PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers took their first loss of the season on Sunday as they fell to the Detroit Pistons by a score of 106-93. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe among others, but the Pistons were also down All-Star Jalen Duren and All-Defensive wing Ausar Thompson. It wasn't like it was just the Sixers who were ailing in this one.
LeBron James returned to the floor after missing Saturday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks due to it being the first night of a back-to-back. He played 33 minutes and scored 18 points and dished out five assists while playing the small-ball center spot. Due to the Sixers being so small, the Pistons dominated the rebounding battle 54-37 as John Collins, Cade Cunningham, Paul Reed, Ron Holland II, and Daniss Jenkins all grabbed eight-plus rebounds.
"There was a couple that went off our hand, but we definitely got to do a better job of having man-on-man, body-on-body," said James. "I mean, they’re a great rebounding team, no matter even if Duren and Thompson is out. They’ve shown that over the last few years, so just gotta do a better job of that."
The Pistons are a team that establishes the tone early. They have a ton of success defensively just by being a physical group at the point of attack and making the other guys on the roster feel them and really bother them a bit on that end of the floor. Led by Holland, the Pistons slowed down James, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown. It was a grind for those guys to get their points.
"Well, they kind of dictate to the refs early on," James said of Detroit. "That’s just their style of play, and we have to try to play through the grass, through the physicality. Try not to worry about the whistle being called, because they allowed them to get handsy and allow them to be physical. It’s good basketball though, it’s fun to be out there and playing physical."
LeBron James on the physicality of the Pistons: “That’s just their style of play and you have to be able to try to play through the through the grabs, through the physicality, and try not to be worried about the whistle being called.” #Sixerspic.twitter.com/i9jsmzvGq3
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) October 26, 2026
The Sixers certainly missed Embiid, but one of the bigger losses is Edgecombe. His athleticism and his ability to just come up with so many big rebounds was missed by Philadelphia as the Pistons found a way to really dominate in a number of ways. That fact was not lost on James as he reflected on the loss.
"We saw some of the, one of the biggest rebounds of the game, last night (Saturday vs. MIL), was, us up three, we miss a shot, and VJ crashes from the corner, gives us a second chance opportunity, finds Embiid, swing, swing, to JB for three on the right wing, put us up six," James recounted. "It was a rebound that a lot of guys in this league can't get, and obviously, we missed the athleticism, we missed that ability, especially when you play against a team like this defensively. He's another guy who can break down the defense as well, so, we definitely missed him."
The Sixers will now have two days off before hitting the road to take on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: LeBron James discusses 76ers coming up short to Pistons for first loss