The Cleveland Cavaliers are in bad shape as you well know, setting a league record by losing 26 straight games. They haven’t won since December, they’re the subject of constant internet jokes, and LeBron thinks their game against the Wizards should be on national TV. Worst part of all, they have developed a bullseye in the sense that nobody wants to be the team that loses to them. Count the Detroit Pistons in that group.
The Pistons beat the Cavaliers on Wednesday night 103-94 to extend Cleveland’s losing streak. After the game, several of their players said a prediction that the Cavs would win by ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler motivated them.
In an interview with Rachel Nichols after the game, Tracy McGrady said “Tim Legler, we heard you. You gave us some bulletin-board material. We used that.” According to reporter Chris Iott via Ben Maller, “The Pistons watched a video of Legler making the prediction shortly before the opening tip.” Additionally, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace also mentioned Legler’s prediction as motivation for them.
Although it’s somewhat pathetic that professional athletes still need TV talking heads to help motivate them to play their best, it does prove that they listen to what we say, regardless of how much they deny it. Between Bart Scott’s rant and this story, maybe teams should consider hiring analysts to pick against them.
