Who: Los Angeles Lakers (31-37) vs. Detroit Pistons (34-33)
When: Friday, March 15; 4:00 p.m. PT; Little Caesar’s Arena
Where: Spectrum SportsNet
As the Lakers come off a loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, Los Angeles will sit LeBron James on Friday, a not unexpected development that leaves the team in dire straits heading into a matchup with the Pistons.
No LeBron James, big problem
The Lakers have relied heavily on James in the wake of Lonzo Ball’s and Brandon Ingram’s injuries. That makes the fact that James is sitting a potentially big problem for the Lakers. The already ineffective starting lineup will be even more so with James.
Over the last five games, all since Ingram’s injury, the Lakers have a net rating of -20.1 in 74 minutes without James.
In layman’s terms, Friday’s game should go poorly.
The G League lineup
Since the Lakers have entered tanking mode after the loss to the Clippers, the Lakers’ most consistent lineup has been the one of fringe NBA players. The lineup consisting of Moe Wagner, Alex Caruso and Johnathan Williams has played 28 minutes together over the last three games. That lineup has an offensive rating of 129.1 and a defensive rating of 98.2 for a net rating of 30.9. Expect plenty of that lineup on Friday.
Tank rolls on
Thursday’s loss to the Raptors returned the Lakers to tanking form. The team is still two games back of the eighth spot in the draft lottery. With Charlotte and Washington also meeting on Friday, the Lakers could make up a good chunk of ground with a loss, which shouldn’t be too hard given James’ non-availability.
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