Detroit Pistons

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As mentioned by one of the top comments, it’s sad to know this is the most recognition our fave team gets from one of my fave Youtubers 🥲

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The worst team in town is the biggest story in town, at least behind the Detroit Lions, though the attention the Detroit Pistons are drawing for setting the wrong kind of history won’t last. Apathy will replace anger — it may be already — and the losing will fade into oblivion.

For now, though, Pistons fans are mad, perhaps a little stunned, and obviously confused that the rebuild already seems to be finished. Which means it’s time to start rebuilding the rebuild.

Crazy? A little, sure. But hardly unprecedented. Still, other cities’ misery isn’t the fix anyone is looking for at the moment. Just a single win. Along with a plan. And a sign the franchise building block can be more than a secondary playmaker who struggles to finish at the rim.

At his best, Cade Cunningham can take over a game and bend the court. And if he were surrounded by more consistent teammates — and quality 3-point shooters! — perhaps we’d see him do this more frequently.

Yet at some point, the lead dog has to bring the others to the bowl, and Cunningham has yet to show he can do that consistently.

This, more than anything else regarding the Pistons’ future, is the question: Does this franchise have a franchise guy?

That it's hard to answer contributes to the growing lack of hope. So, let’s talk about hope, and the lack of it, and what that feels like when the search for light gets harder by the day.

The Pistons are bereft of hope. No place in professional sports is worse.

The players are disconnected from the coach. The coach is disconnected from the front office. The front office is disconnected from a future. The owner is disconnected from the fans.

This is how it seems, anyway, right? That there are chasms between the moving parts of this flailing NBA franchise?

How else to explain the lack of consistent fight? The constant fourth-quarter collapses? The endless turnovers, the fouling?

How else to explain sitting last year’s No. 5 pick, Jaden Ivey, for the entire first quarter Wednesday in loss No. 18 of a losing streak that hit 19 on Friday? How else to explain hockey-style subbing in reserves that can’t produce? Or not making sure one of the two best players is always on the floor?

Everyone appears defeated. One loss feels like the bottom ... until the next loss feels worse, like the loss to Memphis felt Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant and three of their top six rotational players. Somehow, the Pistons led after three quarters.

Yet Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and a handful of role players ran the Pistons off the court in the fourth quarter, delivering a deluge of easy layups and open jumpers. Bane dropped a career-high 49 points.

Surprising?

Sadly, yes, but then that’s where we are with the worst team in basketball — maybe the worst team in all professional sports. Certainly, they're the worst team in Pistons’ history, surprised they’d managed a two-point lead after three quarters against a bottom-five team.

This team is headed toward history — ignoble history — unless something miraculously changes, like if ownership, the front office and the entire roster were to swap out with, say, San Antonio. Oh, wait, the Spurs have lost 16 straight, were nearly as bad last season, and have played sub-.500 basketball the last four years.

Yes, they have 2023 No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. That’s a different kind of future. A hopeful kind of future. They also have ownership that has overseen titles, one of the best front offices in the NBA and an all-time coach.

And if they’re struggling, what does this mean for the Pistons?

More existential questions, like: Who are they? And: Is there a single future All-Star on the team?

A 19-game losing streak will do this. Losing 43 of 47 will do this, too. Take a look at the schedule and it’s not hard to see a similarly dismal stretch ahead.

Where can the Pistons get a win? Against the Utah Jazz (7-15) six games from now? That’s what we thought two weeks ago, looking ahead to a visit from Memphis.

So, yes, hope. Its absence is the cruelest in sports. But it doesn’t stay cruel for long. At some point the pain turns to apathy, and that’s even worse. The Pistons are not there yet, though, because history is out there, ignominious it may be.

Folks will tune in like rubberneckers on a freeway. Once they’ve seen it, once the Pistons set the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season (the record is 26), well, they’ll start looking straight ahead.

Then what?

More nights like Wednesday, I suppose, when barely 5,000 fans showed up and the lower bowl at Little Caesars Arena looked like a mausoleum. Surely, that got owner Tom Gores' attention: It’s one thing to lose, it’s another to have no chance against a wounded, beleaguered, fellow cellar-dweller with endless rows of empty seats.

Gores has tried to make the moves to turn his franchise around. He seems to care. He just doesn’t know how to fix this.

The players want to fix this, too, but can’t. There is pride here. And also shame; no athlete wants to become a story for the wrong reasons

It’s not that they aren’t trying, it’s that they are no longer fighting. And those are their words.

“It seems to me that we are playing harder against each other in practice,” Bojan Bogdanovic told reporters after the dispiriting loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday. “But at this point it doesn’t matter how we practice. People are coming to watch us at Little Caesars Arena, not in the (practice facility). We have to get here and be better and show them the fight and discipline and anger we have to play with.”

Good words. True words. Damning words.

The fact that the team plays harder in practice is troubling, and falls on the coach. Monty Williams obviously hasn’t been able to connect with this team and get it to compete. He admitted this, and that’s admirable — self-awareness is the first step toward change — but at some point, he has to figure it out … or what’s the point?

As for the front office? That’ll have to change at season’s end, short of a spirited turnaround.

It just hasn’t worked, not all of it general manager Troy Weaver’s fault. Some years teams get luckier in the draft than others, and no front offices wins big without good fortune. Remember the Spurs? Tim Duncan changed everything. He came to them at No. 1, after they swiped the top pick from the Boston Celtics in the lottery. It’s not like San Antonio uncovered him.

Just as the Orlando Magic — which embarrassed the Pistons, 123-91, on Friday night — didn’t uncover Paolo Banchero. He went No. 1 in a mild surprise last year, when the Pistons fell form first to fifth in the lottery and took Ivey.

If the Magic had won the lottery the year before, they’d have chosen between Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Jalen Green, not the Pistons. And this conversation might sound different.

True, the Magic found Michigan's Franz Wagner at No. 8 overall, but if they knew he would be as good as he has been, they wouldn’t have passed on him with the fifth pick in the same draft, when they took Jalen Suggs. In other words, Orlando got a bit lucky.

Have the Pistons made things worse with moves made — or not made — in the offseason? Sure, they have, especially now that we have the benefit of hindsight.

Hindsight may be 20-20, but foresight is what’s needed, and it’s not easy to even know where to look. This kind of losing clouds the view.

For now, short of brooming everyone — which isn’t likely — the goal is to win a game.

A. Single. Game.

It won’t be easy. No team is going to want to be the one to end the Pistons’ streak.

Get that game and the conversation turns away from history, at least for a bit. Sometimes all a team can do is find a sliver of light.

Bojan Bogdanovic won't single-handedly fix the Pistons. But his presence will help

Published 11:00 a.m. ET Dec. 3, 2023 | Updated 6:49 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2023

Monty Williams planned to be judicious with Bojan Bogdanovic’s minutes. But ultimately, the veteran forward forced the Detroit Pistons head coach's hand.

In his season debut after missing the Pistons’ first 19 games, Bogdanovic scored 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting. He immediately looked like the player who averaged an efficient 21.6 points in Cade Cunningham’s absence last season, knocking down his first 3-pointer and keeping the Pistons in the mix late with another stepback 3.

It wasn’t enough for a Pistons team that hasn’t entered the win column in more than a month. They fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers at home Saturday night, 110-101, to extend their franchise-worst losing streak to 17.

Bogdanovic didn’t fix the team’s ongoing issues with turnovers — they committed 16, off of which Cleveland scored 21 points. And Detroit still struggled with cold spells, giving up a late 15-5 run that allowed the Cavaliers to pull away late. But he gives them a needed offensive weapon.

Williams acknowledged he’s still figuring out how to maximize the team’s bench minutes. Bogdanovic was with the second unit in his first game back, but ended up playing 27 minutes and closing the fourth quarter alongside four starters.

“I probably extended him a bit too much, but we have a few days off so we felt like he could recover,” Williams said. “I ran some stuff down the stretch for him and I think he was a bit gassed at that moment. I just love having him out there on the floor. His energy, his feel for the game, his ability to draw fouls, talk on the floor. That’s something we certainly need.”

Bogdanovic said he strained his right calf right before training camp, then suffered another setback in November that delayed his return to December. He has had calf issues dating back to his previous stop with the Utah Jazz, and the Pistons wanted to be cautious with the 34-year-old forward.

But he didn’t miss a beat in his return. And the hope is that, beyond his scoring, he will also give the team a stabilizing presence in moments where they tend to give up big runs. Bogdanovic did his part by knocking down a late stepback 3-pointer that brought the Pistons within three late. His next attempt went wide, and Detroit couldn’t overcome five late turnovers in the fourth and too many empty possessions in the final minutes.

“We have to stay calm in these moments when we’re in those black holes that we have every game,” Bogdanovic said. “We were up seven, I think, and I hit a wide-open 3 on the left side to extend the lead up to 10, and then Georges Niang hit a 3 on the other side. We lose that energy and focus and then we allow them to go on another run. We gotta stay together and be more focused and slow the game down.”

Williams said earlier in the season that the initial plan was to play Bogdanovic with the first unit. He’s toyed with his lineups in search of a solution, and debuted a new one on Saturday with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren. It’s unclear if Bogdanovic will eventually join the starters.

Detroit’s second unit couldn't find a rhythm on Saturday — all of the starters had positive plus-minuses, and all five bench players finished in the negatives. Bogdanovic could give the unit an offensive lift. There were stretches on Tuesday where he sat on the bench with most of the starters, and the Pistons suffered in those minutes.

“Overall, we still had some timely turnovers and some possessions that didn’t look that great, where we couldn’t execute and get a shot,” Williams said. “That certainly hurt us. Look at the points we gave them on turnovers. You look at our defense tonight, I thought our defense was pretty good. The points we gave them off turnovers really hurt us. That’s something I have to figure out, the group coming into the game. We’ve got to get a bit more efficient with that group and make sure we get a shot and execute our stuff.”

Williams sees Bogdanovic as an extension of himself, thanks to his basketball smarts and the direction he gives his teammates on the sidelines and in practice. If that translates to the floor, perhaps the Pistons will find a way to break their streak.

But it’s not solely on Bogdanovic to fix the Pistons' mistakes. It’s good to have him back, but the team will have to become more disciplined to enter the win column again.

“He’s the one guy that, outside of pretty much me, he can really coach guys up about things that matter,” Williams said. “And they take it well for him because I think they have respect for how he goes about his business. Obviously his skill, his competitive side. I think that it can have a great effect on us.

“As I said before, we still have to do certain things consistently to have great production on the floor — taking care of the ball, and fouling. That’s something that each player can control. And then being able to stay with our defense. I thought it was a lot better last game even though Brunson hit some crazy shots. I thought the defense was in a much better place and the edge of the team is in a better place. I don’t want to put all this pressure on Bogey to save the day. It has to be an unreal team effort.”

Continuing the new format from last month, I will be pinning the post-game thread for this December’s Pistons ~~loses~~ games.

National NBA talking heads are just as perplexed with the Detroit Pistons' starting lineup decisions as Pistons fans are, and calls for the Pistons to break up their young core are starting to trickle in.

Kevin O'Connor and Chris Vernon of The Ringer said on Friday's "The Mismatch" podcast they were "disgusted" by watching the NBA-worst Pistons (2-11 and losers of 10 straight entering Sunday's game in Toronto) so far this season, and called on general manager Troy Weaver to facilitate a trade to open up minutes for Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser in the over-populated backcourt.

"They have Jaden Ivey, Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren. This should be the most fun team to watch of young talent, going up and down the court, giving good teams problems," Vernon yelled in frustration. "This is Monty Williams' fault. They buried Ivey — they brought in Kevin Knox and gave him more minutes than Ivey and he wasn't even on a team (until last week)."

O'Connor agreed with his co-host and said the decisions were stunting the growth of the guards, particularly Cunningham and Ivey. He also said Williams has a proven track record of being slow to make adjustments dating back to his time with the Phoenix Suns.

"If the Pistons were paying any attention to the Suns before paying (Williams) the highest salary in basketball, they'd know this is a thing with Monty Williams," O'Connor said. "He took forever to feed the ball to Mikal Bridges when (Chris) Paul and (Devin) Booker were out. He took forever to adjust in the postseason when the Nuggets were sagging off of non-shooters and then they changed the lineup after Game 3 and won two in a row."

"Monty is not always doing what makes the most sense. He's a good motivator, he's a good man but basketball-wise I think we are seeing some of those issues with Detroit already."

The co-hosts switched their focus to Weaver and the front office after ripping into Williams' early season rotations. They complimented the draft decisions to secure Thompson and Sasser — O'Connor labeled Thompson the Pistons' best player thus far — but said the glut of guards is doing a tremendous disservice to the young players earmarked as future cornerstones of the franchise.

They agreed trading one, whether it be Hayes or Ivey in their eyes, would be the best step forward to allow the players to develop while fixing the rotation and spacing issues.

"They need to break it up with the guards," O'Connor said. "Whether it's trading Ivey or whether it's trading Killian, whatever it might be, they need to break it up to help facilitate the development of those guys and also create a better situation for those players."

Until changes are made, O'Connor and Vernon have labeled the Pistons as their strongest dislike of the NBA season so far. Vernon finished his passionate rant with a sentiment plenty of Pistons fans have shared online in the season's first three weeks.

"It could be a super fun backcourt and they have just F'd this up and I don't understand it," Vernon said.

"They are easily my biggest dislike so far this season — they suck and they're not fun to watch."

Inspired by other community mods’ initiative AND compelled by little community engagement, I’ll be setting up a monthly thread for Pistons post-game recaps starting with the November 17 game vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers

Older games recap (all losses):

• 2023-11-01 vs POR

• 2023-11-02 @ NO

• 2023-11-05 vs PHX

• 2023-11-06 vs GS

• 2023-11-08 @ MIL

• 2023-11-10 vs PHI

• 2023-11-12 @ CHI

• 2023-11-14 vs ATL

With just under 30 seconds remaining, Alec Burks appeared to give the Detroit Pistons a chance to win. He knocked down a 3-pointer through contact, creating an opportunity for them to cut the Atlanta Hawks' lead to one, 122-121.

But Burks didn't get the continuation. The officials also declined to give him a trip to the line, which would've potentially cut Detroit's deficit to two. The foul occurred before the shot, and the call essentially ended the game in Atlanta's favor.

But the Pistons can't blame the officials. Turnovers, once again, were their undoing and cost them a chance to beat a Hawks team that played without Trae Young.

Cade Cunningham was responsible for four of the Pistons’ six turnovers in the third quarter, helping the Atlanta Hawks take control and exit Little Caesars Arena with a 126-120 victory on Tuesday.

It is the Pistons' ninth straight loss and second in two In-Season Tournament games.

Marvin Bagley III, starting in place of the injured Jalen Duren, led the Pistons with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Ausar Thompson added 21 points and eight rebounds. Cunningham dished 12 assists, but shot 4-for-14 overall with six turnovers.

Detroit trailed by 12 late in the first but rallied in the second quarter before taking the lead, 73-70, with roughly eight minutes remaining in the third.

Then, their ongoing issues with taking care of the ball crept up again. A bad pass by Cunningham led to an open dunk for Dejounte Murray (game-high 32 points). Two more turnovers — one each by Cunningham and Kevin Knox — preceded a midrange jumper by Murray that tied the game at 79.

The Hawks led by eight before a pair of free throws by Alec Burks trimmed it to six at the end of the period. But the damage was done. A layup by Cunningham with 5:31 remaining in the fourth got the Pistons within one, 111-110. But Saddiq Bey, in his first game in Detroit since the Pistons dealt him for James Wiseman in February, nailed a triple to push the lead back to four.

Detroit entered Tuesday 29th in the NBA in turnovers per game, with 17.5. They coughed the ball up 17 times against the Hawks.

Guards lead defensive charge

It appeared the Pistons were going to let another game get away from them before halftime. They opened the game soft defensively, as the Hawks shot 65.2% and hit five of their nine 3-point attempts in the opening period. Detroit trailed by as many as 12 in the first, and a layup by Bey roughly a minute into the second extended Atlanta’s lead to double-digits again, 43-32.

The Pistons then put together one of their better defensive stretches of the season, using a 25-11 run to take the lead before halftime. Cunningham, Hayes and Ivey all had their moments on the defensive end, fighting through screens and forcing turnovers to cool Atlanta’s offense down.

Cunningham walled up Murray on a drive and pestered the All-Star into a turnover, as his pass to the corner landed in Hayes’ hands. Hayes split two free throws on the other end to bring the Pistons within four, 49-45. Hayes later blocked a layup attempt by De’Andre Hunter and led a fastbreak that ended with an alley-oop to Thompson, giving the Pistons their first lead since early in the first quarter, 53-52, with 3:57 to go until halftime.

Ivey also had his best defensive stretch of the year, navigating screens and crashing the boards with a verve he hadn’t shown as often leading up to Tuesday.

Ivey thrives on both ends

The second-year guard has been one of the biggest stories of the season, for reasons few would have predicted at the start of camp. Monty Williams’ defense-first approach with the starting lineup has regulated Ivey to a role off of the bench. A viral infection cost him four games last week and limited him to 11 minutes on Sunday, but he bounced back Tuesday.

In addition to his strong defensive effort, Ivey was also patient and decisive on offense. He checked in with 4:24 to play in the first and picked up his first assist not long after, driving baseline and finding Wiseman underneath for a bucket. He and Alec Burks hit back-to-back 3’s to bring the Pistons within four points after trailing by 12, and he closed the quarter by finishing a tough layup through contact.

An Ivey offensive rebound led to a Hayes 3, and another Ivey layup through contact — and the and-1 — gave Detroit a 52-51 lead midway through the period. Ivey finished with 11 points and five assists in 21 minutes.

Next up: Cavaliers

Matchup: Pistons (2-10) at Cleveland (5-4), NBA In-Season Tournament Group A play.

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

CHICAGO — For the second game in a row, a hot start turned into a disappointing loss for the Detroit Pistons.

They fell to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, 119-108, the Pistons' eighth straight defeat. Detroit led by 10 points early in the second quarter. Chicago took control in the second quarter, using a 20-2 run to flip a 36-26 deficit to a 46-38 lead with 3:38 remaining before halftime.

The Pistons went cold after an encouraging start, as they lead Bulls by nine at the end of the first and held them to 8-for-24 shooting.

A 3-pointer by Kevin Knox, who made his debut after signing with the Pistons last week for the second time in two years, cut Chicago's lead to 85-84 early in the fourth. But they were hurt by turnovers and poor defense, giving the ball up five times in the fourth.

A late 3-pointer by Nikola Vucevic with just under two minutes to play extended Chicago's lead to 10 and iced the game.

Knox had a strong (second) debut for Detroit, finishing with 18 points and hitting all four of his 3-point attempts. Isaiah Stewart had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Ausar Thompson fell just short of one with nine points and 16 rebounds. It was a tough night for Cade Cunningham, who missed his first five shots and finished with 10 points and five assists on 4-for-15 shooting.

DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 29 points, and Vucevic added 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Detroit's poor health situation improved, as Jaden Ivey and Alec Burks returned from their respective injuries. Burks finished with 15 points, and Ivey tallied six in just 11 minutes of action. The Pistons were still without Jalen Duren, Bojan Bogdanovic, Monte Morris, Isaiah Livers and Joe Harris.

Ivey, Burks return

The Pistons got some good news before the game when Ivey and Burks, initially listed as “questionable” on the injury report, were upgraded to “available.” They had missed a combined 10 games — Burks missed six with a left forearm contusion, and Ivey missed four while battling a viral infection.

It left Detroit severely shorthanded last week, as they were without at least five players in all four of their games.

“It helps settle the rotation down a bit,” Monty Williams said of getting the two back. “You don’t have to stress guys out with long stretches of minutes. And then having shooting out there and (Burks’) IQ and calm demeanor certainly helps. We’re hoping to plug those guys in right away today.”

Burks picked up where he left off, after averaging 15 points and 53.8% shooting from 3 through his first four games. He scored eight points in four and a half minutes in the first quarter, helping the Pistons take a nine-point lead at the end of the period. Burks added a pull-up jumper early in the second to help push Detroit’s lead to 34-24 around the 11-minute mark.

Ausar continues to dominate the boards

Since his first preseason game, the 6-foot-7 wing has been among Detroit’s best rebounders. He entered Sunday averaging 11.4 points and 10 rebounds, and has yet to grab fewer than seven rebounds in a game.

Thompson doesn’t just lead all rookies in rebounding — he’s tied for 15th across the entire league. But even accounting for his usual high standard, Thompson had a standout night on the boards. He grabbed nine in the opening quarter (three offensive) and grabbed his 10th with just over nine minutes remaining before halftime.

Williams had high praise for the rookie’s rebounding efforts before the game, comparing him to a former four-time All-Star.

“He reminds me of Shawn Marion in that way,” he said. Shawn was a guy that played a wing position at times who could get 10 to 15 rebounds. He just finds a way to go in there and rebound outside his area.

“I really like players who can rebound. Those guys can push the ball down the floor, you’re playing a lot faster. It’s one less pass. You move the ball down the floor, especially with a guy like Ausar.”

Knox makes his debut (again)

It’s been more than a year since Knox made his initial debut as a Detroit Piston last season. He didn’t waste time reminding the team what he offers on Sunday, and was key in the attempted comeback. He checked in for Stewart toward the end of the first quarter and hit a 3 with just over a minute to go, his first bucket with the team since he was traded in February.

Knox made his next two shots, a layup and another 3-pointer, late in the second as the Pistons tried to snap a Bulls run. He shot 37.1% from 3 in Detroit last season. His third 3-pointer early in the fourth cut Chicago's lead to one, 85-84. His fourth, midway through the quarter, brought the Pistons within five.

Knox opened the game shooting 7-for-7 from the floor before missing his first shot with 5:11 remaining in the final period. He won't shoot as well as he did on Sunday most nights, but his performance was needed for a Pistons team that's lacked depth and spacing at power forward this season.

Next up: Hawks

Matchup: Pistons (2-9) vs. Atlanta (5-4), NBA In-Season Tournament Group A play.

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

Midway through the second quarter, Cade Cunningham lost a defender with a behind-the-back dribble and dumped it off to Marvin Bagley III for a dunk. It extended the Detroit Pistons’ lead to 16 — their biggest of the game.

They could only sustain their momentum for the first 21 minutes, however. From that point on, the Philadelphia 76ers outscored them 81-57 to hand the Pistons (2-8) their seventh straight loss, 114-106, in Detroit’s first NBA In-Season Tournament game.

Killian Hayes continued his run of strong play, finishing with 23 points, six assists and six rebounds. Cunningham added 21 points and seven assists, and rookie Ausar Thompson tallied a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for Detroit (2-8).

The Pistons were ailing once again, as Joe Harris (shoulder sprain), Bojan Bogdanovic (right calf strain), Monte Morris (right quad strain), Isaiah Livers (left ankle sprain) Alec Burks (left forearm contusion) and Jaden Ivey (illness) all missed the game.

Their injury woes grew worse when Jalen Duren was ruled out for the night with right ankle soreness early in the fourth quarter. The second-year big has already missed two games because of ankle soreness, and his status will be monitored ahead of Sunday's game against the Bulls in Chicago.

It appears Ivey is trending in the right direction after missing four straight contests, though. Head coach Monty Williams confirmed that a viral infection kept him out of Detroit’s four games this week. But he’s feeling better, and was present at shootaround Friday morning.

Pistons start strong, finish slow

Cunningham and Hayes got going early to help the Pistons open the game with a tone-setting 17-7 run. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick knocked down his first four shots — all from midrange — and Hayes added a midrange jumper of his own and a sidestep 3-pointer in that span.

Detroit opened the game strong defensively, holding the Sixers to 31% shooting in the first half while hitting 46.7% of their own attempts. Another midrange jumper by Hayes with 3:21 left before halftime extended Detroit’s lead to 15, 56-21. From there, though, the Sixers took control.

Philadelphia closed the second quarter with a 7-0 run to cut Detroit’s lead to eight entering halftime, and kept rolling by outscoring the Pistons by 14 in the fourth quarter. The Sixers took their first lead, 72-71, with 3:22 remaining in the third after Joel Embiid (33 points, 16 rebounds, 16-for-19 at the line), knocked down a pair of free throws.

The reigning MVP lived at the free throw line, matching the Pistons’ attempts through the first three quarters (15-for-17) by himself while making 14. Detroit led the league with 24.9 personal fouls per game entering Friday. The Sixers ended up taking 41 free throws, nearly doubling Detroit’s 22 attempts.

The Pistons trailed by six at the end of the third. De’Anthony Melton opened the final period with a 3-pointer, and Tyrese Maxey followed with a layup to push Philadelphia’s lead to double-digits. Then, consecutive turnovers led to consecutive Sixers layups that pushed their lead to 15 with 9:02 remaining.

Harris hit two free throws with 4:05 to play to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 17, 107-90. In addition to the free throw disparity, the Pistons committed 18 turnovers leading to 29 points for the Sixers.

Pistons kick off tourney play

The Pistons’ hardwood floor underwent a makeover before the game. Two-thirds of the court was a shade of light gray, with a big red stripe going down the middle. An image of the NBA Cup, the league's in-season tournament trophy, adorned the halfcourt line, with a chunky-cursive “Detroit” running over it in white.

Friday was Detroit’s inaugural In-Season Tournament game, the first of four games in the round-robin group state against Group A: the Sixers, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. The Pistons next host the Hawks on Tuesday, then face the remaining two teams on the road the following week. The top team in each of six groups, plus the next best team from each conference, advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas on Dec. 7.

“I do think it’s great for the NBA, the willingness to take a shot at this and expand the audience in this way,” Williams said before Friday's game. “Obviously we’ve done this overseas for years. I think it’s a good idea to take chances like this, and I think it’ll work out. I think you just have to go through it. And once everyone sees the excitement of the teams that make it to Vegas, I think more players will get on board.

“Any time you have more things to play for, it creates incentives to create motivation,” he continued. “I think when you play in this game for a while, unfortunately if we’re all honest we can all get caught up in the monotony, even though we’re all well-paid and we get to do things most people can never dream of, it still becomes your life and you take it for granted. So when you have these incentives, I think it creates a different motivation for you.”

In a back-and-forth game, the Detroit Pistons nearly had the last laugh.

But a late comeback attempt ultimately fell short. The Pistons fell to the Milwaukee Bucks on the road, 120-118, despite leading by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. They trailed by 15 in the third after a cold second quarter, but roared back thanks to big nights from two of their guards.

Cade Cunningham scored 33 points to go with eight rebounds and eight assists, and rookie Marcus Sasser added a career-high 26 points — 22 of which were scored in a red-hot second half. He finished the night shooting 11-for-17 overall and also grabbed six rebounds.

Ausar Thompson grabbed 15 rebounds, and Jalen Duren returned after missing two games with ankle soreness and tallied an 11-point, 12 rebound, five-assist double-double.

Damian Lillard caught fire late, scoring 18 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter. He answered a pair of free throws by Cunningham with a layup to cut Detroit’s lead to 115-114 with 1:39 to play. After an offensive foul by Duren, Lillard then hit a midrange jumper to give Milwaukee the lead.

Brook Lopez (14 points, four blocks) followed with a dagger 3 with 42.2 remaining that pushed the deficit to four. Cunningham responded with a 3, and the Pistons had a chance to win the game late. But Cunningham’s layup attempt was blocked by Lopez, and his attempt to save the ball landed in Milwaukee’s hands.

Jae Crowder split a pair of free throws to push Milwaukee’s lead to two, 120-118, with 3.9 seconds left. The ensuing inbounds pass to Cunningham was tipped by Crowder. Cunningham recovered the ball behind the halfcourt line, and his 52-foot heave at the buzzer fell short of the rim.

The Bucks opened the second period with an 18-4 run to extend their lead to 15. Bobby Portis caught fire, scoring13 of Milwaukee’s points during the run, right as Detroit’s shooting went cold. He hit a pair of free throws with 8:11 to play until halftime that gave the Bucks their biggest lead of the night, 42-27.

After tallying assists on their first 11 field goals, the Pistons had more turnovers (six) than assists (five) in the second quarter. But after missing seven of his first eight shot attempts, Cunningham got going on offense. He scored 13 points in the second and made eight of his next 10 field goals.

An early night

With 8:48 remaining in the third, the Giannis Antetokounmpo finished a loud dunk over Isaiah Stewart and briefly stared him down afterward. He was whistled for taunting — his second technical of the night — and left the game with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes.

His brother, Thanasis, was also whistled for a tech. Cunningham took both free throws to cut Milwaukee’s lead to single digits, 73-64.

Detroit trailed by 10 at halftime, but Cunningham and Sasser proceeded to take over the game, powering a 13-0 run that gave the Pistons a five-point advantage, 95-90, at the end of the third.

Cunningham, Sasser dominate second half

Cunningham continued rolling after halftime, scoring 13 more points in the third. An array of midrange jumpers and layups brought him to 28 points before the fourth quarter began. Sasser checked in midway through the third, and picked up the baton.

Stewart knocked down two 3-pointers to bring the Pistons within two. Sasser added to it with his own pair of 3-pointers, the first giving Detroit the lead, and the second extending it to 95-89 with less than a minute to play in the period. He got a steal and assisted a fastbreak bucket by Thompson to push it to eight, but Cameron Payne hit a 3 at the buzzer to cut it back to five.

Sasser was electric in the fourth, weaving through Milwaukee’s defense. He pulled up from midrange, drew contact and finished an and-1 layup to give their Pistons their biggest lead, 109-99, with 7:14 to play. He scored 12 of Detroit’s first 14 points in the period.

But ultimately, the Pistons fell short. Cunningham scored Detroit’s final five points — a corner 3-pointer, and a pair of free throws — cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 119-118 with 39.8 seconds left.

Duren logs double-double in return

Most of Detroit’s points in the first quarter were scored in the paint — 16 out of their 24. Duren punished Milwaukee inside early and often, finishing both a dunk and an alley-oop, along with a 3-point play, in the first eight minutes of the period.

His eighth and ninth points were scored roughly 90 seconds later, when a give-and-go with Hayes led to an open dunk that gave Detroit a 13-12 lead. He scored nine of Detroit’s first 12 points in the first, but also struggled with foul trouble and picked up his fifth late in the fourth.

The Detroit Pistons were severely shorthanded. The Golden State Warriors were at full strength. Plenty of blue and yellow jerseys dotted the crowd at Little Caesars Arena to watch the stars in town — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Chris Paul.

The Pistons, though, were less awed and ended up giving the Warriors a run for their money. Detroit played its most complete game in more than a week, leading by five with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth. But the Pistons ultimately fell short, falling 120-109 for their fifth consecutive loss.

Detroit, which has battled a slew of injuries so far, had just seven healthy rotation players (plus three two-way players). Second-year big Jalen Duren was a late addition to the injury report with bilateral ankle soreness. He also missed last Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury. Joe Harris (right shoulder sprain) was added to the injury report for the first time this season.

Jaden Ivey (illness) missed his second straight game, Alec Burks (left forearm contusion) missed his fourth straight, and Bojan Bogdanovic (right calf strain), Monte Morris (right quad strain) and Isaiah Livers (left ankle sprain) remained yet to make their season debut.

The Pistons were lifted by Killian Hayes, who finished with a season-high 21 points and seven assists, and Cade Cunningham, who also scored 21. They also got strong performances from Isaiah Stewart (17 points, 11 rebounds), rookie Ausar Thompson (16 points, seven rebounds, four steals) and two-way forward Stanley Umude (15 points, including four 3-pointers in five tries).

James Wiseman, in his first game against his former team since the trade deadline deal that sent him to Detroit, made his second appearance of the season and finished with three rebounds in 11 minutes.

Curry opened hot, scoring 19 points in the first 18 minutes. But the first half was mostly a back-and-forth affair. A midrange jumper by Sasser early in the second cut Golden State’s lead to two, 33-31. But Curry’s fifth 3 extended it to seven with 7:09 left in the half, and a midrange jumper by Kevon Looney extended it to 13 with just over two minutes to go.

A pair of free throws by Thompson in the final second made it an eight-point game entering halftime. With Duren out, the Pistons were crushed on the offensive glass early and late — the Warriors had an 8-1 advantage at halftime, resulting in 15 second-chance points, and finished the night with 17 offensive rebounds and 26 second-chance points.

Detroit kept fighting, though, opening the second half with a 7-0 run. Back-to-back 3s by Umude briefly gave the Pistons the lead, 80-74, with 2:10 left in the third. But the Warriors grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the third, and the Pistons entered the final period facing a one-point deficit.

Hayes opened the fourth with a corner 3, and Umude hit two more big buckets — his fourth 3-pointer of the night, and a circus layup through contact that led to a layup and a foul — to help Detroit remain in control. But Golden State pulled away late, taking the lead for good with a 3-pointer from Thompson with 7:46 to go.

A layup by Cunningham at the 5:25 mark brought the Pistons back within two, 105-103. But the Warriors hit the necessary shots down the stretch, and a pair of free throws by Paul with 1:04 to go iced the game.

Curry scored a game-high 34 points.

Umude steps up

Down so many bodies, first-year Monty Wiliams was forced to go deeper into this bench than usual. Monday was Umude’s sixth straight game, but he had averaged four minutes in the previous five.

So his 15-point performance against the Warriors felt like a breakout game. He hit three of his four 3s in the second half, helping Detroit keep pace. The two-way forward showed an ability to knock down 3s during preseason, and it paid off Monday when the Pistons needed him.

Stewart answers the call

On Sunday against the Phoenix Suns, Stewart didn’t attempt his first 3-pointer until the third quarter. He had turned down a handful of opportunities, and didn’t embrace the “Let It Fly” mentality Williams has been trying to get the team to buy into.

“In the first quarter, Cade set a screen, he popped back and he turned it down and went to a DHO (dribble handoff),” Williams said before Monday's game. “I talked to him today. I’m like, 'Stew, you gotta let it fly.' That’s who we are. He puts the work in. We don’t want him thinking about that. We also want him to be able to go down inside and take advantage there, but I like his selection. I want him to take more.”

Monday was an improvement, as Stewart knocked down his first three 3-pointers — all in the first half. He has been among Detroit’s most accurate shooters, entering the game hitting 43.5% on 3-pointers, but attempting just 3.3 a game. The efficiency has been good. His next step is increasing his volume.

For the second game in a row, the Detroit Pistons were unable to capitalize against a team missing two of its three stars.

After losing to a banged-up New Orleans Pelicans squad on the road Thursday, the Pistons returned home Sunday, only to fall again to the Phoenix Suns, who were without Bradley Beal and Grand Rapids native Devin Booker. All the Suns needed was Kevin Durant, who finished with a game-high 41 points to defeat the Pistons, 120-106.

The Pistons, who were without Jaden Ivey due to an illness and Alex Burks (forearm pain), have now lost four straight after winning two of their first three. They were also without Bojan Bogdanovic, Monte Morris and Isaiah Livers, who have yet to make their season debuts due to injuries.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 26 points and six assists, but also turned the ball over six times. He entered the game averaging an NBA-high 7.6 turnovers. Rookie guard Marcus Sasser added 22 off the bench while hitting four of his six 3-point attempts. Jalen Duren had a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds) but committed five turnovers.

Rookie Ausar Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals. The rookie also hit two of three 3s, recovering from missing all six last Thursday.

A sloppy second quarter by Detroit allowed the Suns to take control. With Durant on the bench, Phoenix started the period with a 22-8 run to take a 50-35 lead with 6:51 remaining before halftime. The Pistons struggled down low, giving up a 26-16 rebound advantage and 32 points in the paint in the first half.

But they found a spark to close the half after Durant checked in with 5:51 to go. A layup down the middle by Cunningham capped a 14-4 run that cut cut it to five, 54-49, with 1:04 on the clock. But a pair of layups by Josh Okogie and Durant gave Phoenix a nine-point lead at the end of the period.

The Suns came out strong in the third as well, outscoring Detroit 15-7 in the first 4:12 to build a 17-point lead. It stretched to 19, 80-61, midway through the third following a midrange jumper by Durant, and hit a game-high 21 in the fourth.

Detroit cut it to 10 late in the third, but Durant scored 18 of his 41 points in the quarter to help close out the Pistons. Sunday featured some tough whistles for the Pistons, who were called for 23 personal fouls against just 13 for the Suns. Detroit entered the game averaging an NBA-high 26.2 personal fouls committed per game.

With Ivey out, Sasser’s role increases

Head coach Monty Williams has had a lot of kind words for his rookie point guard as of late. Sasser, the No. 25 pick in the draft this summer, has been one of the Pistons’ best two-way performers, shooting 59.3% overall and 56.3% from 3 while taking care of the ball (14 assists and two turnovers through six games). He played a season-high 23 minutes Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers, and matched it with 23 minutes against the Pelicans a day later.

Defensively, he has lived up to his billing after four years starting at Houston. Even without Ivey’s injury, it seemed as though Sasser was positioning himself for a larger role.

“I just think he’s growing as a player,” Williams said before Sunday’s game. “He has some attributes that complement Cade, but he also has some attributes that complement Killian (Hayes) and JI, Sass does a lot. He defends, he can knock down shots, he can facilitate. His IQ is growing.

“He can shoot and defend and facilitate. Those guys typically can fit with a number of players.”

Sasser responded with his best first half of the season, scoring 11 of his 22 points and hitting all three of his 3-point attempts through the first two periods. He was Detroit’s first substitution, coming in for Hayes midway through the first. His third 3, with 2:24 to play until halftime, cut the Suns’ lead to five, allowing the Pistons to enter halftime with a single-digit deficit despite trailing by 15 midway through the second.

Pistons honor Bad Boys in first of many tribute nights

Last Thursday, the Pistons unveiled their new black-and-orange Bad Boys-inspired City Edition jerseys. They debuted the jersey, along with the accompanying Bad Boys-themed court, Sunday.

It was the first of nine games this season in which the Pistons will pay homage to the Bad Boys, and the 35-year anniversary of their 1989 championship — the first title in franchise history. To recognize the occasion, Pistons legend Isiah Thomas was seated in the first row and received a rousing ovation when introduced on the Little Caesars Arena video screen during the first half.

The Detroit Pistons traveled to New Orleans with an opportunity to bounce back, following a humiliating blown 18-point lead at home Wednesday night.

The Pelicans were without three of their top five players — Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III. It didn’t matter — they led by as many as 25 points and defeated the Pistons, 125-116. Detroit (2-4) dropped its third straight game since winning its home opener on Saturday.

It was a poor defensive effort for the Pistons, allowing the Pelicans to shoot 48.8%, including 43.8% from 3. Already the NBA’s leader in personal fouls per game, the Pistons committed 31 on Thursday night. The Pelicans capitalized by going 33-for-35 at the line.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 22 points and 11 assists, but also turned the ball over six times. Marcus Sasser scored a career-high 19 points and was the first substitution off of the bench, checking in for Killian Hayes midway through the first quarter. Ausar Thompson added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists but shot just 5-for-17 while missing all six 3-point tries. Jaden Ivey added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Second-year big Jalen Duren returned after missing Wednesday’s game with an ankle sprain, but the Pistons were without veteran reserve Alec Burks for the second night in a row. Burks joined Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Livers and Monte Morris on the injury report.

CJ McCollum led all players with 33 points and five assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

ALL TOO FAMILIAR: Bad spacing. Too many turnovers. Lots of fouls. Detroit Pistons know it's a brutal recipe

Poor first half costs Pistons

It wasn't all bad early: The Pistons knocked down their first seven shots to take an early 17-15 lead. Cunningham got going with a pair of catch-and-shoot 3s and an assist to Thompson for a layup. Detroit then went abruptly cold.

The Pistons missed their next nine shots, going nearly five minutes without a bucket before Ivey got a 3-pointer to fall with 2:55 remaining in the first. In that stretch, the Pelicans scored 11 points to take a nine-point lead. Detroit shot 4-for-19 following that 7-for-7 run.

That early momentum never returned. Cunningham picked up his third foul with 10:14 to play in the second quarter and didn’t check back in until 33 seconds remained. With their leading scorer on the bench, the Pistons struggled to establish a rhythm and shot 8-for-25 in the second quarter, including 2-for-13 from 3.

The lead swelled to 25 when McCollum knocked down a pair of free throws with 22 seconds in the half. The Pelicans were shooting 60% up to that point, compared to the Pistons' 37.3%.

Ivey, Sasser spark late run

The Pistons looked lethargic and out-of-sync for most of the game. But Ivey and Sasser made the Pelicans compete down the stretch, leading a 13-2 run to close out the third quarter that cut New Orleans’ lead to 11 (94-83).

Sasser hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run, and Ivey closed it out by splitting a trip to the free throw line after blocking a 3-point attempt by Pelicans rookie sharpshooter Jordan Hawkins, then finishing a transition dunk following a steal by Hayes.

Sasser added three more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter — the second cutting the deficit to single digits, 111-103, with just over four minutes remaining. But the Pelicans stymied Detroit’s momentum with clutch shooting. Herbert Jones completed a 3-point play, and McCollum knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 13.

Detroit kept fighting. McCollum slipped on a wet spot on the court, and Sasser got the steal and layup to cut it to nine. With just under a minute remaining, Sasser hit his fifth and final 3 to bring the Pistons within seven. But that was as close as they could get, with a pair of free throws from Sasser cutting it back to seven with 8 seconds remaining.

The Pistons shot 48% in the final period, but their late run only took some of the edge off of a rough loss — their second in as many nights.

MIAMI — Cade Cunningham has arrived.

The 2021 No. 1 overall pick got off to a strong start in his third season, scoring 30 points and dishing nine assists as he led a valiant comeback effort by the Detroit Pistons, who trailed by 19 with 9:26 remaining in the final period. Cunningham had several clutch plays to help the Pistons cut the deficit to one with 2.5 seconds remaining.

But Cunningham's 3 at the final buzzer didn't fall. The Pistons opened the season with a loss, but head coach Monty Williams, making his debut with the franchise, was happy with the team's resilience after the game.

Isaiah Stewart (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Jalen Duren (17 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks) both tallied double-doubles, and Ausar Thompson, the Pistons' No. 5 overall pick this summer, finished with four points, seven rebounds and five blocks in his NBA debut.

Cunningham starts hot, finishes hot

Cunningham became one of the Pistons’ biggest stories of the offseason after a strong performance with the Team USA Select Team. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who was an assistant coach for the team, had kind words for Cunningham before the game.

“The way he plays the game offensively, it belies his years and experience,” Spoelstra said.

After a quiet preseason, Cunningham announced himself on Wednesday. He finished the first half with 18 points on a tidy 8-for-11 shooting. He got to his midrange jumper consistently, as he did last season before his shin surgery knocked him out for the year. But he saved his best for the final period.

He was the architect behind a 14-0 run that allowed the Pistons to trim a 19-point deficit to five, 94-89, with 6:25 remaining. He scored or assisted the first 12 points of the run; the final two of the stretch came on a Duren tip-in of Cunningham’s missed layup.

In the final minutes, Cunningham stole the ball and found Duren in transition for an alley-oop to narrow the deficit to four, 103-99. Another turnover by the Heat led to Cunningham knocking down a pullup 3, slicing Miami’s lead to just one. He couldn’t get the last shot of the night to fall, but he was the primary reason why the Pistons managed to get back into the game.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

It was one of the weirder starts to a Pistons season you’ll ever see. They tallied nine of their 16 overall turnovers in the first quarter, largely due to poor ball control and sloppy passing. The Heat scored 14 points off of those turnovers, and coughed the ball up just once. But it was the Pistons who had the lead going into the second quarter, 29-26.

Unfortunately, they continued gifting free points to Miami. Detroit’s first possession of the second quarter was another poor one— a misplaced lob from Kilian Hayes to Jalen Duren. It took just 12 minutes and 41 seconds for the Pistons to hit double-digit in the turnover column. They finished the first half with 15, off of which the Heat scored 21 points.

Detroit also went cold in the second period — shooting 7-for-22 after going 11-for-19 in the first, and Miami outscored them 32-18 to take a 58-47 lead into halftime. But the Pistons can’t blame their poor shooting. Most of their problems were self-inflicted.

Back-to-back turnovers early in the fourth quarter led to consecutive Heat buckets, allowing them to take their biggest lead of the night, 94-75, with 9:23 to play.

Stewart finds his touch from downtown

Detroit’s fourth-year big man struggled from behind the arc during preseason, making just four of his 21 attempts and one of his last 11. Williams didn’t express any concern afterward, noting that he has seen Stewart put in the work.

Stewart appeared to knock off his rust, as he got off to a strong start. Detroit’s first points of the season came on a Stewart jump hook over Kevin Love, and he followed that by finding Duren cutting to the rim for a dunk. Then, the 3-pointers started falling.

He knocked down his first outside attempt of the game early in the first. His next one, with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter, might’ve been the most difficult make of his career. He lost Love with a pump fake, took a step to the right and calmly knocked it down.

It’s a small sample size, but Stewart has hit 3s in the past. Wednesday was a good sign.

I personally think it’s safe, bland and not very inspiring.

James Wiseman scores 20 points and 10 rebounds while Jaden Ivey adds 13 points, as the Pistons defeat the Thunder, 128-125.

The Suns defeated the Pistons, 130-126, in overtime. Devin Booker (12 points), Kevin Durant (12 points) and Bradley Beal (11 points, four rebounds, three assists) combined for 35 points in the victory, while Marvin Bagley III led all scorers with 25 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons in the losing effort.

The Pistons’ local network partner is Bally Sports, so I thought this was relevant news about the team.

As the NBA approaches a new season, releasing its 2023-24 schedule earlier this month and rolling out the matchups to watch over the next year, a nettlesome issue continues to hover over the league and half of its teams.

Diamond Sports Group, the company that operates 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks across the United States and owns the local television rights for 15 NBA teams, including the Mavericks, Clippers, Cavaliers and Spurs, among others, continues to have its future linger in bankruptcy court. That has caused some uncertainty about how those teams will broadcast their games locally during the upcoming season.

Rick Schnall, the new Charlotte Hornets co-owner, addressed the situation this month as he was introduced as part of the investment group that bought the franchise this summer. Asked where fans could watch the team this season, he struggled for a definitive answer.

“We actually don’t know the answer to that question,” Schnall said. “We’re under contract through the (20)25-26 season with Bally Sports, and we expect them to live up to that contract. They’re obviously in Chapter 11; that’s an ongoing negotiation. The NBA is obviously very concerned and very involved in that. There will be a place to watch the Hornets. We think it will be Bally Sports under the terms of the contract, but if not, we will have alternative plans.”

As of now, there is an expectation that games will air on the Bally Sports regional sports networks when the season begins, and the league has been told that Diamond Sports Group has enough capital to honor its contracts and to get through the upcoming season, according to sources briefed on the matter who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely. But the NBA has also begun working on contingency plans in case there are any issues or that expectation does not pan out once the regular season begins Oct. 24.

In case Diamond Sports Group RSNs cannot fulfill their contracts with teams, the NBA is prepared to take over broadcast production and distribution in those markets. The league would then offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option for fans in those markets, as well as some sort of yet-to-be-determined linear option. That model has already been established in cities such as Phoenix and Salt Lake City, where the Suns and Jazz announced deals this summer to move their teams off a cable RSN — and off a Bally Sports RSN in the Suns’ case — and onto an over-the-air broadcast network, along with a streaming choice. There has already been contact by league or team officials with local stations across the country in Bally Sports RSN markets to lay the groundwork in case things go awry.

There is some precedent already this year for a professional sports league stepping in if Diamond cannot fulfill its obligations. Major League Baseball jumped in to broadcast San Diego Padres games this summer when Diamond ceased broadcasting their games.

The approach between the NBA and Diamond Sports Group does not seem to be as adversarial as it has been with the company and MLB, and the NBA wants to make it through this upcoming season with its RSN contracts, and payments, intact. But nothing is guaranteed. Diamond attempted to stop making its full rights payments to four MLB teams this year, arguing that it had the ability do so because of bankruptcy code, but a federal judge put a halt to that plan. If Diamond believes one of its TV contracts with an NBA team is similarly not part of its future plans or unprofitable, it could try to do the same under the same argument — though the company’s legal wrangling with MLB proved that is no sure bet to succeed.

There is also a key distinction between Diamond Sports Group’s MLB and NBA deals. The company has the digital direct-to-consumer rights for only five of the 14 MLB teams it contracted with, according to bankruptcy filings. It has the streaming rights for all of its NBA teams under contract.

While there is optimism on both sides, there is also a fair share of skepticism.

“It’s a very fluid situation,” an industry source told The Athletic.

Diamond Sports Group has already had a difficult summer elsewhere too. As bankruptcy proceedings continue, it has also sued Sinclair Broadcasting Group, its parent company, in federal court, alleging that Sinclair improperly siphoned out as much as $1.5 billion dollars from Diamond’s RSN business and charged exceptionally high management fees after acquiring Diamond in 2019. As part of its response to that lawsuit, Sinclair said in a court filing that it believes that Diamond Sports Group’s emergence from bankruptcy “is nowhere in sight.” In a statement, a Diamond Sports Group spokesperson said that the company is “confident in our legal position” and that Sinclair’s court motion has no effect on its operations.

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/922169

I remember watching this series as a newly-converted Pistons fan since 2004. Seeing Manu score like a madman broke my heart back then on the Spurs' path to the title, but now I can only feel appreciation for his performance.

Cunningham and Duren make the team!

USA Basketball named 14 players to its Select Team on Monday, which will serve as the opponent for Team USA during its upcoming training camp for the FIBA World Cup plus a proving ground for future national team slots.

The Select Team is stacked with recent top draft picks who are seen as the next generation for Team USA and will be coached by Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley from Aug. 3-6 in Las Vegas.

Cade Cunningham, the 2021 top draft pick who missed almost all of last season for the Detroit Pistons with a shin injury, will make his return at training camp.

Oklahoma City No. 2 draft pick from 2022 Chet Holmgren, who missed all of last season but returned for some summer league games this year, will play alongside teammate Jalen Williams, who finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. Also from the 2022 draft class is Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings and Jalen Duren of the Pistons.

Third year players Trey Murphy and Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans, Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets and Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks will take part in the camp. Fourth year veterans Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics and big man Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves will also play. Any of this group would be strong candidates to be promoted to the first team if needed, which has happened routinely in the past.

As is customary, players who helped Team USA qualify for the World Cup during six qualifying windows over the last two years have been invited to practice, which will be attended by numerous NBA scouts. They are NBA veterans Langston Galloway and John Jenkins along with former G League Ignite player Eric Mika.

Indiana Pacers assistant coach Jim Boylen, who coached Team USA in the qualifying windows, will serve as an assistant as will Purdue head coach Matt Painter.

Team USA will play five exhibition games in Las Vegas, Malaga, Spain and Abu Dhabi before opening World Cup play Aug. 26 vs. New Zealand (8:40 a.m. ET, ESPN2) in Manila, Philippines.

Marcus Sasser, the 25th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of the University of Houston, recorded a summer league high 40 points for the Pistons as they defeated the Pacers, 100-85. Isaiah Wong tallied 24 points for the Pacers in the losing effort. The Pistons improve to 4-1 in the 2K24 Summer League, while the Pacers fall to 2-3

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Although the Pistons emerged victorious against the Spurs in their 4th summer league with a 3-1 record, they miss out on the final four due to at least 5 teams winning the tiebreakers for the 3rd and 4th seeds.

That being said, it was Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson who led in points while earning a double double: 18 points and 14 rebounds.

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LAS VEGAS -- Victor Wembanyama's summer league has officially come to an end, with the San Antonio Spurs deciding Monday to shut down the No. 1 pick in last month's NBA draft after a stellar second game here in Sin City.

Wembanyama, who bounced back from a dubious debut with a 27-point, 12-rebound performance in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, said after the game that he would sit down with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and decide whether he would continue playing.

"I know I got to talk with Pop," Wembanyama said Sunday when asked whether he was going to play more in Vegas. "I'm going to listen to what he's going to say, but I'm ready to make any sacrifice for the team and give 100%."

But although it wasn't official that Wembanyama would be done for the summer, his news conference all but shouted that this would be the eventual outcome. He talked about the fact he would be away from the media for at least the next month, and how he was excited to sit down with the Spurs and map out a plan for the next 2-3 months to put himself in the best possible position to be ready for the start of his rookie season this fall.

In his NBA 2K24 Summer League debut Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets, Wembanyama had a rough outing, shooting 2-for-13 from the field and admitting he felt lost at times on the court. But after a slow start against Portland, Wembanyama came on in a big way, dominating the game in the second quarter and nearly willing the Spurs all the way back to a victory.

Now, though, he'll shift his focus to his first full season in the NBA, which he'll enter with arguably bigger expectations than any rookie since LeBron James arrived in the league 20 years ago.

"Like, this past month, I think basketball wasn't even 50% of my schedule," Wembanyama said. "I can't stand it. I know it's a special moment in my life, but I'm just glad it's over, honestly. I just want to hoop, work out and lift."

The Pistons defeat the Raptors, 94-90. Jared Rhoden led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pistons.

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