Here is what you need to know before the Lakers’ last game at the Palace of Auburn Hills against the Detroit Pistons.
1)
The Lakers are looking to build off one of their most sure-handed victories of the year, having trounced New York on Monday, 121-107. It was a smashing debut for the new starting lineup — composed of D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Tarik Black — as the Lakers bolted out to a 20-8 lead which rarely dipped into single figures for the rest of the game.
2)
The Lakers were led by some powerful work by their bigs, who led them to 64 points in the paint and 55 rebounds. Off the bench, Larry Nance Jr. (10 points, 10 rebounds) collected his fourth double-double of the year while Ivica Zubac managed 10 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four blocks.
But Black stole the spotlight in his first start at center, notching nine points and 10 rebounds — though that hardly told the whole story. Thanks also to some textbook defense, Black finished with the team’s best plus/minus of the year at +34 in only 20 minutes.
3)
Los Angeles actually shot a worse field goal percentage than New York did, but still cruised thanks to added possessions from big advantages in offensive rebounds (20-6) and turnovers forced (16-7). However, it would be unwise to expect the same kind of dominance against Detroit, which yields the league’s fewest offensive boards (8.3) and points off turnovers (12.8).
4)
Last time these squads faced on Jan. 15, Lou Williams went off for 26 points — the most by any bench player against Detroit this year. Though Williams scored 11 in the fourth quarter alone to bring L.A. within one point in the final two minutes, matching 23-point efforts from Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris quieted the comeback.
5)
Despite leading his team in scoring, Harris has recently begun to come off the bench for Detroit. Save for a rough last pair of games, the former Tennessee Volunteer has thrived against second units, averaging more points (17.4) and rebounds (5.8) than when in the starting lineup, while also shooting a better field goal percentage (52.2).
6)
Meanwhile, Morris and fellow starting forward Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have recently shown off their abilities to catch fire for 48 minutes. KCP dropped 38 points with eight 3-pointers just a week ago (though he has struggled since), and Morris followed up in the next game by racking up 36 points of his own, as the Pistons downed New Orleans and Minnesota, respectively.
7)
While he might not be the Pistons’ go-to bucket-getter, this team’s identity certainly begins with Andre Drummond, who is averaging a double-double with 14.6 points and the league’s second-most rebounds (13.7). On the other end, the 6-foot-11, 280-pounder has been much more effective in his fifth season, ranking second in the NBA in both defensive rating (98.3 points allowed per 100 possessions) and defensive win shares (3.5).
8)
With Drummond anchoring and Caldwell-Pope locking down perimeter threats, the Pistons have held their opponents to the league’s fifth-fewest points per game (101.9). However, winning has usually been linked to the offensive end, as Detroit is just 2-18 this season when failing to reach the 100-point mark.
9)
The Pistons aren’t really known for their comebacks, as they are 4-18 when trailing after the first quarter and 2-23 when down at halftime. However, the Lakers know better than to ease up on this team, as they led Detroit by eight at the end of the opening period in last month’s loss.
10)
After 28 years, this will be the Lakers’ final game at the Palace of Auburn Hills, as the Pistons will be moving into the new Little Caesar’s Arena in Downtown Detroit next season. The Palace has been the site of some good regular-season memories for L.A., which has a 17-10 record in the building. But it was a house of horrors in the postseason, as the Lakers lost all eight games in this arena during the 1989 and 2004 NBA Finals — the latter of which featured a rookie Luke Walton.
Injury Report
Lakers: Larry Nance Jr. (bone bruise, left knee), D’Angelo Russell (mild MCL sprain, right knee; strained right calf) and Julius Randle (pneumonia) are probable.
Pistons: Reggie Bullock (illness) is questionable.
Tip-Off: 4:30 p.m. PT
TV: Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum Deportes
Radio: 710 ESPN and 1330 KWKW