The Lakers, definitely without Anthony Davis and possibly without Austin Reaves and Russell Westbrook, face a Sacramento squad Wednesday that might be without star center Domantas Sabonis and veteran forward Harrison Barnes. So maybe the Lakers catch a break, maybe they don’t, but either way the game represents the changing nature of the Western Conference, where upstarts like Sacramento, New Orleans and Utah are making unexpected noise early.
So what should Lakers fans make of the newly competent Kings? Is this a group with staying power? Assuming they have a full lineup, how will they attack the Davis-less Lakers?
Joining us to break it all down is Matt George, host of Locked On Kings.
We start with the team. What accounts for the turnaround? There are a few factors, but it chief among them is the play of Sabonis, who is the focal point on both ends and has been posting cartoonish numbers, particularly over the last month. Mike Brown, he of former Lakers head coach fame, has had an enormously positive impact as well. Not only by establishing a consistent identity on both sides of the ball, but instituting a larger culture change, bolstered by GM Monte McNair. For his part, George thinks this run of good play is sustainable, built on a legitimate foundation.
Which means the Kings are likely to be buyers, on one level or another, heading into the new year. That’s one more team competing for stuff with the Lakers, one more team potentially driving up the price of a relatively few number of impactful players available. How does he think the market will play out? What would he do were he in LA’s situation? The man covers the Kings, so he knows what it means to view a team that has dug itself a big hole, and must figure out how to climb out.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with Guest Matt George!
SEGMENT 1: Why have the Kings been so competitive this season? Is it sustainable, and how will they attack the Davis-less Lakers?
SEGMENT 2: What has Mike Brown’s impact been on the Kings? Is he a different guy than he was in L.A.?
SEGMENT 3: Are the Kings buyers this year? What does that do to the larger market, and does George think the Lakers should be buyers?
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16 Comments
There's only one King… 👑 We're coming for you Queens in the standings, and no Monk or otherwise can save yall.
Without AD and no trades yet every team they face will be legit
Lakers aren’t chasing kings they chasing rockets
Spot on. As a king's season ticket holder, I can tell you the majority of us (ticket holders) never go to the Lakers Kings, or Warriors Kings games because we make triple (or more) our investments of our seats from ripping off Lakers and GSW fans.
That's why you don't see a lot of Kings fans and it looks like there's a lot more fans for the other teams. We'd rather be richer and watch it on TV at a sports bar. You're always going to see more GSW and Lakers jerseys for that reason.
I've been to Lakers/GSW vs Kings games and it's not fun at all. Those two teams definitely have the worst fan bases in the NBA and they are obnoxious and rude at the games compared to other teams fan bases. The fans throw things, they kick the back of the seats of King's fans on purpose, they will come scream in your ear etc.. They know they outnumber the king's fans and they try to purposely start fights (I've seen fights break out). It's not all of them but from my experience, it's been the majority. That's another main reason I don't want to go.
As for tickets, as soon as I list them when the season starts, they are the first games to get sold right away before any other. People jump on them and trust me, they're not cheap. Even if you have upper bowl seats, you're looking to pay over $100 per seat BEFORE taxes and fees at the very, very top. Consider yourself lucky if you can find anything cheaper than $100 during those games.
If you are a Warriors or Lakers fan, you definitely want to go to these games. It's definitely a great time and worth every penny if you're a huge fan. It literally feels like a Lakers or Warriors home game and the place to be.
Way way too much kings talk Andy and Bryan! Come on guys, this is still locked on lakers! Jesus man, the whole show was kings talk ! Yes they are way way improved!! But the whole damn show Andy and Bryan!!! Really!!
IF PLAY IN IS PLAYED TODAY, LAKERS IS OUT OF THE PLAY IN AGAINST THE KINGS. WHY, LAKERS MADE HUGE MISTAKE OF TRADING MALIK MONK AND LAKER LOVE NUNN FOR NOTHING AT ALL, NO AND NEGATIVE IMPACT IN THE LAKERS BENCH AT ALL, THATS THE LAKER MANAGEMENT LOUSY AND LOUSY AND LOUSY DECISION MAKING. ROB PELINKA IS ROBBING THE LAKERS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE PLAYOFF, ROB PELINKA FORGET ALL REALITY THAT LEBRON IS 38 YEARS OLD AND CANNOT LED THE LAKER TEAM TO THE PLAY IN, UNLESS LEBRON IS WILLING TO MAKE A PAY CUT OF HIS SALARY FOR THE SEASON IN ORDER TO GET A START LEVEL PLAYER TO HELP HIM FORCE A DO OR DIE PLAY IN THE PLAY IN. BUT LEBRON IS ALSO GREEDY LIKE WESBROK, THEY ARE GREEDY. UNLIKE DURANT WHO WAS ABLE TO JOIN THE WARRIORS AND MADE IT TO THE FINAL AND HAVE BEEN CHAMPION BECAUSE DURANT GAVE HIS PAY CUT IN ORDER TO MAKE TO THE NBA FINALS, WHILE LEBRON AND WESBROK AND DAVIS, PAID BY LAKERS ALMOST HALF A MILLION PER GAME ARE GREEDY AND GREEDY. GREEDY, THEY DONT ALLOW A PAY CUT BECAUSE OF TOO MUCH GREEDINESS, THEIR GAMES IS NOT COMMENSURATE WITH THE AMOUNT THEY RECEIVED FROM LAKER, IMAGINE LEBRON WESBROK, DAVIS YOU ARE PAID HALF A MILLION FOR YOU MISSING FREE THROWS, LOUSY PLAY, LAZY IN DEFENSE, LOOSE BALL FOUL, TURN OVER, THREWING THE BALL AFTER TURN OVER, MISING SHOT AFTER MISSING SHOTS, FREE THROWS AND FROM MID RANGE> SHAMELESS, THEY MUST BE ABLE OR WILLING TO MAKE A PAY CUT, TO ACCOMMODATE STAR LEVEL PLAYER HELP THEM GET THE PLAYOFF
NO BODY FROM LAKERS CAN STOP FOX, EVEN LEBRON, WE CHALLENGE LEBRON IF HE COULD BLOCK FOX, IF HE COULD STOP SABONIS, IF THEY COULD STOP MONK. NOW NO WAY, LAKERS IS ALREADY LOSS. 13-18 TOMORROW
At 25:37 mark of the video I’m out! Can’t take the rest of this crap Andy and Bryan !whole video was jock the kings, and clown and disrespect the lakers!
This Kings' dude is just throwing and lobbing shades at the Lakers left, right and centre and candidly we've got no choice at the moment but to catch them shades…but watch this space, fortunes will definitely change
What are you guys talking about? Seriously? Lakers without AD are chasing the Rockets for number 15 spot in the West.
And yet everyone talks about how old Bron is. The man just said there's nothing he'll want from them that he believes will help them. Nothing
Without AD, LeBron is basically back to playing with (carrying) the Cavs team that he started with 20 years ago. Yeah, Westbrook is also on the team; however, he basically has comparable (worse) statistics than Jeff McInnis from the Cavs:
+ Jeff McInnis: 6'4" , 12 ppg, 39% 3-pt, 7.5 assists, 1.9 TO, 2.6 rebounds
+ Russell West: 6'3", 14 ppg, 27% 3-pt, 7.5 assists, 3.6 TO, 6.2 rebounds
Yeah, OK, Westbrook scores 2 more points per game (inefficiently) and gets 3.6 more rebounds per game. He also gives the ball away 1.7 times more per game. The point is that the Lakers current roster, without AD, might actually even be WORSE than the Cavs teams that LeBron was carrying at the beginning of his career.
This isn't the type of "coming full circle" that LeBron deserves. For all of the Lakers fans who want to trade LeBron, they should get their wish and also provide LeBron with the type of "coming full circle" that he deserves – a return to a good Cavs team where he could win a championship or two (without having to carry the Cavs himself).
The Lakers front office group should be fired. It’s like every move has been a bad move.
Our team isn't chasing anything except the liquor they'll need to drown their sorrows.
Laker are now the poorest team in the nba now that Suns have been sold. It’s time for The Buss to sell the team. We’re a mom and pop store now.
Magic receive: unprotected 2027 1st 2023 2nd, Max Christy , Nunn, Beverly, Jones
Lakers receive: Bamba , Ross