It is March 2, 2012 and the (21-14) Los Angeles Lakers are facing the (12-23) Sacramento Kings at the Staples Center. There were actually doubts about whether L.A. shooting guard Kobe Bryant would play against the Minnesota Timberwolves this past Wednesday but he donned a mask and then proceeded to drop 31-points on the opponent, leading the Lakers to victory. It is safe to assume that if a broken nose and concussion will not stop Bryant, neither will the Sacramento Kings… Bryant averages 31-points per game against them.
The Lakers trail the current season series (0-1) against the Kings after winning the last two year’s series (3-1 in 2010-2011, 4-0 in 2009-2010). They are 16-8 all-time against the Kings at the Staples Center and 7-3 in their last 10 home games. In the state capitol, the Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 games at Power Balance Pavilion. L.A. lost on December 26, 2011 to Sacramento (100-91) in the second game of the year.
The Kings are 3-7 in their last 10 games and a woeful 4-17 on the road. The Lakers have won seven of their last 10 to improve to 21-14 and fourth place in the Western Conference. L.A. is an impressive 15-2 at home. The team must realize that tonight’s match up is a classic ‘trap game’ and that now is not the time to look ahead to the much-hyped game against the Miami Heat on Sunday.
The Kings are essentially running a three-guard offense. They will look to speed up the pace against the Lakers and attempt to run them out of the building. Sacramento guards Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton – and forward DeMarcus Cousins – can all score, rebound and assist and there are several weapons on their bench that can as well.
Thornton leads the Kings in scoring with 18.3 points per game. Cousins has posted three straight double-doubles. The low post battle between Cousins and Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum will be fun to watch. Sacramento point guard Isaiah Thomas can help the Kings play an up-tempo style that can cause the Lakers problems.
L.A. must establish both Bynum & power forward Pau Gasol in the painted area and allow them to go to work. Both need to catch the ball in the post and make aggressive moves to the basket. The Lakers must have a strong defensive effort, good ball movement and do a solid job moving bodies to find a high-percentage shot going to the basket. Their bench contributed 30 points against the T-wolves which was good, but the reserves should be able to score 35+ points per game.
The Lakers have to stop the dribble penetration of the guards, do a solid job of defending the pick-and-roll play, get back in transition, control the tempo, control the boards and quickly rotate out to open shooters. They need to limit the Kings to one shot per possession.
Starters
Lakers: D. Fisher, K. Bryant, M. Barnes, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Kings: I. Thomas, T. Evans, M. Thornton, D. Cousins, J. Thompson
Tip-off: 7:30 PM PST
Television –
- Los Angeles: FS West (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz)
- Sacramento: Comcast Sportsnet (Grant Napear & Jerry Reynolds)
Radio –
- Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
- Sacramento: 1140 AM KHTK (Gary Gerould)
Injuries –
Lakers:
- Kobe Bryant (Nasal Fracture) Probable
- Steve Blake (Costochaondral Fracture) Probable
Kings:
None