NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from Los Angeles Lakers vs Detroit Pistons

Final Score : Detroit Pistons beat Los Angeles Lakers, 111-97

Stats:

Detroit Pistons: Field Goals 37-86 (43 percent), 3PT 17-39 (43.6 percent), 64 rebounds, 26 assists, 5 steals.

Los Angeles Lakers: Field Goals 36-86 (41.9 percent), 3PT 6-25 (24.0 percent), 54 rebounds, 24 assists, 9 steals.

Detroit Pistons took care of business in Motor City to take down the already shorthanded Lakers. To their help, Lakers star LeBron James sat out the entire match as the Lakers are managing his minutes and if off the back-to-back schedule.

The match was in control of the Lakers with only four points Piston lead in the third quarter before the Pistons burst to a 13-0 run and then there was no coming back for the Lakers. Lakers shared a good deal of possessing the ball during the match but were miserable in scoring during second half of the game.

In the month of March, the Lakers have managed to win only one game of the eight they have played. The Lakers were missing six players from the line-up because of injury troubles during the loss.

Javale McGee led the Lakers (31-38) with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Kyle Kuzma contributed with 12 points and career-high 10 assists. Rajon Rondo had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso came off the bench with 17 and 16 points respectively.

The Pistons came in strong, snapping a 2-game losing streak. Reggie Jackson, Wayne Ellington and Langston Galloway showed shooting wizardry with four 3s each in their eighth straight home victory. Andre Drummond scored 19 points and 23 rebounds in the win. Drummond is four rebounds away from posting a sixth straight season with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Blake Griffin struggled to score and was being double-teamed the entire game, ended with 15 points (3-of-12 FG) and 9 assists.

Lets have a look at talking points of the match:

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#3 Lakers' troublesome 3-point shooting

Lakers' Isaac Bonga taking a 3-pointer attempt vs Detroit Pistons

Three-point shooting cost Lakers the game against the Pistons as they could only convert 6-of-25 at 24 percent beyond the arc. Rajon Rondo (1-1), Caldwell-Pope (3-6) and Alex Caruso (2-4) were the only Lakers who could score from downtown. Last match against Toronto Raptors, Lakers went with similar miserable shooting as today's with only 7-of-31 from behind the arc.

This has been an issue with the Lakers all season long and they stand as second worst team in the NBA with 33.1 three-point shooting percentage. Pistons were fearless as their sharpshooters counter-attacked with 17 three-pointer on 43.6 percent shooting to seal the game.

Now that they are destined to fall off the playoff wheel, Lakers will have plenty of time to work on this parameter for the next season.

#2 Detroit Pistons are vulnerable when it comes to scoring

Blake Griffin while driving up the basket vs Los Angeles Lakers

Griffin didn't have a great game himself, scoring 15 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Detroit's rise to 6th spot in the Eastern Conference has come as a surprise to many after they dropped down to as low as 11th spot before the All-Star break. What has bothered the team all season long is the scoring and rebounding consistency.

In the last two losses against the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets this was clearly visible where the Pistons managed to average only 74.5 points on 31.0 percent shooting and 22.5 percent from 3-point range.

Though the Pistons managed to beat the Lakers, it has to taken into account that the Lakers were heavily undermanned with six of their top players out of the game. Their top scorers, Blake Griffin (3-12), Reggie Jackson (6-19), Ish Smith (3-8) struggled from the field.

Langston Galloway came off the bench with breakout 23 points on 8-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from the 3-points line.

Blake Griffin was rather subdued after his team's victory over the undermanned Lakers.

''I don't know that we've had the right spirit over this stretch of games,'' Griffin said. ''Even tonight, we put together a win, but I don't think we've been great.''

#1 Player of the Game - Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons

On Monday, Andre Drummond was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week as he led the Pistons to a picture perfect 3-0 week by averaging 22.3 points, shooting 67 percent, as well as 18.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

What he would do to the already shorthanded Lakers was no surprise, with the lack of brilliance from LeBron James, Brandon Ingram and Tyson Chandler to protect the paint. Drummond dominated the glass with a monster rebounding performance of 23 rebounds. In 37 minutes of play, he scored 19 points on 8-of-15 field goals conversion.

Drummon leads the NBA with 56 double-doubles in the season, and should remain productive down the stretch as the Pistons continue to lock up a playoff spot. As the season is coming to a close, the Pistons have to work on their flaws and keep posting consistent numbers to make their playoff campaign deep enough.