The Detroit Pistons may no longer be in the middle of their historic losing streak, but that losing skid-snapping victory they had on December 30 against the Toronto Raptors hasn't exactly served as a catalyst for a turnaround. In fact, the Pistons are finding new ways to sink into even lower depths as they confound fans on a nightly basis, with one play during their 112-110 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night being a major point of frustration for the team's coaching staff.
In the first quarter, Alperen Sengun made a free throw to increase the Rockets' lead to four. On the ensuing inbound play, Pistons guard Killian Hayes took it upon himself to take the ball out. Hayes had already thrown the ball to Isaiah Stewart, which means that the ball was already legally inbounded. Stewart, however, was unaware. He proceeded to take the ball out himself so he could pass back to Hayes, resulting in an out-of-bounds turnover.
This is a major lapse of concentration for the Pistons, and an inexcusable mistake for any basketball team at any level of the sport. This gaffe seemingly has the Pistons coaching staff might be at the end of their rope. In the immediate aftermath of Hayes and Stewart's Shaqtin-A-Fool play, assistant coach Jarrett Jack can be seen on the bench putting both his hands on his head in disbelief.
The Pistons coaches couldn't believe this turnover 😅 pic.twitter.com/K1wraxgQUZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2024
With wins at a premium for the Pistons, this is the exact kind of mistake that cannot happen. Possessions are a valuable currency for the team with the 26th-ranked offense in the entire association, and they're having even greater difficulties to score these days with Cade Cunningham out due to injury.
Nonetheless, this is not the first time that these errors have happened in the NBA. Even two-time NBA champion Norris Cole was guilty of this one time, when he forced the ball back to Hassan Whiteside after he had already legally inbounded the basketball.
Still, these errors are indicative of the poor basketball the Pistons are playing. They also gave away the game against the Rockets late due to a combination of poor offensive execution and lack of defensive effort. Woes continue to pile up for Detroit, and there are no indications of them ending anytime soon.
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