The ugliest record in the NBA was born, a lot of champions didn't win, and Monty was about to leave class!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
On December 29, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a high-profile "focus matchup", with the Pistons challenging the Celtics away. Just two days ago, the Pistons lost 112-118 to the Nets, bringing the Pistons' losing streak to 27 games this season, which not only set a new record for the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, but also wrote a shameful chapter in the history of the league. The Pistons have been nailed to the pillar of shame in NBA history, and outside fans and media are speculating about when the losing streak will end. After all, the Pistons are just one game away from the longest crossseason losing streak in NBA history (28 games).
In fact, the strength of the Pistons' roster should not be underestimated. Coach Monty is an experienced and capable coach, and the Pistons owner did not hesitate to spend a whopping $78.5 million in the NBA's top salary in order to get him. The team's core player, Cunningham, is the top pick in 2021 and has great talent and potential. Bagley, as the 2018 top show, also has excellent strength. Osar Thompson and Duren, two young players, were also the fifth picks in the first round, and both had good performances. In addition to this, the Pistons also have veterans like Bogdanovic who are able to provide consistency and valuable experience to the team.
From the perspective of lineup configuration, the Pistons are really a lot of champions, and their strength can even be comparable to the dark horse Magic in the East this season, and the Magic are currently ranked fourth in the league. However, it is a pity that despite such a luxurious roster, the Pistons have the lowest offensive and defensive efficiency and points per game average in the league, and their average turnovers per game are the highest in the league. In addition, their tackling ability is also the second-lowest in the league. These issues have prevented the Pistons from reaching their full potential and have raised questions about the future of this team.
Compared to the Pistons, the Celtics have improved their strength this season through the offseason reinforcement operation, and their defense and offense are excellent, with a record of 23 wins and 6 losses, ranking first in the league, and the team's starters are completely unique in the league. Truth be told, the Pistons have little chance of winning this game at the current state of the two teams, but Brown is out for this game, which may be an opportunity for the Pistons, who will have to play at an extraordinary level on both ends of the floor if they want to win this game. The Pistons fielded the starting five of Cunningham, Ivey, Knox, Bojan, and Duren, while the Celtics started Derrick White, Jrue Holiday , Tatum, Porzingis, and Horford.
In the first quarter of the game, Cunningham broke through and hit a jumper to get the Pistons off to a good start, Tatum responded with an empty dunk, and with Ivey's three-point shot, the Pistons opened the game with a 16-11 lead over the Celtics. Holiday hit a key breakthrough hit to stop the bleeding for the team, but the Celtics started the game with a cold hand, Rivers hit another three-point shot, the Pistons hit a 12-2 attack wave to lead to 11 points, Hauser hit a three-point shot to stop the bleeding again, and the Green Army started a counterattack, and the first quarter ended, the Pistons still led by 3 points at 30-27.
Entering the second quarter, Cunningham passed Wiseman's violent dunk under the basket, and the Pistons once again played an offensive climax to lead to 13 points, Tatum singled Cunningham, and scored 14 points on the rebound after a wonderful turn, and chased the points with the Green Army, however, with Cunningham's unsolved shot again, the Pistons have led the Celtics to 19 points, and the Pistons are rushing to end the losing streak today? The Celtics made 4 of 24 three-pointers in the half, shooting 16.7%, and at halftime, the Pistons led the Celtics 66-47.
Yibian fought again, the Celtics' state began to pick up, Tatum then carried the offensive banner, broke through and hit a layup, Porzingis scored 4 points in a row, but the Pistons fell into an offensive trough, all kinds of mistakes continued, the Celtics took the opportunity to blast out a 35-16 climax, the third quarter ended, and the scores of the two sides entered the same running line. In the crucial final quarter, the Pistons made consecutive low-level errors, and White took the opportunity to score six points in a row, and the Celtics led by four points. Burks key three points, helping the Pistons to overtake the score again, Porzingis shot again without a solution, scored 8 points in a row to help the Green Army overtake 1 point, at the critical moment, Tatum's big heart broke through the layup and hit a layup, helping the Green Army lead by 2 points, Bogdanovic hit a limit jumper The two sides tied again, leaving only 4 seconds for the Green Army, Tatum's last offensive jumper did not score, and the two sides entered overtime!
In overtime, Porzingis hit a single board, Tatum assisted White at the top of the arc to hit a three-point shot, Porzingis made another pass and a dunk, and the Green Army led by 6 points with 45 seconds left, and in the end, the Pistons lost to the Celtics 122-128 and suffered a 21-point reversal!
In terms of statistics, on the Pistons' side, Cunningham had 31 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, Jaden Ivey had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, Bojan Bogdanovic had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, Celtics side, Porzingis had 35 points and 8 rebounds, Tatum had 31 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals, and Derrick White had 23 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks;
The Pistons suffered a humiliating 28-game losing streak, continuing to break the NBA all-time single-season losing streak and tying the longest cross-season losing streak in NBA history. Looking at the whole game, the ability and potential of this Pistons team is really problematic, the important thing is that the team lacks a winning temperament, which has a lot to do with head coach Monty, maybe his achievements in the Suns are really watery, and they are exaggerated by the outside world, he is not suitable for this Pistons team, it is really time to get out of class!