I touch on the Kings' ongoing struggles to hold teams under 60 points in the first half and where they stack up next to the Lakers in the game story from Wednesday night's game.
But there's plenty to go over that didn't make it into the story, with the game ending about 10 minutes before my first deadline.
*Kings coach Paul Westphal said in the postgame press conference there were things the Kings did well. That's true. They outscored the Lakers 52-46 in the paint and outrebounded the Lakers, 49-43. The Kings committed just eight turnovers.
But none of that was good enough, especially when the defense continues to be so bad to start games. Giving up 60-plus points in the first half is not the way to play.
*The Kings might have been in position to come all the way back in the fourth quarter if not for their poor free throw shooting. The Kings were 14 of 23 (60.9 percent).
*This was DeMarcus Cousins first regular season game against an All Star in Lakers center/forward Pau Gasol.
Cousins came out early aggressively attacking Gasol. But unlike previous games, Cousins wasn't a factor in the fourth quarter. He missed both his shots and one of two free throws in the fourth, and had just a point in the fourth.
Cousins was 3 of 13 for the game with 11 points and five rebounds. He attempted four threes, making one.
"He's a strong player," Gasol said of Cousins. "He has talent. He also has a lot of room for improvement. He has a good post-up game but I don't really know him. It's only my second time playing him. I like what I see so far. He's got to try to stay out of foul trouble to stay on the floor a little longer to work on some things."
*Carl Landry was also unable to get going in the fourth. The Kings like to run plays for Landry in the fourth, but he had just two points, missing two of his three shots. Landry also missed both of his free throws, and made just 3 of 7 for the game.
*Playing against a set Lakers defense constantly isn't ideal for a Kings team that's still working to figure out how to run their offense effectively.
The Kings were at their best against the Lakers when they were in transition in the fourth, especially Tyreke Evans.
"We just need to push the ball against a team like that," Evans said. "Once we get down there, they pack the paint and are really good at helping so we need to try to push the ball and try to get an easy bucket on a fastbreak."
*Westphal was vague when asked if starting Samuel Dalembert at center would be an option to help prevent slow starts on defense.
When the Kings go with Cousins and Landry in the starting lineup, that's probably the best offensive duo they have at power forward and center.
Dalembert and Jason Thompson each had 10 rebounds off the bench. Starting either would give the Kings more size to start out games. Dalembert would seem to be the likeliest option.
Now to the quick review and the whats:
Lakers (5-0) 112
Kings (3-2) 100
Scoring leadersSAC: Tyreke Evans, 21
LAL: Kobe Bryant 30
Rebounding leadersSAC: Samuel Dalembert and Jason Thompson, 1-
LAL: Pau Gasol, 10
Assist leadersSAC: Beno Udrih, 8
LAL: Bryant, 12
What went right?
The bench accounted for 28 of the Kings 49 rebounds.
What went wrong?
Another bad first half on defense set the tone and the Kings never overcame the deficit after leading briefly in the second quarter.
What has to get better?
Obviously defense is a major concern. But the free throws are also a big issue.
--Jason Jones
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