Pistons fall to Lakers in seventh straight loss

64. Final. 93. 20. 85

REGGIE JACKSON. F--. Reggie Jackson’s play was abysmal. This was his worst game ever in the NBA. 1-9 was his third worst field goal percentage ever on more than 4 shots. He’s only had more than 5 turnovers six times, and four of those were games in which he played 35 or more minutes compared to last night’s 22. His 2 points tied his lowest ever in a game in which he played at least 20 minutes (he’s only done this one other time). And while I don’t have career stats to compare this to, putting up a -22 against a 16-46 team and getting crushed in the head-to-head by the opposing second round rookie point guard is also really bad.. PG. Pistons

Caldwell-Pope pretty much played Wayne Ellington to a draw. Actually, that may be a little bit generous. His shot continues to be off, his defense merely decent, and his other contributions were minimal in this one. I still think Kentavious will turn into a good role player, but he’s not there quite yet.. SG. Pistons. KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE. D

SF. Pistons. TAYSHAUN PRINCE. D+. I completely believe that Van Gundy brought Prince in to improve the Pistons for the remainder of the season. I also believe that there is about a 0% chance that he plays better at SF than Jerebko would have. The trade will help the Pistons lose more games this year. At this point, that’s a good thing. Hopefully it’s not an omen of Stan’s player evaluation acumen in years to come, though.

A. I think I have to grade Monroe and Drummond together for this game. They synergized beautifully, beasted all game long, abused the Lakers’ big men, and would have earned Detroit a win if anyone else chipped in. Then again, the Lakers’ set of big men are exactly the type of players Monroe and Drummond are designed to excel against.. PF. Pistons. GREG MONROE

ANDRE DRUMMOND. A. So Monroe and Drummond combined to put up 38 points and 30 rebounds on 17-25 shooting. The Lakers’ starting bigs: 26 and 11 on 12-24. Of course, Monroe and Drummond did play more minutes than Hill and Black. But even if you include Boozer, which shifts the minutes advantage strongly back in LA’s favor, they still only got 30 and 21 on 14-30.<p class=. C. Pistons

PG. Pistons. SPENCER DINWIDDIE. C+. Dinwiddie’s shooting woes continue. And he fouled out in just 19 minutes, so not a great game. But he continues to look like a really solid point guard prospect, getting 6 dimes to just 1 turnover and playing above average defense. And based on his college career, it’s a good bet that he can figure out how to shoot in the NBA. With virtually no chance at the playoffs, Van Gundy should be giving Dinwiddie lots of minutes (when he doesn’t foul out, of course) and growing pains. Besides, it would be worthwhile to see how Jackson plays with another point guard in case Jennings does come back strong. Now is the time to learn more about what he has on the roster.

Pistons. JOHN LUCAS III. C. In 7 minutes, Lucas missed three shots and got two assists. Not great, but better than his Lakers counterparts who missed one shot and got one turnover.. PG

Pistons. JODIE MEEKS. C-. Meeks wasn’t great, but he played almost as well as I expected he typically would when he first signed with Detroit. That’s a bit better than he has been most of the time lately.. SG

C-. Butler is basically the same player as Prince right now. But he didn’t get as many minutes so he didn’t have as much opportunity to play poorly.. SF. Pistons. CARON BUTLER

D+. Tolliver had an off night shooting the ball. It was a bad game for him but I am pleased with how surprisingly rare such games have been since he was acquired.. PF. Pistons. ANTHONY TOLLIVER

Inc. Shawne Williams played four inconsequential minutes.. F. Pistons. SHAWNE WILLIAMS

D. Seven straight losses to teams with a combined record under .500. Ouch. I’m willing to give Van Gundy a pass on his first year–especially given how well he did when he had the roster he wanted–but it’s been a rough one. Regroup, Stan, prepare for next season, and do better with that one.<p class=. Head Coach. Pistons. STAN VAN GUNDY