Opponent Scouting: LA Lakers. (10-15)
Tonight at 6:00pm EST the Pistons return to Detroit to take on the Lakers at the LCA. The Pistons are on one day of rest after losing to the Grizzlies as are the Lakers after losing in overtime to the Sixers.
The Them:
The Lakers are somewhat of a question mark right now. They started off the season 2-10 and looked to be headed for unquestionably one of the worst records in the league. Then Anthony Davis came alive and they went on a tear but have now lost three games in a row.
So as they come into this game against the Pistons, they clearly are not among the league’s worst anymore, but it isn’t totally clear if they are going to keep up a pace of anything other than just “okay”.
Boht Davis and LeBron have slight knocks but are expected to play (listed as probable) while Wenven Gabriel and Juan Toscano-Anderson are both out.
The Lakers come into tonight’s game with the 23rd-ranked offense and 13th-ranked defense in the league.
The Lakers are obviously led by Anthony Davis and LeBron James. James is still brilliant considering he is 38 but there is no denying that even though he has awesome athletic plays, his overall game is starting to slip. He’s still averaging 26/9/6.4 his TS% is down to 54.1% which is the lowest since his rookie year, he’s drawing by far the least fouls in his career, meanwhile, he is taking the most shot attempts per game since 2007. To be clear, LeBron is still incredible even if you don’t consider that he’s 38, but given the standard that LeBron set for himself, he is probably never getting that back.
Anthony Davis has been an absolute monster as of late. On the season he’s scoring 27.5 points per game with 12.3 rebounds and playing elite defense. His jumper is still largely dead but he’s taking far fewer and attacking the paint more to great effect. Over the last 10 games he’s averaging better than 32 and 14. The Russell Westbrook saga is not exactly solved but him coming off the bench has improved things somewhat. His three point shooting is awful but he’s doing better inside the arc, and his passing is still at a very high level, in addition his minutes alongside just Davis have been positive lately as they’ve found some decent chemistry together.
After those guys things get tough. Patrick Beverly has been awful, Lonnie Walker is showing real scoring ability (averaging 16 per game!) and shooting the ball well from deep as a nice surprise but he can still be a bit up and down. Dennis Schroder has shot awfully and seems miles away from the player he was even a few years ago (which is bizarre because he’s not even 30 yet). Autin “Hillybilly Kobe” Reaves is a classic white guy who shoots pretty well and knows how to get to the right spots but not a ton beyond that, Troy Brown is a theoretical 3 and D guy who hasn’t been all that great at the 3 part. Thomas Bryant is big and can score inside but he has been constantly hurt the last few years so it isn’t clear what he will bring long term.
There is a world where Davis plays like his recent form all season and a few of the role-players hit higher ends of their output and this team becomes really good, for now it still seems like “if LeBron and AD are gods this can work, otherwise its over”
Matchups to watch:
Pistons vs. Anthony Davis: Yet another game where the opponents best player is a big forward with a high amount of skill. Duren is probably too young, Stewart is probably too small, Bagley is definitely not up for it. There’s a good chance that Davis absolutely blitzes the Pistons. Their best hope might be either Duren playing above his skiis or Stewart being such a maniac that it throws Davis off.
Jaden Ivey vs. Finding his groove back: Since coming back from injury, Ivey is averaging just 11.6 points, 3.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 33% from the field and 26.9% from deep in those 5 games. That is awful. Part of the issue is defenses adjusting to make his life harder, part of it is his own play and decision making. He can’t be that bad with Cade out.
Killian Hayes vs. Retracking himself: Last time out was basically a wash because of foul trouble. Tonight though, against a pretty bad Lakers back court he should have a chance to get back on track. Davis and LeBron patrolling the interior shouldn’t matter much to him since he doesn’t get to the hoop anyways. Good chance to bounce back.
Pistons vs. Keeping LeBron from the hoop: The Pistons don’t have any great options for defending LeBron, but as stated at the start of this post, if you play sound defense you can force LeBron into being a somewhat inefficient offensive player, accomplishing that will be key for the Pistons.
Pistons bench vs. Coming to play: It is pretty certain that LeBron and Davis will completely outclass the Pistons starters, the Lakers bench is not so powerful. Westbrook is a challenge but he’s obviously a far cry from what he once was. If the Pistons are going to win this game it will likely need the bench mob to put in good shifts.
So in conclusion…
Run for the hills if:
Davis has 20 points in the first quarter
LeBron is getting to the hoop
The Pistons bench is getting outscored by their counter parts
Wink knowingly at your friends if:
Either of LeBron or Davis sits out
Killian is getting to all his spots and hitting shots
The Pistons bench goes on a quick run
Opportunities for me to look stupid:
Davis scores 40
LeBron is only okay
Ivey breaks back out
Pistons ride a big game from Ivey and the bench to victory
Pistons 121 - Lakers 115.
What do you think? Can they contain Davis? Will Ivey bounce back?