Pistons vs Lakers - 12/30
By: Kyle Mucerino
The Lakers got run off the floor by the Pistons late on Tuesday night as they fell 128–106. The Lakers’ slide continued as they looked slower and less athletic than the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, who were the No. 2-rated defense and No. 8-rated offense coming into the game—seemingly a class above the Lakers, who rank No. 7 offensively and No. 25 defensively.
It was 29-29 with 1:41 left in the first quarter, and then all of a sudden it was 44-30 by the 9:55 mark of the second quarter. Let’s look at that stretch and what went wrong for the Lakers during it.
In this stretch to end the first quarter, Luka is getting rest (whereas he had been playing the entire first quarter until recently), so the five on the floor for the Lakers are LeBron, Jaxson Hayes, Nick Smith Jr., Jarred Vanderbilt, and Maxi Kleber.
The stretch starts with Vanderbilt fouling a driving Ron Holland Jr., who makes both free throws to make it 31–29 Pistons.
Nick Smith Jr. then gets his pocket picked while over-dribbling at half court by Marcus Sasser. The Pistons go down and get an easy layup off the turnover to make it 33–29 with 1:04 left in the opening quarter.
Nick Smith Jr. then gets stripped by Javonte Green on a drive to the hoop and turns it over as the ball bounces off his leg and out of bounds with 53.2 seconds left.
That’s two Nick Smith Jr. turnovers in a row.
A great defensive play by Jarred Vanderbilt on an attempted dribble handoff leads to a Pistons turnover on the ensuing possession.
LeBron gets fouled on the next Lakers possession and makes 1-of-2 free throws to make it 33–30 with 26.4 seconds left.
Off the made free throw, Cade Cunningham takes the ball up court—guarded by Jarred Vanderbilt—and gets doubled essentially as soon as he crosses half court by Marcus Smart. Cade sees the double coming and takes a couple of hard dribbles away from it to the right wing. He then pivots, does a between-the-legs crossover dribble, and throws a lefty bounce pass to Marcus Sasser a few steps behind the top of the arc. Sasser takes a dribble up to 28 feet, uncovered as LeBron runs to the corner to Duncan Robinson, and buries a three-pointer as Vanderbilt contests late in recovery off the double team to make it 36–30 Pistons with 12.7 seconds remaining.
The Lakers then come down and run a Marcus Smart/LeBron pick-and-roll, get Duncan Robinson switched onto LeBron with the ball a step in front of the free-throw line, and LeBron gets doubled by Cade Cunningham, who was guarding Maxi Kleber. LeBron throws a pass to the corner to an open Kleber. The only problem is that Maxi was already cutting to the hoop, so LeBron throws it into the stands for a turnover with two seconds left in the first quarter.
So that’s a turnover on three of the last four Lakers possessions.
The Pistons miss the late-clock heave, and it’s 36–30 Pistons after the first quarter.
The Lakers run a nice play to start the second quarter that ends in a LeBron miss from 21 feet. The Pistons grab the rebound and kick it to Cade in transition. He backs down Marcus Smart, who flops to the ground. It goes uncalled, and Cade gets an easy turnaround layup to make it 38–30.
For this being my first time watching Marcus Smart every game for a full season, it can be a tough watch. The guy flops around all game, every game—flailing his body while trying to trick officials into calls. Let’s just say Wemby would classify it as “unethical basketball.”
The Lakers come down and attempt to run a play for LeBron and turn the ball over again—this time on an illegal screen by Marcus Smart.
The Pistons go down the other end and run a Cade/Isaiah Stewart pick-and-roll on the left wing. Cade is guarded by Jake LaRavia and Stewart by Ayton. Cade drives right at—and through—Ayton with LaRavia trailing for an easy layup. Not exactly awe-inspiring paint defense from Ayton on the play.
It’s now 40–30 Pistons with exactly 11 minutes left in the half.
The Lakers come down and run a LeBron/Ayton pick-and-roll. LeBron makes his way into the paint before kicking it out to Maxi Kleber, who then gives it right back to LeBron in a de facto pick-and-roll on the left wing. LeBron begins to back down Cade Cunningham and loses the ball out of bounds for another turnover.
The Pistons come down and run another Cade/Stewart pick-and-roll. Stewart sets a good screen on Nick Smith Jr., leaving Smith trailing while Deandre Ayton steps out onto Cade. Cade throws a nice bounce pass between a retreating Smith and Ayton to a diving Stewart, who catches it a step behind the free-throw line. Vanderbilt is a step late coming from the opposite wing, and LaRavia and LeBron are closer to their respective corners than the rim as Stewart catches the pass, takes one dribble and throws down an easy, uncontested jam.
It’s now 42–30 Pistons with 10:26 remaining in the second. At this point, the Pistons are on a 31–1 run over the last three minutes and counting.
Luka makes his return to the game, and the Lakers run a pick-and-roll between him and Ayton. Luka dumps it off to Ayton at the free-throw line, and he misses the jumper.
Cade grabs the rebound and pushes hard down the court in transition. He drives all the way to the paint and throws a nice little shovel pass to Stewart, who gets fouled on the dunk attempt. Stewart makes both free throws to make it 44–30 Pistons with 9:55 left in the second quarter.
The Lakers lived up to their reputation so far this season in this game: They beat the bad teams but struggle against good teams. They’re now 7–8 against teams .500 and above and 13–3 against teams below .500. If they want to prove they belong in upper-tier contender talks, they’ll have to start winning more games against better teams—or, at the very least, stop getting blown out in those matchups.
Luckily for the Lakers, their next two games come against the sub-.500 Grizzlies at home on Friday and Sunday, so it should be a good spot to pick up another couple of wins.