Rockets establish tank-status in 19th straight loss against Pistons

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

Nothing like cementing your place as a team that's actively tanking by losing to one of the few teams statistically worse than you.

Though John Wall and Victor Oladipo returned beside Christian Wood, reuniting the members of WOW, it wasn't enough to defeat the mighty Detroit Pistons in a 113-100 loss on Friday night.

On paper, it felt like the Rockets had this game in the bag. John Wall had returned from an injury that sidelined him for weeks. Christian Wood, though on a minutes restriction, was playing his second game back from injury. Danuel House Jr. had even returned from a long stint on the injury pine. Thrown in with the additions of the two newest Houston Rockets -- DJ Augustin and DJ Wilson -- and Houston had amassed their healthiest roster in some time.

Though, once the game actually started, things hardly went Houston's way. The Rockets had barely scratched their way to a one-point lead after a single quarter of play. The shots weren't falling like expected, reminiscent of when the Rockets had trotted out eight-man rosters barely a few days ago.

Compounding the issue was the loss of Kevin Porter Jr., who had been moved to the bench in the wake of John Wall's return. After a sub-par performance in the first half (1-5 shooting), KPJ was forced to leave due to right quad soreness. He would not return to the contest.

Things didn't get any better for the Rockets in the second half. A four-point deficit at halftime grew to seven at the end of the third quarter. There would be no last gasp from the Rockets, and Detroit would take the win without much drama.

For the second straight game, it was cook-by-committee for Houston's opponents. Frank Jackson, playing on a two-way contract, led all scorers with 23 points on 7-10 shooting. Rookie forward Saddiq Bey went for 20 points, while rising star Jerami Grant put in 18 of his own.

Christian Wood had another good game in his second game off of injury, going for 18 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. John Wall also performed admirably in limited action, dropping a team-high 21 points and seven assists in 29 minutes.

The Houston Rockets, now 11-29, officially obtained the second-worst record in the league, only two games above the Minnesota Timberwolves for top loser. If the season ended today, they would be tied for the best odds in the league at the number one pick, who would likely be Cade Cunningham, who looked great in Oklahoma State's opening game in the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

At this point, there is no incentive in winning -- the Rockets are ten games out of a potential play-in spot for the playoffs, and also have one of the hardest remaining schedules in all of professional basketball. Plenty of teams are also clamoring for Victor Oladipo, who is still yet to be dealt despite being one of the trade market's most valuable commodities.

The Rockets aren't done losing, nor should they be eager to stop.

Houston's next game will come against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, March 21. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 PM CT.