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  1. FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

    Time to right the ship

    The Lakers opened 2026 with three straight wins, but spoiled the start with two consecutive losses against the Spurs and the Bucks. The latest one, in particular, left a sour taste. Late-game breakdowns down the stretch resulted in the first clutch loss of the season, and it was also one of Luka Dončić’s worst games of the year. Dončić’s latest nemesis, Dennis Schröder—who was just suspended following a post-game altercation after their last matchup—won’t play tonight. Still, motivation shouldn’t be an issue, as Dončić and the Lakers will be eager to avoid a three-game losing streak.

    The Kings, who hold the third-worst record and the second-worst point differential in the league, will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but with a bit of momentum after snapping a seven-game losing streak by beating the Houston Rockets last night.

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    Lakers (23-13) @ Kings (9-30) game facts
    Rest: LAL on 2 days of rest; SAC on 0 days of rest

    Ranking: LAL 16th in Point Diff (-0.4), SAC 29th in Point Diff (-11.0)

    LAL vs SAC 2025-26 record: 2-0 (see Game 3 observations here, see Game 30 observations here)

    LAL injuries: Austin Reaves (OUT), Adou Thiero (OUT)

    SAC injuries: Domantas Sabonis (OUT), Keegan Murray (OUT), Dennis Schröder (OUT)

    LAL projected starting five: Luka Dončić (G), Marcus Smart (G), Jake LaRavia (F), LeBron James (F), Deandre Ayton (C)

    LAL key reserves: Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Maxi Kleber, Nick Smith Jr., Dalton Knecht

    SAC projected starting five: Zach LaVine (G), Russell Westbrook (G), DeMar DeRozan (F), Precious Achiuwa (F), Maxime Raynaud (C)

    SAC key reserves: Malik Monk, Nique Clifford, Dylan Cardwell, Keon Ellis, Drew Eubanks

    SAC rotation:

    Key storyline: how will Luka and the Lakers respond, and how will the new rotation look?
    With all due respect to the Kings, this game is all about the Lakers. Sacramento is one of the worst teams in the NBA and is playing on the second night of a back-to-back, while the Lakers will have plenty to prove. The Lakers have already beaten the Kings twice this season, with the most recent win coming as a high-effort response to the disappointment on Christmas. Now, they need to repeat that exercise.

    The other thing to look for is the return of Rui Hachimura and its impact on the Lakers’ rotation. JJ Redick said the Japanese forward will be on a minutes restriction and will likely come off the bench. Rui in a sixth-man role is what most fans and analysts wanted from the start of the season, and now we’ll get to see how that unfolds, at least for a couple of games.

    Regardless of his limitations as a defender, Hachimura’s return will bring much-needed shooting and spacing and will likely reduce the minutes of Jarred Vanderbilt, whose playing time climbed into the twenties with both Hachimura and Reaves out.

    During the weekend, I shared some data on X showing how Vanderbilt’s shooting limitations have impacted the Lakers’ offense, and Redick essentially confirmed that, acknowledging that finding the right balance between offense and defense has been one of the biggest challenges of the season so far.

    Lakers on offense | Kings on defense

    Zach LaVine, who missed the last matchup against the Lakers, is back in the starting five. That should help the Kings’ offense, but it could make the task of defending Luka Dončić and LeBron James even more difficult. LaVine replaces Keon Ellis, who was the primary defender on Dončić in the last game. I assume Russell Westbrook will get that assignment tonight, but he can be overeager and overaggressive, which could lead to fouls and early penalty situations.

    Even with Keon Ellis on Dončić, the Kings mostly opted to blitz or show two defenders on most of Dončić’s ball screens. The goal was to protect their rookie big-man duo of Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell from being exposed, whether in isolation matchups against Luka or in 2-on-2 situations playing drop coverage. Nique Clifford is the third rookie getting extended minutes with the Kings’ recent shift toward youth, which means Dončić and James should have both a size and experience advantage when manipulating matchups. The Kings are not an aggressive on-ball pressure team, something the Lakers have struggled against at times this season. That should make getting into their actions early—and running a more organized offense, as they did in the previous matchup—a clear priority.

    Without Sabonis, the Kings are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, ranking second-worst on the season. This is another area the Lakers should exploit. LA is not a dominant offensive rebounding team, but Deandre Ayton has shown he can do damage on the glass when focused, and Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt have both had the green light to crash the glass during the recent stretch of games.

    Kings on offense | Lakers on defense

    Sacramento is not a good offensive team, and without Sabonis they lack any real paint presence to balance their guard-heavy attack featuring LaVine, DeRozan, Westbrook, and Monk. This is the game for the Lakers to impose their physicality, set the tone early, and not let the Kings get loose or too confident, because—as the Rockets learned yesterday—the Kings’ guards possess enough shot-making to win a close game on a good night. Containing the drives and DeRozan isolations, which presented the Lakers with some problems in the previous game, will be the biggest challenge for the Lakers.

    Sacramento has the most analytics-unfriendly shot profile in the NBA. They rank first in mid-range frequency, last in three-point frequency, and third-worst in rim frequency. Nevertheless, contesting DeMar DeRozan’s and others’ mid-range shots will still be a must.

    Final thoughts
    The Lakers are in the midst of a very condensed, road-heavy January schedule. They’ll also play the Hawks tomorrow on the second night of a back-to-back, a game LeBron James could sit out. That makes taking care of business against bottom-feeders like the Kings a must if the Lakers don’t want to lose ground in a tight Western Conference race near the top.

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