The Detroit Pistons climbed out of the last spot in the NBA with a series of strong performances that disappeared in their 124-142 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. During the game, an on-court scuffle led to strong emotions running through the Detroit arena.
During this time, Pistons GM Troy Weaver got into an argument with a fan whom he threatened to beat up but instead got him promptly removed from the game.
“You’re lucky I don’t beat your a**.”
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1766910468197957797
The on-court scuffle that led to the drama involved Jalen Duren committing a hard foul on an airborne Daniel Gafford. P.J. Washington went to help Gafford up to his feet and had to slightly shove Duren out of the way. This led to Duren shoving Washington harder and a scuffle broke out.
• Two techs on Jalen Duren, ejected from the game.
• Tech on PJ Washington
https://t.co/k7j2FWo1Wj
— Mavs Fans For Life (@MavsFansForLife) March 10, 2024
While it’s fun to see the Mavericks start finding strong chemistry through moments like this, the Pistons left this situation with egg on their face. Their players have been acting very competitive in any non-basketball arena, which is showing in their results on the court. Duren did what he did out of competition, but this is another bad look for the 11-53 Pistons.
The people of Detroit are intimately familiar with what could happen if an on-court altercation goes wrong. Maybe that’s why Weaver thought it was best to get rid of a few dissenting fans and build a new culture of fandom around their current generation.
The Pistons Brought This Upon Themselves
Everything that the Pistons had to suffer through in this game against Dallas was brought on by themselves.
The passionate Detroit fans started chanting ‘Luka sucks’ to Luka Doncic, prompting the Slovenian to score 19 points in 6 minutes and break what has been a closely-contested game up until that point. This game also marked Doncic’s history-making sixth-consecutive 30-point triple-double and fifth consecutive 35-point triple-double.
After the scuffle on the court, the team started putting up graphics of crowd safety on almost all public screens to ensure fans maintain decorum. The Pistons hosted one of the most infamous on-court brawls in NBA history with the ‘Malice in the Palace‘, an arena-wide scuffle during a rivalry game between the Pistons and Indiana Pacers.
Given the reputation of players like Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons don’t want another fight breaking out on the court to show that Weaver has little to no control of the team.
Troy Weaver as the GM has put together an uncompetitive team, with the hiring of Monty Williams on one of the largest contracts in coaching history being a move with minimal results so far.
He has drafted inconsistently but has picked up some franchise-defining players such as Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, and Jaden Ivey. However, selections like Killian Hayes have set the franchise back. Hopefully, they can rebound next season after making history as the team with the longest losing streak in NBA history.
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