Mark the calendar lander: Defending champions Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons 107-92 on Thursday, a nine-day seven-game road trip before defending champions Los Angeles Lakers showed any signs of being sensitive this season.
LA scored just 34 points in the second half – the Lakers ’lowest score in any segment since LeBron James joined the franchise in 2018 – and the Pistons outscored 25-21 in the fourth quarter with which the night came. -14-1. The league’s worst record on.
As the Pistons ‘lead rose from one to 17 – from the 8:40 mark in the fourth quarter – from the 8:40 mark in the fourth quarter – the Pistons’ lead spread from one to 17. Detroit took control as there were 12 droughts with LA 0-for-two turnover.
“I don’t think we were connected defensively at the level we should have been,” said Kyle Kuzma, whose 22 points and 10 rebounds were spoiled by the Lakers’ late fall. “Individually, everyone made mistakes and with that the team defense collectively had a little trouble.”
That team defense, which finished first in the NBA going on Thursday, played without Anthony Davis, last season’s defensive player of the year runner-up, who was out with a bruised right thigh.
Whatever explanation may have existed for poor performance, be it the absence of Davis, the accumulation of road fatigue or the back-to-back challenge, James did not want to hear it.
“I mean, we still have games to play, work to be done.” “We keep getting better, and you can’t really get into your mind to understand how many days you’re on the road or whatever the case may be. Every team does it. Every team has hit a long road trip. We’re professionals. .
“We have to keep our bodies as fresh as possible to keep our minds fresh, to go there, and keep a full game of 48 minutes, or minutes closer to 48 minutes. Naturally, we haven’t played those last few games, and we got better on Saturday. “
Coach Frank Vogel challenged last year’s Lakers team not to skip consecutive games throughout the season and this year it has been a part of the team’s culture. After falling in Philadelphia the L.A. made way more than a quarter of the season before failing the mission.
Back-to-back losses also disrupted the Lakers ’full 10-0 road record for the start of the season, which set a franchise record. They are now 10-2, with the games in Boston on Saturday and Atlanta on Monday to complete the road trip.
While no one sounded the alarm, both Kuzma and James lamented how the Lakers were still trying to find set rotation, and not having time to practice, experimenting with new lineups in games.
“We are a brand-new team,” Kuzma said. “We’re playing like 1 people. It’s a tough situation. Obviously we’re working through things. The coaching staff is trying to figure out the rotation and what works with the best, which players are certain. “We’re trying to figure out what the lineup can play. And that’s just one of the seasons we’re in.”
Kuzma provided a 10,000-foot perspective, saying that as bad as Thursday – even worse – is the “beauty of the tour” and the regular season, anyway, is to rehearse the Kinks out for work before the playoffs. And, as the Lakers ’road trip has been lengthening for up to a week, he accepted the real challenge of constantly traveling. “It’s still an epidemic here,” he said.
“He has to do a better job of putting his players in a position to succeed, but in the end he will do something that will not distract his team,” Vogel said in a performance.
“We’ll be fine,” Vogel said. “You have a night like this in a long season. We’ll be fine. We’ll bounce back. Not happy, none of us are happy with how we played tonight, but we’ll bounce back.”
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