Kings-Lakers Matchup of the Game: Doug Christie vs. JJ Redick

Doug Christie gets his first shot as interim head coach against former rival Los Angeles Lakers.

Feb 11, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings assistant coach Doug Christie before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings begin a new chapter of their season after letting Mike Brown go and bringing in Doug Christie as interim head coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers injury report is filled to the brim with players, including Anthony Davis and LeBron James, two key matchup of the game candidates.

That means for tonight, we get a little interesting with the matchup of the game between new coach Doug Christie and first year head coach JJ Redick.

The two former players took very different paths to get to this point in their NBA coaching careers. Redick worked as a color analyst calling games before he got the job in LA. Even with no coaching experience, he was given a chance to jump straight to the main seat on the bench, a growing trend in the NBA.

While Christie also had a brief stint as a color analyst, he has been an assistant coach for the Kings since the 2021-22 season. He's been around the team and knows how they operate, which should give him a good starting point to begin his stint as interim head coach.

One of the biggest things I'll be keeping an eye on is the Kings rotation and schemes. Will Christie keep rotations similar to how they were before or will there be a shake up in who plays and for how long?

Will the Kings offensive strategy change, maybe slowly over time or an abrupt shift in philosophy?

There aren't nearly as many questions for Redick tonight, but he may need to navigate his rotations if a handful of players are out.

If all else fails and this game gets out of hand, my vote is that both Redick and Christie check themselves into the game for a little one-on-one coaches battle on the court.

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