Detroit Pistons forward Kevin Knox II, from left, guard Marcus Sasser, forward Ausar Thompson and forward Bojan Bogdanovic sit on the bench during the fourth quarter of a 118-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, an NBA record 27th straight loss, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
“Is it heavy? Yeah, I would imagine for everybody it is,” said Pistons first-year coach Monty Williams, a former NBA coach of the year. "Nobody wants this kind of thing attached to them.
"I was brought in here to change this thing. It’s probably the most on me than anybody. Players are playing their hearts out. I got to get them in a position where they don’t feel tight or heavy.”
The Nets beat the Pistons on Saturday in Brooklyn, handing them their 26th consecutive defeat to match the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers for the most losses in a row within one season.
Detroit no longer shares the unwanted mark.
Next up is the overall record of 28 straight losses, set by the Philadelphia 76ers from late in the 2014-15 season through early 2015-16.
At least matching the record seems likely with a game Thursday night against the NBA-leading Boston Celtics on the road.
The game against Brooklyn, like the season, started with some hope.
Detroit led 9-1 and had a 14-point lead in the first quarter before poor shooting, defense coupled with turnovers paved the way for Brooklyn to extend the Motor City's misery.
The Nets outscored the Pistons by 13 in the second quarter to lead 61-54 at halftime.
Cade Cunningham scored 18 of his 41 points in the third quarter and made a 3-pointer early in the fourth to give Detroit a 97-92 lead.
Just as fans who nearly filled Little Caesars Arena started cheering with passion heard at a playoff game, the Nets went on a 13-0 run to take the lead for good.
“I’ve been through tough playoff losses, and this is relative to that," said Williams, who led Phoenix and New Orleans to postseason appearances. "When you lose a playoff game, when you get eliminated, this kind of feels like that.”
Cunningham did his part to give the team a shot to finally win, but he didn't have much help and even he had a turnover late in the game that appeared to be unforced.
The No. 1 pick overall from the 2021 NBA draft had a message for his teammates in the locker room after the latest loss.
“Don’t jump off the boat," he said. "We’ve got to stay together. Right now is the easiest time to stand off and be on your own, but we need to continue to lean on each other and continue to push each other, and hold each other accountable more than ever now.”
Bojan Bogdanovic did score 23 points before fouling out and after leaving Cam Johnson wide open for a 3-pointer that gave Brooklyn a six-point lead with 1:40 to go.
“We had a few breakdowns,” Williams said. “It just cost us.”
Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick overall last year, missed 9 of 12 shots as the Nets backed off him and welcomed the guard to shoot.
In the final minute, fed-up fans started to chant, “Sell the team! Sell the team!” though Pistons owner Tom Gores was not in the building to hear it.
Gores recently spoke with reporters remotely, and passed along his apologies to the fans for the disappointing season while standing by Williams and general manager Troy Weaver.
“Change is coming," he said. "I’m just saying in terms of Monty, Troy, they’ll be in place.”
After two incredibly close games, the Super Bowl matchup is set. On February 13th, at the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California, the Los Angeles Rams will face off in their home stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. After 54 Super Bowls where a home team never hosted the game on its field, it will now happen for the second year in a row, after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs last year. Speaking of Brady, ESPN dropped a bombshell of a headline Saturday that Tom Brady was set to retire after 22 seasons and seven rings. To discuss all the latest NFL news, Anthony Tall, President of Miracle Sports Group, joins Cheddar News.
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
NFL legend Tom Brady says he is done playing football after 22 seasons. Cheddar News speaks with Trey Wingo, Chief NFL Analyst at Pro Football Network, about Brady announcing his retirement.
Greg Bishop, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says Tom Brady's legacy is all about 'progress' and expects the future Hall of Famer to bolster his entrepreneurial ventures following his retirement.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics; Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, discusses the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Predicting a Pro'.
Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics.
Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential.
