Sorry, Lakers fans … your squad isn’t going 82-0. Not after the Pistons came into L.A. throwing elbows (not literally).
Indeed, in the first seven wins for Los Angeles this season, the Lakers were generally the team throwing the first punch, and answering any return throws from opponents with relative ease.
But on Friday evening at STAPLES, it was the Pistons who first dished out blows, leaving the Lakers flailing as they tried to swing back for the rest of the contest. Not only were the Pistons the aggressors, but the omens seemed to be going Detroit’s way: the Pistons swished their first six shots; Rasheed Wallace banked in a third-quarter three; and Kwame Brown (yup, Kwame) banked in a free throw to open the fourth.
Just one of those nights, as it were: the first time L.A.’s talent couldn’t make up for a poor floor game.
Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson were excellent, combining for 68 points in what ended up being a 10-point win for the Pistons, after the Lakers dug themselves a 15-point hole heading into the fourth quarter from which they just couldn’t dig out. Too many jumpers, poor defensive rotations on perimeter shots from the Pistons and the first dud of the season from L.A.’s second unit doomed the home team into its first loss of the season.
While Kobe Bryant had 29 points to pass both Larry Bird and Gary Payton on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, he needed 30 shots to get there (making just 12) in an anything-but-efficient effort from the MVP.
The biggest sequence of the game came, perhaps, when Andrew Bynum missed a dunk opportunity off a Bryant pass in the middle of the fourth that would have cut Detroit’s lead to 11, but instead grew to 16 when Prince canned a three at the opposite end. The Wallace bank three didn’t help, either.
A sliver of light beamed in with Bryant’s monster swat of Richard Hamilton with 3:44 remaining after Kobe had finally converted two three pointers; with the crowd suddenly back into the game, Bryant then coasted down on offense and converted a tough layup at the rim to cut Detroit’s lead to 14 with 3:22 remaining.
But it just wasn’t going to happen for the Lakers, and the first loss came 18 days into the season.
So that’s that, but bear with me here … Maybe this is good for the Lakers? Maybe a loss allows the coaching staff some more leeway in demanding certain things, allows teaching points to be heard a bit more clearly?
Time will tell, but Phil Jackson kept things pretty simple after the game, stating the following points: the Pistons simply outplayed L.A.; Detroit shot the ball well from all over the floor; the Lakers defense couldn’t stop penetration, especially from Iverson; freaky plays like the banked three all went Detroit’s way; Kobe and Derek Fisher shot very poorly.
That was pretty much it.
Everything else I’ll try and cover with numbers:
POSTGAME NUMBERS
52 - Points in the paint by the Lakers to just 30 from Detroit, generally a great statistical advantage. But in this case, the Pistons made up for it with seven threes, 29 made free throws and a slew of mid-range jumpers.
50.7 - Shooting percentage for the Pistons, including 52.4 percent from Wallace, Prince and Iverson, who as mentioned combined for 68 of Detroit’s 106 points.
35 - Combined miss shots from Bryant, Fisher and Vladimir Radmanovic, who shot a collective 32.7 percent from the floor.
22 - Kobe Bryant’s rank on the all-time scoring charts after passing Hall of Famer Larry Bird and future HOFer Gary Payton.
13 - Rebounds by Rasheed Wallace, whose 25 points tied AI for the Detroit lead. Wallace also blocked two shots and held up very well as often the Pistons’ biggest player on the floor.
12 - Turnovers by the Lakers, an excellent number that usually coincides with winning.
10 - Number of points and rebounds from Kwame Brown in a double-double effort that included a block, a steal and three assists.
3 - More blocks from Andrew Bynum, who’s second in the league in that category behind Dwight Howard.
Remember to check Lakers.com for postgame video after every home game.
