Some have already ironically checked the date of January 10. That day, the Pistons host the Spurs. At the end of this meeting, one or the other team will leave with what they are sorely lacking: a victory.
Because today, the two teams have in common that they occupy last place in their respective conferences. And above all to ride a terrifying negative spiral: 17 consecutive defeats for the Texans (3v-19d), and three more for the Michigan players (2v-21d). Never in the history of the NBA have two franchises accumulated so many defeats over the same period! If we add the Wizards, these three franchises have only won one game out of 52!!!
By losing last night against the Rockets, the Spurs wrote a new page in their history, from which they would have passed, with a franchise record for the greatest number of defeats in a row.
Gregg Popovich nevertheless appreciated the fight put up by his players, authors of their best defensive outing of the year, in this derby. “ But in the NBA, you have to know how to shoot. You can't make 5/41 from 3-point range. They did a hell of a job defensively in that regard. I'm really proud of them. But I feel uneasy because it's hard to know what to do when you miss so many shots. This makes things very, very difficult “, judges the technician.
Spurs too clumsy
On the front line in relation to this address failure, Keldon Johnson (0/9 by far) tries as best he can to remain positive: “ I'm a competitor, I want to win. I won't change who I am because we lose. » « Of course it's not easy, but we have no choice. We must continue, continue to work. The good thing is that no one doubts that in the long term, we will win. I hate losing, but I stay focused on the long term goal », displays for his part Victor Wembanyama.
The Frenchman does well to plan for the future because the short term, calendar-wise, is not kind: double reception from the Lakers, coming from the Pelicans then complicated “road trip” (Bucks, Bulls and Mavs). In other words, their series may not be over…
What can we say about the Pistons, who also continue to dig? By losing to the Pacers tonight, Detroit established the longest losing streak in franchise history in a single season (they already lost 21 in a row spanning the end of the 1979/80 season and the start of the next) and equals the Rockets' 20 consecutive defeats in 2020/21.
Monty Williams sees positives
“ The defeat hurts us, as you can't imagine, but I see that we have made a lot of progress. I'm encouraged by some of the things we saw tonight. We must build on these foundations “, also wants to be positive about Monty Williams after the meeting. His training is approaching the absolute records of mediocrity established by the Sixers: 26 defeats in a row in the same season, in 2013/14, and 28 losses in a row straddling the end of the 2014/15 season and the start of the 2015/16 season.
“ The way we ended the half pulled the rug out from under us a bit. We are still learning that everything we do during the match has an effect on the end », Says the Pistons coach, who has been more vehement lately.
His team is not much more polished than the Spurs, because the Pistons face the Sixers twice, before visiting the Bucks and Hawks.
