The Detroit Pistons part of scoring history, but still lost

Jan 3, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives to the
Jan 3, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives to the | Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports


The Detroit Pistons have made all kinds of history this season, mostly the worst kind.

They set the record for consecutive losses in a single season and tied the all-time record that was set by Philly over two seasons with their 28-game losing streak.

Last night, the Pistons finally exploded for 148 points against the Utah Jazz and were part of NBA history in the process.

It doesn't much matter if you score 148 points if you let the other team score an incredible 154 while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range.

Last night's offensive explosion was part of a larger trend in the NBA.

Offensive numbers are up in the NBA, even the Detroit Pistons

For the second straight year, scoring has gone up in the NBA, as the league is currently averaging 115.6 points per game, up from 114.7 last season.

Last season, the Sacramento Kings led the league with 120.2 points per game, while this season the Indiana Pacers have bumped their league-leading average up to 126.4 points per game.

Last season there was only one team that averaged at least 120 points per game, so far this season there are six. Even the Detroit Pistons are scoring a point more per game than they were last season, unfortunately, their defense is even worse this year, allowing four more points per game.

There are some reasons for this. Three-point shooting frequency and accuracy have increased slightly league-wide, which would account for some of the bump.

There are also some really bad teams in the NBA, including your Detroit Pistons, who have allowed some of the good teams to run up the scores against them. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has gotten even bigger this season, which is why we're seeing some of these lopsided All-Star game scores.

Washington is allowing an incredible 126 points per game, up more than 12 points from last season and the Pistons and Hornets have both gotten worse defensively, which has helped the offensive numbers overall.

Even when the Pistons are part of positive history, they still lose, which pretty much sums up this season.

Schedule