NBA: For the Pistons, the Countdown is on, of the Worst Kind

Coaches and fans talk about teams playing meaningful games down the stretch of the season as one benchmark of a team’s progress.

Monday night the Pistons played some meaningful minutes, keeping the game close with the Hawks into the fourth quarter before losing their 24th game in a row. That was a positive sign for a team that had been clobbered in their last six games.

Detroit is on the brink of setting the all-time NBA record for losses, which could come before the end of the year.

Michigan sportsbooks have markets on every Pistons game and player performance. FanDuel and Caesars have future markets on teams to make the NBA playoffs and league awards like MVP and Coach of the Year.

No one saw this coming for the Pistons and it’s hard to see where it might end.

The Atlanta game was a microcosm of the Pistons season. There were flashes of effort and hustle and Cunningham couldn’t miss, but when the game got close, the Pistons couldn’t execute. They didn’t rotate well on defense giving the Hawks open looks. James Wiseman missed two free throws that could have cut the lead to four.

Hawks gunner Trae Young kept firing and kept talking to the officials and while it got dicey for a few minutes, Atlanta was never in serious trouble.

After the game, Pistons coach Monty Williams said he was proud of the effort.

“I have such respect for our guys because they have not wavered,” Williams said.

The Pistons tied the Cavaliers, who lost 24 in a row in 1982 for fifth longest streak in NBA history. The Sixers (2014) and Cavs (2010) each lost 26 in a row tying for the second longest streak, while the all-time NBA record is the Sixers with 28 straight over the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Detroit has two days off before hosting the 10-17 Utah Jazz at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night. The Jazz are not a playoff basketball team, but they do have star Lauri Markkanen, who averages 23.2 points a night and they play decent defense. A loss would be No. 25 in a row.

After that, the Pistons play a home-and-home with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are 13-13, coming off a 1-4 road trip. The Nets aren’t a great team by any stretch, but will be favored.

Then it’s a road game in Boston to face the Celtics on Dec. 28, that could be loss 28.

The record-setter would be Dec. 30 at home against the Raptors.

The 2-25 Pistons have actually been a good play for Michigan sports bettors. They are a respectable 10-17 against the spread, and have gone on an offensive tear lately hitting the over in four of their last five.

Watching Monday night I kept thinking, that Cunningham’s 43 points had to be the most for a player on a team losing his 24th straight game, and two, the Pistons are still playing hard. They have moments.

Since the Pistons last win, the Texas Rangers have two more wins, winning the final two games of the World Series. That’s unbelievable. Baseball season has been over for a while. Hopefully, this streak ends soon.