Doug Christie Has Two Main Concerns From Kings' Preseason Loss to Lakers

The Sacramento Kings might've gotten an early taste of what their 2026-27 season will look like. In their preseason opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Kings lost 127-103, tying the largest margin of defeat in any preseason game so far this season.

Both teams were missing key players, with the Kings having Keegan Murray, Ben Simmons, and Malik Monk sidelined, but their biggest concerns did not stem from these absences. After the game, head coach Doug Christie addressed two significant weaknesses shown in the Kings' loss:

Physicality

Oct 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie looks on during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While this really should not come as much of a surprise, this is something that can easily be fixed. The Kings lacked physicality on Monday night, and it really shows in the final score. Sure, the Lakers are a talented team, but the Kings will be facing teams more talented than them for most of the season. For them to stay competitive, they need to at least be more physical.

"Defensively, I'm very surprised with the physicality, the aggressiveness, the attention to detail that these guys have had during training camp," Christie said. "But it's the first time they're lacing it up, so I'm not gonna panic with that. Very disappointed in not matching—or setting, actually—the physicality, because that is what we want to do. We want to set the physicality of the game, and we didn't set it or meet it."

Doug Christie following the Kings’ 127-103 loss to the Lakers: pic.twitter.com/znnscevDrx
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) October 6, 2026

This was an obvious problem for the Kings. Similar to what we saw last season, there was an odd lack of effort at times with this group, especially defensively. Christie needs to get his guys to show the necessary effort and physicality to stay competitive with more talented opponents.

Granted, it was their preseason opener, but this cannot become a trend for the Kings, or else this will be a grueling season.

Defense

As Christie mentioned during his complaint about the team's physicality, their defense was also not up to standard. Of course, they allowed 127 points to a Lakers team playing without Austin Reaves and with just a 16-minute outing by Luka Doncic, so it comes as no surprise that Christie was not pleased with the defense.

"Helping when you're not supposed to help. All the principles of shell defense, help defense, being in the gap, being in to be out, closing out, no middle, like I'm sure the film's going to show all of that," Christie said. "But this is what we do. We learn, we go back to the film, we show them, we drill it, we get after it. I mean, they'll be better. They got hit in the mouth, and how do we respond?"

Darius Acuff Jr:

"I don't think offense is the problem, I think defensively we just wasn't racking up stops as a team as much as we needed to...I think offensively will be fine" pic.twitter.com/Fj1qYsN74D
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 6, 2026

This was in response to what Darius Acuff Jr. said about the Kings' defense, admitting that they need to improve in that area after what they showed in the preseason opener. Christie seems confident that this group will get better on that side of the ball, but there are obvious concerns.

It is hard for a team built around Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, and Domantas Sabonis to succeed defensively. Thankfully, they have guys like Murray and Simmons, who were sidelined on Monday, to help out. But it ultimately comes down to what Christie can do with this group. Both of these weaknesses stem from the coaching staff, so it is up to Christie to turn things around after Monday's loss.

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