Game Time: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 21st, 2021 

Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, local cable 

DraftKings:  Spread: Lakers - 7.5;  O/U 210

BetMGM:  Spread: NA

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Lakers -7.5; O/U 210

Lakers: 8-9, 9th place Western Conference

Pistons: 4-11, 14th place Eastern Conference

Is Rookie Cade Cunningham the next LeBron James?... No.  Is he a good possibly great NBA player?... sure.  Cade has a mixture of size, athleticism, and skill to garner comparisons with LeBron… but he hasn’t shown the court vision or commitment yet.  In fact the rookie in Toronto, PF Scottie Barnes, is playing like the best rookie in the league so far and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers is right on his heels!  Cade has missed too many games and gets too little TV time to be leading for  ROY… Still the race is tight with Scottie at 14.6 points, Evan at 14.6 points, and Cade at 14.2 points.  After another 10-15 games people will notice that Cade is getting 6 rebounds and 4 assists to go with his points.  All three rookies will increase their scoring as they get accustomed to the speed and intensity of NBA games.  Wait?... Is Cade the next LeBron?

Where is Anthony Davis for the Los Angeles Lakers? This guy was supposed to be a top five NBA player.  He was supposed to win any NBA matchup while LeBron rested as long as he had decent support around him.  The Lakers franchise was supposed to be handed over to Anthony Davis as they wracked up Championship rings before LeBron called it a career.  They got one ring so… GREAT!  But what has happened since?  AD is playing great on a losing team just as he was for New Orleans a few years back.  In fact the core players (not all the players) traded to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis are currently averaging (just Lonzo, Julius, and Brandon) 56.2 pts, 21.1 rbs, 19.8 ast… per game!!  Not to mention multiple first round picks, Josh Hart, and whoever else was tucked in there!  You can not say that LeBron is better off with AD’s 24, 10, 2 (which are great) over what he could have had if they kept those guys and traded Hart + 3 first round picks for any quality 2 guard in the league?!!!  The Lakers buried themselves with a bad trade. LeBron’s swansong is in danger because of AD’s “great numbers on a losing team” style.  Plus it is only a matter of time before AD misses time.  

The Lakers mystique in LA is dead.  Los Angeles has football now and the Los Angeles Clippers have been good for several years now.  It is more than that though… When owner Jerry Buss died, and the team was inherited by his children, it lost some luster.  Also Chick Hearn, the longtime announcer,  died 20 years ago and a whole new generation never heard him call a game.  Kobe died in a tragic helicopter accident that took his lovely daughter and 8 other wonderful people, taking away the big star/former champion milling about the team... The way Kobe and Shaq had Magic and Kareem Now the "Staples Center" is gone… it's now called “welikemoney.com” … I know some gray-haired Angelenos that are still miffed that the Lakers don’t play at the Great Western Forum.  So much change in so little time, a tsunami of change...  If a kid in East LA gets off his phone or tablet long enough to check out KCal channel 9 on the TV… he will never see a Lakers game.  The current roster is made up of all mercenaries from other teams who are looking to ride LeBron’s (He is one of those mercenaries) cape just far enough to get a ring. The Lakers are over… LA will care again when they rebuild after LeBron’s retirement… or maybe when the Buss kids sell the team to a real owner.

 

Al McMordie's on a red-hot 175-119 run, and is featuring this NBA Triple Pack on Saturday, including one play backed by a 36-7 ATS angle, and another out of a 30-8 ATS situation. Get your broom ready for a 3-0 SWEEP! Hop on board right now.  Get Big Al’s picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

 

The Lakers are 8-9 on the season, but 6-11 ATS.  They have logged 9 Overs, 7 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are a lousy 1-4 in away games.  Last game the Celtics took care of business and handed the Lakers a 130-108 loss. It is a long NBA season, the Lakers have time to right the ship and then some… will they?

The Pistons are 4-11 on the season, but 6-9 ATS.  They have notched 7 Overs and 7 Unders.  An awful 2-6 at home.  

The Lakers are 9th in the NBA in points with 109.2 ppg, 16th in rebounds with 45.5 per, 25th in ast/to with 1.4.  The assists are a big deal for the Lakers.  That is entirely indicative of LeBron missing games and Russell Westbrook getting the ball in his hands on way too many possessions.

The Pistons are 29th in points with 98.5, 30th in rebounds with 41.9, and 27th in AST/TO ratio with 1.4/  They are however a wonderful 13th in blocks with 5.1 per game.  Their last win came last Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers 97-89.  The last loss was the last game and it was a doozie!  The Golden State Warriors led by the MVP frontrunner Steph Curry were down to the Pistons by 16 points entering the fourth quarter.  The Warriors set the pace and blistered the stats for a comeback win of 105 - 102.  The Pistons should reflect on “last time” a lot over the season… but this last time was awful.

Our prediction for Sunday, November 21st is…  Pistons 112 - Lakers 101

PG Cade Cunningham is playing and he will get up for a game against LeBron (who just rejoined his team)... and Jerami Grant and SF Saddiq Bey will be the beneficiary of a dialed-in Cade. Plus if Kendrick Nunn isn’t back for the Lakers, the PG advantage will be with the Detroit Pistons.

 

I think the Pistons are going to win outright which will further the drama going on with the Lakers.  Even if they don’t, taking this bet now also spots you 7.5 points.  

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Mavs/Suns Preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Detroit is 3-0 ATS against the Lakers over the last 3 seasons.

Detroit is 1-0 ATS at Detroit versus the Lakers over the last 3 seasons.

Detroit is 15-9 ATS versus the Lakers since 1996.

Lakers:  Everyone should be returning to service except of course Trevor Ariza, Austin Reeves, and Kendrick Nunn who have missed all season.

Pistons: C Isaiah Stewrt (knee) is listed as day to day, C/PF Kelly Olynyk is OUT

Lakers: PG Russell Westbrook, SG Avery Bradley, Sf Talen Horton-Tucker, PF LeBron James, C Anthony Davis

Pistons: PG Killian Hayes, SG Cade Cunningham, SF Saddiq Bey, PF Jerami Grant, C Trey Lyles

LA

Points: Anthony Davis 24.2

Rebounds: Anthony Davis 10.5

Assists: Russell Westbrook 8.6

Steals: Russell Westbrook 1.3

Blocks: Anthony Davis 2.1

Det

Points: Jerami Grant 18.1

Rebounds: Isaiah Stewart 7.5

Assists: Killian Hayes 3.5

Steals: Killian Hayes 1.6

Blocks: Jerami Grant 1.2

Coaches

Lakers:  Frank Vogel.  Coach Vogel took this job in 2019 and has a championship ring for his troubles.  I say troubles because I can’t imagine a coach anywhere that more has to check with his star player before making a change or having an opinion.  Oh well… he is getting paid… that’s nice.

Pistons: Dwayne Casey.  Coach Casey built most of that Toronto Raptors Championship team before being let go.  He has pieces of a quality rebuild in front of him right now… Let’s see what he can do before he is let go.  Go Coach!