What three things can we take away from Wednesday night’s Lakers loss to the Sacramento Kings?
The Los Angeles Lakers showed one of their most spirited efforts of the 2015-16 NBA season in their matchup with the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 7, much thanks to D’Angelo Russell, and many were hoping that it would be of the same when the two teams met up again on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, things played out a bit differently.
Though the Lakers kept things close in the first half thanks to a quality showing in the second quarter, it was the second half that predictably proved to be the downfall of Los Angeles. The Kings pulled away as they went +14 in the second half to ultimately secure a 112-93 victory over the Lakers.
There were plenty of things that we already knew that came to light. No one in the Lakers frontcourt is near capable of defending DeMarcus Cousins. Similarly, there’s no one with the athleticism to adequately contain an athlete like rookie Willie Cauley-Stein on the interior. Again, anyone who’s watched the Lakers this season could have foreseen that outcome.
However, there was much more than just the fact that the Lakers defense is insufficient and that this team is a disaster in second halves this season that came to light. It’s an ongoing learning process with this Lakers team and these are the three biggest things we learned from Wednesday night’s loss to the Kings.
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