Cade Cunningham couldn't suppress his wide grin as he sat down at the podium.
“Why am I smiling right now?” he said, putting his hand over his mouth as he walked.
The Detroit Pistons had just won a game that had playoff energy at the end, but it was still December 30th. The crowd at Little Caesars Arena gave the team a standing ovation as they defeated the Toronto Raptors 129-127 – their first win in more than two months. Hugs were exchanged in the locker room. The sound of their cheers carried through the hallway that connected their locker room to the field.
Finally the series is over. The Pistons' 28-game losing streak, the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history and one of the longest in professional sports history, is over. The team had captured the nation's attention, becoming a daily topic on NBA social media and talk radio as well as the subject of countless derogatory memes.
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It's all in the past. With an overall record of 3:29, the team is looking forward to the conclusion of one of the most turbulent years a franchise has ever experienced. They finish 2023 with just 10 wins in the entire calendar year and just five since February 10th.
“I feel great,” Cunningham said. “This is the first time I'm just trying not to tickle. It feels good. It had been foreseeable for a long time. I don’t want to go back to where we were.”
It was a surreal chapter for the Pistons, who hit rock bottom despite a 2-1 start to start the season. They tied their franchise record with their 14th straight loss on Nov. 27 – more than a month ago – when they fell by 19 points at home to the Washington Wizards. A winless November was followed by almost a winless December.
The team claimed it felt better than its record suggested. Nevertheless, the losses continued to pile up. They suffered 32-point losses to the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic, which were real heartbreakers away in Atlanta and at home against Indiana, not to mention injuries, illnesses and so much embarrassment.
It was a huge shock to an organization that expected to take a leap in its fourth year of rebuilding. The Pistons started the season without key players like Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Livers and Monte Morris. Alec Burks, Jalen Duren, Joe Harris, Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stewart were also all out due to injuries. Poor shooting – and poor defense – made Detroit's failures to gain a lead each night incredibly small.
The end of the series won't immediately solve all the problems that have plagued the team this season. But at least now a collective burden has been lifted from everyone's shoulders.
“We knew going into this season that we needed to grow in several areas – our discipline, our habits, the way we train,” said head coach Monty Williams. “We thought we had really good practices. We simply didn't have the consistency in the games to win. I don’t think our practices will change, but I would be lying if I said there won’t be relief in the building.”
It took another standout performance from Cade Cunningham, who finished Saturday with 30 points, 12 assists and no turnovers, for the Pistons to pull out a win over a Toronto Raptors team that was affected by a major trade (sending a starter OG Anunoby to New York). and a narrow loss in Boston the night before.
The 2021 No. 1 overall pick entered the game averaging 33 points, 7.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals on 56.9% shooting in his last five games. He shook off a slow start and scored 26 points in the second half to hold off a Raptors team that had big nights from Pascal Siakam (35 points) and Dennis Schroder (28 points).
But unlike most of Detroit's games during the series, Cunningham received help from multiple teammates. Bogdanovic and Duren each scored 18 points, and Duren also grabbed 17 rebounds. Burks and Kevin Knox scored 16 and 17 points, respectively. Jaden Ivey scored 12 points and grabbed four big offensive rebounds, helping the Pistons score 12 second-chance points.
The Pistons were overdue for a collectively strong night. They led by 11, 110-99, midway through the fourth quarter and made 14 of 17 free throw attempts in the final quarter to stave off a late run.
Their next game will bring a new side as they plan a New Year's Day game against the Rockets in Houston in 2024. The team has a significant hole to climb out of, but with 50 games remaining, there is optimism that the season can still end well.
“It’s been weighing heavily on us for two months wherever we go,” Cunningham said. “What’s unreal is that it’s been so long. It had taken a long time. We had been pushing for this for so long. To finally overcome this hurdle, we are not trying to turn back. Now it really begins where we see what we will be. We’re going to continue to play with the same fire that we played with and we’re going to continue to stay together and try to put together more winning games.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. follow him @omarisankofa.
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