Even though the final score may not seem like it, this was the worst loss of the season for the Detroit Pistons. They were completely outclassed by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were playing without Luka Doncic. The game was essentially over after the first quarter. The Pistons made it close towards the end, but it was overall a very disappointing performance.
The Pistons are now 6-3. They are not in a bad place, but there were a few disappointing individual performances. Let's take a look at who deserves the most blame for Detroit's unexpected loss to Austin Reaves & Co.
Ausar Thompson
We have seen Ausar play this exact offensive game so many times already that it has gotten very frustrating. For most of the game, Thompson was completely invisible offensively. He wasn't aggressive, and he was passing up shots. It wasn't until the second half, when the game got out of hand, that Thompson decided to be more aggressive.
Yet, he still finished with seven points on 3/9 shooting. The Lakers were guarding him with Walker Kessler for most of the game, and he couldn't make them pay.
It's not like he was making an impact defensively. He let Austin Reaves go off. He was a team-worst -16. He was so bad that he ended up playing only 24 minutes. For a player who is supposed to be the second-best player on this team now that Jalen Duren is hurt, this is nowhere near good enough. =
Cade Cunningham
Not scoring for an entire half isn't acceptable for a player of Cade's caliber. It was a disastrous first half for the entire Pistons team on Sunday, but Cunningham was the main culprit. Not only could he not score, but he couldn't get the offense going or set his teammates up.
Detroit had seven turnovers and went 6/22 from the field in the first quarter. The Lakers led 38-14 after 12 minutes. This was basically the game. Cade should have never allowed the Pistons to dig themselves such a deep hole, especially against a Lakers team without Luka Doncic.
John Collins
This is just not what the Pistons signed John Collins for. It's not like Collins is bad or actively hurting the team, but he has been forgettable for most of the season. Sunday night was no exception.
Despite playing 32 minutes, Collins was not impactful on either end of the floor. He went 3/7 from the field for eight points, four rebounds, and one assist. He was fine defensively, but he couldn't prevent the Lakers from putting up a 132.3 offensive rating when he was on the floor. The Pistons were outscored by 13 points during his minutes.
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