John Niyo

The Detroit News





Auburn Hills — The best long-range strategy might involve doing nothing.

But while an exasperated Stan Van Gundy says "everything's on the table" now, with his Pistons already setting records for futility two months into the season, that may be the one thing that isn't.

The Pistons suffered their 13th consecutive loss Tuesday, falling to the Portland Trail Blazers, 98-86, at The Palace. And afterward, their coach was at a loss again to explain it all, from the 35.1-percent shooting to the slump-shouldered starting unit managing just 40 points combined before calling it a night.

"I mean, seriously, it's mind-boggling," said Van Gundy, whose team dropped to 3-19 on the season with a three-game Western Conference road swing up next and no end to the misery in sight. "And it just gets worse as you go."

Indeed it does, as the Pistons tied one franchise record with their 10th consecutive home defeat Tuesday. With a loss Friday night at Phoenix, they'll match their longest skid overall. A look at the remaining December schedule doesn't offer much hope, either.

Van Gundy admits he's "never been here before" in his NBA coaching career. And though some of his players can't say the same, Van Gundy wasn't ready to wave a white flag before Tuesday's game.

"It's certainly not time to give up on anything," he said.

Soon enough, though, that'll get some serious consideration, with trade talks heating up around the league this week — the Brooklyn Nets reportedly are among those eager to make a deal — and the Pistons' current mix starting to separate much like the others here have in recent years.

Van Gundy's team didn't fold Tuesday night when Portland built a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter. But they're a nightmare offensively, a step slow on the defensive end, and they aren't exactly fighting tooth and nail for 48 minutes every night, either.

"I just feel like we have a lot of lapses where we don't have as much effort as we could," said rookie Spencer Dinwiddie, who was part of a second unit that actually made it a game late, however briefly, and the only player to talk to the media afterward.

That's something his coach has been saying for weeks, too, to little effect. And if you're expecting the healthy return of top free-agent signing Jodie Meeks to make a serious impact in the next few weeks, well, you're probably going to be as disappointed as Van Gundy was watching his team slog through the third quarter Tuesday.

"It's not like one or two guys that are the problem and the other 10 guys are playing real well and I'm doing a great job and everything else," he said afterward. "I mean, you lose 13 in a row and it's everybody."

Which is why he reiterated, when asked about possible lineup changes, or even roster changes, "Everything's on the table. I mean, everything. Everything and everybody is on the table."

But, hey, don't be in a rush to kick it over. That'd be my unsolicited advice. Because once you've started tanking, accidentally or otherwise, there's really no reason to stop. That's what Magic Johnson was talking about the other day, telling Newsday he hopes his beloved, but bumbling, Los Angeles Lakers "lose every game."

"Because if you're going to lose, lose," Johnson said. "I'm serious."

And seriously, the Pistons probably have as much of a shot at salvaging this season now as they do of unloading one of their bad contracts, at least for something useful.

At the moment, they're only percentage points ahead of Philadelphia (2-18) for the worst record in the league. Unlike the 76ers, who've drafted for the distant future and dressed the youngest roster in NBA history, they didn't begin the season intending to be in that position. Yet here they are.

Say what you want about the Sixers' shameless attempt to hoard ping-pong balls. But as long as the lottery exists in its current form, there's at least a little incentive to give it the ol' college try, if you will.

And since they're in the neighborhood, the Pistons might as well stick around, sort of the way Milwaukee did a year ago. The Bucks didn't intentionally tank, but an injury-plagued season unraveled into a 15-win season and the No. 2 overall pick (Jabari Parker) in the draft. And now they've got a couple young pieces, at least, to build around.

That's certainly more than the Pistons appear to have right now.

john.niyo@detroitnews.com

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