The Detroit Pistons can set a franchise record on Wednesday night, but they don’t want any part of it.
The Pistons tied their franchise mark for most consecutive losses in a season on Monday when they were thrashed at home by the Washington Wizards.
Detroit will try to avert a 15th consecutive defeat when it hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
The Wizards were saddled with a nine-game losing streak entering Monday’s contest but easily won 126-107.
“This was a big game, obviously,” said Cade Cunningham, who led the Pistons with 26 points and seven assists. “All these games are huge games for us right now. We’re trying to get out of this slump. We’re treating every game like it’s a must win, as we should even if we are winning games. We didn’t get the job done (Monday). Try to get back to work tomorrow and win the next one.”
A team meeting was held after the Pistons fell apart in the fourth quarter against Indiana on Friday. The meeting had little effect, at least in the short run.
“I think it’s a test,” forward Isaiah Stewart said. “I know we will get over this hump. It looks bad, the record looks bad. It’s just stuff that we can fix ourselves. We all know that. Everybody in the locker room is frustrated because we all want to win.”
Frustration mounted as the Pistons misfired from the perimeter. They hit just 8 of 38 shots from 3-point range vs. Washington.
Their problems went well beyond poor shooting, according to Pistons coach Monty Williams.
“Enough talking. That wasn’t fight on the floor,” Williams said. “That wasn’t Pistons basketball by any stretch of the imagination. That’s what this is. We have to have people that honor the organization and the jersey by competing at a high level every night.”
The Lakers had the same issue in Philadelphia on Monday. They were blown out 138-94 — the most lopsided loss of LeBron James’ career.
“What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? A lot,” James said.
Los Angeles is only 3-6 on the road this season. The Sixers were in control from the start, establishing a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter.
For the game, the 76ers shot 50.5 percent from the field and 47.8 percent on 3-point attempts. They outrebounded the Lakers 48-32 and committed just five turnovers. Los Angeles had 17 giveaways, leading to 24 Sixers points.
James set the NBA’s all-time minutes mark (regular season and postseason) — 66,319 — to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 66,297.
The 30 minutes James played on Monday were not pleasant.
“We got killed on the 3-point line,” he said after his team shot 25 percent from deep.
The Lakers are in the early stages of a stretch in which they play 10 of 12 games on the road. They are dealing with some injuries — rotation players Jarred Vanderbilt (heel), Gabe Vincent (knee), Cam Reddish (groin) and Rui Hachimura (nasal fracture) didn’t play in Philadelphia.
That doesn’t excuse what happened in their latest road loss.
“We’ve got to look at it, embrace it, own it,” forward Anthony Davis said. “Guys don’t take it personal for whatever’s said in the film, and then move on from it.”
–Field Level Media