Sixers giving ultimate respect to Pistons despite 20-game losing skid

[76ers Since 74]

DETROIT–As the Philadelphia 76ers head into the Motor City on Wednesday to take on the Detroit Pistons, the contest features a potential trap game for the contending Sixers. On paper, the Pistons are struggling. That’s putting it lightly. They are on a franchise record for a single season 20-game losing skid and haven’t won a game since Oct. 28. They are 27th in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating. This is a contest the Sixers should win easily when considering the talent and experience they have in comparison to the Pistons. However, Detroit has professional basketball players as well and it will be 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 had to rally and win the game 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.” When considering the talent, it is a bit surprising that 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 do have talented players, but they are a young group. With that being said, they can absolutely sneak up on the Sixers on Wednesday if Philadelphia isn’t careful. They 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.” Sixers vs. Pistons game preview: Lineups, how to watch, broadcast infoJoel Embiid making sure Sixers don't look past any struggling opponentsMarcus Morris Sr. appreciates consistency Sixers have now given him Email Sign up Like this article? Sign up for the Sixers Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning An error has occured Please re-enter your email address. Thanks for signing up! You'll now receive the top Sixers Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

Source: https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/2023/12 ... sing-skid/