The good news for the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons: One of them will snap a lengthy losing streak Monday night in Detroit.
The Wizards begin a four-game road trip saddled with a nine-game losing streak. The Pistons have lost 13 straight in a classic meeting between resistible force and movable object.
Washington’s last victory came on Nov. 8 at Charlotte. In their last outing, the Wizards were blown out by Atlanta 136-108 on Saturday after nearly upsetting Milwaukee the previous night.
Atlanta grabbed a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and the Wizards never recovered. The Hawks put the game away by outscoring Washington 37-20 in the third quarter.
“I know it’s not ideal; I think we put a lot into (Friday) night,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “No excuse being on a back-to-back, got in pretty late, but that’s life in the NBA. No second prize for that.
“Obviously, we wanted to come out and play with energy; we were a little slow to start (but I) thought we picked up.”
The Wizards’ Jordan Poole, the team’s second-leading scorer, was a late scratch due to a left ankle injury. It was the first game Poole, acquired from Golden State during the offseason, missed this season.
Poole is adjusting to being a major part of the opponents’ game plan.
“I’ve seen a lot of coverages, a lot of different coverages. It’s honestly really cool,” Poole said. “It just makes you learn as a player, it makes you grow, go back and watch film.”
Washington is playing a team it has dominated the past three seasons. The Wizards have defeated the Pistons in each of their past eight meetings.
The Pistons have played only one game since last Monday. They lost at Indiana 136-113 on Friday, as the Pacers finished what had been a tight contest on a 19-1 run. Detroit committed six turnovers in the last 7 1/2 minutes of the game.
“Same story. We have to learn the formula — when we take care of the ball, we give ourselves a chance to compete,” Pistons coach Monty Williams told Bally Sports Detroit.
“When we give it away, the way we did in the fourth quarter, it’s hard. We only scored 17 points and gave up 39. … Turnovers have plagued us for a while and we’ve got to rectify it.”
Detroit hasn’t tasted victory since a home win over the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 28. The slide began with a road loss to Oklahoma City two nights later.
The Pistons are in danger of going winless this month. They finish their November schedule with a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers and a road game against the New York Knicks.
“It has to hurt to where you learn how to execute in those moments,” Williams said of the long losing streak, “We’ve talked about this as a team. There’s a sliver of time in every game where it’s like three or four minutes where you turn it over or give up offensive rebounds.
“So, these are things we’ve talked about and taught. Now, we have to go out and execute in those pivotal moments in the game.”
– Field Level Media
