National Basketball Association

Sacramento Kings: Game 10 Preview vs Los Angeles Lakers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:58 p.m. ET

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Mar 15, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during an NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. The Kings defeated the Lakers 106-98. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings host the Los Angeles Lakers on November 10, 2016. This article examines everything Kings fans need to know about tonight’s game.

The Sacramento Kings and the Golden 1 Center play host to the Los Angeles Lakers for tonight’s contest. The Kings enter the game on a two-game winning streak after dispatching the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night 102-94. Below is a highlight video from that game in case you missed any of the action.

Without further ado, let us dive deep into the important information to know about tonight’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oct 13, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Anthony Tolliver (43) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) during the third quarter at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries

Sacramento enters tonight’s contest somewhere between relatively and fully healthy. Anthony Tolliver was listed as questionable with a right knee contusion last game. He was subsequently active, but then never saw the court. I am not certain if that had to do with his health or if Coach Joerger decided to play other players instead of Tolliver on Tuesday. Either way, the Kings remain relatively healthy for tonight’s contest.

Nov 8, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1), forward Julius Randle (30) and guard Nick Young (0) go for a rebound in the second half of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center. Mavericks won 109-97. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers’ Scouting Report

The Los Angeles Lakers headed in a very different direction this offseason. For the first time in two decades, the Lakers would not have Kobe Bryant suiting up in purple and gold for a new season. The Lakers brought in Brandon Ingram with the 2nd overall pick in the draft and signed veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov in free agency.

They, also, brought in a new head coach in former player Luke Walton. Walton is coming off a great run as Golden State’s assistant. He brings a fresh face and a new faster pace more consistent offense to Los Angeles. He is a young and inexperienced head coach, so it will be interesting to see how he leads this team throughout the long NBA season.

The Lakers feature an interesting young core. They have recent lottery picks Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, and Julius Randle as the building blocks. Also on the roster are intriguing young and talented players in Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. (out for tonight’s game with a concussion), and Ivica Zubac. The Lakers are trying to foster this young core into their next great team, but only time will tell if they make that dream a reality.

Los Angeles enters tonight’s game with a record of four wins and four losses on the season. They were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday 109-97 after winning three straight games. Below is a highlight video from that game to give you a glimpse at this Lakers squad.

There you have it, a brief scouting report on tonight’s opponent the Los Angeles Lakers. Let us now move ahead to what I am watching in tonight’s game.

Nov 8, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) argues a call with official Pat Fraher (26) during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

What to Watch for?

Point Guard Rotation

Darren Collison returned from his eight-game suspension on Tuesday. He played 28 minutes and Ty Lawson started and played 21 minutes. Take a look at Ty Lawson’s game log for this season found here. He is just not producing any stats except assists. I expect the Kings to continue to ramp up the minutes for Collison, but do not be surprised if Lawson drops out of the rotation completely at some point if he does not start producing more in the near future.

If you care to read more about who I think is going get the minutes and production in tonight’s contest for the Sacramento Kings, please check out my predicting the box score column found here. It is filled with some great nuggets about the Lakers defense and how the Kings should and could take advantage. Thank you.

Who’s Getting Minutes at the Three and Four?

Coach Joerger has been inconsistent in who is getting the minutes at these two positions. Luckily, the Kings have a plethora of options to choose from, but it would be nice to see Coach Joerger sure things up a little bit. I can never figure out if Willie Cauley-Stein or Omri Casspi is going to get off the bench in a given contest. The coach will even sprinkle in some Anthony Tolliver on certain occasions to throw me further off his scent.

I have been monitoring the minutes and players on a game by game basis to see if it is match-up driven, but even that has not worked out. I have figured out that Cauley-Stein pretty much only plays when the opponent is playing two traditional big men, but I cannot figure out the Casspi situation. Tonight will be yet another data point against a Lakers team that will start with two traditional big men, but go small in their forthcoming units playing Deng and Ingram at the nominal four. Something I am keeping an eye for certain in tonight’s contest.

DeMarcus Cousins Owns LA

If you checked out my predicting the box score column earlier, you already know I projected a big game for Boogie. I do think the Lakers have anyone who can match-up on Cousins. It is worth mentioning, Cousins destroyed the Lakers last season. In four games, he averaged 27.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.0 blocks on 50.8% from the field and 83.3% from the free throw line. Expect another big DeMarcus Cousins game tonight, the only question is how big it will be.

Nov 3, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts after a foul call in the second half against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Orlando Magic won 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

Summary

There you have it, my game preview for November 10, 2016’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. You got a brief look back at Tuesday’s game, the injury report for tonight, a brief scouting report on the opponent, and what I am watching for in tonight’s game.

This should be a fun and exciting game. The Lakers are a fast paced and high energy team that is a joy to watch. The Kings are favored in tonight’s contest by five points and the over/under is a relatively high 209 points. It should be a fun back and forth game that the Kings should win. They need to take care of the ball and capitalize on the Lakers’ mistakes if they want to come away with a third straight victory, but that is definitely possible tonight.

Tonight’s game is nationally televised on TNT. If you cannot make it out to the Golden 1 Center, you can enjoy the game from your couch. It should be a big audience for the Kings, so let us hope that they perform on that stage.

Check back to A Royal Pain for the game recap and everything you need to know about the Sacramento Kings this season. Thank you for reading.