The Los Angeles Lakers look to win their fourth straight game while remaining undefeated at home as they host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. L.A. is on the second night of back-to-back after handling the Memphis Grizzles on Tuesday, 134-107.
Thankfully, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were able to sit out the entire fourth quarter of that game, preserving them for this matchup. Davis played 27 minutes and James 23 minutes, which bodes well for them playing against a high-octane Kings offense.
Tuesday was a historic 3-point shooting game for the Lakers as they shot 22-for-35 (62.9%), tying the most 3s made in franchise history. Being ranked 29th in 3-point percentage, this was a drastic change and refreshing to see seemingly everyone make their open looks. This will be a hard performance to replicate, but it’ll be intriguing to see if this kind of 3-point shooting will carry over.
Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox made a return to the lineup on Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, dropping 28 points in his first game in a couple weeks after dealing with a sprained ankle. With the Lakers’ new starting lineup featuring a confident Cam Reddish, expect him to start out the game on the speedy guard.
Also worth mentioning is that Davis will have to be dominant against Domantas Sabonis, who isn’t much of a rim protector. When the two teams matched up on Oct. 29, Davis dropped 30 points and 16 rebounds and Sabonis ended up fouling out of that game, proving the mismatch.
Sacramento is an electric offense that can get hot at any moment, especially from distance. With Davis holding down the paint and six blocks on Tuesday, the Kings may be doing a majority of their damage from the 3-point line. The Lakers are going to have to keep track of their shooters Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter and former Laker Malik Monk, who can provide a scoring punch off the bench.
The Kings are 16th in offensive rating at 111.8 and 37.6% of their points come from 3 although they are ranked 26th in percentage at 33.6%. Regardless, the Lakers are going to have to make sure they’re contesting their shooters because once they get going, it can be hard to stop.
Fox has had great performances against L.A., dropping 37 points in their first matchup, so the Lakers can not let him get downhill and must make him a shooter. Sacramento is riding a three-game winning streak but are 1-3 on the road so far. If L.A. is locked in from the beginning, like against the Grizzlies, they should have a great chance at making it four straight wins.
Los Angeles Lakers (6-5) vs. Sacramento Kings (5-4)
7:00 p.m. PT, November 15, 2023
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Cam Reddish
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, Max Christie
Projected Kings Starting Lineup:
PG: De’Aaron Fox
SG: Kevin Huerter
SF: Harrison Barnes
PF: Keegan Murray
C: Domantas Sabonis
Key Reserves: Malik Monk, Sasha Vezenkov, JaVale McGee, Chris Duarte
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