Lakers fall to Kings in first preseason game of the season.
In the first preseason game of the season, the Lakers started the game with lots of energy from their first and second units in the first half, but the score slowly got away from them in a second-half blowout, falling to the Sacramento Kings 105–75.
“Everything starts on the defensive end for us. I thought our guys competed. I thought they protected the rim. I thought they were great on the ball and set a really nice tone going into halftime,” head coach Darvin Ham said.
The Lakers starting lineup from 1-to-5 tonight consisted of:
Russell Westbrook (PG)
Kendrick Nunn (SG)
LeBron James (SF)
Anthony Davis (PF)
Damian Jones (C)
This lineup can change as they’ve repeated before that they are experimenting with their lineups, plugging players in and out to help them determine which lineup fits best around LeBron and Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis was the Lakers' leading scorer, showing early on what’s to come this season, contesting and disrupting everything around the rim, with some post-game dominance on his way to 11 points and 11 rebounds with a pair of threes on 50% (2-for-4) shooting from behind the arc.
“I was just trying to get that wrist back. That’s all it was. I never lost confidence in my shot.” AD said.
For the first time in his career (probably), LeBron James went 0-fer, with all four of his points coming from the foul line (4-for-5), going 0-for-7 total from the floor in 15 minutes of action.
“I’ve been 0-fer before. It’s just that I played more. In 15 minutes, it was over with. But that’s the last thing on my mind, as far as makes or misses.” LeBron said.
Thankfully preseason is helpful for starters like LeBron to shake off the rust from the long NBA off-season. Also, no, this isn't something to worry about.
Rookie Cole Swider was the Lakers' second leading scorer in the first preseason game of his career, knocking down his first three-point attempt to start the second half, finishing the night with 10 points on 50% (2-for-4) shooting from beyond the arc.
“It was amazing, it was a dream come true. Being in Crypto was amazing. My parents and my grandfather there was special too.” Swider said.
The Lakers will play their second preseason game in Vegas on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns at 7 PM.
