Kings vs. Lakers Preview – By the Numbers
The Kings and their high-powered offense travel down to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers before coming home for a 4-game homestand. The Kings lost their chance to sweep the Lakers, but they can claim the tie breaker tonight, which could end up being extremely important at season’s end. Let’s see what they can do to get the job done.
The lingering conversation from the last matchup with the Lakers is the Points in the Paint, when the Kings allowed 70 inside points. Sacramento did a much better job limiting the Lakers in the first two games, holding them to 50 and 58 Points in the Paint. In what doesn’t seem like a coincidence, the Kings won the first two when they limited the inside points, and lost the third when the Lakers went off inside.
The difference in the Lakers’ Points in the Paint for wins and losses doesn’t just stop with the Kings matchups. In their wins, LA scores 61.4 Points in the Paint. In losses, that drops down to 53.6. For reference, the Kings score 51.9 in wins, and 51.1 in losses. As simple as it seems, the key to shutting down this Lakers team seems to be stopping them from gorging at the rim. It will be a good test to see if the Kings can make adjustments, have a better game plan for Thomas Bryant, and show some defensive improvement.
If they can’t, they’ll have to rely on their scoring again. The Kings are making legitimate history this season.
Not only have the Kings been on an offensive surge lately, but they’ve been doing it all season. Sticking with the 130 numbers, Sacramento has hit the 130 mark 10 times this season. The next closest teams are the Grizzlies and Lakers, who have both done it 8 times. Reminder that the Kings have also played the fewest number of games in the NBA. In those 10 games, the Kings are 9-1, with the only loss coming against…the Lakers.
What makes the Kings offense so deadly is that they can score from everywhere on the court and anyone on the team can get going.
Opponents have to pick their poison. Are they going to focus on stopping Fox and Sabonis inside game? Will they focus on sticking with the shooters that are scattered all over the court? Or will they cover the dunker spot where Metu has been feasting on dump off passes all season long?
Monte McNair has done an incredible job setting up this roster to be a cohesive masterpiece, and Mike Brown has led it to fruition. Now we just get to sit back and enjoy.
