The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week, but got their revenge on Wednesday night when they closed out a tough win thanks to some clutch offensive rebounding by Tyson Chandler. Now the Lakers have a chance to build some real momentum. Three of their next four games are against teams that missed the playoffs last year. They stay on the West Coast for the first three games of that stretch before heading East to take on a fairly weak group of opponents. All told, this could be the moment that is eventually viewed as the turnaround for this Lakers season.
If that is going to be the case, the Lakers are going to have to beat a resurgent Sacramento Kings team that is surprisingly 6-5 on the young season. While the Lakers are working out the kinks of a roster that is attempting to change the way teams look at modern basketball, the Kings are playing a very simple yet effective system. De'Aaron Fox runs pick-and-roll with Willie Cauley-Stein. The floor is spread with Nemanja Bjelica, Buddy Hield and Iman Shumpert. The points come in bunches. The Lakers will need to contain that pick-and-roll to beat the Kings.
The game between the Lakers and the Kings will begin at 10:00 Eastern Time, 7:00 Pacific Time and will be broadcast on Spectrum Sportsnet in Los Angeles Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz broadcasting and Mike Trudell as the sideline reporter. As it is not going to be nationally televised, it will be streamed on NBA League Pass for all out of market fans. The local radio broadcast will air on 710 ESPNLA with John Ireland and Mychal Thompson on the call, and a list of other radio affiliates in the region can be found here.
Sacramento's playing style is something of a blessing for the Lakers right now. There is not complicated off-ball motion to track. The switching will be minimal. The Lakers just have to play fundamental, disciplined defense to come away with a win. The did just that against the Timberwolves down the stretch, with the new addition, Chandler, leading the way down the stretch. The last thing the Lakers want right now is for Chandler to be dragged away from the basket. The Kings don't have the personnel to make that a problem.
The Kings are not a punching bag, though. They may not be the Golden State Warriors, but they are playing very solid basketball. Beating them on their home floor will be no easy task, especially with the knowledge that they have to fly out for another game on Sunday. The Lakers are starting to execute better as a team lately. The Kings will provide another test in doing so.
