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It’s a season that’s going nowhere. But Detroit Pistons rookies like Khris Middleton are still hoping to prove a few things in the final weeks of the regular season.

Following a 102-99 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, the Pistons are at 23-41 and it’s likely they’ll get to 50 losses before they get to 30 wins. They are going on a road trip now, starting at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

It doesn’t look good.

But the Pistons continue to get strong play from some unlikely sources, including Middleton. Kyle Singler continues to start while the top rookie for the Pistons, while Andre Drummond, continues to nurse an injury.

Middleton had an impressive night against the Mavericks. He was called on for 20 minutes, and shot  6-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-5 in 3-pointers for 14 points, along with five boards. He’s shooting 39 percent from the floor and 30 percent in 3-pointers, so that obviously needs to improve.

“It helps your confidence when you knock down shots. I just try to make plays and help the team stay in the game,” he said. “It comes from putting in work before and after practice and staying confident, as well as my teammates having confidence in me.”

Middleton, the rookie from Texas A&M who is averaging 5.4 points a game, insists that the team is still highly motivated to win games for the rest of the season, no matter which opponent they’re facing.

“None of us are going to give up no matter how the game is going,” he said.