Records: Lakers 13-6 (4th in the West), Kings 4-12 (13th in the West)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 111.2 (1st in the NBA), Kings 99.7 (27th in the NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 103.1 (11th in the NBA), Kings 106.6 (23rd in the NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol Kings: Beno Udrih, Tyreke Evans, Donte Green, Jason Thompson, Samuel Dalembert
Injuries: Lakers (Andrew Bynum, Theo Ratliff); Kings (Francisco Garcia)
Lakers coming in: The cat is out of the bag, the Lakers are struggling and the entire league knows it. The Lakers are in a tumultuous position going into tonight’s game. Not only are they on their first four-game skid since the arrival of Pau Gasol, but they have been losing to losing teams. Three of the Lakers four games during this losing streak have come from teams who were .500 or worse going into the game against the Lakers. With a seven-game road trip on the horizon, righting the notional ship becomes important as they get another sub .500 team in the Staples center.
As the cliché suggests, doing the right things tonight may not be as easy as typing them up are. The Lakers have had obvious defensive problems all season, but what has happened to the Lakers’ offense. Yesterday, I highlighted the three-point shooting, or lack there of, from some of the role players; however, the whole offense has been relatively stagnant in the past two weeks. The Lakers haven’t scored more than 100 points since the pummeling they gave Golden State back on November 21. Both sides of the ball need much improvement to not only win tonight’s game, but to get back to championship form.
Kings coming in: As bad as things are in Southern California, things are a whole lot worse in the state capital. The Sacramento Kings have been losers in 11 of their last 12 with no recent signs of improvement. Last season’s rookie of the year is experiencing a sophomore slump of sorts and has mounted recent frustration with the losses piling up while the responsibility of having the offense run through him. The frustration doesn’t stop with ‘Reke, though. There have been recent reports that head coach Paul Westphal and rookie Demarcus Cousins had a falling out in which Westphal was forced to “discipline” Cousins by kicking him out of a practice. NBA Fanhouse senior writer Sam Amick reported that “[Westphal and Cousins] always fight,” the source said, “They can’t get along.” It’s clear that the pressures of a long NBA season are mounting on this young team, coming from backgrounds where they’re not used to losing.
Kings blogs: Zach Harper and James Ham do a fantastic job at Cowbell Kingdom, Tom Ziller is equally fantastic at SacTown Royalty.
Keys to game: For the Lakers, the keys to tonight’s game, first and foremost, are to play within the offense. The best way to get the offense flowing again is to be patient, and run the offense against an inferior, also struggling team. The Kings, with all of the things going on in that organization, are an easily frustrated team. Some good ball movement and a few easy buckets early in the game not only will help the Lakers offense get into a groove, but it will take the collective minds of the Kings out of the game early. Ball movement, however, is going to have to begin and end with Kobe, who recorded a triple-double in the Lakers last meeting against the Kings. Before the Rockets’ game, Darius touched on this:
A lot has been said lately about Kobe’s volume shooting and whether or not his hyper aggressive approach in recent games has been the downfall of the Lakers execution. Essentially, Kobe’s been shooting a lot of late and folks wonder if that’s why the offense is being bogged down and if he just needs to pass more for everything to look better on that side of the ball. Really, there’s no easy answer here as it’s a bit of a chicken vs. the egg argument. Is Kobe taking more shots because he’s taking it upon himself to do more or is he doing more because the offense, in general, is not as effective and he’s the guy that’s now needed to pick up the slack?
It’s a tough conundrum considering the fact that Kobe is such a great player and, well, the offense as is hasn’t been great. But the reason of that lack of greatness could possibly be Bryant’s recent propensity of putting up a lot of shots.
I don’t only think that tonight’s game will be won, but I think that the Lakers need to win big. This is a team that the Lakers have to jump on early, and ride the momentum throughout. The starting five have been playing way too many minutes as of late. We haven’t seen the taco unit end a game since the afore mentioned game against the Warriors. The Kings aren’t big, so to jump out early, Gasol and LO have to get touches early and often. For the reserves, it’s as simple as knocking down shots. The shots that Barnes, Blake and Brown haven’t been any different in recent games than they were at the beginning of the season. A few knocked down shots from those guys will go a long way for the overall efficiency of the Lakers offense.
Defensively, if the Lakers can keep the Kings perimeter guys from getting going, they essentially stop the Kings from getting going. Evans and, maybe more importantly, Udrih off of the bench, have the capability to put up big numbers and slice up defenses. Also, the Lakers have to keep the Kings off of the offensive glass, something that they’ve been giving up to everyone as of late. Defensive possessions don’t end until the defensive rebound has been controlled, and the Lakers have given up too many second chance points in the past few games.
Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time out west on FSWest. Also listen on ESPN Radio 710am.
Darius Soriano says
Update: There is now talk that Gasol may sit out this game due to his sore hamstring. Nothing definitive yet, but we will update this main post if he does in fact sit out the game.
Phil has said that if Pau doesn’t go Caracter will start in his place and that he could be forced into playing the majority of the game. Obviously this would change a lot of things, but until it’s reality, I won’t yet delve into it.
John Morris says
Good opportunity for the rookie. I just wish it wasn’t coming at a time when the Lakers are trying to end a 4-game skid. DC (Derrik Character) vs. DC (Demarcus Cousins) Round 2.
huge.mongous says
I think Phil’s decision to rest Vujacic until the post season coming home to roost – we need the MACHINE!!!
MannyP says
It would not surprise me if Pau rests tonight. I think Phil is PO’d a the front office b/c they refuse to get another back up center on a contract in light of the injuries to Bynum and Ratliff. I know this is pure speculation, but this is a great way of getting the FO to understand that we are scarily thin in the Center spot.
Anonymous says
It’ll be a great way to measure Derrik’s Character.
Sorry, but I had to …
lil' pau says
4, i agree with you and would appeal to the forces that run this site to allow for a little sasha trade speculation at some point. after all, he is our only trade-able asset (unless you think there’s a market out there for luke’s massive deal) and it seems reasonable that, if buss is willing to take on additional salary for next season (versus simply writing sasha’s $ off the books), he might be moved before the deadline. we need AB for the postseason, but do we really feel confident he’s going to last that long with so little relief behind him?
Darius Soriano says
#7 and #4. At some point we will talk trades. But, understand that there’s still the bigger picture payroll issues that come with next year, not to mention the labor talks to consider. I won’t get into every possible thing now, but just consider that 1). every player’s contract goes up next season and that will naturally inflate payroll and 2). Barnes and Brown are essentially on one year deals because they have player options on their contracts. So, if you want to keep them, that may also mean a salary bump. Some have already suggested giving Sasha’s $ to Shannon next year – will that be possible if you trade Sasha for someone whose contract goes into next year? I’m just saying that it’s never as easy as it seems to get everything you want and win every trade without long term consequence. So, when we really do talk trade, folks need to be smart about the big picture and not just about what makes sense for this season.
Kris says
Tyreke Evans is battling two sore ankles and a lingering case of plantar fasciitis, I wouldnt call it a slump. More like D Rose’s 2nd year when he was hurt the first quarter of the season. He will be fine once he gets better, and should have a great 1st half in this game. He normally does then comes out in the 2nd half stiff and starts to suck.
Igor Avidon says
Caracter got manhandled by Cousins in summer league play. Tough to see us scraping this one out, unless the team chugs Red Bull throughout the game and plays the basketball equivalent of Tony Montana’s last stand.
Anonymous says
Why is Sasha tradeable for a “big body”, useful or otherwise?
In other words, trade a useless “little body” for a useful “big body” ?
I mean, I seriously doubt teams are burning to get their hands on a spacey bench warmer, let alone trade a capable center/pf to obtain this.
The payroll, ect advantages would have to be mighty big for a rebuilding/going nowhere team.
For example, the trade for Pau isn’t looking so much like the “donation” that Kobe once called it. It was a terrific deal for the Lakers no doubt, but the Grizzlies saved, big time, on payroll and now have a more than decent center with the very same last name!
I don’t see Sash having an upside like Marc Gasol.
Darius Soriano says
#10. Igor,
I think manhandled is taking it a bit far. Caracter held his own for three quarters but couldn’t keep up in the 4th. And while the details are a bit fuzzy, I want to say that Caracter may have been tired due to having played heavy minutes over a few consecutive days.
This isn’t meant to take away anything from Cousins – a player I’ve been high on since the draft. But it’s only to point out that Caracter had a pretty good summer league and part of that was because of how he matched up with a guy that went high in the draft. Obviously Cousins is a better player and has a much higher ceiling, but Caracter isn’t completely outclassed by Cousins at this point.
Lakers8884 says
Anybody watching this The Association special on the Celtics on ESPN? I would have followed the Lakers again but I may be partial lol.
Very excited for the next two Lakers games being a kentucky wildcats fan, I want to see if Cousins has progressed any against a quality big (I highly doubt it), and of course the one and only John Wall coming up. I envy anyone going to the game tuesday because you will be amazed at the quickness he brings to the table.
Taylor says
8.)
Don’t want to go too far off on a tangent – but isn’t another consideration a hard cap? That would be a huge game changer for every team at or above the cap for next year. Sure, nothing is a reality yet, but the fact that it has been mentioned around the collective bargaining would definitely play into future deals. If we have to do reduction, we’d want it to be as minimal as possible, and taking on additional money/years isn’t a good way to go about it.
Darius Soriano says
#14. Oh sure, the results of the next collective bargaining agreement will influence so much in the upcoming trade market and FA negotiations for next summer. And I agree that taking on cash next year is a tricky proposition for any owner with the current climate of labor talks.
Darius Soriano says
Looks like Gasol is going to give it a go tonight. Here’s hoping he’s able to be active and effective tonight. I think we’ll know rather early if he’s primed to have a good game.
Tyler says
I think Lamar has finally learned to shoot layups in his old age. A couple of years ago it seemed that every layup was too strong off the backboard, but now he seems to make them all.
Andreas G. says
An underrated aspect with Lamar is his durability. He runs around like he was a 5’8 18-year old.
And whoever is injured for the Lakers, be Bynum (it’s been known to happen), Kobe or Pau – he always seems to pick up the slack. I’m not saying that he can replace Pau or Kobe scoring-wise, but he’ll be out there battling at least. Amazing how he gets better with each year too.
Darius Soriano says
#17 and #18. Indeed. Odom has been excellent again tonight. He’s all over the court on both ends and active in the paint protecting the rim and finishing when he’s got the ball.
Andreas G. says
I’m really eager to get Drew back by the way. Not only to rest Pau and all that, but also because I’m a real sucker for big man basketball.
There’s nothing more beautiful than well executed post-moves, and interior passing between the bigs. It’s like a well orchestrated ballet. Also, it happens to win championships.
R says
Odom’s a very nice dividend from the dark days of the Shaq trade, a gift that keeps on giving.
Glove says
Gasol is looking much better tonight and showing no affects of a sore hamstring
Lakers8884 says
The defense looks so much sharper tonight especially on closeouts, (also thanks to poor Kings shooting).
This Jazz Mavs game on ESPN is a great game too
Joe says
Hey anyone got a link?
Tyler says
Shannon scares me sometimes when he gets up that high. I don’t know how he doesn’t get hurt on some of those landings.
Andreas G. says
Glove: While I agree that Pau’s been good (+31 is a nice stat), I think he’s still been somewhat limited. It’s most noticeable in his rebounding, or rather lack there of. Doesn’t really have his normal lift.
That being said, he’s still good enough to tear the Kings apart of course=)
BTW: This is what’s nice with a little losing streak: Even a victory against a seriously weak team like the Kings feels terrific.
Lakers8884 says
25. When good teams are struggling there’s nothing like playing teams struggling with less talent. Just what the doctor ordered.
Darius, great call on Caracter guarding Cousins, he has definitely held his own. If only he could figure out he doesn’t have to foul every 3 minutes. But that’s why he’s a rookie, I’m just glad we have the guy.
Darius Soriano says
Joe,
Here you go:
http://atdhe.net/29829/watch-sacramento-kings-vs-los-angeles-lakers
Darius Soriano says
Not cause a stink Knickers, but did you catch the game or only boxscore watch? I only ask because so much more went into this win than Kobe’s shooting % or even his shot selection – though both were improved tonight.
Anonymous says
31) Also remember Amare is a front court player. Theoretically, he should shoot at a high percentage than Kobe. His shots are a lot closer to the rim.
Nothing like a good blowout to shake off the dust from a bad road trip.
T. Rogers says
I’m the anonymous one above.
Darius Soriano says
The game recap is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/12/04/lakerskings-what-losing-streak/