3 Takeaways From Kings' Crushing Loss vs. Lakers

Physicality Without Fouling

Doug Christie has the Kings playing an extremely physical brand of basketball defensively, and while that’s a good thing in theory, it can have consequences.

The Lakers found ways to take advantage of what was, at times, an over-aggressive Kings’ defense, and both Keon Ellis and Domantas Sabonis had their minutes limited with four fouls each by the third quarter. The team cleaned it up a little bit in the fourth, but that seemed to coincide with Reaves going nuclear from deep and opening the game up for the Lakers on the way to his career high.

Los Angeles didn’t shoot well from deep at all, but they more than made up for that by getting to the line whenever they felt like it. The Kings need to find the balance between aggressive and over-aggressive defense; however, I’m sure Christie will take the good with the bad for now.

Reaves would end up with 20 free throws on his own, and the Lakers had 46 total. In a seven-point game, the Lakers shot 28 more free throws than the Kings, and I don’t think the officiating can be blamed tonight. 

Sabonis Hasn’t Looked Comfortable 

After injuring his hamstring and missing the first game of the season, Domantas Sabonis suited up for his second game of the season. Against the Jazz, Sabonis was far from himself despite still coming up with a double-double. On Sunday, Sabonis got into early foul trouble and looked like he was out of rhythm the rest of the game.

Sabonis struggled with Deandre Ayton’s wingspan and couldn’t make his usual impact in the paint. In the past, a lot of Sabonis’ foul trouble came from guards allowing their man to get free runs at him, but Sunday night, that wasn’t so much the case. Ayton is just a tough matchup for Domas with his ability to score in the key without challenging him at the rim.

Some of his struggles might be from the hamstring injury, but it’s clear Sabonis will always have some limitations defensively. He will always do his job on the boards and wound up putting up another double-double; however, the Kings will need a lot more from him this season. Sabonis would end with 10 points, 14 boards, and five fouls. 

The Need For Size

Sacramento was forced to play with four guards the majority of the game, with Keegan Murray still injured and less-than-stellar play from Drew Eubanks, Isaac Jones, and Dario Saric in limited minutes. To his credit, Dylan Cardwell provided a spark again, but he isn’t a great option in a double big lineup with Sabonis.

The trio of Saric, Eubanks, and Jones only played nine minutes combined, which signals that Christie doesn’t have nearly enough confidence in any of them and would rather go small. Westbrook has held his own playing forward so far, but relying on that long-term isn’t something the Kings should be looking to do.

Even when the team is firing on all cylinders, opponents will be able to stay in the game by exploiting mismatches, getting to the line, and/or getting second-chance opportunities. Sabonis deserves credit for helping the Kings win the offensive rebounding battle, but that’s only part of the equation. Teams will have to be interested in what Sacramento has to offer, but I don’t have confidence that the Kings will be able to compete without real options on the wing and at the four. 

The Kings now move on to another huge test, as they play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.