The Detroit Pistons hope to continue to enjoy their holiday away from home when they go for a third straight road win on Thursday night against the host Sacramento Kings.
Last season’s losingest team appeared to catch no break in the schedule when dealt a four-game Western swing sandwiching Christmas. To add insult to injury, the four opponents — the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Denver Nuggets — all finished with winning records during the 2023-24 campaign.
Instead, a team whose last home game was a loss to the Utah Jazz has beaten the Suns 133-125 and the Lakers 117-114 before settling into a California Christmas without snow.
Now it’s back to work for what should be considered the softest landing spot on the trip. The Kings have opened a five-game homestand with four consecutive losses, most recently falling 122-95 to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
What the Pistons have put on display out West has been a balanced attack. Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley and Simone Fontecchio all scored in double figures in both wins, while Jalen Duren put up a double-double in Phoenix (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Ronald Holland II posted 10 points in Los Angeles.
But as Detroit owner Tom Gores noted while watching the win over the Lakers, everything revolves around Cade Cunningham, who notched 28 points and 13 assists against the Suns before piling up 20 points and 10 assists against Los Angeles.
“Our young men are performing well,” Gores said. “They’re really stepping up to what Pistons basketball is about. We’re watching all of our young men. Cade is just evolving into the leader he’s always been. So I’m very proud of that.”
What the Pistons might encounter on their trip to the California capital is a particularly hostile crowd. Hostile toward the home team, that is.
The Kings heard rare hometown boos while facing the Pacers in what was their most lopsided loss of the season — home or away.
At least one King admitted the negativity was warranted.
“You never want to get booed at home, but we probably deserve it,” Sacramento guard/forward Kevin Huerter said. “We just lost three in a row, and then you get beat by 30 on your home court during Christmas time. They (the fans) deserve better.”
What Kings fans probably expect more than wins are points. Sacramento had averaged 120.6 points in 10 games — going 5-5 over that stretch — before going for 100, 99 and 95 points in three straight losses (the first two coming against the Los Angeles Lakers).
Especially off the mark as of late have been Malik Monk, who has gone just 6-for-27 on 3-pointers over the past three games, and DeMar DeRozan, who has averaged just 8.0 points on 9-for-30 shooting overall during that span.
It’ll take team play, not individuals looking to improve their numbers, to turn things around, Monk insisted.
“That (expletive) is just embarrassing,” Monk said of the state of the offense. “Once we take one-pass, zero-pass shots, miss, they get a long rebound, go out in transition. Now, all our heads are down. So it’s just not playing offense the right way, not moving the ball.”
