Mark the calendar: It took nine days on a seven-game trip until reigning Los Angeles Lakers champion showed any signs of being vulnerable this season in Thursday’s 107-92 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
LA scored just 34 points in the second half – the lowest the Lakers have scored in any half since LeBron James joined the franchise in 2018 – and was beaten 25-14 in the fourth quarter by a Pistons team that entered on the night with the second worst record in the league at 4-14.
The Lakers went scoreless for nearly seven minutes – from 8:40 in the fourth quarter until it was 1:50 on time – the Pistons’ lead rose from one to 17. LA went on to 0 for 12 two-game droughts turnover when Detroit took control.
“I think we just weren’t connected defensively to where we should be,” said Kyle Kuzma, whose 22 points and 10 rebounds were pampered by the Lakers’ late collapse. “Individually, everyone made mistakes and, along with those, made the team’s defense suffer a little.
This defense of the team, which ranked 1st in the NBA since Thursday, played without Anthony Davis, the second defensive player of the year last season, who was out with his bruised right thigh.
Whatever the explanation for the poor presentation, whether it was Davis’ absence, the accumulation of road fatigue or the provocation of a back-to-back, James did not want to hear it.
“I mean, we still have games to play, games to do,” he said. “We have to keep improving and you can’t really figure out how many days you’re on the road or whatever. Every team does it. Each team makes a long journey. We are professionals.
“We have to keep our minds fresh, keep our bodies as fresh as we can to get out there and set up a full game of 48 minutes or almost 48 minutes. Obviously, we haven’t done it in the last two games, and we just got better on Saturday. “
Coach Frank Vogel challenged the Lakers last year not to give up consecutive games all season and has remained a part of the team’s culture this year. LA managed to get over a quarter of the season before failing in the mission, losing to Detroit one night after falling in Philadelphia.
The back-to-back losses also affected the Lakers’ perfect 10-0 record to start the season, which had set a franchise record. They are now 10-2, with games in Boston on Saturday and Atlanta on Monday to finish the trip.
While no one sounded the alarm, both Kuzma and James complained about how the Lakers are still trying to find a set rotation and, due to lack of training time, end up experimenting with new lines in games.
“We are a brand new team,” Kuzma said. “We play like 14 people. It’s a difficult situation. Obviously, we work through things. The coaching staff tries to figure out the rotations and find out what works best, which players can play certain teams. And that’s just the point of the season. where we are “.
Kuzma offered a 10,000-foot perspective, saying the losses – even bad ones like Thursday’s – are “just the beauty of the trip,” and the regular season is meant to be a rehearsal to fix problems before the playoffs, anyway. And as the Lakers journey spans a week and a half, he recognized the real challenge of constant travel. “There’s another pandemic here,” he said.
Vogel put his performance to himself, saying he needs to do a better job of putting his players in a position to be successful, but in the end he gave the evening as something that will not amaze them team.
“We’ll be fine,” Vogel said. “You have nights like this in a long season. We’ll be fine. We’ll be back. We’re not happy, neither of us is happy with the way we played tonight, but we’ll be back.”