Head coach Monty Williams insists the Detroit Pistons’ historic losing streak hasn’t destroyed their work ethic.
The Pistons tied the NBA record for most consecutive losses in a single season when Brooklyn defeated them 126-115 on Saturday. They’ll own the dubious record outright if they lose to the Nets again Tuesday, with the rematch being held in Detroit.
Their 26-game skid matches the futility of the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers. When losing streaks spanning two seasons are added in, the Pistons are tied for second place on the list.
Philadelphia lost 28 straight at the end of the 2014-15 season and beginning of the 2015-16 campaign.
“Everybody feels down when you lose and you’ve lost this many in a row. You have to allow people to be human,” Williams said. “But the way they come back the next day is something I’m blown away at. I’ve been around a lot of teams. Not many teams have that type of resilience. Our guys don’t want to be a part of any kind of losing streak. But every day they come back with focus and drive and grit, trying to win a game.”
The Pistons could go winless in two consecutive months if they don’t end the streak this week. Detroit’s last victory came on Oct. 28 against Chicago. The Pistons travel to Boston on Thursday before returning home to face Toronto on Saturday to wrap up December.
“Everybody wants to win, everybody hates losing, so it’s hard,” guard Cade Cunningham said. “We’ve got to be realistic as well. Can’t just keep saying the same things over and over, like we’ll get the next one. There has to be a plan of action, so we’re just trying to figure that out.”
The Pistons scored the first six points against the Nets, then nosedived. They were down 11 by the end of the first quarter and played catch-up the rest of the way.
“We’ve got to play this team again in a couple of days,” Williams said after the game. “Obviously, there’s moments in the game you wish you had back. We won two quarters (Saturday). We had a tough first quarter. That’s something that has plagued us all year long.”
Brooklyn was focused on ending its own losing streak, which had reached five games.
The Nets had seven players in double figures, led by Mikal Bridges, who racked up 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
“You can’t sleep on them because they are talented as hell and they could go out there and beat you, so you’ve just got to keep staying locked in,” Bridges said.
Nets forward Cam Johnson said the schedule could make it a little more difficult to beat the Pistons in back-to-back games.
“It’s right after Christmas. Sometimes those can be a little tricky,” he said. “Sometimes with the holidays and stuff you can let your guard down a little bit. But we’ve just got to remain locked in, we’ve got to keep our focus level high and approach each game very seriously. We’re coming off a losing streak, so we need to turn things around and start a winning streak.”
–Field Level Media