Lakers vs. Pistons Preview and Game Thread: Bouncing back from the worst loss of the season
There’s no better way for the Lakers to shake off a humiliating loss than winning dominantly against a team they should beat in the Pistons.
The Lakers suffered their worst loss of the season after getting whooped by the Philadelphia 76ers last Monday. They now head to Detroit where they will have a chance to redeem themselves against the Pistons, who are currently the worst team in the league.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons
When: 4 p.m. PT, Nov. 29
Where: Little Caesars Arena
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers’ 44-point loss to the Sixers was not just the worst of the season but one of the worst in franchise history. It was surprising, embarrassing and one that left multiple players visibly frustrated after the game. This loss in particular was unlike their previous seven, simply because of how badly they were smoked.
Thankfully, it counts as just one loss. And with losses like this comes the opportunity to respond and treat it like a wake-up call. Los Angeles will be able to do that against a Pistons team that has yet to win a game since Oct. 29. Detroit is currently in the midst of a 14 game losing streak and have only won four times since last season’s trade deadline.
There’s no better way to shake off a humiliating loss than winning dominantly against a team the Lakers are expected to beat. I’ll be interested to see how the purple and gold approach this one. This is pretty much the first time this season we get to see how this Lakers team bounces back after the kind of loss they had last Monday. It’s going to say a lot about the team’s current identity that they’re still building on.
Will they play with, in Darvin Ham’s own words, a certain type of high-level competitive spirit that’s bulletproof? Or like a team that’s unbothered by coming off a 48-point loss? For them to do the former, they can start by making sure someone actually scores more than 18 points — which no one did against Philadelphia. This shouldn’t be too hard to do against the league’s 23rd-ranked defense.
Note that this is also the first game of a back-to-back as the team will fly out back west and straight to Oklahoma City after this game. As has been the case on the first night of their back-to-back games this season, the Lakers need to put the Pistons to bed early. The last thing they want is for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of their starters to play heavy minutes on a night before they face a young OKC team that’s thriving right now.
We’ll see if the Lakers bounce back strongly from their worst loss of the season on Wednesday.
Notes and Updates:
- One thing to look for in this game is the rebounding battle, which the Lakers have lost to their opponents for the most part of the season. The Pistons are the seventh-best rebounding team in the league (45.9) so the Lakers have to be prepared for this.
- The Lakers list Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel bursitis), Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) and Rui Hachimura (nasal fracture) are listed as out. Anthony Davis (left adductor/hip spasm) and Cam Reddish (left adductor soreness) are probable while LeBron James (left calf contusion) is questionable.
- As for the Pistons, Monte Morris (quad), Joe Harris (shoulder) and Bojan Bogdonovic (calf) are out.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani