Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick accuses Detroit Pistons of unethical hoops

The Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers last night in a physical matchup between MVP candidates.

Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons closed their 10-day road trip in Los Angeles Tuesday night and found themselves in a tight battle until a late fourth quarter explosion by Detroit. The Pistons ended up winning the game 128 to 106.

There were 50 fouls committed between both teams and the fouls just slightly favored Detroit. The Pistons fouled 26 times to Los Angeles' 24 times. There was also a combined 41 turnovers committed with the Lakers turning the ball over 21 times to Detroit's 20. JJ Redick and Lakers superstar guard Luka Doncic had interesting opinions on the way Detroit plays defense.

Cade Cunningham and Luka Donci — Dec 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Redick says Pistons foul every play

JJ Redick went into Tuesday night's game knowing Detroit was going to play physical for all four quarters. Redick spoke to the media before the Pistons game and went as far as to say Detroit commits a foul on every single defensive possession.

"They're going to foul on every possession, probably three or four times...and that's not a knock, I'm not saying it in a negative way, but they're going to foul three or four times on every possession. [And the officials are] not going to call a foul on every possession."
JJ Redick pre-game

While Redick acknowledged their play style as aggressive and foul-heavy, he feels how referees officiate Detroit impacts how the team performs. He acknowledged that it's important to play through the officiating. Redick also spoke to the media after the loss and discussed what playing the Pistons was like.

"I think there's probably a level of frustration when you're turning the ball over and you're feeling like you're getting fouled...there's frustration there, for sure. But I mean, again, I said it even here, we said it this morning: They're going to foul every possession. It's just, you got to play through it."
JJ Redick

Officiating is going to be fickle in every NBA game, but officiating is not why the Los Angeles Lakers lose this game. In the two metrics Redick mentioned, turnovers and fouls, the two teams nearly matched each other. The Pistons shot two less free throws in the game despite fouling twice more as a team.

Where Detroit went right

Whether many fouls go uncalled against Detroit remains to be seen, but the officiating was balanced for both teams. The Lakers and Pistons made the same amount of three-pointers, but the Lakers shot 15 more of them. Detroit shot well above 40% from behind the three-point line which isn't something they've done very often this season.

Detroit took away super powers that the Lakers' stars usually have. In 26 minutes of playing time, Lakers center Deandre Ayton was kept off the glass for just two rebounds. The Lakers missed ten free throws and their superstar duo of LeBron James and Doncic combined for 13 turnovers. Beyond Nick Smith Jr., there aren't any active shot creators getting consistent and meaningful minutes like they maybe should. Dalton Knecht scored 10 points in just four minutes of garbage time.

The Lakers struggles against the Detroit Pistons has a lot less to do with how the Pistons are were being officiated and much more to do with who the better team was.