Two teams on opposite ends of the NBA standings will face off Thursday night at TD Garden. But this lopsided matchup has a little more juice than you might expect.
That's because the Boston Celtics can be a part of history against the 2-28 Detroit Pistons, who just set the record for the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history after dropping their 27th straight game Tuesday night.
If Boston dispatches Detroit on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston), that streak would extend to 28 and tie the Philadelphia 76ers' record of most consecutive losses overall (March 27 to Nov. 29, 2015).
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The 23-6 Celtics are obviously heavy favorites but should expect the Pistons to go all-out in their attempt to avoid infamy. Here are four eye-opening stats about Detroit's historic futility and the unsurprisingly one-sided odds for Thursday's matchup.
Nine
That's the number of wins the Pistons have in the entire calendar year of 2023.
Detroit is 9-64 overall since Jan. 1 and has lost 50 of its last 54 games since Feb. 12. The Celtics, meanwhile, have more than doubled that win total in this season alone and is 55-21 in the calendar year to date (regular season).
13
That's how many of the Pistons' 27 straight losses have come by single digits.
While Detroit is on the brink of history, Monty Williams' team isn't getting routed every night: The Pistons have lost three of their last four games by fewer than 10 points and have kept nearly half of their losses this season in single digits, including a two-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and a four-point loss to the Denver Nuggets.
So, don't be surprised if Detroit is able to make this game somewhat competitive despite the massive record gap.
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17.5
That's the point spread for Celtics-Pistons as of midday Thursday, with Boston favored by 17.5 points, per Fanatics Sportsbook. It's the largest point spread of the 2023-24 season to date and just the third point spread of 15 or more.
The good news for Boston? Heavily favored teams have taken care of business this season. Teams favored by more than 12 points are a perfect 17-0 in 2023-24, with nine of those 17 teams also covering the spread.
-1500
That's the moneyline for Celtics-Pistons as of midday Thursday, per Fanatics Sportsbook, with a $15 bet on the Celtics winning outright yielding just a $1 payout. It's also the most lopsided moneyline of the 2023-24 season so far.
Boston is 8-1 against sub-.500 teams this season and should cruise to an easy victory, even with Jaylen Brown sidelined due to a low back injury. But the Pistons will be motivated by pride and a chance to win a game virtually everyone is expecting them to lose.
