Just when it seemed like the Lakers had turned things around, they reminded everyone how serious they still are.

As fun as the last nearly two weeks have been, and as impressive as the Kings’ victory may have felt, much of it was completely undone by Monday’s lack of seriousness. The Lakers were ready to go into a big Christmas Day showdown with plenty of momentum and took advantage of the opportunity, both figuratively and literally.

The purple and gold turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 28 points for the Pistons. Based on volume alone, Detroit took 18 more shots than the Lakers. Teams don’t win games with such a large discrepancy.

And just like that, the Lakers take two steps forward and one step back. The momentum before a big game is gone and you’re swept away by the Pistons for the first time since your years as a tanker.

Then let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on each player’s expectations. The grade “B” represents the average performance of that player.

Rui Hachimura

29 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-4 FT, -5

Rui’s play pretty much sums up the Lakers’ ups and downs. A game after nearly a double-double, a season-high 11 rebounds and a game-winning play in the final period, Rui played virtually no role in the second half of this game.

After going 3-for-5 from the field in the first half, he failed to make any of his three attempted field goals. And a rebound? We have to put games like this behind us.

Grade: C

Anthony Davis

39 minutes, 19 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, +15

AD felt like one of the few Lakers who didn’t care for most of the night. Unfortunately, he spent most of his energy stopping shots at the rim after the Pistons flew past their defender at the rim.

His four missed shots at the free throw line proved costly. He was responsible for four of the team’s five misses at the line. But that seemed to be one of the few negative aspects of his night.

Grade: B+

LeBron James

35 minutes, 28 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 10-16 FG, 2-4 3PT, 6-7 FT, -1

This became a late game because LeBron turned the team on its head. And shockingly, the team committed 18 turnovers and LeBron was only responsible for two of them.

With nine assists in the first half, he set people up early and then became assertive late. He had tried to win the game but failed, but the only reason he had the chance was because of all the work he had done in the minutes leading up to it.

Grade: A

Max Christie

33 minutes, 17 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 6-10 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +10

Another person largely absolved of blame on Monday was Christie, who was having a career night. Since he’s been in the starting lineup he’s really found his form. Of course, he doesn’t shoot 60% from the field every night, but that level of 3-and-D play is great.

Unfortunately, he was also one of the Lakers’ many perimeter players who struggled defensively. Basically everyone in the area gets a little docked here. Because that was a shocking defense.

Grade: A-

Austin Reaves

37 minutes, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, +16

Boy, it was a tough night for Reaves. What’s not included in that stat line above are the six turnovers he committed, and almost every one of them felt like a live-ball turnover that led directly to a Pistons layup.

Statistics don’t do justice to how poorly Reaves played, especially on defense. He did manage to stop Cade Cunningham late, but that felt more like a bad shot than good defense. And it was one of his rare defensive highlights.

This appeared to be one of his worst games of the season on both sides.

Grade: F

D’Angelo Russell

16 minutes, 5 points, 5 assists, 1-5 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, -13

That wasn’t a great D’Lo evening either. Offensively, he falls by the wayside with his shooting and scoring. And there’s only so much playmaking that can make up for it.

While I thought he had been playing well defensively recently, that wasn’t the case on Monday either. To top it all off, he left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury.

Grade: D

Gabe Vincent

19 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3-5 FG, 3-5 3PT, -22

Some of the shots Gabe took tonight were hard to believe. They went in on Monday, so you can’t beat him. But let’s not repeat this shot profile in the future.

Grade: B+

Cam Reddish

17 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-3 FG, 1-1 3PT, -5

A perfect night from Reddish, filling the stat sheet and the Lakers Waste It? Unforgivable.

Grade: A-

Dalton Knecht

16 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, -10

Well, at least Knecht starts shooting again? It’s a small plus that I can take away from it. But he also let people drive right past him, which is best reflected in his plus-minus.

Grade: C

JJ Redick

I’m not sure I understand not using Christian Koloko in this game. He struggled, but this team isn’t built to survive lineups without a center. We have a lot of data that shows that LeBron and Rui don’t work as a frontcourt.

When it comes to ball losses, I blame it on the players, not the coaches. But playing time and long stretches without a center killed the Lakers on Monday.

Grade: D

DNPs from Monday: Bronny James, Christian Koloko, Maxwell Lewis, Quincy Olivari, Armel Traore

Inactive on Monday: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.