The Metro: Pistons competing to not have the worst all-time team record

The Detroit Pistons are having one of the worst seasons in history. They are 12 and 53, and now hold the longest losing streak in a single season in NBA history at 27 games.  

There are many reasons for their poor performance and it didn’t all start this season. Poor drafting, bad roster decisions and bad management have all been reasons for such dismal outcomes.  

But is there light at the end of a bad season? Pistons Beat Writer and co-host of The Pistons Pulse podcast Omari Sankofa II joined The Metro to discuss.

The Pistons no longer have the worst record in the NBA, so in a sense they’re competing against themselves. Not including the bad performance the Pistons had last year, the 79-80 team had 16 wins and 66 losses. 

“So now it’s more so with 17 games left competing to not be the worst Pistons team ever and they have an outside chance of doing that,” Sanfoka said.

The Pistons had a lot of problems that stacked up and made it difficult to win games, Sanfoka says. One of them was having a very young team. 

“I don’t think they properly supported those players with not just the veterans they needed, but just role players with complementary skill sets. They couldn’t shoot or defend, really for the first two thirds of the season. And then that’ll do most teams in,” he said. 

Another takeaway from the NBA this season is high scoring games, Sanfoka says. Shooting a high number of three-point shots has become a trend since Stephen Curry entered the NBA.

“For me, I think it’s probably tipped a little too far, where I think the defenses are really limited in how they can stop players,” Sanfoka said. “But with that you watch a game from like 20 years ago, and that final score was like 70 to 64. I think basketball is a bit more exciting now to compare it to then. So there’s a middle ground that they can find.”

More headlines from The Metro on March 15, 2024:

• Steve Wasko, director of the St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Community Resource Center, joined the show to talk about a grant the organization received recently from the Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund to support environmental initiatives.  

It’s also WDET’s Spring On-Air Fundraiser. We revisited several interesting and important conversations that we previously had on The Metro:

• Libraries provide community members with more than books. Jamie Morris, head of communications and strategy for the Clinton-Macomb Public Library, and Jeff Milo, marketing coordinator for the Ferndale Area District Library, joined the show to share the many ways libraries are providing community resources. You can also hear Milo on his new music show MI Local, on WDET 9 p.m. Tuesdays and 1 a.m. Saturdays.
• Veterinarian and Detroiter Dr. Marcy McKeithen joined The Metro to discuss the importance of Black practitioners caring for pets. She hopes a new generation of Black vets will join the profession.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.