NBA lottery watch 2014: Sixers gain ground on Bucks for worst record

The Philadelphia 76ers lost their 26th game in a row on Wednesday night, tying the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for most consecutive losses in NBA history. But while the Sixers flounder in despair, there's still some reason for optimism.

That's because the Milwaukee Bucks, who still somehow have a worse record than Philly, actually won a game. The Bucks pulled out a 108-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, meaning Milwaukee is now just a game worse than the Sixers in The 2014 Great American Tank-Off.

While it's a two-team race for the worst record and the Orlando Magic have a firm hold on the third-worst record, there's a giant cluster of bad after that. The Utah Jazz currently have the fourth-worst record, but the Boston Celtics are just a half-game better. The Lakers are a full game ahead of the Celtics and the Sacramento Kings are a game ahead of Los Angeles.

Then there's the Detroit Pistons, who find themselves in a very interesting spot. The Pistons have the eighth-worst record at 26-45, which is a game better than Sacramento. The Eastern Conference is so bad that Detroit still has an outside shot of making the playoffs, but let's be real, that's not going to happen.

What makes the Pistons' situation interesting is they currently owe the Charlotte Bobcats a draft pick from the Ben Gordon-for-Corey Maggette swap that's top-eight protected this season. As it stands, Detroit would keep that pick, but they're just two games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the ninth-worst record. So that's a situation to keep an eye on.