JJ Redick upset about Pistons turnovers

The Los Angeles Lakers showed real signs of life defensively and appeared ready to move on when the team returned home to play the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit entered the night with a sub-.500 record, but showed resoluteness on both ends of the floor thanks to Cade Cunningham and the other young talents on their roster. Against the Lakers, the Pistons showed just how big the difference between the two teams is in terms of speed and athleticism as they ran up and down the court all evening. Detroit won the game 120-110, ending Los Angeles’ three-game winning streak.

The Pistons were much more physical than the Lakers and that led to some sloppy plays from the latter. Los Angeles turned the ball over 20 times while Detroit only turned the ball over 12 times, and that ultimately made the difference in the game. The Pistons turned the Lakers’ turnovers into 28 points, and that would be too much for the purple and gold.

After the game, head coach JJ Redick expressed frustration with his team’s turnover issues, considering they had talked before the game about how badly Detroit would overwhelm them.

“Yeah, I mean, we knew in advance that they were going to shock or flash at times,” Redick said. “So I’m not sure why we were so surprised by it. Then some of them played in tight spaces, and some of them dribbled the ball with just their foot. Dribbles the ball out of bounds and passes to Malik Beasley so he can make a three-pointer. They capitalized every time we made a mistake.”

Redick was not at all happy with how careless the Lakers were with the basketball, and it showed during the game as he took several timeouts to fix mistakes. Whatever Redick said didn’t stick, however, as Los Angeles had several unforced turnovers that led directly to Detroit’s goals.

“I think you just have to make certain turnovers, I don’t know what the exact word is. Certain sales are not forced. And then there’s what you mean, which is the forced turnovers, and what Dan (Woike) meant, which is the forced turnovers. I guess I just don’t try to play in tight spaces. Attract the crowd. Don’t play in a crowd. I played a lot in front of an audience today.”

It’s a step backwards for the Lakers, as the turnovers hurt their entire defense, an area where they recovered a corner. It may only be one loss, but it highlights how difficult it is for Los Angeles to keep up with younger teams that can exploit almost every possession.

Regardless, Redick and the coaching staff must now find a way to get the team to better appreciate basketball. On nights when the team’s defense isn’t quite up to par, Los Angeles must learn to limit its mistakes to give itself a chance to win.

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