Starts vs. finishes: The Pistons wild starting lineups the last four seasons

We've entered the part of the season when fans of the Detroit Pistons start counting down to the merciful finish.

It's a tradition to watch the Pistons crumble in the home stretch, to start sitting players and waive the white flag as they ensure they end with one of the worst records in the NBA.

It's laughable to use the term "Core Four" or core anything when it comes to this team, as they still haven't played together much and will once again finish the season with a much different roster and starting lineup than the one they started it with.

It's a testament to how poorly this franchise has been run that there is no continuity from season to season or even within a season, as the Pistons are terrible, injury-prone and have finished the last four seasons with guys in the starting five who weren't even on the team when the season began.

Here's a comparison between the beginning and ending starting lineups over the last four seasons, which tells you everything you need to know about the Detroit Pistons and how the rebuild is going.

Detroit Pistons starting lineups over the last four seasons show a team in disarray

2020-21: Record of 20-52

Starting lineup in first game:
-Blake Griffin, Mason Plumlee, Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes, Delon Wright
Starting lineup in final game:
-Saddiq Bey, Killian Hayes, Cory Joseph, Hamidou Diallo, Jahlil Okafor

Wow. Not a single player listed here is even on the Pistons right now and four of them aren't even in the NBA. This was the year before the Pistons completely tore it down, but they finished the season with only one player (Killian Hayes) in the starting five who was there at the beginning.

Hayes, Joseph, Diallo and Okafor can't even find steady work in the NBA, yet they were starters for the Detroit Pistons, which tells you just about everything you need to know about this season.

At least then the rebuild was in its infancy and we still had hope. That didn't last long.