The Sacramento Kings and LA Lakers are set to battle each other for the third time this season, with Sacramento currently holding a 2-0 record. Catch this game live on Sunday, January 8 at 11 AM.
Away: LA Lakers (18-21, 8-13 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Dennis Schroder
- SG: Patrick Beverley
- SF: LeBron James
- PF: Juan Toscano-Anderson
- C: Thomas Bryant
The Lakers are coming in fresh off an important 130-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, where LeBron James had 25 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists on 10 of 19 shooting. Dennis Schroder also chipped in 21 points, while Russell Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double off the bench with 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Kendrick Nunn also had a strong showing with 23 points off the pine, and they’ll need another good one from him if they want to beat the Sacramento Kings, who just seem to have the Lakers’ number so far this season.
One of the big X-Factors will be the ageless James, who may be required to put on another age-defying performance against a surprisingly resilient Kings team. In their first meeting this season, the Kings came back from 13 down to win, and then in the second game led by as much as 23 points. Considering that it’s the second day of a back-to-back, the amount of time James plays might depend on whether or not the Kings put together a couple of big runs in the second half.
Thomas Bryant will also need to be at his best because he’ll be matching up with Domantas Sabonis, who is a fringe All-Star candidate this year and is leading the league in triple-doubles. Sabonis has reeled off 15-straight double-doubles and has the size and vision to give any team fits.
The Lakers are 6-13-0 ATS as away underdogs this season.
Home: Sacramento Kings (20-17, 11-8 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: De’Aaron Fox
- SG: Kevin Huerter
- SF: Harrison Barnes
- PF: Keegan Murray
- C: Domantas Sabonis
The Sacramento Kings are living up to their ‘Kardiac Kings’ moniker this year, and their most recent loss against the Atlanta Hawks was the epitome of their style of play. They managed to take a four-point lead late in the game after trailing for the second half, and then inexplicably Domantas Sabonis missed a pair of free throws after the Kings made 25 in a row, and De’Aaron Fox turned the ball over with a chance to retake a lead late in the game.
The Kings, on their best day, can put together big scoring runs, and they’ve also come back from a 15-point second half deficit fives times so far this season. Their best bet against a tired Lakers team is to get ahead quickly, utilizing their advantages from the center and point guard positions and opening up the floor for shooters like Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray to score.
The Kings will benefit from an energized fan base in Sacramento, who are once again loud because of their winning record. However, they are only 11-8 at home and have lost to teams when they have been big favorites. However, there’s a special hate for the Lakers, and after losing the heartbreaker against the Hawks, you can expect Mike Brown to have his squad ready to redeem themselves in the eyes of their fans.
The Kings are 5-7-0 ATS as home favorites this season.
PREDICTION:
Spread: The Kings should cover -8.5.
Over/Under: The over 240.5 looks good.
