It is not working.

Sunday's 99-78 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers was another game in which the gap between Curry's expectations and his player's execution was enormous.

Detroit's losing streak extended to a season-high six in a row.

Curry knows how he would handle this situation if he were a player. But getting his players to follow suit is another story.

"I've been through harder things," Curry said. "Look at me as a player and how I got to this point. Fighting, that's the easiest part for me. Things never came easy for me, so this is easy.

"But trying to relay that to guys, that's the tougher part, trying to get them to understand that when you're in situations like this, all you do is fight."

Part of the problem stems from this group of players never having to deal with any real hardships in the regular season, with most of their struggles in recent years coming in the playoffs.

"This is a tough time," Curry said. "The first time they're experiencing tough times in the regular season. But whenever you get to that point, and it gets really, really tough, you've got to work that much harder and trust each other that much more."

It sounds like a good message, but it remains to be seen if it will sink in with the Pistons.

West steps up

Delonte West was having his best season in the NBA before suffering a right wrist injury that sidelined him for 16 games.

He returned to action Sunday, and he did not miss a beat in helping lead Cleveland to a win against Detroit.

LeBron James had 20 points and nine assists, but it was West's early shot-making that gave Detroit's defense major problems.

West, who made all five of his 3-point attempts, scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the first quarter.

"Delonte is a very good Basketball player on both ends of the floor," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "When we're able to get him the ball, good things happen, and we were able to get him the ball."

One of the keys to West's shooting success was James, whose presence forced Detroit to shift defensively. That led to some Pistons players being out of position defensively, which opened up scoring opportunities for West.

"That's how he kind of got going," Curry said. "He's a good player and he's going to make plays."

ROOT canal for Hamilton

Richard Hamilton does not have any new injuries, but the veteran guard was in quite a bit of pain recently. Hamilton had ROOT canal surgery shortly before the Pistons arrived in Cleveland.