Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to a wild overtime game between the Jazz and the Pistons.
The Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons played one of the best games of the season in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
Utah won 154-148 in a wild overtime thriller with some great performances and incredible scoring.
NBA Twitter was talking about the Pistons, yet again, after that crazy game in Utah.
The Detroit Pistons fall to the Boston Celtics to tie the Philadelphia 76ers for the longest losing skid in NBA history at 28.
The Philadelphia 76ers are no longer alone.
During The Process era, the Sixers dropped 28 consecutive games starting at the end of the 2014-15 season and into the beginning of the 2015-16 season. Philadelphia dropped its final 10 games of the 2014-15 season and then started the 2015-16 season on an 18-game losing skid.
It stood as the longest losing streak in U.S. professional sports history.
Now, the Detroit Pistons have joined them.
The Pistons dropped their 28th consecutive game on Thursday: a 128-122 overtime road loss to the Boston Celtics. Detroit led by as many as 21 before the Celtics stormed back to force overtime and win.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 31 points and Jaden Ivey had 22 for the Pistons.
Final: Celtics 128, Pistons 122
Boston survives a horrendous first half – and a really impressive effort from the Pistons – to stay undefeated at home and hand Detroit, a 16.5-point underdog, its 28th consecutive loss, tying the NBA record.
Detroit next plays Saturday vs. TOR.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 29, 2023
The Pistons take on the Toronto Raptors at home on Saturday. That will be their next opportunity to end the streak. If they fall again, the Sixers will no longer have a record that nobody wants.
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The Detroit Pistons fall to the Brooklyn Nets and tie the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers for the longest losing streak in NBA history.
The 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers have more company.
The Detroit Pistons fell to the host Brooklyn Nets, 125-103, on Saturday night. Their 26th loss in a row ties the Sixers and 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the longest losing streak in a single season.
The 2013-14 Sixers, who were at the beginning of The Process years, lost 26 in a row from Jan. 31, 2014 through March 27, 2014.
The difference between these Pistons and those Sixers and Cavs teams: Detroit is trying to win. The effort has been there, but the Pistons have not been able to overcome the obstacles in their way.
The Pistons fall to the Nets 126-115 for their 26th loss in a row. That ties the 2013-14 Sixers and the 2010-11 Cavaliers for the most losses in a row in a single season in NBA history.
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) December 24, 2023
The Sixers hold the record for most losses in a row overall: 28, a streak that spanned the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
The Pistons next two games are against the Nets at home on Tuesday and the Boston Celtics on the road on Dec. 28.
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The Philadelphia 76ers are keeping their guard up and giving the ultimate respect to the Detroit Pistons despite their 20-game losing skid.
DETROIT — As the Philadelphia 76ers head to the Motor City on Wednesday to take on the Detroit Pistons, the contest is a potential trap game.
On paper, the Pistons are struggling. That’s putting it lightly. They are on a 20-game losing skid, a single-season franchise record, and haven’t won since Oct. 28. They are 27th in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating.
This is a contest the Sixers should win easily considering the talent and experience they have compared to the Pistons. However, Detroit has professional basketball players who are looking to end this lengthy losing skid. That makes a team dangerous.
“Yes. It can be,” Nic Batum said of the contest with the Pistons. “That’s why we can’t only watch what’s going on on the other side, because it can be a dangerous game playing that way. This is a young team, but they’re not playing bad though. They’re not playing bad.”
Batum is correct. Of the 20 consecutive losses for Detroit, only half of them have been by double digits. The Pistons even held a 16-point lead over the Sixers in a Nov. 10 contest between the teams before Philadelphia rallied and won by eight. That’s something that the Sixers have to guard against.
“They got great players,” Batum added. “They got good vets. They got (Bojan) Bogdanovic back, (Alec) Burks back. They got (Cade) Cunningham playing well, they got the (Ausar) Thompson kid, I mean, I won’t name them all, but they have a good team. So sometimes, you gotta be careful. You don’t want to let your guard down because it can be a big trap game. You can be in trouble if you play that way.”
Considering the talent, it is a bit surprising they haven’t been able to stumble into a win. A 20-game losing streak can be a tough thing to handle.
“Stretch happens sometimes in the NBA so when you’re on a roll like this sometimes, you’re doing good and doing good and sometimes a 5-minute stretch in the game like put you away because it’s bad,” Batum continued. “You kinda understand that, but they got a good coach. I’ve been with Monty Williams for a while. I know him for a while. They’re gonna turn it around. I hope not tonight, but they’re gonna turn it around at some point for sure.”
The Pistons have talented players, but they are a young group. However, they can absolutely sneak up on the Sixers if Philadelphia isn’t careful. The Sixers don’t want to be the team the Pistons end their losing skid against.
“Exactly,” Batum finished. “You don’t want to be that team so they’re going to be extra focused and do our job. We gotta be pros tonight. More pro than them. They’re gonna want it hard. They want to get out of it. We need to want it more tonight than them.”
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It’s always great when officials make the game about themselves, isn’t it?
This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! Happy Thursday! I hope you’re well. Thank you for reading the Morning Win this morning.
Don’t you love it when officials make themselves the main story of a game? Isn’t it just the best?
We need to thank Rodney Mott and his officiating crew for the Pistons-Bucks game on Wednesday night for giving us a show. Because, boy, did they make that game as interesting as possible.
The Bucks had a healthy 11-point lead on the Pistons with nine minutes left in the third quarter. Then this happened.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was just ejected for…mean mugging following a dunk.
A superstar showing the kind of emotion that makes him beloved by the fans who paid to see him tonight.
How does this happen?
— Stephen Watson (@SWatsonTV) November 9, 2023
Antetokounmpo was ejected for *checks notes* dunking really hard on someone. Then he did the too-small celebration. It was a fun moment where a star showed a bit of emotion! No wonder he was ejected. We don’t like emotion in our basketball, right? You tell ’em, refs.
The Pistons were down 13 when Giannis left. Detroit took a 10-point lead into the third quarter. This completely shifted the game. The officials were the night’s main thing, and that’s never supposed to happen.
Officials explained the ejection and, well, you’re not going to like it.
https://t.co/G6dswkawWU pic.twitter.com/118ShoUbkU
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) November 9, 2023
“After the Dunk Giannis turns to his opponent and taunts him and a taunting technical foul was called, an unsportsmanlike. And he was ejected from the game, per rule, because two unsportsmanlike technical fouls, you are ejected from the game.”
The first technical, I get. Antetokounmpo reportedly cursed at an official after a no-call. You can’t do that unless you’re Draymond Green. But that second one? Come on, man.
Look. I don’t like talking about officials. They have a hard job to do and, generally, they do it well. Nobody gives them credit for it because we only care about the job when they mess it up.
But this? This was bad. And it feels like there’s been a lot more inconsistency from officials so far this season with calls like this one.
Let’s hope they set things straight before the big games start.
The Angels are putting their best foot forward in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes.
There are reportedly as many as 10 teams chasing Ohtani right now, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez writes, including big spenders like the Mets, Rangers, Yankees, Dodgers, and even the World Series Champion Rangers.
But the Angels aren’t lying inert here. LA is making moves to try and keep Ohtani around starting with the Ron Washington hire.
Now, look. It’s not foolproof. Washington hasn’t been a head manager of a team since he left the Rangers in 2014. He’s been the Braves third-base coach since 2017.
He was effective with Texas, though. Washington’s Rangers won two AL pennants and had an 18-16 postseason record. That’s better than literally anything the Angels have done since 2009. It’s worth the shot. Especially considering how bad the Angels’ farm system is. LA isn’t a great job.
But LA hopes Washington’s presence might show the generational star that the Angels are serious enough to prevent that.
We’ll see if he feels the same way about it when his decision finally comes.
MUST READ: Ranking all 30 of Shohei Ohtani’s most attractive free agency options
It’s been 584 days since Paige Bueckers touched a basketball court for the UConn Huskies.
Now, she’s back, folks.
The team had its season opener on Wednesday against Dayton. Bueckers finished with 8 points, seven rebounds and four assists. She didn’t shoot it well, but her game was as smooth as ever.
PAIGE BUECKERS IS OFFICIALLY BACK pic.twitter.com/tvUyQacYDK
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) November 9, 2023
Not bad for someone returning from a torn ACL.
With Bueckers back in the lineup UConn has one of the most stacked squads in college basketball right now. Along with her, Aaliyah Edwards and Azzi Fudd, you’ve got one of the most talented trios in college basketball. Their entire starting lineup is nothing to scoff at.
I’m not saying this team is a shoo-in to win the title. But Geno Auriemma’s squads are always going to be in the conversation. Watch out for the Huskies.
— The MannigCast ratings are, uh, not great this season. It seems like people just want to watch their football! Mary Clarke has you covered on this one.
— Al Michaels hears all of your complaints about his enthusiasm — or the lack of it. He doesn’t see a difference! Andrew Joseph has more.
— Joel Embiid MVP odds are looking sweet right now. Thank you, James Harden. Prince Grimes has more.
— Travis Kelce is following Taylor Swift on tour. That’s nice, huh? Charles Curtis has more.
— The Bears win either way tonight on Thursday night football! Charles Curtis has more.
— I cannot imagine losing $10 betting on Kent State. But $1.5 million?!? Nah. You’d never see me again. Ben Fawkes has more.
That’s all, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a fantastic Thursday. I hope you’re off tomorrow! We’ll be here for you. Until next time, peace.
-Sykes ✌️
The NBA’s spending spree is beginning.
It’s time, y’all. NBA free agency is upon us. Transaction season is here. Teams are going to be wheeling and dealing for the next few months.
There are going to be lots of big-money deals dished out — this list of the highest paid players in the league is almost certain to grow. But, honestly? It’s not the greatest summer to be a big name free agent.
There aren’t many teams out there with a ton of money to spend. We just got reported salary cap projections and, while the cap did rise, most teams are still well above that number. Well, at least according to most projections.
That’s OK, though. There are still exceptions teams can use and trades they can make to potentially free up cap space or find improvements for their teams.
Wondering where your favorite team will end up? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how much every team could potentially spend this summer courtesy of the good folks over at Sportrac.
The numbers that follow aren’t the actual salary cap figures for teams — they’re projections. They factor in cap holds teams are likely to renounce, team options and non-guaranteed salaries.
These numbers are potentially what teams could have to spend this summer if all this comes into fruition as of Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
Enjoy.
A flurry of trades at the NBA Draft had ramifications that’ll affect the top free agents on the market, including Deandre Ayton, Jalen Brunson, Tyus Jones, and others.
Below is the latest intel gathered by HoopsHype on what’s next for Ayton, Brunson, Jones, and behind the scenes of how Paolo Banchero learned he’d be the top overall pick.
The NBA Draft is less than a week away, with more potential big trades on the horizon following the Christian Wood acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks, as noted throughout our new HoopsHype aggregate mock draft.
To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.
The most notable risers within the projected lottery selections included Dyson Daniels moving up further within the top 10 picks, Ousmane Dieng becoming a projected lottery pick, and Jalen Williams vaulting into the Top 20 range. Jake LaRavia and Dalen Terry, two of the biggest risers throughout the draft process, have moved into the late first round.
Other risers in the second round include Ryan Rollins, Andrew Nembhard, David Roddy, John Butler, Michael Foster, Gabriele Procida, and Dereon Seabron.
The notable name that fell was MarJon Beauchamp, who now is projected outside the top 20 picks despite receiving a green room invite. Josh Minott and Jean Montero were among those whose stock fell in the second round.
NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
Following the withdrawals of several prospects, the aggregate NBA mock draft has shifted noticeably, and more intel on teams have surfaced with the draft nearing.
To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.
The most notable risers within the projected lottery selections included Keegan Murray leaping Shaedon Sharpe into the top five range, Dyson Daniels entering the top 10, and Malaki Branham cracking the end of the lottery. Dalen Terry also vaulted 12 spots since our last aggregate mock draft and is currently positioned as an early second-round pick.
Some of the more notable names that fell slightly included TyTy Washington, Max Christie and Leonard Miller.
NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and The Athletic’s James Edwards III discuss the futures of Jerami Grant and Marvin Bagley, preview Detroit’s draft and free agency plan, and more on the latest edition of the HoopsHype podcast.
For more interviews with players, coaches, and media members, be sure to like and subscribe to the HoopsHype podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Listen to the podcast above or check out some snippets of the conversation in a transcribed version below.
