Sacramento Kings vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 12/28/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Sacramento Kings vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, December 28, 2024

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Crypto.com Arena is the location where the Los Angeles Lakers (17-13) will attempt to beat the Sacramento Kings (13-17) on Saturday.

The Kings faced the Pacers and went home with a loss by a final score of 122-95 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Kings ended up walking away with 15 while the Pacers racked up 11 fouls. They also knocked down 17 out of their 39 shots from distance. Indiana finished the contest at 62.5% at the free throw line by knocking down 5 of their 8 shots. Moreover, Indiana totaled 47 rebounds (15 offensive, 32 defensive) and had 5 blocked shots. Indiana doled out 21 assists and had 3 steals in the matchup. When discussing defense, Sacramento let their opponent shoot 58.1% from the field on 50 out of 86 shooting. They also dished out 36 assists in this contest while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Regarding rebounding, they compiled 50 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Kings knocked down 13 of their 17 shots for a percentage of 76.5%. Sacramento walked away from the game having earned a 36.5% FG percentage (35 out of 96) and buried 12 of 38 shots from 3-point land.

De'Aaron Fox is a player who was important in the game. He accumulated 23 points on 7 of 19 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins and also pulled down 5 boards. Fox ended up going 36.8% from the floor and totaled 7 dimes.

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Sacramento enters this contest with a win-loss record of 13-17 on the season. They turn it over 13.4 times per game and as a squad are committing 20.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Sacramento is pulling in 43.6 rebounds per game and has racked up 771 assists on the season, which ranks 14th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Kings are hitting 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc (357 of 1,045) and 80.1% from the charity stripe. They average 114.8 pts per game (10th in basketball) while hitting 47.6% from the field.

Defensively, the Kings are able to force 15.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.0 personal fouls. They surrender 37.5% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 17th in the league in PPG allowed (113.6). The Kings defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 46.4% (1,220 of 2,630) and they surrender 43.1 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 21st in the NBA in giving up assists with 781 surrendered so far this season.

For their last game, the Lakers walked away with a victory by a final of 115-113 against the Warriors. The Lakers were able to corral 38 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 51 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 3 steals for the matchup. The Warriors had 17 fouls in this matchup which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 18 tries. They were able to make 18 of the free throws for a rate of 100.0%. When discussing shots from 3-point land, Los Angeles converted 15 out of their 42 attempts (35.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers ended up going 41 for 91 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.1%. The Lakers allowed the Warriors to bury 41 of their 89 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.1% for this contest. They shot 40.0% from three-point range via 18 out of 45 and finished the game at 13 out of 17 from the free throw line (76.5%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Los Angeles permitted Golden State to pull down 39 overall (5 offensive).

LeBron James pitched in for the Lakers for the matchup. He knocked down 12 out of 22 in this matchup giving him a rate of 54.5%, and had 4 rebounds. James racked up 31 points in his 37 minutes on the court and tallied 10 dimes for the matchup.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 17-13 so far this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are shooting 47.0% from the field, which is ranked 10th in the league. Los Angeles has totaled 3,339 points so far this season (111.3 per contest) and they grab 41.4 boards per contest. They are getting an assist 26.1 times per game (12th in the league) and they turn it over 13.7 times per game. The Lakers are responsible for committing 16.5 fouls per game and they go 78.3% from the free throw line.

The Los Angeles defense concedes 36.6% on shots from distance (405 of 1,106) and opponents are connecting on 79.1% of their free throw shots. They have given up 28.0 dimes and 44.4 boards per contest, ranking them 23rd and 21st in the league. The Lakers on the defensive end are ranked 18th in the league in points allowed per contest with 113.8. They have forced 14.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.6% from the floor (24th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Sacramento

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