Lakers vs Pistons: Preview and Prediction
Luke Walton and the Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to get their first back-to-back wins since the beginning of January tonight against the Detroit Pistons.
Watching the Lakers play is like going to McDonalds for ice cream; you never know what you’re going to get. Some days the machine is working, other days you leave disappointed and hungry. Fortunately, the Lake Show have a new ice cream machine and boy did it look tasty Monday night against the Knicks (we’re not talking about ice cream anymore).
After losing to New York earlier in the season, Los Angeles ran the Knickerbockers out of their own building with their new starting lineup. Veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov moved to the bench, and Brandon Ingram and Tarik Black joined D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Nick Young in the first unit. Young (age 31) was the only player in that lineup over the age of 25.
While the Knicks were a decent test for the new-look Lakers, they’ll have a real test against a team fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference tonight. Here is where to catch tonight’s game:
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Los Angeles Lakers at Detroit Pistons
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 8
Start Time: 4:30 p.m. PST
Location: Auburn Hills, MI
Arena: The Palace of Auburn Hills
TV Info: TWC Sportsnet
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Radio: Here
Injury Report
Los Angeles Lakers: No injuries to report.
Denver Nuggets: No injuries to report
Prediction
For the rest of the season, the Lakers can play like they have nothing to lose (except their pick). They can play spoiler for teams fighting for a playoff spot, like the Detroit Pistons, who currently sit at the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Last time the Pistons visited Los Angeles, the Lakers blew a 14-point lead and lost by 5. That night, the Lakers guards put up 70 of the team’s 97 points. If I had to guess, something similar will happen tonight.
The Pistons have one of the thinner guard rotations in the NBA. Outside of Reggie Jackson and #FutureLaker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Detroit doesn’t get a ton of production out of their guards. Expect the Lakers to feast on their guards tonight.
The Lakers bigs struggled mightily against the Pistons, however. LA’s starting frontcourt put up only 1o points against Detroit. 10 freaking points. Andre Drummond is good, but he’s no defensive stalwart. If the Lakers want to get the win tonight, they’re going to need a little more than 10 points from their bigs.
One clear advantage the Lake Show have tonight is their bench. The Pistons have the fifth lowest scoring bench in the NBA, while the Lakers still lead the league in points per game from their second unit. Even with the tweaks make to the lineup, the bench is still one of the best in the NBA.
If they can score in bunches AND play defense, it’s not going to be close.
Next: In defense of D'Angelo Russell
But what do you guys think? Can the first unit come out and dominate again? Is this a game you expect them to win? Let us know in the comments below.