Luka Doncic scores 21 as Lakers unveil new defense in preseason win over Kings
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- The Lakers opened their preseason with a win over Sacramento, using full-court pressure to showcase a more disruptive defensive identity.
- Luka Doncic scored 21 points before sitting at halftime, while Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle stood out among the team’s new defensive-minded wings.
- The Lakers played without Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler, who are nursing injuries.
SACRAMENTO — The Lakers pressed, switched and swarmed from the opening whistle. After the Sacramento Kings were caught for a shot-clock violation on the first possession of Monday’s preseason game, Luka Doncic raised his fists toward the Lakers’ bench with a triumphant grin to symbolize the successful start.
But Doncic’s smile toward his teammates had a hint of sarcasm; this was still just an exhibition game.
The Lakers teased their new defensive identity in a 127-103 preseason win against the Sacramento Kings on Monday at Golden 1 Center, rolling out their deep group of wings to overcome a shorthanded bench.
With LeBron James gone, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves understand they’ll need to take over as leaders for a Lakers team reshaped by nine new players.
Playing without star center Walker Kessler, who missed the game because of a finger injury, and guard Austin Reaves (ankle), Doncic led the Lakers with 21 points. He took a hard knee to the side of his quad midway through the second quarter, but stayed in the game. With the Lakers up 26 points at halftime, Doncic didn’t need to return.
“We all had fun out there,” said Doncic, who relished the chance to play in his first competitive basketball game in six months, one of the longest breaks of his career. “Especially with Matisse [Thybulle] and Ziaire [Williams], just that beginning of the game, the start, that’s contagious for everybody, and how they start the game, it was inspirational.”
The star guard actually was bringing down the team’s shooting average. While he was three-for-nine shooting from three-point range in the first half, his teammates combined to make nine of their first 13 three-pointers. Williams led with perfect three-for-three shooting from distance with 13 points and one steal while serving as the Lakers’ top on-ball defender. Thybulle, another key defensive offseason addition, had two steals and made two threes.
At halftime, coaches showed players a clip of Williams, a 6-foot-9 forward who signed on a minimum contract, guarding the ball full court. The highlight then showed how Doncic’s energy picked up. Thybulle followed suit.
“You don’t wanna be the only guy out there that’s not being physical, not picking up full, not being a pest,” Williams said. “Coming in, I knew that I saw that the team could use that, someone who could pick up full and could guard the main ballhandler and really set the tone on that end. I try to just focus on that every possession.”
Coach JJ Redick, in his third season with the Lakers, said it was the first time in his tenure that he felt the team had multiple players who were capable of handling that defensive responsibility. The Lakers call it their “line of confrontation.” Williams, Thybulle, second-year forward Adou Thiero and guard Quentin Grimes were among the players who guarded the ball full court. The Lakers forced four steals in the first quarter and 15 for the game. They averaged 8.5 per game last season.
The product Monday is far from what the Lakers hope to show in their regular-season opener Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors.
Kessler was wearing a splint on his left pinky finger after he jammed it on the backboard during practice last week. Redick doesn’t expect any of the injuries that kept Reaves, guard Collin Sexton (lower body) and two-way forward Arthur Kaluma (lower body) to be long-term.
The Lakers can’t afford for Austin Reaves to only play in 51 games like he did last season and expect to challenge the top teams in the Western Conference.
Reaves, who tweaked his ankle in practice, still went through his pregame warmup routine Monday.
Even without two of their three top players, the Lakers overwhelmed the Kings, who are expected again to be among the worst teams in the Western Conference. Rookie point guard Darius Acuff, the No. 7 pick in last April’s draft, had 19 points with four assists and five turnovers for the Kings.
