After the firing of Mike Brown early Friday morning, interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach tonight’s home game against the Sacramento Kings. However, as reported by Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News, he has not spoken to the Lakers organization about his own status beyond tonight’s game.
Bernie Bickerstaff said Lakers’ front office hasn’t told him his status as interim coach beyond tonight’s game against Sacramento
— Mark Medina (@MedinaLakersNBA) November 11, 2012
Despite the commotion surrounding the head coaching vacancy, the Lakers are still feeling comfortable going into tonight’s matchup. Lakers reporter Mike Trudell spoke to assistant coach Darvin Ham about the key to a win after shootaround this morning.
“Just play good principle defense and good principle offense….try not to make it a rat race of a game… We feel comfortable going into tonight. We like our chances.”
It’s no secret that the Sacramento Kings have thrived in an area the Lakers are still struggling in: a deep bench. Marcus Thornton, Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes, Francisco Garcia, and Jimmer Fredette, to name a few, and as Ham stresses, it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“They have a luxury of a couple of starter worthy players that they bring off their bench.”
Tonight, the Lakers are looking to start their first two game winning streak since last April, against a team they struggled against in the preseason. Transition, effective pick-n-roll, and offensive rebounding were a few areas the Lakers struggled in defending.
The Kings have won three of their past five matchups with the purple and gold. Tip-off is set for 6:30, PST.
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In case you missed it: Video highlights from the Lakers last win against the Golden State Warriors
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