After picking up their first win of the season in their home opener against the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers go back out on the road to take on another 1-1 Pacific Division team in the Sacramento Kings.
With how loaded the Western Conference is, these are the games the Lakers need to win if they want to end up with a good postseason seed, even if it is early in the season.
For LeBron James, Sunday marks 20 years to the day that he made his NBA debut in the same exact city. And even though he’s been doing it for two decades, he remains as great as ever as he led the Lakers to the comeback victory over the Suns, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists while attacking the basket at will in the fourth quarter.
Darvin Ham has James on a minutes restriction although there is no set number in mind, as evidenced by him playing 28 minutes in the season opener and then 35 minutes in the Suns game. The hope is that the Lakers won’t have to push James this early in the year, although that has been necessary to this point as he is a +29 in his minutes while the Lakers are a -36 when he has been on the bench.
Figuring out how to be successful in the non-James minutes will ultimately come down to the Lakers’ backcourt of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent as well as Anthony Davis. All three have been inconsistent so far this year, so Sunday night is a great time for them to get going against Sacramento.
The Kings have a very similar roster as last season so there should be no surprises for the Lakers. De’Aaron Fox is the head of the snake due to his speed and ability to get into the paint with ease. He is the league’s reigning Clutch Player of the Year so look for him to get going in the fourth quarter if the game is close.
Sacramento also has an All-Star big man in Domantas Sabonis who can beat you in the midrange and on the glass, so Davis and the rest of the Lakers will need to attack the glass, which has been an issue for them so far.
Sunday night marks the beginning of a back-to-back for the Lakers as they return home and host the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Los Angeles Lakers (1-1) vs. Sacramento Kings (1-1)
6:00 p.m. PT, October 26, 2023
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish
Projected Kings Starting Lineup:
PG: De’Aaron Fox
SG: Kevin Huerter
SF: Harrison Barnes
PF: Keegan Murray
C: Domantas Sabonis
Key Reserves: Malik Monk, JaVale McGee, Chris Duarte, Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov
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