The Detroit Pistons' 2023-’24 season, mercifully, came to an end on the 14th of April. That’s given us all a chance to breathe and collect our thoughts a bit after having been drug through one of the most catastrophic seasons in recent Detroit sports history. Those of us who have the fortitude to do so, now find ourselves in a place to reflect on the last year so if you have the stomach for it, join me for a trip down memory lane and examine what were – for me – a few of the most pivotal moments of that devastating fade we just caught.
Game #4: The Wheels come off on Devil's night
It was Monday, October 30th and the Detroit Pistons were riding high thanks to a 2-1 start to the season. Cade Cunningham just scored 25 points and added 10 assists as Jalen Duren ripped down 15 rebounds in an easy 118-102 victory over the play-in bound Chicago Bulls.
But that’s when the wheels came off. Four games into the season in Oklahoma City. At the time it didn’t feel like the end of the world. Going in, we knew that the Thunder were legit, and putting the finishing touches on a rebuild that us Pistons fans would have to describe as enviable. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a frequent topic of rumors leading up to the 2021 draft when the Pistons were weighing their options with the #1 overall pick, went for a game high 32 points to lead his team to an easy victory.
A closer look at the box score revealed a worrying statistic: 7 turnovers attributed to Cunningham. The box score also trumpeted Killian Hayes’s presence in the starting lineup, and his 27-17 advantage in minutes played over teammate and second unit guard Jaden Ivey. One might wonder if Head Coach Monty Williams looked at the box score afterwards and caught the fact that Hayes tallied the game’s worst +/- with -15.