Van Gundy calls Pistons' effort in loss to 76ers 'embarrassing and humiliating'

Life without Brandon Jennings hasn't gotten off to a smooth start for the Detroit Pistons. 

The Pistons dropped their fourth consecutive game Wednesday, a 89-69 blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Detroit has lost all three games since losing Jennings to a season-ending Achilles injury. Prior to going down, the point guard's astounding play powered the team up the Eastern Conference standings to within striking distance of the No. 8 seed.

Jennings was playing some of the best basketball of his career, helping Detroit win 12 of 15 games before he suffered the heel injury in Saturday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. 

A road loss to the Toronto Raptors and one at home to the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers were understandable. But Wednesday's performance against the 76ers was atrocious, and head coach Stan Van Gundy didn't mince words after the game. 

"We weren't ready to play. I don't think I've ever coached a game where one team's effort was that much better than my team's effort. I mean, it was a joke," Van Gundy said following his team's season-low 69-point effort. "They played so much harder. They ran harder, they cut harder, they drove it harder. They defended harder. They were into us more. They went to the boards harder - everything. 

"It was embarrassing and humiliating, and I told them in there I'm embarrassed as a coach that I did that poor of a job. And if they're not embarrassed they don't belong in the NBA."

The 76ers used an 18-0 run in the first quarter to build a 24-4 lead and never looked back, snapping a six-game losing skid in the process. 

Detroit was held to 30 percent shooting from the field for the first time since shooting 28 percent in a December 2009 loss to the Raptors. 

The Pistons will look to get back on track at home Saturday in a difficult contest against the Houston Rockets.