Detroit Pistons lose 24 straight, Utah Jazz next

December 21, 2023

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Estimated reading time: 2-3 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — The Detroit Pistons have lost 24 straight games.

This incompetent long losing streak is just two losses shy of the single-season record of 26 straight games shared by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers.

The Pistons’ next game is Thursday against the Utah Jazz at Little Caesars Arena.

Will it be the long-awaited victory? Well, there’s a reason why Jazz fans are a little worried.

Before the season, this game would have been viewed as a scheduled loss for the Jazz. Utah will play the second night of the back-to-back and will play the third of four nights, all in a different city. Meanwhile, the Pistons have been rested since Monday night’s loss.

This gives Detroit a huge rest advantage, especially against a Jazz team that has performed badly on the road. Utah also has the third-worst road record in the league at 2-12 and has a league-worst net rating of -16.3 in away games.

“Well, the road trip sucked,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said with a small laugh about his team’s breakup on the road. “That would make a big difference.”

Hardy said travel makes his job more difficult, but Utah’s famous home crowd gives the team energy. It also didn’t hurt that Lauri Markkanen was out for a few weeks.

“I think road games are where the primary players reveal themselves,” Hardy said. “I believe the best players in the league are getting paid in the fourth quarter and in road games.”

Markkanen had eight points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter against Cleveland on Wednesday. Those are great stats, but the Cavaliers, without their top three players, won by nine points in the quarter.

The Pistons should also be pretty healthy. Former Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic is averaging 21 points per game after missing the first 19 games of the season, with guard Killian Hayes and big man Isaiah Stewart also missing Monday’s game. That’s highly likely.

The Jazz will be without Jordan Clarkson due to a hamstring injury, and Keyontae George is also likely to miss the game.

Despite this, Las Vegas oddsmakers say the Jazz are favorites by just 1.5 points. So what will it take to keep the Pistons from winning for the first time since Oct. 28?

“We have to start early,” Collin Sexton said. “You have to be strong for the first five minutes.”

Talen Horton-Tucker echoed that sentiment, saying the Jazz need to play “with their shoulders down” like they did in Detroit.

Coach Markkanen said he wasn’t thinking about a winning streak heading into the game. He said if the Jazz can focus on themselves and perform better, the wins should continue.

“We can be much better than today,” Markkanen said. “So I think we’re going to win just by looking at our stuff and really executing our game plan. We know we can play against great teams in this league.”

Fans are hoping they can beat one of their worst matches.