Pistons Lose To Dallas, Help Draft Lottery Chances

Losing is never fun but as long as there's some fight, coaches and players can live with it. Tonight the Pistons lost to the Dallas Mavericks 131-113 but it wasn't due to a lack of effort. The Mavs are currently No. 4 in the West and have one of the best players in the entire league in Luka Doncic. Cade Cunningham is quickly earning a reputation of being a future superstar and he did not disappoint tonight.

Cunningham flirted with a triple-double scoring 25, dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds. Isaiah Stewart was the other big performer for Detroit scoring 19 and grabbing 14 boards of his own. Beef Stew is also getting quite comfortable from behind the long line as he went 3-for-3 from distance.

For Dallas it was all about the guards. Doncic did his usual thing by also flirting with a triple-double scoring a game high 26 points with 14 assists and 8 rebounds, whole Jalen Brunson dropped 24 point and grabbed 6 rebounds of his own. With Doncic running the show, the Mavs are just too good for the Pistons right now, but they look how the Pistons could look in a couple of years as Cunningham continues to grow into a Doncic-like player.

The Pistons kept it close for a while but in the end Dallas cruised to a pretty easy victory. It took big nights from the Mavericks starters but they were never really in danger of losing this game. 

The Pistons are young, rebuilding and frankly, better off losing at this point as to help out their chances in the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery. With two more tough games remaining against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, this season is wrapping up about as well as it can — the Pistons have shown resolve, beat some good teams and are getting better player by player, while also losing a few down the stretch that should ensure a great shot at a top three pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.