The Detroit Pistons made the headlines but for the wrong reasons following their recent away loss to the Boston Celtics. The visitors’ 122-128 defeat in overtime extended their ongoing losing streak to 28, tying with the NBA’s longest ever. The results have seen the entire team including the coach and star players getting trolled and criticised. Former NBA star, Dwight Howard also publicly mocked the franchise’s talisman Cade Cunningham.
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Despite the humiliation, Cunningham sounded ambitious while expressing his thoughts after the match.
“I think it shows like we’re on the same level as all these teams we’re playing against. There’s no team that I’ve ever come across in the NBA where I felt like I was going into a slaughterhouse,” he stated.
His statements sparked from a brilliant start to the game for the Pistons against a title-contending side’s home court. Despite being the underdogs, they took a 19-point lead by the end of the first half. But as usual, the Pistons failed to capitalise on the lead in the 3rd and 4th quarters, eventually losing the game. Yet, the match filled Cunningham with renewed enthusiasm as he made his declaration upon reflecting on their season.
The courage from the 22-year-old only met resistance from Howard as the 38-year-old playfully suggested a change. With the caption, “Taiwan is calling,” the 8x All-Star uploaded a clip to encourage the point guard to step overseas. “Come on,” he stated while calling Cunningham before stretching out his hands to display an acceptance for change.
The actions of the 3x DPOY added the 6ft 6″ youngster to his long list of player invitations for the Super Basketball League in Taiwan. After his involvement with the league since last year, Howard has actively attempted to recruit several NBA players there. One such instance took place during the previous season’s playoff as he called out a few stars by their names, Klay Thompson, Ben Simmons and Jordan Poole being a few of them.
Cunningham thus became the latest addition to the list as the 2020 NBA champion continued to mock the NBA players. It showcased Howard’s playful nature as a veteran of the game while simultaneously displaying the struggles of the Pistons. As the situation worsened for the franchise, the 6ft 10″ player capitalized on it to entertain the fans.
What’s next for Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons?
Their 28-game losing streak matched the Philadelphia 76ers’ for the worst ever in the league’s history. Interestingly, the 76ers held the record for their stretch across two seasons where they had lost the last 10 games of the 2014/15 season and the first 18 of the 2015/16 campaign. So, considering the losing streak of a team in a single season, the Pistons are in a league of their own.
Their current run has shattered records as they have left behind the 2010/11 Cleveland Cavaliers and Sam Hinkie’s 76ers of the 2013/14 season. The Eastern Conference teams had jointly held the record for the longest-ever consecutive defeats with 26 each. Eventually, they were somewhat able to recover their pride with each of them coincidentally finishing with a 19-63 record.
So, amidst the tough times, the Pistons kept themselves fixated on the process. The franchise’s head coach Monty Williams believed so, stating, “This thing will turn and I just have to have faith and belief”. Yet, he candidly admitted, “This is the toughest challenge I’ve had in my coaching career”.
The mixed reaction from the 2022 Coach of the Year further proved the difficulty of the entire scenario. The upcoming tasks after all would not be easy ones following their defeat to Jaylen Brown-less Celtics. As the organization fights to defend its pride, it would be interesting to see whether it can recover from the ongoing slump.
