Loss vs. Mavericks Eliminates Detroit Pistons From 2024 NBA Playoffs

The Detroit Pistons punched their ticket to an early offseason on Saturday night.

It was only a matter of time before the Detroit Pistons faced elimination from the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Well before that reality, the Pistons didn’t expect to make a magical run down the stretch. 

During a season where Detroit made history with a stretch of consecutive losses, Detroit had just ten wins to their name on Saturday night as they faced the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs officially put the dagger in the Pistons. With a near-40-point triple-double by Luka Doncic, Dallas waltzed into the Motor City and put together a 142-124 blowout. As a result, the Pistons fell to 10-53 on the year.

Another season, another playoff elimination situation for Detroit. With the Pistons wrapping up their run early once again, they extend their streak to five seasons in a row without a playoff appearance. Even worse, the Pistons will now go 16 straight seasons without a playoff victory. 

The last time the Pistons found themselves in playoff contention was during the 2019 postseason run. After cracking the eighth seed, the Pistons quickly found themselves out of the tournament, as they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in round one.

Before that, the Pistons had an appearance in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. Once again making it in as the eighth seed, Detroit couldn’t handle the Cleveland Cavaliers that year, falling short 0-4. That playoff loss came after a six-season postseason drought.

While the expectations were low for Detroit in 2023-2024, everything changes next year. With Monty Williams getting paid top-tier money to coach, the Pistons have entered the phase where they will be expected to start turning things around.

Fortunately for them, they’ll have a top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, along with money to spend in free agency. Now, it’s up to the front office to get the correct pieces to surround the team’s franchise player, Cade Cunningham.

In the meantime, a young Pistons team will have to finish out the last 19 games strong and continue developing chemistry with nothing to truly lose.