It was a week ago when the Los Angeles Lakers got off to a hot start against the Sacramento Kings. That lead quickly dissipated as the Kings made shot after shot after shot. In fact, Sacramento made 14 straight made shots in the second quarter, leaving the Lakers paralyzed. It showed that the Lakers still had a long way to go when it comes to good consistent play. After they locked down the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Kings punched them in the face and back to reality.
Well, the Lakers have a chance to prove it again against Sacramento. They defeated two excellent teams in the Bucks and the Wolves (albeit without Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert). And a 4-2 home stand was pretty good considering the competition.
One of those losses was against the Kings. In fact, Sacramento has beaten the Lakers 7 out of the last 8 meetings. So this match-up has been pretty one-sided recently.
They haven’t been able to stop De’Aaron Fox. Fox is averaging a volcanic 36.3 points per in three games against the Lakers. At the very least, they’ll have to make him work hard for his points.
The Lakers have had trouble keeping Domantas Sabonis off the boards. Against the Lakers, he’s averaging 19.0 points, 17.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per in three contests. Ridiculous. And considering Anthony Davis hasn’t been able to match his production in their last two match-ups (11.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in those two games), it’s troublesome for Los Angeles.
There’s also Malik Monk, who went off in last week’s game. He had 26 points in the game but made 12 in the first five minutes of the second period in what was a turning point for the Kings. If they can’t stop all three Kings, it’s curtains for the Lakers.
The Lakers also have to get stronger inside against the Kings. Lakers are definitely capable of it but last week definitely didn’t show it as the Kings had a +12 advantage on the boards. L.A. was one-and-done a lot of the time in their possessions. More boards, more chances at the goal. It’s as simple as that.
LeBron James scored 31 points and dished out 11 assists before leaving the game early due to his bad ankle. They can’t let an 88-year-old LeBron James overwork himself; he needs more help. Anthony Davis definitely can do better and he has to stay out of foul trouble so he can stay on the court. They wasted an excellent game from Rui Hachimura (29 points). We’re not asking D’Angelo Russell to be like the dude on the court against the Bucks but we definitely want to see him be more aggressive and get better shots. Bottom line, everyone that plays has to do their part. Especially against a team that can detonate like the Kings.
The Lakers are essentially in the same situation like they were last week against the Kings. L.A. (36-30) is two games behind Sacramento (37-27) and a win can muddy the waters in the West even more. And while their loss to the Kings last week was not great for the Lakers, L.A. is 12-5 starting on Feb. 1st. Are they peaking at the right time? Or is it fool’s gold in the golden state (I don’t mean the Warriors)?
We shall soon find out.
