The Los Angeles Lakers finally secured their first road win of the season in their third try on Friday night against the Toronto Raptors. Now, they have a strong chance to win their second straight away from home and move to 2-2 on their current five-game road trip with an outing against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons have been one of the worst teams in the league for several seasons now, and it does not appear that 2024-25 is going to be any different. They have only won two of their first seven games of the season and are in the bottom half of the league in both offensive and defensive rating.
The development of Cade Cunningham is their major silver lining for the season. Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, has looked stellar to begin the campaign. In seven games, he is averaging 24.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game on 49.3/39.5/83.3 shooting splits.
His major help has come from Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick in 2022, as well as offseason additions of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris. The Pistons will be without their No. 5 overall pick from 2023, Ausar Thompson, and rookie Bobi Klintman on Monday night.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are without the usual Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood. D’Angelo Russell had been listed as probable but should be good to go against the Pistons. And a relatively healthy Lakers team should have no issues taking care of business.
L.A. struggled in the second half against the Raptors, and that alone should be enough to light a fire under them despite being the better team top to bottom. However, the Lakers still have to work on the polarizing gap between their offensive and defensive efficiency.
They currently rank No. 5 on the offensive end in the league and No. 27 on defense. With Cunningham at the helm in Detroit, they could take advantage of lackluster effort on that end of the floor. It will likely be a combination of Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Max Christie with that defensive assignment.
Los Angeles Lakers (4-2) vs. Detroit Pistons (2-5)
4:30 p.m. PT, Monday, November 4, 2024
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes
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, Isaiah Stewart
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