tough for everyone from the fans to the players to the front office, so it’s natural to feel frustration. I still have hope this will eventually turn around, but everyone involved needs to do better.