The Lakers and Kings have one thing in common this season – they both lost to the woeful 76ers. They could also be a team that DeMarcus Cousins played for. Trade rumors continue to swirl involving Sacramento’s enigmatic big man with Los Angeles a potential landing spot.
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SCHEDULING
The Lakers enjoyed their first three-game winning streak in a year by knocking off Boston, Philadelphia and Phoenix. After hosting Golden State Tuesday in a reality-check game, the Lakers play the first of a back-to-back set in Sacramento, where they were humbled by the Kings, 132-114, back on Oct. 30. They return to the Staples Center Friday to host the Oklahoma City in the first of a three-game homestand. Before we start heaping praise on the Lakers and the job coach Byron Scott is doing, keep in mind that the combined winning percentage of the three teams they just beat is .311. LA is the only Western Conference team with a single-digit win total and the Lakers winning percentage is just .229, so maybe there is hope.
INJURIES
Kobe Bryant will likely be dealing with shoulder problems the remainder of the season and his playing time in his farewell season will be managed. It’s the same shoulder he had surgery on last January to repair a torn rotator cuff. The soreness forced him out of games against Philadelphia and Phoenix, games which the Lakers won.
In his second game since returning from a dislocated right index finger that forced him to miss 12 games, Sacramento’s Willie Cauley-Stein suffered a laceration on his right middle finger which needed three stitches to repair following Monday’s game against the Thunder. He didn’t complicate the initial injury and is listed as day-to-day.
KEY MATCHUP
DeMarcus Cousins can be a headache. But he’s a headache that can put up 20 and 10 on a nightly basis, and for that kind of production the Kings can absorb a little pain. And let’s be honest, Sacramento would probably have a lot fewer wins without Boogie in the lineup. Cousins went off for 33 points and 19 rebounds in Sacramento’s win at Oklahoma City on Monday, his second straight 30-point game after collecting 32 in a win over Phoenix on Saturday. There’s no denying that the Kings are a much better team with Cousins in the lineup. They improved to 13-13 when he plays with back-to-back victories over Phoenix and Oklahoma City. In those 13 wins, Cousins averages 28.5 points with six of his nine 30-point games resulting in Sacramento victories. Without him in the lineup the Kings are just 1-7. With the name of the game being results, as in wins and losses, Sacramento is trying to keep its franchise player motivated.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
The Lakers showed a little fight winning three straight games for the first time in a year. Some of their young players also showed a lot of immaturity during the run. Julius Randle, the team’s top pick in 2014, was visibly upset after getting taken out in the fourth quarter of LA’s win over Phoenix after the Suns had a mini-run to slice into a huge deficit. Scott elected to put his starters back in and Randle didn’t take it well, prompting the coach to say Randle needed to “grow up.” Randle may have been pissed that his team allowed a big run, but judging by Scott’s postgame quotes, that wasn’t the case. And that’s the kind of stuff a team with eight wins doesn’t need. The Lakers are 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS in their last four road games and would like to improve on their first showing at Sleep Train Arena, when they were blasted 132-114 by the Kings in their second game of the season. The game might be closer, but the result will be the same.
Sacramento 112, Los Angeles 100
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings will take place Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Sleep Train Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
