Five Storylines to Monitor in Kings' Preseason Rematch vs. Lakers

Fans and the Sacramento Kings organization likely all felt some relief that it is only preseason, because there weren’t many positives to take away from their opening night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Darius Acuff Jr. and Nique Clifford were two of the limited bright spots for the Kings as they combined for 42 points on 16/32 from the field to lead the team.

The focus is going to be on three-point defense and defense as a whole next time the Kings step on the court for a rematch against the Lakers on Thursday night, but there are a few other storylines worth highlighting as well.

Defense Wins Championships (and Preseason Games)

Look, the Kings are not going to be a defensive powerhouse this season. I apologize if I’m trouncing on anyone’s dreams here, but even with Ben Simmons on the roster, the Kings are going to be one of the league’s worst defenses. With that said, there are still things they can do to prevent themselves from actually being in the 30th spot.

Against the Lakers, the Kings crowded the paint and sold out to prevent shots at the rim, but struggled to get back out to shooters as the Lakers nailed 20 threes on 44 attempts. Christie has put an emphasis on protecting the paint, but the Kings can still make a better effort defending the perimeter than they did in game one.

There were numerous examples of the Kings tagging rollers and trying to prevent transition rim attempts, but failing to rotate out to shooters, and the Lakers took full advantage.

LUKA FINDS MAMU pic.twitter.com/3HpMtyQKgO
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) October 6, 2026

In the example above, multiple Kings are slow to get back in transition, and it ends with Daeqwon Plowden having to choose between preventing Adou Thiero from getting an easy layup or getting out to the trailing Sandro Mamukelashvili behind the line. This play is just a microcosm of the game for Sacramento, which was filled with far more examples of poor effort on that end of the floor.

More than anything defensively, I’ll be looking for better effort from the team as a whole, with better communication and faster closeouts.

Three Is More Than Two

The Kings not only struggled to defend the three, but they also struggled to create shots from behind the arc. Sacramento took just 23 triples all game, and that’s a continuation from last season, when they were dead last in attempts.

The Kings didn’t have enough shooting last season, often playing lineups with three or even four non-shooters on the court at the same time. This season, they have enough shooting to warrant at least 35 attempts per game, which would still be two less than league average.

Darius Acuff Jr.'s up to 17 PTS in the first half of his NBA preseason debut!

Dribble.
Create space.
Sink the 3. pic.twitter.com/GHb2ZVSfHn
— NBA (@NBA) October 6, 2026

Unlike their defensive focus on defending the paint, which has some validity given their roster construction, there’s really no reason for the Kings to be this averse to taking shots from behind the line.

If they don’t stretch the floor, there won’t be any reason for teams to respect their shooters, and other than Domantas Sabonis, there aren’t many players who provide real rim pressure on the roster. The Kings absolutely need to take more threes, whether they make them or not, and I’ll be watching that stat closely tonight.

Howdy Partner

One action that worked very well against the Lakers was pick-and-rolls with Acuff Jr. and Sabonis as the ball-handler and roll-man. Sabonis is one of the best screen setters in the league, and Acuff Jr. immediately saw the benefits of playing with him as he found a decent amount of space on the court in spite of Sacramento’s shooting woes. The question isn’t about that partnership, but how Acuff Jr. will continue to mesh with Sacramento’s other bigs.

Darius Acuff's first (preseason) assist to Domantas Sabonis.

Nice little PnR drop-off after engaging the big. pic.twitter.com/PlEmIwFFjs
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 6, 2026

Acuff Jr. was able to find both Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell for a few easy buckets, but there’s still quite a bit of room for improvement. Raynaud in particular was so adept at finding open space and being a target for Russell Westbrook last season, which is something that should be available to him with his new point guard.

Cardwell isn’t as skilled offensively, but lobs are one of the few ways he can be impactful on that end, which is something I’ll be watching for as well in the rematch with the Lakers.

Benjamin (Button?)

In David Fincher’s film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt plays a man who ages in reverse rather than chronologically. The Kings are hoping that some of that magic can rub off on Ben Simmons as he makes his return to the NBA.

If we’re meant to take Simmons’ recent Instagram post as an injury report, it sounds like Simmons may be ready to go on Thursday night, and he’ll undoubtedly have some rust. Rather than expecting him to be comfortable right away, I’ll be watching to see if there are some remnants of the old Ben who was once one of the best defenders in the NBA.

Ben Simmons is one of the last Kings players in the gym after practice today. pic.twitter.com/0NEdi1H0lo
— Kevin John (@heykevinjohn) October 7, 2026

The Big Problem

I highlighted the Kings’ center rotation in my preview article for their first preseason game, and I am left with some of the same questions. Doug Christie opted to play both Cardwell and Raynaud together in game one, and the results left a lot to be desired.

Will he try that again, will we see some of Cardwell and Sabonis or Raynaud and Sabonis together, or will he make a decision on his second and third string centers? Finding an effective rotation will be incredibly important this season, and I’m looking to see if Christie finds any answers in game two.

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