Los Angeles Lakers-Detroit Pistons game preview

The Detroit Pistons, who have picked up their offensive game in recent weeks, host the Los Angeles Lakers for the final time at the Palace of Auburn Hills tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Detroit Pistons (24-28) host the Los Angeles Lakers (18-36) tonight. This will be the final time that these two storied franchises play at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons and Lakers have matched up three times in the NBA Finals (1988, 1989, 2004), and Isiah Thomas will be on hand to share some of his favorite memories at halftime.

In the January 15th meeting between these two, Detroit won 102-97 in Los Angeles. That was the final leg of a five-game road trip for the Pistons, who were also without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jon Leuer. Fittingly, this is the fourth game of a five-game road trip for the Lakers.

The Lakers are bad, as I’m sure you do not need me to tell you. They have the third-worst record in the league and they have all the incentive in the world to stay there. Their first-round pick this summer is owed to the Philadelphia 76ers unless it lands in the top three.

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The Lakers have lost 10 of their last 13 games, and they do their losing largely behind bad defense and poor interior play. They allow 110.1 points per 100 possessions, which is the second worst in the NBA, and are dead last in opponent field goal percentage.

That spells trouble for them, as Detroit’s offense has picked up recently. Over their last 10 games, the Pistons are scoring 108.4 points per 100 possessions, good for 12th in the league over that stretch. That’s a big improvement over their season-long total of 103.9 points (ranked 22nd).

The Lake Show also allows both the fourth most points in the paint and second chance points per game, and they rank bottom 10 in defensive rebounding. On paper, it appears that Andre Drummond, who hasn’t scored fewer than 12 points in seven straight, should be able to feast. In the previous meeting, Drummond dropped 15 and 17 despite shooting 6-17 from the field, so a 20/20 game is certainly in play tonight.

The Pistons will almost certainly roll with a starting lineup of Reggie Jackson, KCP, Marcus Morris, Leuer and Drummond, but there’s less clarity as to who the Lakers will trot out.

Los Angeles started second overall pick Brandon Ingram on Monday for the first time in a long time. Meanwhile, Timofey Mozgov didn’t play at all on Monday, which is surprising considering he’d started all 52 games he’d suited up for prior to that. It’s unclear if he’s out of the rotation for the time being or if that was matchup based against a Knicks team down Joakim Noah.

My guess is they’ll go with D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Ingram, Julius Randle, and Tarik Black as their starting five, although it matters little considering the Lakers play nine players over 20 minutes per game and no one player more than 28.4 minutes per game. Their deep rotation also allows them to lead the NBA in bench points per game, largely thanks to Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson.

Considering the Lakers are an abysmal 6-23 on the road and the fact that the Pistons are a better team at home, I can’t imagine Detroit dropping this game. The Pistons and Lakers will tip off just after 7:30 p.m. ET tonight.

Next: Andre Drummond among Pistons in ESPN’s Top 25 under 25

Injury note: Reggie Bullock is questionable tonight with the same illness that kept him out on Monday. Also, rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije will not be with Detroit because they’re playing for the Grand Rapids Drive tonight and on Friday.