The Los Angeles Lakers have won three straight games, carried largely by their defense, and they look to continue that trend as they host the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
With Anthony Davis anchoring the defense, the Lakers held the highest scoring team in the NBA, the Memphis Grizzlies, to 110 points, followed by holding the Sacramento Kings, another top-10 offense, to just 100 and 99 points in back-to-back games.
The insertion of Max Christie into the starting lineup has paid dividends as he has done well in making things difficult at the point of attack and the Lakers as a whole have been much improved with their rotations and overall communication on that end of the court. They need to maintain that level of focus and effort as the Pistons are powered by an explosive backcourt in Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
Cunningham is a big, strong guard at 220 pounds, so Christie must focus more on matching that physicality than just pure foot speed as he has had to deal with in his last couple of matchups. And Cunningham is also third in the league in assists and really gets the rest of his team going, so really making things difficult on him greatly affects the rest of the Pistons.
Ivey would be the other Pistons player capable of going off one-on-one and the Lakers experienced that in the first meeting between these teams as he led Detroit with 26 points on just 16 shots and was able to get whatever he wanted.
The Lakers must also do a much better job on the glass than the last time these two teams met as they allowed 17 offensive rebounds. Davis will always do his best, but it must be a full team effort from the Lakers to ensure they are clearing the glass and not allowing too many second chance points, an area where the Pistons thrive.
LeBron James is coming off an excellent offensive performance against the Kings, and Davis is looking to bounce back after just 10 points in that game. Additionally, D’Angelo Russell has gotten back into a groove as of late as he and Gabe Vincent continue to give the Lakers a nice boost off the bench. Likewise, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura must continue to fill those gaps in the starting lineup wherever they are needed.
The first meeting between these teams was a disappointing effort for the Lakers, result in a road loss, but this team has looked much different lately. The Pistons are far from a walkover and the Lakers must clear the boards and limit Detroit’s ability to get out in transition, but if they can do that, and continue to stay locked in defensively, they can avenge that early season loss and keep their win streak going.
Los Angeles Lakers (16-12) vs. Detroit Pistons (12-17)
7:30 p.m. PT, Monday, December 23, 2024
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Austin Reaves
SG: Max Christie
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Dalton Knecht, Christian Koloko
Projected Pistons Starting Lineup:
PG: Cade Cunningham
SG: Jaden Ivey
SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Jalen Duren
Key Reserves: Malik Beasley, Simone Fontecchio, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland
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