Just as the LA Lakers appeared to have found their feet they were brought back down to earth by the Detroit Pistons.
LeBron James had returned and the team were on a three-game winning streak but the Pistons well and truly spoiled the Lakers party.
James has been back to his very best following his rest and recuperation and top-scored once again with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Despite his best efforts, the Lakers would still go down 114-117 thanks to the joint efforts of Cade Cunningham and Malik Beasley who combined for 41 points.
Austin Reaves was left unhappy with his display while Lakers legend James Worthy explained how the Pistons were too physical.
One player who had another solid display was Max Christie, he has found himself a regular in the Lakers’ side and once again highlighted his worth to the team.
Despite being just 21, Christie has been trusted by Lakers coach JJ Redick to complete extra minutes for the side in recent weeks.
Redick recently praised Christie and said he ‘plays hard every night’, something which some Lakers players have been accused of not doing.
Christie played 33 minutes against the Pistons scoring 17 points making 6-10 field goals and 3-4 from behind the arc.
While Christie enjoys his attacking displays he explains why his defensive efforts are more important to him.
Speaking to the media following the game he said: “Tonight was a great offensive game for me but I wouldn’t say I measure myself on that end, it’s more the defensive end.”
Christie went on to explain how he felt handling the tricky offensive abilities of the Pistons’ brightest star Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham has been linked with an All-Star spot and Christie can see why, saying: “I think tonight I did a solid job, my premier matchup was Cade Cunningham, an elite player, an All-Star level player, he still had 20 [points], 10 [assists] and five [rebounds] but I felt I did a good job just trying to make it tough for him. He’s a great player and he’s going to make tough shots so, overall I think I’m in a pretty good spot right now.”
It is no secret that the Lakers have been struggling with turnover issues in their recent defeats. The team gave up 18 in the loss against the Pistons which Christie described as a ‘killer’.
Worthy recently called the Lakers turnover issues ‘awful’ following their 97-87 defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It is perhaps not surprising that their two wins over the Sacramento Kings saw 13 and 14 turnovers respectively.
Speaking on the turnover issues Christie said: “Those turnovers are killer for sure, we just got to try and do a better job as a team just trying to take care of the ball. I mean we have enough talent to score and we shot the ball extremely well. I think if we cut those turnovers down we probably end up winning or at least put ourselves in a better stop to win.”
Despite the Lakers’ turnover struggles they sit pretty low on the standing for the most turnovers. They currently sit 19th with just 403 turnovers, the Utah Jazz lead the way with 523.
The Lakers will need to clean up their errors when they face Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day.
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