Los Angeles Lakers: What to watch for against Sacramento Kings

With the third preseason game here, this is what to watch for as the Los Angeles Lakers face the Sacramento Kings.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back in action playing a team not named the Denver Nuggets. After dropping both games in three nights, the Lakers get a new opponent in the Sacramento Kings.

They get to shine their new lottery pick in Marvin Bagley III. Can’t say too much on who they will play because the Kings have a ton of injuries. This is a chance for Luke Walton to try out numerous options in his positionless basketball scheme the Lakers are trying to implement. There will be numerous changes due to certain players not in the lineup tonight. More on that later. Let’s get to the preview shall we?

How long will LeBron James play?

For the first couple of games against the Denver Nuggets, the only reason that I even discussed it was because every Lakers fan will ask. Also I’m getting in the habit of placing sports betting in the equation. Vegas will probably even weigh in on his minutes. So Lakers fans, here we go…

I think the Los Angeles Lakers have put together a routine for LeBron James and his minutes throughout the preseason. The magic number has been around 15 minutes for the first two games. I’ve been saying that if LeBron James more than 20 minutes, somebody needs to be fired. Tonight Lakers fans, things might be different. Based on Lonzo Ball not playing tonight…

…and with Rajon Rondo not playing tonight…

It will be interesting to see how the Lakers use LeBron James in spots throughout the game. Brandon Ingram will run the point (more on him later) and Lance Stephenson will play backup. But if the offense is not flowing very well, look for James to initiate the offense.

However, LeBron James needs to be healthy. No sprained ankles, no hamstring pulls.

Give him enough floor time to let the paying fans get a chance to see this…

…and this

Then sit his behind down! I’ll say it again…one ankle turn or hamstring pull and the Lakers are one step to the lottery. They need James healthy for October…That’s it, end of story. Moving on.

2. Who’s playing the four and five on the back line?

I’ll say it again…positionless basketball is nice to talk about, but the NBA is about matchups. The way things are going right now, I am on the record now saying that the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble. Defensively, the Lakers cannot stop a soul down low when JaVale McGee sits down and they struggle even when he is on the floor.

Nikola Jokic was killing JaVale McGee down low in the first preseason game. It was McGee that showed gamesmanship running the floor and getting Jokic tired. In the second game, you could see that Jokic had figured out McGee a little bit and made adjustments. He scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting. It was easy folks…

…very easy!

In both games, the Lakers bench allowed players that had no business making monster impacts destroy them on the floor. In the first game, it was Juan Hernangomez going off for 19 points on the strength of five threes.

Then in the second game…it was Mason Plumlee…umm listen to the sound of Reggie Miller when you press play…

Rebounding is the number one issue here. There were times that the Lakers back line was being muscled. Plus, as you see in the Plumlee video, the Lakers need to figure out how to play the pick and roll on the back line. That happened at least six times. This isn’t continuity folks…this is effort.

3. Will the backcourt score?

This will be very interesting considering Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball will not be playing. Now the spotlight will definitely be on the two guard spot featuring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Hart.

Let’s be clear here, Caldwell-Pope has been terrible in the first two games. If this continues, KCP might find his way out of the rotation. Josh Hart played extremely well in the second preseason game, scoring 14 points on an effective 6-13 shooting. If Hart just relaxes and trusts his jumper, his range will easily extend to the three point line.

I noticed on his three-point shots that he is too stiff at times when he lets it go. That’s a sign of thinking too much. When you think…you aim your shot. Josh Hart will be one of the shooters LeBron James needs on offense. An focus of need a lot of media says the Lakers lack. Hart just needs to relax and shoot when open.

The Lakers looked better on the offensive end in the second preseason game because there were contributions from the backcourt. Rondo knocked down three shots from the land of the extra point scoring 11 points. He took three shots in the first preseason game period. Lance Stephenson  (up until the last seven seconds) pushed the tempo and looked to score. This gave the Nuggets trouble.

This is an extremely important area of emphasis. Eventually, teams are going to pack it in the paint and demand Rondo (and eventually Ball) to consistently hit the jumper during the season. That’s the NBA folks. Whatever this positionless basketball the Lakers are selling will not work if everyone is not contributing on the offensive end. Good teams will isolate these guys and take advantage if they don’t look at the basket. The backcourt has to look for their offense and not look to LeBron James for everything.

4. Can Brandon Ingram play the point? 

Time to show and prove Brandon! Ingram got in foul trouble and never got in any rhythm. Defensively, the Nuggets saw his frame and beat him up down low. He got a chance to run the point in game two. We’ll see if he can do it for real in extended minutes.

This point bears repeating. The Lakers had better find a way to get some synergy between LeBron James and Brandon Ingram. These are the best two players on the team…period. Now it’s time to develop the chemistry between these two. The pairing can cover up a lot of flaws of the roster until Luke Walton figures it out. Both players need to spend a lot of time on the floor together. This has not happened the last couple of games. They need to start tonight as an emphasis.

Look for a post game report after the game. Leave comments below. Lake Show Life is about you, the Los Angeles Lakers fans. Let’s enjoy the journey together this season.