The Lakers take on the Sacramento Kings in what is set to be a pivotal matchup as we head into the final stretch of the season. They sit in 9th place in the West heading into tonight, half a game back of the Dallas Mavericks and 1.5 games back of the Kings. A win tonight holds huge value for the LA in terms of the playoff picture. The Lakers remain somewhat short-handed due to injuries, with LeBron James listed as questionable and Anthony Davis and Cam Reddish as probable, while Colin Castleton, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Christian Wood are all out.
Fox Matchup
Kings guard De’Aaron Fox is a really tough matchup for the Lakers. With no Gabe Vincent, who will Darvin Ham opt to use to try and slow him down? Could we see potential minutes for Max Christie, who is a very promising defender at the guard position? Most likely, Cam Reddish will be given the task of trying to guard Fox for the most part. Whoever the personnel, the Lakers have to find a way to not let Fox get going. Winning this game and all starts with slowing down Sacramento’s star guard.
AD vs Sabonis
Another key factor tonight will be the battle of the bigs – Anthony Davis against skilled big Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis is a tricky cover defensively due to his passing and his success in pick and rolls, as well as has his craftiness around the rim . Offensively, however, Anthony Davis needs to stamp his authority on the game and dominate. Davis is just too skilled and too powerful at the rim for Sabonis to guard.
The Lakers have to get AD going early with good looks around the rim as that will be their recipe for success tonight. Tip off is 7:30 PST as the Lakers look to pick up a big win against Sacramento, and close the gap on the teams above them in the playoff seeding.
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