Detroit Pistons joins this infamous record list in November

On the 30th of November, the last day of the month, Detroit Pistons became the 13th team on one of the most unwanted records lists. Pistons visiting Madison Square Garden lost to New York Knicks by a slender six-point margin. Before this match, there had been only 12 teams in the history of the NBA who lost all the matches they played in a month. The Pistons became the thirteenth team to lose all their matches in a month. The visitors lost their fifteenth match of the month against the Knicks.

Detroit won its final game on October 28 after starting the season 2-1. After suffering their first defeat of the run on October 30, they lost 15 games in November after 15 attempts. Nevertheless, their most recent match was rather competitive. The Pistons lost to the Knicks on Thursday by a score of 16, following their 133-107 drubbing at the hands of the Lakers on Wednesday. But Detroit had tied it by the half, and the Pistons eventually fell short, 118–112.

Coach Monty Williams

Coach Monty Williams termed the historic infamous loss a ‘moral victory’. Williams said, “I’m not into moral victories. I don’t know where that came from, it doesn’t make sense. But that was something that, that game, that output, that energy, production from our group is something that I’m proud of, and that’s the kind of competitive edge that we have to play with every single night.” Williams does not believe in moral victories but for more than a month, it is the only kind of victories they are getting.

The Pistons finished the month without a victory with a defensive efficiency of 26th in the NBA (allowing 120 points per 100 possessions) and an offensive efficiency of 27th (scoring just 107.9). The only team with a worse net rating, at minus-13.4 points per 100 possessions, was the Spurs, who finished 1-12 in November.

The last team to do so

The Philadelphia 76ers of 2014–15, who astonishingly managed to go winless in October, November, and April of that season, were the last club to go winless for a whole month. 

The road ahead for the Pistons

Thankfully, the Pistons are far from going without a win in three months, but that doesn’t mean their current losing streak will end anytime soon. The Cavaliers, Magic, Pacers, 76ers (twice), and Bucks are their next six opponents, with the exception of a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on December 6. It’s quite likely that this run of success extends beyond 20 games.

Knicks vs Pistons

Hosts, the Knicks started the clash on a positive note and led the first quarter by 14 points. The Pistons tied the match in the second quarter and even led the match by the third quarter by a slender lead of two points. The Knicks bounced back in the fourth quarter and won the match by six points.