NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Los Angeles Lakers vs Detroit Pistons
Final Score : Detroit Pistons beat Los Angeles Lakers, 111-97
Stats:
Detroit Pistons: Field Goals 37-86 (43 percent), 3PT 17-39 (43.6 percent), 64 rebounds, 26 assists, 5 steals.
Los Angeles Lakers: Field Goals 36-86 (41.9 percent), 3PT 6-25 (24.0 percent), 54 rebounds, 24 assists, 9 steals.
Detroit Pistons took care of business in Motor City to take down the already shorthanded Lakers. To their help, Lakers star LeBron James sat out the entire match as the Lakers are managing his minutes and if off the back-to-back schedule.
The match was in control of the Lakers with only four points Piston lead in the third quarter before the Pistons burst to a 13-0 run and then there was no coming back for the Lakers. Lakers shared a good deal of possessing the ball during the match but were miserable in scoring during second half of the game.
In the month of March, the Lakers have managed to win only one game of the eight they have played. The Lakers were missing six players from the line-up because of injury troubles during the loss.
Javale McGee led the Lakers (31-38) with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Kyle Kuzma contributed with 12 points and career-high 10 assists. Rajon Rondo had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso came off the bench with 17 and 16 points respectively.
The Pistons came in strong, snapping a 2-game losing streak. Reggie Jackson, Wayne Ellington and Langston Galloway showed shooting wizardry with four 3s each in their eighth straight home victory. Andre Drummond scored 19 points and 23 rebounds in the win. Drummond is four rebounds away from posting a sixth straight season with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Blake Griffin struggled to score and was being double-teamed the entire game, ended with 15 points (3-of-12 FG) and 9 assists.
Lets have a look at talking points of the match:
#3 Lakers' troublesome 3-point shooting
Three-point shooting cost Lakers the game against the Pistons as they could only convert 6-of-25 at 24 percent beyond the arc. Rajon Rondo (1-1), Caldwell-Pope (3-6) and Alex Caruso (2-4) were the only Lakers who could score from downtown. Last match against Toronto Raptors, Lakers went with similar miserable shooting as today's with only 7-of-31 from behind the arc.
This has been an issue with the Lakers all season long and they stand as second worst team in the NBA with 33.1 three-point shooting percentage. Pistons were fearless as their sharpshooters counter-attacked with 17 three-pointer on 43.6 percent shooting to seal the game.
Now that they are destined to fall off the playoff wheel, Lakers will have plenty of time to work on this parameter for the next season.