"I can get you a 20-piece nuggets": 46-year-old Paul Pierce comically claims he could torch Pistons and Spurs even now
The Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs have gotten off to historically bad starts to the 2023-24 NBA season. Amid their struggles, Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce thinks he could still light up both young squads.
Entering Tuesday, Detroit (2-25) and San Antonio (4-21) have a combined 6-46 record. Meanwhile, both teams have bottom three offenses and bottom seven defenses.
During a recent appearance on “KG Certified,” Pierce touched on the Pistons and Spurs’ struggles. The 46-year-old said that he could score 20 points and secure a victory against both rebuilding squads. This comes despite Pierce having last played in the 2016-17 season.
“I can get a bucket on one of them teams right now,” Pierce said.
“I can score a dub on either one of them teams right now as we speak. Their defense ain’t nothing there. I can get you a dub in a game right now today against Detroit and against San Antonio. I can get you a 20-piece nuggets.”
Pierce added that every other struggling team in the NBA loves playing the Pistons and Spurs, as it gives them a chance to get back on track.
“I swear to God, every team’s looking at them, they’re slump busters,” Pierce said. “If you’re in a slump, you play against Detroit, you’re out of it.”
Outside of their league-worst records, San Antonio and Detroit have also set their franchise records for losing streaks this season. The Spurs recently ended their franchise-worst 18-game losing streak with a 129-115 win over the LA Lakers on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Pistons are in the middle of a franchise-worst 24-game losing streak. Their last win came on Oct. 28 against the Chicago Bulls (118-102). So, they have gone winless for nearly two months.
Detroit and San Antonio both have promising young talent, most notably rookie big man Victor Wembanyama and rising star guard Cade Cunningham.
However, most would agree that both franchises have built flawed rosters around their young stars, void of shooting and playmaking. Additionally, as Pierce noted, both squads are abysmal on the defensive end.
It’s impossible to know for sure how Pierce would fare against Detroit and San Antonio in today’s NBA. However, it’s worth noting that in his final season with the LA Clippers (2016-17), he only averaged 3.2 points per game on 40.0% shooting.
So, for Pierce to drop 20 points seven years later would certainly be a testament to the Pistons and Spurs’ futility.
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Monty Williams says Detroit Pistons remain focused amid historic losing streak
With their 24-game losing streak, the Detroit Pistons are just two games away from tying the all-time record for consecutive losses in a single season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (2010-11) and Philadelphia 76ers (2013-14) both lost 26 games in a row. Additionally, the Sixers set the all-time record for consecutive losses at 28 between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
However, despite being on the wrong side of history, according to Pistons coach Monty Williams, his team remains focused on ending its losing streak.
“You talk to people that are around our team, they're not laughing, giggling and having a ball. They hate it,” Williams said.
“But when we show up in the gym the next day, the guys are wide-eyed. They're looking at me for answers. They come in and work hard. We've just hit an unbelievably tough stretch of basketball.”
The Pistons’ next chance to end their losing streak comes on Thursday at home against the Utah Jazz (10-17).
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