Pistons, Lakers struggle heading into Sunday matchup

Bad things come in threes for the Detroit Pistons.

Perimeter defense has been a major issue for the Pistons in recent weeks, including their current five-game West Coast swing. Opponents have hit 49.6 percent (59 of 119) of their long-range shots during the first four games, a major reason why Detroit has lost three straight. The Pistons (18-24) will try to salvage the final game of the trip when they face the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday night.

Utah fired in 16 of 31 3-point attempts on Friday in a 110-77 blowout that left Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy disgusted with himself and his defense.

"We can't stop anybody. We just can't," Van Gundy lamented. "I mean for the first 21 games we were the second-best defensive team in the league and now we are one of the worst. I'm frustrated. Not with our players, I'm frustrated with myself that I can't figure this out. I mean, we literally can't stop anyone, ever."

Detroit has dropped to 25th in defensive 3-point field-goal percentage (37.4) while its offense ranks 24th in that category (34.1). The defense completely collapsed in the second half against the Jazz, who outscored the Pistons 65-34 after the break.

"We got to defend. We got to make someone miss," Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson said. "I don't know what it is. We'll do it for about a total of half of a game, whether it be the first, third, or be the middle of the first, middle of the third, half the fourth. We're just not playing together for 48 1/8minutes 3/8. It's really coming back to bite us each and every night."

Making matters worse is that the Pistons are playing without two starters. Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell Pope is expected to miss his second straight game with a shoulder sprain, while power forward Jon Leuer is sidelined with a bone bruise on his right knee.

Los Angeles (15-29) hasn't played any better this week, losing its last three games by an average of 25.7 points. The Lakers were dominated by the Clippers on Saturday afternoon, 113-97. They allowed the Clippers to shoot 52.2 percent and got overpowered by center DeAndre Jordan, who piled up 24 points and 21 rebounds.

The Lakers' promising duo of forward Julius Randle and point guard D'Angelo Russell combined for just nine points on 3-for-14 shooting while making five turnovers. Russell has been held to single digits in his last three games.

"We need him to be more aggressive and be the player we know he is capable of being," coach Luke Walton to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Walton was unhappy with the offense in general, especially a starting unit which only produced 41 points.

"We need to see sharper execution," he said to the Daily News. "The way we started the game tonight, our bigs weren't rolling and we weren't setting screens. Our spacing was 1/8bad 3/8. When we did get open, there was nothing to do with the ball there."

Forward Luol Deng is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday. He was rested on Saturday by Walton on the front end of the back-to-back.

The teams split the two-game series last season, with each winning on their home floor.