Mike Curtis is a Saginaw, Michigan native who grew up watching the champion Detroit Pistons of Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. Now he’s the Pistons beat writer for The Detroit News and the view is vastly different.
Detroit (2-29) is suffering through an unprecedented tailspin. The Pistons have lost 28 games in a row, an NBA single-season record. They have tied the mark for the longest overall losing streak with the Philadelphia 76ers who dropped 28 straight over two seasons (March 27, 2015 to Dec. 1, 2015). Detroit will try to end the slump tonight at home against the Toronto Raptors (12-18).
What is it like to cover a historically bad team? We caught up with Curtis to ask him.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: What is it like covering this team?
Mike Curtis: “I was always told, coming into journalism, especially sports journalism, you either want to cover a really good team or a really bad team, because it’s easy to get stuck in the monotony of covering a mediocre team. It’s difficult to find human interest stories amid a historic losing streak. Those are the stories I enjoy telling just because they give you an idea of who these athletes are away from the court. But when you take in the national spotlight that’s currently on this team, it seems like every fan in the basketball world is so invested in seeing whether the Pistons win or lose on a nightly basis. I think that’s given this streak some interest I didn’t expect.”
When will Detroit win again?
“That’s a good question. I have been asked this several times throughout this 28-game losing streak. And every time I say that they will win, they usually don’t. So the safe answer is to say, I don’t know. But if I have to choose—based on how they played at Boston —I think if they play with that same intensity and Cade Cunningham is aggressive on the offensive man, I think there’s a good chance they can get it done against the Raptors.”
"It was one heck of an effort. But the Pistons drop their 28th straight. Which does tie the longest losing streak in NBA history." pic.twitter.com/KDdDLR66PB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 29, 2023
What were realistic expectations before the season?
“Pistons owner Tom Gores was asked that same question. Their initial expectations were to play competitive basketball for 82 games. Gores then revealed that they were under the impression that they could get as close to the play-in tournament as possible. They wanted to be in a position to compete for the postseason. They’re far from that right now. They’re looking like they’re going to be in the lottery.
“I had them pegged at 33 wins. You have Cade Cunningham coming back from injury. You pair him with Bojan Bogdanović. He started the year with a calf injury. You have second-year guys in Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey and then you add a guy like (rookie) Ausar Thompson who has the potential to be one of the best defensive players in the league. So, I think on paper, everyone had pretty modest expectations. Not anything too crazy, but we thought they would be better than what they are right now.”
How would you describe the mood in the locker room after games?
“In the beginning, they weren’t as down as they are right now. Pretty much when you go into the locker room now everyone’s silent. You can hear a pin drop. The silence is deafening. I think it all started earlier in the year with that loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. They were up 15 points in the third quarter. They squandered it similar to how they squandered the game against the Boston Celtics. Granted, that’s the Boston Celtics. And this is the Portland Trail Blazers, another rebuilding team. They should have won that game. After the (Portland) game, that locker room was devastated.”
Monty Williams was coaching in the NBA Finals three seasons ago with the Phoenix Suns. How is he handling the losses?
“He’s handling it as well as anyone could handle a streak of this magnitude. He’s still extremely professional. He still gives thoughtful and detailed answers. I think the only time he didn’t was after the loss to the Wizards, where he showed some emotion and gave one-word answers.”
Pistons fans chanting "Sell The Team!"
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 22, 2023
They are 1 loss away from tying the NBA record for most consecutive losses in a single season: 26
Cade: "Yeah, we're not 2-26 bad. No way are we that bad. So, yes, I think we can turn it around." pic.twitter.com/QzZhVd0X0h
How are the players dealing with it?
“I’ve said this before, and people kind of take this the wrong way. But you can’t tell this team is on a streak like this when you see them at practice and shootaround, I don’t think they allow the emotion from one game to carry over to the next. In the shootarounds, in these practices, they’re full of joy. They’re joking with each other. They’re laughing. Obviously, they understand that it’s a serious time and a pivotal time in the franchise’s history. But they’re not letting the weight and the emotions of this losing streak hinder them from day to day.”
What have you heard from your readership?
“The readers are frustrated. You expect that from any fanbase if their team only has two wins, and we’re going into the new year. This team didn’t win a game in November. If they don’t win (tonight), it’ll be two consecutive calendar months without a victory. They’re upset. They want changes. Tom Gores has alluded to some form of change happening, but he wasn’t as detailed as some fans would have wanted him to be. But I think we can expect change coming from this team. Just not sure what that change looks like right now.”
https://twitter.com/theresnoway30/status/1738041893076808054?s=20
How has Gores reacted to fans chanting “sell the team” at home games?
“He asked about that last Friday. First, he wanted to talk to reporters to apologize to the fans for just their record and their underwhelming performance this season. But he said ‘That’s ridiculous.’ He knows that they should win more games, but he doesn’t understand where ‘sell the team’ comes from because of the impact that he has in the community. The Pistons do a lot in the city of Detroit as far as community initiatives. He said that his selling the team would be selling the community out. So I don’t think he has any plans of selling this team.”
You’re in your second year of covering the Pistons. Do you have any funny stories?
“In (Dwane Casey’) final press conference (last season) I think I asked him what he’ll miss the most about coaching. He said he’ll miss the players. He’ll miss the day-to-day interactions with his staff, and the preparation for other teams. But he said the good thing is ‘I don’t have to look at your face every day Mike.’ Dwane was personable and joked a lot.”
