The Los Angeles Lakers came out flat and uninspired against the Detroit Pistons, who promptly punished them with a wire-to-wire victory, 115-103, on Monday.
Despite Anthony Davis scoring 37 points, the Lakers received nothing from their supporting cast, as their bench combined for only ten points. After the loss, one of the Lakers’ two bench players who scored, Jaxson Hayes, also answered questions about the NBA’s re-investigation of his 2021 domestic violence incident.
“Me and my team are working on cooperating with the league with all that and I don’t have any other comments about it right now,” Hayes told NBA reporter Dave McMenamin for ESPN.
Jaxson Hayes on the NBA re-opening an investigation into a 2021 domestic disturbance incident: “Me and my team are working on cooperating with the league with all that and I don’t have any other comments about it right now”
Are the Lakers a serious team?
All the hype around new Lakers coach JJ Redick has cooled off after the Lakers followed up their 3-0 start with a 1-3 road trip, which finishes with a visit to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The same habits that defined the Purple and Gold’s up-and-down season last year came back to haunt them: poor effort on both sides of the ball, poor shooting, and nonexistent bench production.
For instance, only Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht and Jaxson Hayes scored against the Pistons, each with five points, while the others didn’t even take a shot.
Still, this poor road trip is an expected bump in the road for a first-time head coach in the NBA. Moreover, their pivot to Anthony Davis as the centerpiece of their team has paid dividends, and they just need the others to produce and help them win games.
However, Davis aggravated a foot injury in the fourth quarter against the Pistons, which might cause concern among fans, since their team’s season will go only as far as AD takes them. If he goes down, simply speaking, they are finished.
As much as he brings energy to the second unit, Jaxson Hayes is not the backup center Davis or the Lakers need long-term, and he’ll also need to deal with the NBA’s investigation into the 2021 incident involving him.
