What the Detroit Pistons' wins have in common

The Detroit Pistons' agonizing 2023-24 season is about to end with a thud.

The team is an embarrassing 12-56, just a game and a half better than the worst record in the league. Only the pathetic Washington Wizards are worse.

We've endured a terrible losing streak, roster turnover and there are still huge questions about whether the young talent they've assembled around Cade Cunningham actually fits.

There have been a few positive developments, but it's not been a banner season for the Detroit Pistons no matter how you look at it.

Even their wins have been uninspiring, and mostly have one thing in common: They came against bad teams.

The Detroit Pistons record : Even the wins are bad

Of the Pistons' 12 wins, 10 of them have come against teams with losing records. They got three against the lousy Hornets and two against Chicago, the poster child for mediocrity. They beat the 23-45 Toronto Raptors twice, the 11-58 Wizards, the Portland Trail Blazers (19-49) and Brooklyn Nets (26-42) one time each.

The only two good teams they have beaten are the OKC Thunder (47-20) and the Sacramento Kings who are 39-28, though how that happened is anyone's guess. Both these wins came in the afterglow of the Muscala/Gallinari trade when the team played better for a stretch.

The teams that they have beaten are 216-330 for a 39.5 winning percentage and if you remove the Thunder and Kings, that drops down to 31 percent.

The NBA has some really bad teams right now, evidenced by the fact that there is a team worse than the 12-win Pistons. The Pistons have only beaten three teams above the 11 seed in their respective conference and other than the Hornets, all of those teams beat Detroit as well.

This illustrates the gap between the Pistons and the good teams. They may be better than the Hornets and Wizards and close to some of the other bad teams, but they are a mile away from the good ones.

It's hard to get excited about a 12-win team that has gotten 10 of its wins against the other bottom feeders. And it's laughable to say this team is on the verge of being competitive regardless of which excuse (age, inexperience, poor coaching) you use.

If the Pistons had gotten closer to 30 wins this season, and beaten some good teams along the way, you could live with not making the playoffs, as at least that would be some sign that things were progressing, but 10 garbage wins are not enough to say this is part of the rebuild plan and call it a day.