Kings vs Lakers - 12/28
By: Kyle Mucerino
The Lakers got back on track on Sunday night with a 125–101 win at home against the Sacramento Kings. Nothing like having the lowly Kings come into town when a win is desperately needed. The 101 points allowed marked the second-lowest opponent total all season (they held the Bucks to 95 points on Nov. 15), and although it came against the 8–24 Kings, it is still encouraging for a Lakers team that ranks bottom-five in defensive rating on the season.
After a DeMar DeRozan jumper with 3:45 left in the half, it was 55–47 Lakers. Let’s look at their strong finish to the half en route to victory.
The Lakers come down and run a Luka/Maxi pick-and-roll, which ends with Maxi drawing free throws. He makes both to make it 57–49 with 3:26 left in the half.
The Kings then run a pick-and-roll with DeMar DeRozan—who is guarded by Marcus Smart—to facilitate a switch. DeRozan gets Maxi Kleber switched onto him and scores an isolation step-back jumper to make it 57–51 with 3:15 left. Another switch that looked like it could have been fought through, but the Lakers conceded, as they have all season.
At the other end, the Lakers go back to the Luka/Maxi pick-and-roll, which ends with Luka attacking the rim and scoring an and-one layup on a nice eurostep around Russell Westbrook to make it 60–51 with 3:00 left in the half.
The ensuing possession for the Kings featured a Russ/Precious Achiuwa pick-and-roll, with Russ guarded by Rui and Precious guarded by LeBron. LeBron is as engaged as ever on this possession, hedging hard on his side of the screen while Rui is on the other, giving Russ no clear avenue to make a play. It ends with Achiuwa abandoning the screen, and LeBron fading back with him while keeping an eye on Russ. Russ then tries to take Rui off the dribble in isolation, and Rui steals it on a crossover attempt. Rui gives it up to Luka running the floor in transition, who then throws it back to Rui in the opposite corner for a three that he misses. LeBron grabs the offensive rebound, which leads to a Jarred Vanderbilt airball from the corner.
Russ then grabs the rebound off the airball and storms down the court, only to turn the ball over on a bad pass that Luka steals.
The next couple of minutes could have been played with old-timey cartoon silly music sounding off in the background, as the teams traded ugly misses and turnovers until LeBron found Deandre Ayton on a lob off a Luka/LeBron pick-and-roll to make it 62–50 with 1:30 left.
The next Kings possession is the epitome of what the Lakers defense has been so far this season. Russ, guarded by Luka, initiates a pick-and-roll with Maxime Raynaud, who is guarded by Deandre Ayton. Luka gets pinned behind Raynaud, who then receives a pocket pass in the lane from Russ and gets an easy layup to make it 62–53 with 1:18 left.
The Lakers then go to another Luka/LeBron pick-and-roll, in which Luka takes a phantom screen from LeBron, gets a quick switch by the Kings and hits a step-back three to make it 65–53 with 1:03 left.
Russ then pushes the ball quickly down the court, fakes as if he is going to use a pick, and blows by Luka but misses the layup. Luka grabs the rebound and falls out of bounds. After review, it becomes Lakers ball following the determination that there was a foul on the rebound. Luka goes 1-of-2 from the line to make it 66–53 with 56 seconds remaining in the half.
DeMar DeRozan then brings the ball up the court guarded by Jarred Vanderbilt and initiates a pick-and-roll with Dylan Cardwell–guarded by Deandre Ayton. Vanderbilt does a great job fighting through the screen, refusing to concede a switch. Ayton also does a great job getting big and hedging DeRozan, making any pocket pass or alley-oop very difficult. The ball gets swung back up top to Keon Ellis. He tries to make a quick move on Luka in isolation, and Vanderbilt takes a few steps over from his spot on the wing guarding DeRozan, forcing Ellis to give it back to DeRozan. Vanderbilt jumps back to DeRozan, who gets Luka on a switch after a screen from Ellis. Luka hard-hedges on DeRozan, who spins back the other way and is met by Vanderbilt, who quick-shows, forces a pass, gets a deflection, and steals the ball. He leaves it for LeBron in transition, who finds a cutting Ayton, and he scores on a goaltending call. It’s 66–53 Lakers with 25 seconds left.
At this point, the Lakers are on an 11–2 run in the last 2:30 and counting.
The Kings come down and attack Luka once again. Keon Ellis attacks the paint, and Luka does a good job cutting him off and not allowing a shot or layup. Ellis kicks it out to Malik Monk on the right wing, who swings it back up top to DeRozan with about eight seconds left in the half. DeRozan begins to size up his defender with a couple dribbles before LeBron quickly doubles him, forcing a pass back to Monk. Luka jumps over to Monk, forcing him to swing it to Ellis in the corner, which forces Deandre Ayton to jump out onto him from the paint. Ayton forces a pump fake and sidestep dribble from Ellis, giving Luka enough time to jump back into the play. Together, they force a tough three-point attempt from Ellis, who airballs it, and the Lakers secure the rebound to end the half up 68–53.
There were signs of life on the defensive end from the Lakers over the final few minutes of the half, with the obvious caveat being that the Kings have the second-worst offensive rating in the league. Still, the effort level was there for the most part, and that accounts for about 90% of playing defense, as JJ Redick has alluded to throughout the season.
They will need another strong defensive effort on Tuesday night against a much more formidable opponent when the Pistons come to town. Detroit is ranked No. 2 in defensive rating on the season and No.8 on offense while holding serve as the No.1 team in the East at 24-8. A great test for a Lakers team going through a bit of a lull.