The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t get out of their own way against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.
The franchise committed 20 turnovers in its embarrassing 128-106 loss to the Cade Cunningham-led Eastern Conference squad. Shortly after the Lakers’ 11th loss of the year, head coach JJ Redick felt compelled to take a shot at the refs who officiated the contest.
“I think there's probably a level of frustration when you're turning the ball over, and you're feeling like you're getting fouled,” Redick said. “There's frustration there, for sure. But I mean, again, I said it even here, we said it this morning: They're going to foul every possession. It's just, you got to play through it.”
“They're going to foul on every possession, probably three or four times,” Redick added. “And that's not a knock, I'm not saying it in a negative way, but they're going to foul three or four times on every possession. (And the officials are) not going to call a foul on every possession.”
Is there any truth to what Redick conveyed? Absolutely, considering the Pistons played a physical brand of basketball on defense and were fortunate not to be whistled for more fouls (hand checks, excessive bumps, etc.).
However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that Los Angeles’ half-court defense was unsatisfactory yet again, as they struggled to contain Cunningham all night and adequately defend the three-point line.
The Pistons shot 63% from the field and 46% from beyond the arc in their 22-point victory over the Lakers.
Simply put, Los Angeles’ defense was just as problematic as its offense vs. Detroit.
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