Birthday Blues as Cade Cunningham Tops LeBron James

On his 41st birthday LeBron could not will the Lakers past the Pistons in a 128 106 loss at Crypto.com Arena. Cade Cunningham finished with 27 points and 11 assists as Detroit improved to 25 8, while Marcus Sasser and Isaiah Stewart provided a punch off the bench. Luka Dončić had 30 points and 11 assists but eight turnovers, and with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura out the Lakers looked out of sync. LeBron said "We haven't had a full team all year." Los Angeles finished with 20 turnovers and fell to 1 4 in their last five. Merlin sees a team still riding on flashes instead of steady work. After a 15 4 start the Lakers now face real questions about defense chemistry and depth while Detroit is announcing itself as a contender. The upcoming back to back with Memphis will reveal if Los Angeles can patch things up or if the issues run deeper.