[Game] 32/82: Kings @ lakers 28 DEC 2025, 6:30pm PT/9:30pm ET

[BuddyBuckets]

Another 34 shots taken by Demar and Russ.

I still don't get why we are letting Russ play, develop your damn youth! Sick of watching these 37 year olds with 80% usage while the rest of the guys stand in the corner.

 

[Srzly]

I

Another 34 shots taken by Demar and Russ.

I still don't get why we are letting Russ play, develop your damn youth! Sick of watching these 37 year olds with 80% usage while the rest of the guys stand in the corner.

It would be one thing if it was winning us games, but it isn’t.

It is actually the opposite style of play that they played with in our few wins we have.

The only thing it does is pad their stats and take everyone else out of rhythm on offense.

 

[SacTownKid]

I

It would be one thing if it was winning us games, but it isn’t.

It is actually the opposite style of play that they played with in our few wins we have.

The only thing it does is pad their stats and take everyone else out of rhythm on offense.

And while Russ isn't playing badly, it's setting the team back. We know what happens after a season like this, it's back to square one for the young guys. The rookies are playing but almost everything they are doing isn't being generated by them. It's catch and finish or broken plays. That's good considering they're likely role players but it's kind of like Keegan where they are almost certainly dooming them to be that from day 1.

 

[The_Jamal]

Another 34 shots taken by Demar and Russ.

I still don't get why we are letting Russ play, develop your damn youth! Sick of watching these 37 year olds with 80% usage while the rest of the guys stand in the corner.

Tankathon baby.

 

[ESP47]

And while Russ isn't playing badly, it's setting the team back. We know what happens after a season like this, it's back to square one for the young guys. The rookies are playing but almost everything they are doing isn't being generated by them. It's catch and finish or broken plays. That's good considering they're likely role players but it's kind of like Keegan where they are almost certainly dooming them to be that from day 1.

Yeah I'd rather tank watching Nique make stupid mistakes and figure out why picking up your dribble at the first sign of resistance is bad, over watching vets spam shots all game. We don't need to showcase these guys. The league knows what they're capable of if they're interested in a trade.

 

[SacTownKid]

Yeah I'd rather tank watching Nique make stupid mistakes and figure out why picking up your dribble at the first sign of resistance is bad, over watching vets spam shots all game. We don't need to showcase these guys. The league knows what they're capable of if they're interested in a trade.

And let Max run some classic Kings O up top in some motion sets. He looks to have the ability.

 

[TaxMan]

Another 34 shots taken by Demar and Russ.

I still don't get why we are letting Russ play, develop your damn youth! Sick of watching these 37 year olds with 80% usage while the rest of the guys stand in the corner.

It’s all about the culture building. Who else is going to to teach the young’ns about jacking up the bricked threes and how to successfully get courtside hecklers ejected?

 

[dude12]

And while Russ isn't playing badly, it's setting the team back. We know what happens after a season like this, it's back to square one for the young guys. The rookies are playing but almost everything they are doing isn't being generated by them. It's catch and finish or broken plays. That's good considering they're likely role players but it's kind of like Keegan where they are almost certainly dooming them to be that from day 1.

Nique is getting about zero opportunities to run an offense. I think he’s a ball mover who is also very good at seeing the floor. But all he does now is swing the ball to a vet who is going to take the shot. Not getting to grow for what Perry drafted him to be.

 

[Krunker]

Russ has been decent for Raynaud, feeding him around the paint. I'm much prefer to see Nique or Carter develop that chemistry, though.

 

[SLAB]

Blasphemy

I love Luka. I like LeBron.

There is no more ill-will towards the current iteration of the Lakers.

 

[Padrino]

I love Luka. I like LeBron.

There is no more ill-will towards the current iteration of the Lakers.

I'm lukewarm on Luka, as much as I would have preferred that the Kings had drafted him. And I've always been pretty ambivalent about LeBron. That said, I just can't bring myself to care an ounce about a rivalry that spanned only a few seasons over 20 years ago. In the time since then, the Lakers have ping ponged from champions to basement dwellers and back to champions again, while the Kings have largely remained as irrelevant as ever. There's not a Laker fan alive who looks at the Kings and regards them as rivals in 2025, and while I understand Kings fans' resentment toward the Lakers of the early 00s (and while I bear a much more generalized resentment toward the Lakers as the NBA's so-called "premiere" franchise), it has always mystified me that many still see Kings/Lakers as some sort of "rivalry" worth gearing up for.

Don't get me wrong; the Lakers annoy the sh*t out of me. They're endlessly covered whether they're deserving of it or not, they perpetually fall ass-backwards into superstars, and their free throw differential represents a pox on the league (and I say that as KF.com's Resident Skeptic of All NBA-Related Conspiracy Theories™). But even so, I just don't look at games against the Lakers any differently than other games on the schedule, and I can't get on board with the notion that not rooting for a win against the Lakers is some kind of Kings fan heresy. A win or a loss against the Lakers in 2025 means very little to me, and as a devout believer in losing well in a season with significant draft stakes, I'll happily take the loss, along with the larger share of minutes played for the likes of Raynaud/Clifford/Ellis/Cardwell.

 

[hrdboild]

I'm lukewarm on Luka, as much as I would have preferred that the Kings had drafted him. And I've always been pretty ambivalent about LeBron. That said, I just can't bring myself to care an ounce about a rivalry that spanned only a few seasons over 20 years ago. In the time since then, the Lakers have ping ponged from champions to basement dwellers and back to champions again, while the Kings have largely remained as irrelevant as ever. There's not a Laker fan alive who looks at the Kings and regards them as rivals in 2025, and while I understand Kings fans' resentment toward the Lakers of the early 00s (and while I bear a much more generalized resentment toward the Lakers as the NBA's so-called "premiere" franchise), it has always mystified me that many still see Kings/Lakers as some sort of "rivalry" worth gearing up for.

Don't get me wrong; the Lakers annoy the sh*t out of me. They're endlessly covered whether they're deserving of it or not, they perpetually fall ass-backwards into superstars, and their free throw differential represents a pox on the league (and I say that as KF.com's Resident Skeptic of All NBA-Related Conspiracy Theories™). But even so, I just don't look at games against the Lakers any differently than other games on the schedule, and I can't get on board with the notion that not rooting for a win against the Lakers is some kind of Kings fan heresy. A win or a loss against the Lakers in 2025 means very little to me, and as a devout believer in losing well in a season with significant draft stakes, I'll happily take the loss, along with the larger share of minutes played for the likes of Raynaud/Clifford/Ellis/Cardwell.

Spend enough time around Lakers fans and you'll learn to hate them again. I had people telling me that the Kings needed to give them De'Aaron Fox two years ago because the Kings were bad anyway and the Lakers needed a PG. At the time the Kings actually had a better record than the Lakers. It isn't just the media (and referees) who think the world revolves around keeping that franchise on top. That's why whatever the circumstances, a win against the Lakers always feels good.

 

[kingsboi]

it's apparent that the so called "rivalry" is more so among fanbases than the actual players. the case of entitled franchise vs irrelevant franchise

 

[Padrino]

Spend enough time around Lakers fans and you'll learn to hate them again. I had people telling me that the Kings needed to give them De'Aaron Fox two years ago because the Kings were bad anyway and the Lakers needed a PG. At the time the Kings actually had a better record than the Lakers. It isn't just the media (and referees) who think the world revolves around keeping that franchise on top. That's why whatever the circumstances, a win against the Lakers always feels good.

As I said, I possess no love for the Lakers nor their fans. Haughty, the lot of 'em. But as our man @Tetsujin has made abundantly clear via his prolific sharing of Twitter posts here at KF.com, it turns out there are many deluded fanbases who believe they should be gifted the best of other teams' players at the cost of no more than the worst of their favored teams' players. It's hardly a phenomenon that's exclusive to the Lakers. I also don't really find myself in conversation with arrogant, preening sports fans very often, so my resentment of the Lakers will always have much more to do with the league's and the media's treatment of their marquee franchise over any pungent notes of smugness I may catch coming from the Laker fanbase.

Even still, none of that is enough for me to prize a Laker loss over the greater welfare of the team I've been rooting for my entire life, especially in a draft year with significant stakes for the future health of the franchise. I have my priorities as a long-suffering Kings fan who, like many, inherited his fandom due to family and geography. Cliche though it may be amongst fathers and sons, my dad and I built much of our relationship on NBA basketball, and I'd rather like to see the Kings become a regular playoff contender again while my father is still alive. With few trade assets and poor prospects in the free agent market, the way back to playoff contention runs through the draft for the Kings. So I'm satisfied with every single loss right now, even when they come at the hands of the f***ing Lakers.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Spend enough time around Lakers fans and you'll learn to hate them again. I had people telling me that the Kings needed to give them De'Aaron Fox two years ago because the Kings were bad anyway and the Lakers needed a PG. At the time the Kings actually had a better record than the Lakers. It isn't just the media (and referees) who think the world revolves around keeping that franchise on top. That's why whatever the circumstances, a win against the Lakers always feels good.

I moved to Portland right at the end of the run. I spent 99-02 in Santa Barbara and 03-August 05 in LA/Culver City. Surrounded by Lakers fans.

I was still in Boston when they hired Pitino and everyone penciled them in for Duncan and another top 5 pick and marveled at San Antonio's consistent luck (I actually admired them because of Sean Elliott) I hate that they got the best of us twice last year with the Barnes and pick-swap and giving up nothing for Fox, but their fans are generally ok by me.

LA will never be like that. They can always hop off the Laker bandwagon in dark times and right back on and nobody bats an eye while demanding special treatment for the good of the association in the interim. Golden State to some extent to even though I suspect when Steph retires they will go back to their spot way in back of the 9ers and Giants.

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2005528238521741388

These losses going go down a little better now to at its

He's had a real shift the last 5 games, where he's gotten an upgraded role and been made a real priority. Over 20 minutes in every game with the following numbers:

26.1 MPG
10.2 PPG
5.6 RPG
1.8 APG
1.6 SPG
52.6% TS
31.8% from 3 (4.4 3PA/game)
18.2% USG

He also has the best net rating on the team over the last 5, just edging out Cardwell:

ORtg: 114.2
DRtg: 108.9
NetRtg: 5.3

JUST LIKE CHRIS DUARTE!

 

[Tetsujin]

It’s all about the culture building. Who else is going to to teach the young’ns about jacking up the bricked threes and how to successfully get courtside hecklers ejected?

Meh, Russ has actually really helped Max get into a groove and develop as a pick and roll big.