Here’s a look at the head to head starting line-up for tonights game:
Lakers – Kings
PG: Derek Fisher – Beno Udrih
SG: Kobe Bryant – Tyreke Evans
SF: Ron Artest – Omri Casspi
PF: Lamar Odom – Carl Landry
C: Pau Gasol – Demarcus Cousins
Wednesday night, the Lakers will play a back-to-back game against the hosting Sacramento Kings. The two teams met earlier in the pre-season in Las Vegas, where the Lakers held off the Kings, winning by three points. Tonight will be the second road game for Los Angeles in the regular season.
The Kings have won their last two games, making their record 3-1. They rallied late against the Cavaliers and stole a win by three points and Tyreke Evans overcame an upset stomach in their last game against the Raptors to lift the Kings to a win. Rookie Demarcus Cousins has been impressing fans early in the season with averages of 14 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Carl Landry, however, has been rusty with his game having nearly every statistic category down this season compared to years before.
The Lakers have started the regular season with a relatively quiet 4-0 record. All the attention is still down in South Beach, but the Lakers are stating who the defending champs are. Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, the bench logged in plenty of minutes and played extremely well. The “Bench Mob” scored a total of 50 points, shooting a near 46% from the field. If the Lakers shoot 51% + again like last night’s game, it is sure to be another blowout win.
The main key for the Lakers tonight is to control the paint area and stop all starters. The King’s bench depth is fairly weak. Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih should be the focus points for the Lakers defense. Evans is undersized against Kobe, but his quickness and ability to shoot the ball will be a problem. Udrih has shot well in the first four games averaging 49% from the field. If everyone shoots well, including the bench, and Pau/Odom dominate the paint while contesting shots, the Lakers will come out with a easy victory.
Lakers @. Kings
Arco Arena, Sacramento California
7:30 PST
TV: ESPN/ KCAL9
Radio: 710/1330 AM ESPN