LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers’ road loss to the Detroit Pistons in early November served as a cautionary tale of how wrong things could go if they didn’t have the right mentality.
The Lakers felt like they were unprepared for the Pistons’ force, speed and athleticism and let Detroit push them around before Los Angeles’ eventual late-game rally attempt came up short. It was the first time this season that the Lakers felt outplayed and outmuscled by a supposedly inferior opponent.
On Monday, the Lakers had their much-anticipated rematch with the Pistons nearly two months later. They were prepared — or so they said. But their 117-114 loss, which dropped them to 16-13 and seventh in the Western Conference, highlighted many of the same problems from the prior matchup. They were too slow, too small and too passive.
Los Angeles struggled to handle Detroit’s ball pressure and aggression and activity in passing lanes, leading to 20 Lakers turnovers. The Pistons capitalized on many of the mistakes, scoring 28 points off those miscues, and attempting 18 more shots.
“It’s very hard to win in this league if you give the other team (18) more scoring opportunities than you did,” coach JJ Redick said. “That’s it. It’s hard to win.”
Austin Reaves, who led the team with six turnovers (double the amount of Anthony Davis, who was in second place with three) and was pickpocketed in the backcourt, took ownership of his miscues.
“They’re a really aggressive defensive team, and myself personally, I didn’t handle it well,” Reaves said.
Turnovers haven’t often been an issue for the Lakers this season. They rank eighth in turnovers per game and eighth in turnover percentage. The offense has generally been more organized under Redick, even though it has slipped over the past few weeks.
But there is a clear throughline in the Lakers’ five 20-plus turnover games this season, three of which have come over the past five games: They’ve been against athletic, physical opponents, including the Minnesota Timberwolves (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers do not handle ball pressure, length and athleticism on the perimeter well, which brings up two of the needs the group has identified internally (as The Athletic reported last week): a big 3-and-D wing and a quick, athletic guard. Either one of those player archetypes would’ve helped against Detroit, which posed matchup issues with its backcourt of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
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Cunningham was too big for the likes of Max Christie, Reaves and Cam Reddish, bumping them with his shoulder to create space for jumpers or en route to finishing in the paint. He had 20 points (albeit on 25 shots) and 10 assists. Ivey was a blur in transition and off the dribble within halfcourt actions, easily blasting past Reaves, Christie and Gabe Vincent. He added 18 points.
There was also an element of unseriousness to the Lakers’ performance, which can be a bad habit when they’re getting scored on or shots aren’t falling.
They didn’t just get the ball poked away or intercepted. Davis dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds. Reddish threw an outlet pass that went right to Malik Beasley at the 3-point line, giving the sharpshooter a wide-open 3-pointer.
The Pistons scored 24 more paint points and attempted 24 more shots in the paint, both figures that reflect how frequently they both got out in transition (in part due to Los Angeles’ turnovers) and were able to break down the Lakers’ defense in the halfcourt.
The turnovers and missed free throws (five overall, four by Davis) undermined what had been a bounce-back performance by the Lakers. They shot over 54 percent from the floor and made 14 3-pointers (at nearly 47 percent). They got to the free-throw line 25 times, both a reflection of their downhill proclivities and the Pistons’ physical defensive scheme.
James had his eighth triple-double of the season (28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists) in one of his most efficient performances (10-of-16 shooting, 6-of-7 free-throw shooting and only two turnovers).
The next game the Lakers play will be their 30th of the season — the mark that vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said he wanted to wait until before evaluating the team. The Pistons loss was a reminder that they need more athletic and physical players who can hang in these types of matchups. And James hinted that physicality isn’t something the Lakers can simply change on their own.
“We gotta be stronger. That’s all,” James said. “…We gotta do it as a team. We gotta help guys get open. When guys are pressuring the ball, you gotta help guys screen better. You gotta screen better. … You gotta use your triple-threat (position). When you have a live dribble, get guys up off you.
“It’s not something you can learn, though. You don’t learn to be more physical. It’s either in you or it’s not.”
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(Photo of Cade Cunningham and LeBron James: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
