Fans starting to talk to Pistons with their absence

The Detroit Pistons are mired in the worst of a four-season stretch that would cause even the most optimistic fan to tap out.

The fans the Pistons have are a testament to Detroit, as they've stuck with this team even though it's given them little reason to over the last 15 seasons and counting.

Even in last year's 17-win campaign, the Pistons were 12th in attendance overall in the NBA, as fans continued to exercise patience, dreaming of a future with a healthy Cade Cunningham.

Fans are still showing up this season, but they haven't been lately, as displeasure with the team and how it's been run is mounting and fans are starting to speak with their absence.

Detroit Pistons attendance

If you've watched the last few Pistons home games you might have noticed how the cameras avoided the upper deck, which was mostly empty. Even the good seats weren't full so the Pistons are probably glad they went away from the bright red chairs that made it more glaringly obvious when people weren't in them.

So far this season, the Pistons are just 17th in the NBA in attendance with 88 percent capacity, down from 12th last season with a 91 percent fill rate. That's a substantial drop, and from the looks of things, it's only going to get worse if this losing streak continues.

I just looked at a few secondary ticket sites and found tickets for as low as $7 for tonight's game against Indiana. It's hardly a marquee matchup but you couldn't go see a movie for seven bucks. If you ever wanted to sit courtside, now is probably the best chance you'll ever get, as I saw tickets in the VIP section for as little as $200.

When you factor in parking and concessions, an NBA game can be an expensive night out, and right now, fans are choosing to spend their money elsewhere. This is just the start, as the Pistons were filling Little Caesar's Arena early in the season when fans still had hope this was finally going to be the year things got at least a little better.

Will the empty seats be enough to force Tom Gores into action? The fans are angry and not buying tickets is their only real way to voice it. We'll see if anyone is listening.