Not so coincidentally, Blake Griffin’s biggest game of the season, was also the biggest win of the Detroit Pistons 2020-2021 season.
Coming off their first road loss of the year against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Lakers (14-5) the next. day were visiting the Detroit Pistons (5- 14).
They were hoping for an easy road win, while letting forward Anthony Davis (out with bruised quad) grab some rest.
But the Pistons, with a 7-11 expected wins and losses, are a little better than their record shows. Thursday’s 107-92 win over the defending champ Lakers proves just that.
Led by Blake Griffin’s 23 points, the Pistons played the Lakers tight all night – limiting L.A.’s largest lead to only seven points.
The Lakers struggled to keep the Pistons offense in check without Anthony Davis, allowing Detroit shoot 46% from the floor and 38% from three-point land.
Though, the biggest factor in tonight’s success may have been the Pistons ability to take care of the basketball, which leads us to our first big takeaway of the game.
Three big takeaways on Detroit Pistons win over Lakers
1. The Pistons Limited Turnovers
After Wednesday’s 122-107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Pistons turned the ball over a staggering 22 times (Mason Plumlee with a very troublesome 8 TO all by himself), it was refreshing to see the Pistons cut that number more than half against a typically stingy Lakers defense.
Considering this was the Lakers fifth game in seven nights, we can attribute some of the Lakers poor defense to fatigue, especially during the 4th quarter, where it looked like LeBron and Co. just conceded the game.
But this was also the Pistons’ 5th game in 7 nights and they played like they got their full 8-hours of sleep..
2. Blake Griffin is back? Blake Griffin is back!
All season, Blake Griffin has been making slow yet steady progress towards the player Pistons fans fell in love with in past seasons. Thursday felt a bit like a Blake coming out party, the offense ran through him, and rightfully so, Griffin finished with a hearty stat line of 23 points, 6 assists, 0 turnovers and a +24 plus/minus.
Griffin looked more decisive, confident and springier than he has all season. He had great lift on his jumpshot, and was able to take advantage of smaller players, like Dennis Schroeder, in the post. He played a masterful two-man game with the red-hot Wayne Ellington.
It’s no coincidence that Ellington finished with a +24 plus/minus to match Griffin for team high. The pair became the hub of the offense, with Blake able to manipulate screens and passing angles to hit the always in motion Ellington.
Wayne Ellington finished with 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
3. Isaiah Stewart is Detroit’s Spirit Animal
So far this season, Isaiah Stewart has managed to aggravate every player that has a reputation of letting their emotions affect their play, by simply playing hard-nosed basketball and fighting on every single possession.
We love that type of player in Detroit (see: Wallace, Ben). Now, we can add Montrezl Harell to the list of those irritated by the rookie center. After an absolute battle between the two in the 2nd quarter, with both fighting for rebounds, and Stewart coming out on top.
The matchup between Harrell and Stewart alone was worth the price of admission but we then got to see Stewart match up against LeBron James and hold his own.
After one particular possession in the 2nd half, where Stewart played his brand of rough and rowdy defense on LeBron, he pointed to Stewart and nodded, as if to acknowledge the 19-year-old rookie’s valiant effort.
It takes one to know one, and Detroit has an absolute dog on their hands.
The Pistons and Lakers meet again on February 6th at the Staples Center. That game will likely feature Anthony Davis and a more rested and focused Lakers squad. However, after this game, we know the Pistons won’t be backing down.