The Los Angeles Lakers (2-4) are currently in a two-game losing streak and things don’t look much easier ahead as they’re back at home against the Detroit Piston (5-2) on Halloween. Like we all expected, Detroit is the number one seed in the East. They’re looking in fine form after beating the then-undefeated Los Angeles Clippers and following that up with a win over the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers have not fared as well, losing games to both the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz.
The Pistons are led in scoring by Tobias Harris and in rebounding by Andre Drummond as he’s third in the league with 14.4 rebounds in this very young season. Detroit’s defense has been consistent with last season as they were top-10 in scoring defense and are currently 8th, allowing 100.6 points per game. This doesn’t bode well for the Lakers as their past two games saw them scoring 92 and 81 respectively.
An issue for the Lakers recently has been their three-point shooting or lack thereof. Currently, they are dead last in three-point percentage per hitting only 28 percent of their shots from deep. Defensively they’ve allowed their opponents to average 34 percent from beyond the arc. You see the disparity there? Not exactly a winning formula.
After being one of the few bright spots of last game, I’m hoping that Brandon Ingram can get it going even against a defensively sound Piston team. The bench is still scoring and contributing for Los Angeles as they are third in points per game off the bench with 46. The Pistons’ bench is averaging 32 and once again, if the Lakers are to have any chance at winning, it could be having a solid night from their second unit. Last year the Pistons swept the season series against the Lakers and Los Angeles is hoping that happens again.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
- Ball vs Bradley: Avery Bradley is widely considered to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Lonzo is going to be facing some resistance from Bradley as he’s still looking to find his footing in the NBA, shooting just 32 percent from the field and averaging 11.4 points per game to boot (granted this is a lot higher because of his 29 points explosion against Phoenix). Lonzo is in for a tough night ahead of him but hopefully, he surprises us by being able to contribute in the myriad ways that he can.
- Star Wars Episode VIII: Return of BrookieTheWookie: When Magic and Pelinka traded our beloved D’Angelo Russell, one of the biggest things they got (besides the purging of Mozgov’s contract) was Brook Lopez. One of the best players for the Nets, he has in large part expected to be the Lakers’ best player. Through the season so far he’s been largely disappointing and in his last five games has just averaged 11 points and five boards while shooting just 27 percent from 3. Last season saw him shoot 35 percent from beyond the arc on 5.2 attempts per game and average 20 points per game on the season. If the Lakers are to win more games this season, they’re going to need more from Brook even if he is only in the purple and gold for a year.
INJURY REPORT:
- Los Angeles Lakers:
- Front Office (Backward ass thinking): stupid till proven otherwise
- Detroit Pistons:
- None
WHERE TO WATCH:
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons
Tuesday, October 31 at 7:30 PM (PST)
Spectrum Sportsnet
