The Kings look to avenge one of the season's most frustrating losses today as they face the Lakers for the second time this month, having lost the first match in L.A., 98-95. DeMarcus Cousins was not available that day so hopefully that will even the odds. Sacramento is in the midst of a season-long five game losing streak that they definitely want to end. Today's action tips off at 3:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.
3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR
1. The biggest difference between playing the Lakers now and a couple weeks ago is that DeMarcus Cousins is back. The Lakers are a terrible defensive team, and have nobody that can really handled Cousins down low. Cousins was far from 100% in his return to action on Thursday and he still managed to score 27 points, grab 11 rebounds and dish out 5 assists. Cousins should be a wrecking ball among the likes of Ed Davis, Jordan Hill and Robert Sacre.
2. The Lakers are a pretty good offensive rebounding team and that was one area they really hurt the Kings at last time they played. Having DeMarcus Cousins back will help, but it's not just up to him; the whole team needs to be involved.
3. The Kings are getting back some key players today, as Omri Casspi (who has missed the last 6 games) and Reggie Evans are both listed as probable. Casspi in particularly could provided a big boost to our bench; He did not play in Sacramento's last matchup against the Lakers despite being healthy at the time. Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions is listed as questionable with a low back strain, meaning we'll probably see a healthy dose of Ray McCallum.
MATCHUP OF THE GAME
The Kings should have beat the Lakers the last time they played them, but it all fell apart when Ben McLemore got into foul trouble because that kept him out of the game and he had been doing a marvelous job on Kobe Bryant. Without McLemore in his grill, Kobe got on a roll and the Lakers gained the momentum. The Kings need Ben to play a lot to help keep Kobe in check, as well as making him pay on the other end of the court. There was a time when Kobe was one of the most athletic players in the NBA, but that's no longer the case.
PREGAME LIMERICK
Once upon a time, these two teams traded blows
Kobe Bryant almost broke Bibby's nose.
Fans will say,
BEAT LA!
because a loss would be among the season lows.
PREDICTION
Kings 114, Lakers 99 aka FREE TACOS