I am just looking at this as yet another way we can turn the page from the Troy Weaver era
For more than a decade, the Detroit Pistons seem to be the home of depressing stats. But you know what they say: depressing records were made to be broken. One particular record fell on Sunday evening — the Pistons and the Detroit Lions won on the same day for the first time since 2021.
Yes, it had been more than 1,000 days (1,050 to be exact) since the Lions and Pistons shared the spotlight in the winner’s circle at the same time. This came via a thrilling Game of the Week matchup watched by more than 10 million people that had the potential to define the course of the NFC North, and maybe the entire NFC as the Lions faced the rival Green Bay Packers in pouring rain at Lambeau Field.
Several hundred miles away, the Pistons squared off against the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn in a game that went largely unnoticed.
The Lions executed flawlessly despite playing their first outdoor game of the season in terrible conditions, dominating the Packers 24-14. The Pistons, meanwhile, played a sloppy first half against a team also playing terrible basketball but cleaned things up just enough in the second half to prevail 106-92.
There are several factors why this hasn’t happened since 2021 — the Lions play a limited schedule every season, the NBA limits games on Sundays during football season, and, oh yeah, the Pistons have been the worst team in the NBA for two seasons running.
Since the beginning of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Detroit Lions have secured 27 wins and 10 losses. In that same span, the Pistons have earned 33 wins …. and 138 losses.
Therein lies the difference between Troy Weaver and Brad Holmes.
If you’re curious about that fateful day on Dec. 19, 2021, when this last happened, here is some information from both teams.
The Pistons beat the Miami Heat 100-90 at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons were led by Saddiq Bey and Hamidou Diallo, with 26 and 15 points, respectively. Cade Cunningham had 10 assists in 31 minutes but was limited to four points. The Heat were led by Max Strus, with 24 points off the bench and 19 points and 10 assists from Kyle Lowry.
Other “name some dudes” in that game include Frank Jackson, Luka Garza, and Rodney McGruder for the Pistons, and Omer Yurtseven and KZ Okpala for the Heat.
The 1-11-1 Lions beat the 10-3 Cardinals 30-12 in convincing fashion. They were led with 112 yards rushing from Craig Reynolds and three receiving touchdowns — one each from Amon-Ra St. Brown (makes sense), Josh Reynolds (cool dude), and Jason Cabinda (wow).
The Lions finished that season 3-13-1, with plenty of questions surrounding rookie head coach Dan Campbell. They began the next season 1-6 before everything clicked into place, and they began a prolific ride they are still riding—and maybe not even at the apex of.
What does the future hold for this young Pistons team? Who knows. I’m just rooting for more Sundays that feature all Detroit teams winning.
The next time it could happen is Sunday, Nov. 10, when the Lions and Pistons both take on Houston’s finest. The Lions will visit the Houston Texans while the Pistons host the Houston Rockets .