The Detroit Pistons are set to take on the Los Angeles Lakers tonight as LeBron James turns 41 years old.
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a lot of moving pieces to manage in the 2025-26 campaign already with LeBron James coming back from injury as Luka Doncic continues to settle into life in Hollywood. Both James and Doncic have adjusted to the addition of big man Deandre Ayton down low in the post, and the Lakers have cruised to a 20-10 record to start the season.
The Pistons, on the other hand, are looking to keep continuity as they progress through the season in first place of the Eastern Conference, but the two squads are set to battle tonight on the West Coast. The Pistons are entering the game fresh off two consecutive road losses, and Detroit guard Cade Cunningham is determined to turn their luck around.
To that effect, Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke about the state of the team before squaring off with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
Redick on a key stat for LA: "Scotty [Brooks] gave a stat this morning that we're 15-1 when we have 25 or more assists, so I think the guys recognize the importance of ball movement."
Redick on LeBron turning 41 today: "I've been calling him 41 now since I turned 41 in June, so tomorrow is a day, but he's 41 to me already. It is remarkable, I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and have to get an injection in my knee and my body is old and broken. It's like that if you don't use it you lose it, and once I stopped using it, I lose it all. I can still barely touch the rim, which is nice."
Redick on facing the Pistons after two consecutive losses: "I told our group this the other day: we're the Lakers and everybody is going to have their best against us and everybody is going to try their best against us. I don't think it matters if they are coming off a win or a loss."
Redick on the health status of the Lakers: "Jaxson practiced, Rui did not. We're still waiting for a little more info. We don't think it's anything serious, he's just a little banged up. AR is still out and Dave is still out."
Redick on his preparation for the Pistons tonight: "Well the NBA lifecycle works like this: I stay up until 2 am watching the film, preparing the film, then we meet today, so I've watched one Detroit game all year."
This road trip has not gone as planned for the Pistons, but Detroit is hoping to end the 2025 calendar year on a positive note before taking on the next stage of the arduous NBA schedule in 2026.
Tip-off between the two squads is tabbed for 10:30 pm and can be watched on Peacock.
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