The Los Angeles Lakers lost 117-114 to the Detroit Pistons in heartbreaking fashion. The Pistons put up a strong fight against the Lakers, even building a strong lead heading into the fourth quarter. But the Lakers cut the lead down to just three points in the final moments of the game. A foul call being overturned and a missed LeBron three-pointer forced the Lakers to walk away with a disappointing loss.
LeBron James played his heart out, putting up a triple-double with 28 points (10-16 FG), 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had a mediocre outing for a player of his caliber, with 19 points (7-14 FG), 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks. Max Christie had his best game of the season, delivering 17 points (6-10 FG), one rebound and two steals.
Malik Beasley had his revenge game against the Lakers, putting up 21 points (8-15 FG), five rebounds, and two steals. Cade Cunningham continued his strong season, delivering 20 points (9-25), 10 assists, five rebounds, and one steal. Jaden Ivey played well, putting up 18 points (8-15 FG), two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The Lakers struggled to contain the Pistons for most of the game. But despite this, still put up a strong fight all the way to the final horn. In the end, it was the Lakers’ mistakes throughout the game that ended up creating too large a hole for them to dig out of.
With all that said, here are three reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers lost to/beat the Detroit Pistons.
Lakers Give Up Costly Turnovers
During the game against the Pistons, the Lakers turned the ball over 20 times. The starting lineup combined for 13 of those turnovers. Their inability to hold on to the ball during possessions led to the Pistons taking the ball away from them and scoring in transition on numerous occasions.
The Lakers have been mediocre when it comes to turnovers per game this season, giving the ball away an average of 13.9 times per game, which is the eighth-best in the NBA. But tonight’s outing was utterly disappointing and played a big factor in the young and aggressive Pistons taking advantage of their sleight of hand.
JJ Redick must make sure that the Lakers do not continue this worrying trend of turning the ball over so many times during a game. The Lakers are already a team that suffers when they make small mistakes, and it is on him to identify and mitigate the areas of the game that are costing them wins.
Anthony Davis’ Free-Throw Shooting Still A Lakers Weakness
The Lakers shot 20-25 from the free-throw line tonight. What would be considered one of their better performances from the stripe this season ended up being a weakness, as the Detroit Pistons went a perfect 12-12 from the charity line. The Lakers must make sure that they convert almost every free throw that they get.
The fact that this is one of multiple games this season that the Lakers’ misses have cost them wins is a scathing indictment of their performance from the line. Anthony Davis in particular was once again, very weak from the free-throw line, going 4-8. He had four of the five misses for the Lakers from the line.Â
The Lakers coaching staff must make Anthony Davis’ free-throw shooting a focus in their next practice sessions. Davis was a reliable free-throw shooter for most of the season, but his recent slump has been quite alarming. The only difference between his misses tonight and the against the Kings was that tonight, his teammates couldn’t redeem his misses.
Lakers Bench Underwhelms Again
The Los Angeles Lakers had four players come off the bench tonight. All bench players only scored in single digits, and combined for 28 points. By contrast, Malik Beasley, who came off the Pistons bench, scored 21 points by himself, and the entire bench scored 52 of the Pistons’ 117 points tonight.
D’Angelo Russell once again disappointed, with just five points (1-5 FG) and five assists. Dalton Knecht (2-4 FG) and Cam Reddish (3-3 FG) had seven points while Gabe Vincent (3-5 FG) had nine points. This level of contribution just isn’t enough for a team that wants to find deep success in the regular season or the playoffs.
The Lakers must address this lack of production from the bench. They are being significantly held back by their bench players not stepping up, and quite frankly, they are wasting some very strong performances from LeBron James in the process. Things must change and change fast for JJ Redick’s men.
The Lakers will not have much time to celebrate/mourn this loss. They must quickly recalibrate and turn their attention to the Golden State Warriors, whom they face at the Chase Center on Christmas Day at 8 PM EST. Playing against a division rival is always tough, but the Lakers should try and capitalize on the Warriors’ bad run of form and try to win the game.
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