Luka Doncic
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Luka Doncic during a game against the San Antonio Spurs in December 2025
The Los Angeles Lakers’ recent struggles continued on Tuesday night with a lopsided 128–106 loss to the Detroit Pistons, a defeat that intensified outside criticism surrounding the team.
The Lakers dropped to 20-11 on the season, with each of their losses coming by double digits. While head coach JJ Redick pointed to officiating concerns postgame, the loss to Detroit once again exposed familiar problems, including careless turnovers, defensive breakdowns, and a continued inability to match the physicality allowed throughout games.
Detroit forced 21 turnovers and converted them into 30 points, while the Lakers committed 20 turnovers of their own but produced just 19 points off those opportunities.
The Pistons also controlled the interior, outscoring Los Angeles 74-44 in the paint, highlighting a recurring vulnerability that has plagued the Lakers throughout the season.
Luka Doncic Pushes Back on Outside Criticism
Despite the loss, Doncic led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. However, his performance was marred by inefficiency, as he finished 9-of-22 from the field, 3-of-11 from three point range, and committed eight turnovers.
Still, the Slovenian star pushed back on the growing negativity surrounding the team, offering a broader perspective on where the season currently stands.
Speaking in Spanish after the loss, Doncic acknowledged the frustration while stressing that the overall situation remains manageable.
“Well, we’re 20–11, which isn’t too bad,” Doncic said, via BasketNews. “We’re two or three games out of second place. Even though it might seem terrible, it’s not that bad. But we definitely have to improve.”
The 26-year-old’s comments came as the Lakers have dropped four of their last five games, fueling concerns about consistency, defensive execution, and overall team identity. While recent performances have been uneven, he framed the criticism within the context of the Western Conference standings.
At 20-11, the Lakers remain firmly in the playoff picture and sit just 2.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the second seed. However, the margin for error remains slim, as they are only 1.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who currently occupy the seventh seed and play-in territory.
Lakers Defensive Issues Remain a Concern
While the Lakers’ record suggests stability, deeper numbers paint a more troubling picture. Los Angeles currently ranks 26th in defensive rating at 117.8, a sharp contrast to their top-10 offensive ranking.
That decline has been even more pronounced over the past 15 games, during which the Lakers have posted the second-worst defensive rating in the league at 122.6, trailing only the Utah Jazz.
Postgame, JJ Redick admitted the team is still searching for its identity, pointing to injuries and inconsistent lineups as contributing factors.
“Still trying to figure that out,” Redick said in the post-game press conference. “The flow of lineups and rotations and all that has been challenging for everybody, not just the coaches,”
“It’s just a challenge for the players, and building an identity is difficult, I think. If you think about our team last year, this team is different, and our identity will eventually be different, but we didn’t get that identity till late January, it felt like. And then we had to shift again. So, I don’t think it’s unnatural.”
Throughout the season, Redick has repeatedly acknowledged that many of the Lakers’ issues have been self-inflicted, citing turnovers and defensive lapses as recurring themes.
While accountability and adaptation remain points of emphasis, the latest defeat once again highlighted the urgency for improvement as the Lakers continue their search for consistency.