New Game Preview: Lakers vs Kings - 8/13/2020

Game Preview: Lakers vs Kings

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Los Angeles Lakers (52-18)  |  Sacramento Kings (30-41)

 

The Los Angeles Lakers play their last game of the eight-game NBA season restart against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday morning at 10:30 am PST.

 

In their last outing, we saw the Lakers we have become accustomed to seeing before the NBA season suspension. They defeated the Denver Nuggets with the final score of 124-121. LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, and Anthony Davis all scored at least 25 points in the win. LeBron tallied up 29 points and 12 assists, Anthony Davis finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and Kyle Kuzma exploded for 25 points, six rebounds, and the buzzer-beating game-winning shot.

This game’s box score is a perfect example of what the Lakers want to do offensively. Kyle Kuzma was poised to be the third option, and he showed his worth. This is what the Lakers need to do offensively night in and night out when the playoffs come, especially if they match up against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers.

 

The Lakers‘ play in their last game isn’t the problem.

 

To say the least, the Lakers have struggled tremendously in their last four outings, posting a 1-3 record. The Lakers recent woes come from the inconsistent play from not just role players, but the entire team. In their game against the Indiana Pacers, Anthony Davis only scored 8 points in 35 minutes, and in their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he scored 9 points in 29 minutes. He shot under 30% in both games.

This type of inconsistency is unacceptable for a team’s first scoring option. If Anthony Davis can’t find a way to produce as the primary scorer consistently, the Lakers are in trouble once the first round begins.

 

It doesn’t stop at AD‘s performance recently. The entire team has to step it up as well if they have championship aspirations. Danny Green needs to hit his shots and be the championship caliber veteran the Lakers signed him to be. Kyle Kuzma needs to be that consistent sixth man off the bench. Dion Waiters needs to be efficient with his touches. Dwight Howard needs to be aggressive but disciplined inside the paint at the same time.

The Lakers aren’t in panic mode yet. Once they officially clinched the first seed by defeating the Utah Jazz in their third game in the bubble, Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel made it clear that he wanted to test out new rotations in the remaining bubble games. He stated that he wanted to see what he could get out of his role players such as Jared Dudley and Quinn Cook.

Hopefully, his experimentations have paid off, and they don’t affect the Lakers play come playoff time.

 

On the other hand, the season is all but over for the Sacramento Kings.

 

With a young core highlighted by point guard De’Aaron Fox and 2020 NBA 3-Point Champion Buddy Hield and the fact that they were invited to the bubble, you would think that they’re a solid team capable of making the eighth seed. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. The Kings are 2-5 since entering the bubble. Simply put, they aren’t equipped with enough defensive firepower to challenge contending teams.

The only way LA loses this game is if they rest LeBron and AD, which I wouldn’t be surprised to see happen. This is the last game the Lakers have to get things together before they embark on their journey to the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

 

 

The game can be seen on Spectrum Sports Net with the EARLY tip-off scheduled for 10:30 AM Thursday.

 

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-Mike Dancy II – Franchise Sports Media

Twitter: MDancyII

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