The Los Angeles Lakers fell 117-116 to the Sacramento Kings in their preseason finale at Crypto.com Arena on Friday night. Sacramento secured its first win of the preseason, improving to 1-3, while Los Angeles dropped to 1-5.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick highlighted the team’s passing as a key takeaway from the matchup. “The biggest thing from tonight was just our passing. 28 assists, 10 turnovers, nine live ball or dead ball turnovers, one shot clock violation. The reality is we should have had about 35 assists,” he said.
Redick noted that while some plays were overly complicated, the offense showed positive execution. “We had multiple possessions where everybody touched it. We created multiple advantages, got good shots, some of which we didn’t make, but I liked our offensive flow and execution for most of the game,” he added.
Defensively, the Lakers struggled early but improved in the second and third quarters. “Not a great defensive start, but there were some really good things in the second, third quarter. I challenged the guys to be into the basketball more,” Redick said.
Marcus Smart’s performance stood out, particularly in comparison to his first preseason game. Redick explained, “Just feel the comfort level, the rhythm, the confidence, all that stuff. He was shot ready and aggressive off the dribble, made a couple really nice drives, and defensively just being active and disruptive and physical.”
The Lakers’ starting five performed well overall, with three players reaching double figures and positive plus-minus numbers. Redick emphasized the importance of continuing this development into the regular season. “All in all in the plus, and three of them in double figures. Another game where I think we took a step in the right direction,” he said.
Redick also addressed the team’s alley-oop and lob coordination. “We got to figure out our lobs and then we had a couple Harlem Globe Trotter plays when the simple play was right there. Concentration plus control,” he explained.
Luka Doncic led Los Angeles with 31 points and nine assists, including six three-pointers. Rui Hachimura added 18 points, and Gabe Vincent contributed 14. Despite their efforts, turnovers and missed free throws proved costly against a Sacramento squad led by Dennis Schroder’s 25 points and Keon Ellis’ 20 off the bench.
